Europe Cruise Reviews

We loved the itinerary--that's what drew us to this cruise in the first place! The ship itself was just fine.  It was perfectly adequate and impressed me in some areas, but left me with some disappointment in others. The crew was great, other than our cabin steward and the food was excellent (we did have a dining package and especially enjoyed Cagney's).  The cabin was smaller (compared to a similar cabin on Carnival), but we liked the shower doors and the separate toilet better. Some of the furnishings were a bit "tired," but everything was clean and in working order. We loved each port, but both Dubrovnik and Santorini have problems handling that many cruise ships in the port at the same time. Overall, it was a great value and we made great memories!

Culinary arts was good.  Service was excellent.  Intimacy was best because of size of ship and lower number of people.  Activities were of the right level.  Able to relax and decompress. 

Beautiful ship, wonderful crew, all the tasty wine and Champagne you can drink, great shore excursions, being treated like royalty for seven days - what's not to like?! 

This was our second cruise on Silversea and we will never try anyone else ever again - once you have had perfection it's hard to go back to less.

This was our first experience on Princess.  They were great in most everything they did.  Was a little disappointed in the food quality.  My wife had a hard time finding something that tasted good. 

Great service.  We had our room cleaned or looked at a few times a day.  Spotless work.  All areas of the ship were very clean and maintained constantly.  Food and service at the four special restaurants was excellent. Same great food and service at  the Grand Dining room and Terrace Café. The 9:30 PM entertainment in the main lounge was excellent.  Very hard working and talented performers.

Butler and housekeeping service was wonderful along with the food. Entertainment and tours were awful. Toilet overflowed twice tours were completely unorganized.

Lovely ship. Amazing itinerary. Plenty to do. Despite the size, shore excursions and meals were smooth and very seldom had to wait in line. Great fitness center. 

They do oversell. Most sea day activities are based on selling something. The Spa was the worst. Based on my location, I had to walk past the Spa desk every time to get to the coffee bar or service desk. The Spa personnel were like vultures. I finally began getting off one deck higher and walking a different path. Even then they still lurked outside the elevator on other floors and would literally run up, grab you and pull you over to the sales desk. T

Normally the spa is one of the treats I look forward to, but the hard sell told me what I could expect if I actually did make an appointment. First cruise that I never stepped in the spa once. I get they want to make money, but this team was worse than the  street vendors. 

We were celebrating milestone birthdays and splurged more than usual.  One passenger had never been on a cruise.

Windstar Cruises strive to make every passenger feel special while delivering exceptional service and attention.  The staff gets to know the travelers and deliver a friendly and attentive service.

The itinerary included the popular stops like Santorini and Mykonos but it was the smaller ports and islands that charmed us.  The special event at Ephesus was a magical evening that few people would be able to access were it not for Windstar's arrangements.  The stop as Kusadasi, Turkey was another sleeper hit with many passengers.

Overall, the attentive staff, the accommodations on the ship and the itinerary made for an unforgettable experience we already long to emulate on a future trip.

This was our first cruise on an 'upscale' line, so cannot really compare to other 'upscale' cruises. We liked the smaller vessel with less than 700 passengers that could get in to the 'lesser visited' ports. The Windows Cafe was more relaxing (than similar type venues) than on the larger ships, with tables relatively far apart and easier access(less crowded) to the buffet. The staff throughout was very friendly and welcoming. Although only two separate locations (front and rear) the elevators were always prompt and hassle-free. Cabin service was good and unobtrusive. On some days the 'house' white wine wasn't very good, but not undrinkable. Shore excursions always went smoothly, with 18-22 people per tour, a real plus.  They really took care of their "Le Club Voyage" (loyalty club) passengers. We had sailed on Celebrity last year so were already Le Club members.    

Wife trip in a doorway and broke her hip the first night. Off loaded in Kiel Germany by ambulance the next day. Surgery and a week of recuperation in order to fly back to US. Worst vacation of our lives.

We felt the itinerary had wonderful ports of call and the length of time at the ports allowed travelers to enjoy visiting them

The NORWEGIAN SPIRIT was very well maintained and very very clean.

It was very quiet and stable.  It was quite a relaxing and pleasant experience.

The shows were very good.  It would be nice if there was a movie theater, as good movies were offered but it was not a comfortable setting.

We thought the quality of the food and the choices in the menu were  not as good as when we traveled on the JEWEL about 8 years ago.  Also the names of some dishes were misleading, i.e. an entry called cassoulet of escargots, was not a cassoulet and the escargots were not escargots but mushrooms.

The desserts were not well prepared.  We were better off ordering fruit, cheese or ice cream.  

However, the attention we received from the Norwegian staff and employees was excellent!  Everyone, from the customer desk, the cruise desk, the hostesses and servers in the dining rooms, the cabin attendant,  was very friendly, helpful, professional and welcoming.  I believe the crew gave us the best attention we have experienced in our more than 20 cruises.  

Our thanks to everyone for their wonderful and kind attention!

11 days is a nice cruise duration. It also can be exceptionally frustrating if issues that are not good are not quickly addressed. The "Stateroom" was the size of a walk-in closet. The Bed was so short my legs were hanging over and mattress was incredibly uncomfortable. Everything on and about this cruise ship line was focused on a 100% ALA-CARTE menu. Meaning they wanted to make you spend loads of money once you got onboard. Nothing and I do mean nothing was FREE on this ship. I asked to print out my boarding pass only quick and simple right ?They refused saying you must pay $20 to buy THAT SERVICE for one day. One time I needed to write something down. So i asked the Guest Services for a pen and piece of paper. (LOL) They said they would write it down for me as they could not allow me to keep the pen. There were at least five other stories that can be mentioned all centered around the same point. The people at least in my eyes on this ship. They are trained to be task oriented and Tip conscientious. One persons perception. But if you have paid 100% for your vacation. And were never explained that the ship has an ala-carte menu. That would be an expectation not meet. Thus I did Challenge and question Royal Caribbean on all the snafus that had occurred. Their answer to me was "We" did our job. Your expectation was not meet. Really poor attitudes in their customer service department in Miami. Person I spoke with yesterday told me she would intake info. Then document, Then offer to a higher level for arbitration. Was on phone for 92 minutes. Explained every issue in detail. She was telling me oh my thats terrible. They should never have done it that way. At end of conversation she tells me that there will be no further challenges or offerings. If anyone wants to enjoy themselves. Buyer beware.

The worse part of the cruise was the food, the so called specialty restaurants aren't worth the time or money, flavorless food, not one meal in these restaurants were exceptional in any way. I always look forward to great meals when I cruise and I was totally let down,  cruising the Mediterranean Sea, some the best known seafood in the world and we couldn't be provided a decent seafood meal, BAD BUISINESS!!

 This was our 2nd cruise on NCL, yet 1st NCL cruise in Europe. Our party of 4 adults (2 rooms) was very pleased with the NCL Epic for our sail out of Rome (Rome to Florence to Cannes to Palma Majorca to Barcelona to day at sea to Naples and back to Rome) area on 5/3-5/10/17. We arrived a few hours ahead of departure and had no problems with embarking, quickly grabbing a couple of Prosecco's in the bar for a toast.

After about an hour, our balcony rooms were ready (11175 & 11179), which was nice. My initial thought was the room was very nice and I didn't see any issue with the bathroom toilet/shower arrangement. However, I did have an issue with the very tiny sink/sink area and the limited and dim lighting, which took some time to figure out which switch controlled what. The bed was comfortable but the curvature at the foot of the bed was tolerable. I was very impressed with the significant amount of storage space (2 large closets, 3 large drawers, hidden storage behind the sofa and other areas, medicine cabinet space and large area under the bed to stow away empty luggage). HINT - the electrical outlet is hidden away under the middle mirror area beneath the counter (as is the hair dryer). Look for the hole in the counter top to fish your electrical cord.

We were told the ship was full, which I didn't believe as at no such time did it ever feel as if it was. Maybe the only time would have been during breakfast time when the buffet got very crowded. HINT - get your breakfast and head down to La Cucina. We had the UBP and UDP and we were very pleased with our cocktail and dining choices (Teppanyaki was fantastic, as was Moderno, but the best was Le Bistro where the food was outstanding and the service was even better (thank you Ronie and April Joy!). Since we had a busy day on excursions (we booked ourselves and not via the cruise line - & saved significant $) at each port. We only had 1 day at sea where we just chilled and hung out at Spice H2O for the majority of the day where food and drink were available. We really enjoyed Howl at the Moon, where we spent quite a few hours during the week. We also enjoyed Burn the Floor but were so so on Priscilla Queen of the Dessert show.  We were looking forward to dancing a bit more at the Glow party and other dance areas (Bliss) but there was too much techno beat music, which just didn't quite fit the age demographic of most travelers that I saw. Needed more 70s-present era music. 

All in all, it was a fantastic cruise, great weather, calm seas, wonderful ports (although Palma Majorca was very so so), friendly staff, great customer service, and plenty of things to do. HINT - please don't believe all of the negative reviews that many people post as we thoroughly enjoyed our cruise on the NCL Epic.

We liked going into Russia and many other countries but I think it would have been better to do less countries and spend more time in each one.  The food was ok--not the ritz but ok.  The service was good.  We had never been on a cruise before and it was disappointing on many levels.  We hated that they  were constantly trying to sell us something.  We went to have a massage and instead of giving us the opportunity to savor it, immediately there were two people trying to sell us expensive oils.  We purchased a drink card and got watered down sodas during the whole trip--now by our estimation, if you've spent good money on an expensive cruise, the Princess Cruise should give you a bottle or a can of soda (with ice if you want it)!  We don't drink watered down sodas at home, why should we drink them on a cruise ship?  Also, it was way too cold on this trip--uncomfortably cold.  Not a good idea to travel at this time. 

Being on the Baltic Sea was so calm and often we saw land.  It was much better than the ocean.  Ports were nice, St Petersburg - a MUST.  Best dinner group EVER.  Great cruise director and activity director. Smaller of the large ships so nothing fancy, no extra dinner nights or prettiness.  Some said not enough options for activities.  I was never bored though.

I would recommend to all fun loving vacationers out there to take a cruise ship for your vacation next time you want a real vacation.Its a very  fantastic way of just having a good time from busy day schedule when at home and/or office. The in house entertainment is gorgeous, the food is excellent and the service is welcoming. No worry about where to go, calling a taxi, or anything to spoil your day of excitement. Sleeping quarter or suite is clean, well taken cared out by on duty maid servant, bed is made and linen and towels are changed when you want it. Its worth the price you paid for the whole trip. Lots of activities to chose from. What you need is more than 24 hours in a given day if you want all of it between waking up and going to bed.My wife and I travels just the two of us, no children. But there are activities for children. So its for family too.

My favorite part was the staff- just terrific bunch always looking to make us

feel as if we were the only guests on board.

The menus for at the San Marco could have been planned with more choices; both we and pour friend felt it was limited . We have cruised on both the Solistice and the Equinox and both had better menus . Same applies to more varying and interesting activities on board. They were jut the same run of the mill stuff I.e. Trivia, volleyball blah, blah

overall we had a great time and look forward to our next trip.

we love our cruise agent Harry Kroll he is the best

The best part of the cruise was how accommodating Seabourn was for my many dietary needs.  I was disappointed that we arrived late into Edinburgh and therefore had a very limited amount of time in port especially since we were docked in Leith and had to take a shuttle bus to Edinburgh.  The shuttle bus did not start immediately and ran every 30 minutes. In other ports we also had to use shuttle buses because the docking place was not near the city.  Unlike tenders that run more frequently, the use of shuttles decreased the time we had in the city.  The excursions from most of the ports were good although the excursion from Antwerp to Ghent didn't account for the amount of time it would take in traffic to get back to the ship and we arrived after the dining room had closed for lunch.  The in excursion in Oslo didn't take into account the time at which the shop and snack bar at the Lillehammer ski jump opened and we had to wait.  It was a waste of time and we weren't supposed to stop there.  The guide on this excursion wasted time trying to decide whether to proceed with the stop in the sculpture park because it was raining.  She ultimately decided to proceed and it was fine but the time that was wasted in both of the first two stops resulted in less time at the Viking Museum than ideal.

Our cabin was very nice, just as we requested.  I like the fact that you are not nickel and dimed.

The name of the cruise was 12 night British Isles with Kirkwall, didn't get into Kirkwall.

It was a little windy, but the passengers felt like the Captain could have stopped and waited awhile to see if the wind calmed down.

The port claimed they had no tug boats to help us.

Seriously, as big as Princess Cruise is and they don't warrant tug boats.