Europe Cruise Reviews

the best part was the last day when we finally left the ship. no more bad food, no more bad service, no more bad maintenance issues. this was absolutely the worst cruise I have ever been on in my 60-plus years.

I assure you all I will never make this mistake again and book this cruiseline

Highly would recommend this cruise to all. Ports of call were excellent, staff and service were extremely accommodating. Cruise food and entertainment were average, specialty restaurant were very good.

We could not get change for our Euros anywhere aboard the ship.                           I was impressed with the Captain that showed authority at the right time and place .             

     Thank you CAPTAIN.

Food wasn't anything to write home about, but overall it was a good cruise. Fun parties when returning from port. Rooms were clean but a bit dusty and not as much attention to detail as others I have been on.

Favorite part of the cruise was being on a traveling hotel room. The convenience of waking up at different destinations was awesome. The ship was very nice and impressive, being on the newest ship in the world was pretty cool. The destinations were amazing and we had a great time while spending time in port. But overall I'd say we were disappointed with our experience. I don't know if it was because we had high expectations and it was our first cruise, but customer service was definitely lacking. We heard over and over that Princess was there "for your every need" , "staff available at anytime", and "we treat you like royalty". We did not find that.  Since it was our first cruise,we were expecting to be greeted by staff upon boarding to be explained how everything worked;food/drink options, timing,lay of ship, overall advice and recommendations.We never were. Also we were never given an option of where and what day or time our free specialty dining could be reserved, it was made for us the day we embarked. We also were suppose to have a special anniversary dinner on our Day at sea that our travel agent booked for us, and they had no record of it and staff were not helpful in figuring it out- a simple "you do not have a specialty dinner available" was the answer.  When we approached the front desk with questions and concerns, we did not find them to be "meeting our every need", they actually weren't very helpful or upbeat, and we never got a clear answer. We often felt like we were bothering staff with our lack of cruise experience. The times we did witness staff being overly friendly and talkative, it was them saying "open your wallets", " spend that money" , "youre on vacation" . Every day we heard staff on a microphone telling us to spend more money on the ship....and we probably would have if customer service was more helpful and attentive that it was our first cruise. Dining was also confusing for us because we were never explained our personal options. Again, this was our first cruise ever so we didn't know. Two different staff told us we could call ahead for a reservation -"even request a table by the window" since we were Anytime Dining. "Just call the dining line,you can even ask what the menu is for the next day".  Well we called and inquired about a reservation twice and were told we weren't allowed. And when we called asking about the menu, they did not know. Dinners in the dining rooms were very lengthy. We were given a buzzer upon entry, waited at least 10 minutes for a table, 45 minutes at the most. Then the time between courses was very drawn out,averaging 20 minutes between. Once we waited 40 minutes for our entree plates to be cleared and to be given the dessert menu. Excursions: we were advised to book as many excursions through Princess as possible since they were so "amazing".We booked 3 and were happy with 2. The Mykonos beach excursion was very disappointing and we're unsure what we paid for... which seemed to be an $80, 5 minute bus ride to an expensive beach where we were required to buy a $20 drink to use a sunbed and servers were rude. The excursion seemed to explain we were going to 2 famous beaches, with reserved sunbeds, and a guided tour and setup.Our guide never even "guided" us on the bus or provided information on the island.  Though he was kind and helpful before the excursion ended when I asked if there was another beach my husband and I could find. Little did we know we could have walked to many comparable beaches, for free, and experience more beautiful scenery and attractions along the way. We regretted not doing Mykonos on our own.  

Overall we expected better. We would plan to cruise again with our family for the convenience of traveling to multiple destinations, but not with Princess. 

The Haven experience was NOT worth the money.  We only saw our butler 2 x over a 7 day period.  Save your money...book a suite and call it a day :).  The shows were good...the food just average.  We ate in most of the speciality restaurants with Le Bistro being our favorite.

Sailing through the Bay of Kotor was spectacular. Really enjoyed the beauty of this bay. Enjoyed the ports of Dubrovnik, Athens, and Kotor. Was disappointed with the ports of Split and Katakolon (Olympia). Our initial itinerary included Santorini and Ravenna, Italy; however, NCL changed this approximately two months before sailing. We were not very happy about this change. Our balcony cabin and bathroom were small in comparison to others in other ships.  The ceiling paint in the balcony was peeling and paint chips were continuously on the furniture and floor. The specialty restaurants, Cagneys was good, but not impressive. The food at Moderno's Churrascaria was delicious. We did not enjoy the food at La Cuccina and the service was mediocre, sorry we selected this restaurant. Food in the regular restaurants was, for the most part, tasteless and service was slow.  We only saw 3 shows, one in particular, The Sea Sons, was very good. The show called Paradis was odd and I found this boring. Our cabin steward was wonderful, and most other service around the ship was good.

Having sailed on Princess several times now, I knew what to expect, or thought I did.  I was disappointed with the quality of the food in the main dining room and the buffet and the activities were on the skimpy side.

First the food.  There was very little opportunity for beef on the menus, mostly chicken and fish.  The only real option for dead cow was the Crown Steakhouse and it was truly wonderful with impeccable service.  Even breakfast was a disappointment, with no egg station in each of the buffet areas.  You had to hunt it down at the very back of the smokehouse place.  The beef option on the main dining room was a hamburger and fries most nights.  Most foods were of a foreign nature and others from the states had trouble finding something to eat each day, not just myself and my husband.  (Food gets a C-)

The activities did not really seem to take into account the weather of that part of Europe, outdoor movies being an example.  There was a lot of free time when there was not something planned by the cruise staff.  The additional sea day did not help that situation when we couldn't get to Paris.  The only comedian that was on board was a one show deal, should have been more. (Cruise Director staff gets a D)

Customer service by the rest of the staff was wonderful and those folks made efforts to make everyone comfortable and happy.  No complaints with the cabin steward except no towel animals.  Are they a  lost art?  Desk staff were helpful and kind and as efficient as they could be.  (Team gets an A)

We booked four tours through Princess and the visits to the locations needed to be longer as you felt that you were being rushed by tour guides to get you back to the ship on time.  The best tour was the one in Cork we booked with Paddy Wagon tours, not part of the ship offerings but he was amazing and still got us back on time relaxed.

We did see on the tours, more than just a few people returning late to the bus, very rude to those of us who followed the directions of our host.  Also,  no one has a reserved assigned seat on the bus, so stop acting like a first grader who can't sit next to their best bud for the next 20 minutes.  Two actual verbal altercations on the busses over seating assignments, very sad.

The production shows in the theatre were excellent. Our dinner waitresses were excellent. The beds were comfortable.

This is not a happy ship!! The management of the ship - starting with the Captain who we never saw in the entire trip - and the cruise management needs a serious shake-up or replacing.

The decision to abandon the visit to the port of Le Havre, due to a "planned strike" (which never happened) took no consideration whatsover to an alternative destination or the consequences to the passengers. Our travelleing friends took the decision to jump ship in order to continue their travel plans. 

In the note from the Captain stating this decision, there was no apology nor offer of compensation and the Captain could not even correctly spell the name of his own ship!

Managing the return of the passengers to the ship in Guernsey was a farce, leaving almost the entire passenger complement waiting on the quayside for a tender for about 1 hour 40 mins. No refreshments were provided - luckily it wasn't raining! A child could have organised this better.

It became clear that the immigration requirements of the ports was either not understood or not properly organised, necessitating a hurried demand for non-EU guests (which was most of them) to have their passports hurriedly copied. 

The vessel had only 110 Volt main sockets in the stateroom. I would have expected a modern vessel of this size to have 230 V European outlets as well.

Prosecco was only sold by the bottle which meant carrying the bottle around the ship from bar to bar and to and from the dining room. Not elegant!

We would not recommend this cruise to anyone unless and until there was clear evidence that the management of the ship and senior staff had significantly improved.

This was a trip we never thought we would be doing, and we are so glad we did.  Our cabin was our greatest disappointment.  We had just been on a cruise in the same category cabin with RC and it was wonderful.  This cabin was small.  Each time we wanted to go to the balcony we had to move the chair. The ship was a nice size to move around in, and being mid ship was great.  The service was outstanding.  Our favorite part was the entertainment provided.  Something to do any time you wanted to do it. The food was good. The staff was very efficient with all of our needs. Ports were difficult due to limited outings for people with limited mobility.

We very much enjoyed all aspects of the trip.  Probably our favorite was participating the "The Voice of the Ocean".  Performing on the stage in the Princess theater was a memory we will never forget.  The ship is beautiful and it took the entire 17 days to learn where everything was.  We were specially impressed by the silence in our cabin, no sounds of our neighbors or the nearby elevators.  We also liked the anytime dining and always chose to join others, thereby meeting many interesting and enjoyable people.

We look forward to our next Princess cruise.

Wide variety of daily activities are well organized. Very good food. Crew members are very cooperative. Itinerary was pretty interesting. I would gladly recommend this cruise to my family and my friends.

The support staff was great.  Very friendly, helpful and cheerful.

We enjoyed the tours except for the one to Ibiza.  The guide pointed out all the bars and discos and didn't talk about local culture, or talk about what was growing in the fields as we passed.  The tour to Niece was unfortunate because it rained so much that most of the people sat in cafes.  It would have been nice to cut the time there and spend more time in Monaco.  After spending money for the tour, we did not think that we should be charged $10 to walk into the Casino just to see it.

More time in Mallorca to shop at the pearl factory and in the shops.

The Whisper amplifiers were used on a few tours and they were great.  I think you should make it a condition of tour companies to provide them.  When there is a tour guide speaking to a bus load of tourists it is almost impossible to hear her/him  at the sites with outside noise and noise from other groups.   

The ship's entertainment was good, fun and provided for an enjoyable evening.  The acts that were brought on ship were a very poor quality with the exception of the four tenors.  Some of them could not sing, and their programs were weak. The guy on the drums was super hyped up and he would have honored Pavarotti more if he had spared us the horrible rendition of the song.

The timing for the last night's entertainment was poorly planned.  It was so early that we had to rush through dinner, and others missed it, though truth be told, they did not miss much.

The food.  The first time I had salmon it was excellent, future servings were overcooked, as was most of the fish.  The lamb was overcooked as was the steak. The desserts were a disappointment and  the pastries were dense and dry,  We ate at the buffet and My Time Dining.  The wait staff was excellent.

The couple of games that we participated in were fun because your staff was fun and made the game and evening enjoyable.

sauerkraut was provided the first day for hot dogs and then never reappeared.  Spicy mustard would have been nice with the lunch meats.  Not everyone likes yellow mustard.

The class on the camera was pretty useless.  The class on how to make animals from towels  was too hard to see, and a hand-out on some basics would have been helpful, as would a mirror over the person making the animal.

I was very happy with the dinning room service.Alejandro's service was exceptional. Also the shore excursions were very fun and organized. The shows were spectacular. The room service was very good.Thanks

The crew and ship were excellent.  I need to SPEAK and not email to an Oceania rep who would have the courtesy to help me with the problems we encountered

I was really surprised that we had to pay for shuttles into town at our port stops.  We have never experienced that before. I think that this was probably for anyone who didn't book an excursion through the ship. 

Suite accommodations were out of this world. Food was excellent. Attention to detail was great. Butler and housekeeping services excellent. In cruise shopping adequate. Main dining room was best, but Italian restaurant and French Restaurant also great. Casual on deck dining was always excellent. Spa services were OK but very expensive. Great to have all wine and drinks included. Tips also included.

We were not disappointed with your river cruise in and around Holland.  The choice of excursions was excellent:  we were stunned by the Airborne Museum/Cemetary at Arnhem.  The guide was very informative.  The flower garden visits were spectacular and at the height of their glory.  The ship was in top shape.  The state rooms were very carefully attended to.  The dining staff were great.  Our Cruise Manager, Sonja, was very helpful and accommodating.

Altogether, we have a great vacation - despite the very cold weather - but that, unfortunately, is beyond your control!

This was our second cruise on the Norwegian Star.  The crew was very professional and went out of their way to make our rooms clean and tidy, our meals tasty, especially in the Versailles Dining Room, and our tours enjoyable.  We loved visiting every site.  The only concern we had was visiting Santorini.  This was the reason we took this tour but there were way too many people visiting this tiny island.  There were four cruise ships and a ferry boat at one time.  We were able to visit the charming town of Oia but ran out of time seeing our other tour site due to crowded streets filled with buses from the ships.  I would recommend to NCL to try to visit any of the island ports with only one or two ships.  Overall though it was a very relaxing trip because of the staff of NCL.

The Viking Ocean Cruise Line has beautiful ships and very nice cabins.  We have stayed in an Explorer Suite on two trips on two different ships.  This cabin is much more space than we need, but the views are outstanding, so we spring for the luxury.  In addition the walk-in closet makes the space feel like home instead of a temporary stay.  One item to note for the Explorer Suites on the 3rd floor bow, there is a good deal of noise.  In the evening/night you can hear music coming from the Star Theater below and when docking (which is often in the early morning) you can hear all the winches moving below.  If you go with an Explorer Suite, other location choices may be better. 

The service on board the ship is top notch. Despite the long hours worked by the housekeeping  and restaurant staff,  they genuinely seem anxious to please.  I can not think of a request that was not granted. In addition, they did a great job of anticipating requests; therefore there was actually little to ask for.  Having said this,  one service area on the ship could use some improvement. This area is Excursion Staff. We found if we wanted to do something that was different from their established schedules,  they were resistant and not terribly helpful.  Often they would answer a question before I had completed explaining what I needed and thus didn't even understand the request.  It seemed like their role was to get us into their specific excursions and were not open to anything else.  This inflexibility actually caused us to book fewer excursions than we had wanted to.

Since this was our second ocean cruise with Viking, I was able to compare the two ships and trips.  Both ships are very similar; however I did find small things missing from the second trip (Viking Sea) that made the trip on the Viking Star just a notch above. Some of these small things were hot towels that were offered upon return from each excursion, antibacterial hand wipes handed out on all bus trips, cocktails of the day listed in the Viking Daily news, and the frequent presence of the captain and cruise director among passengers. One final note for improvement is the folks who answer the phones in Los Angeles.  I was given incorrect information on more than one occasion and more than once when I needed help with information or the operation of the website, the customer service department either did not respond at all or responded incorrectly.  It has given me the impression that once the sale is made, the employees no longer are invested in helping.  Perhaps this is a reflection of how pay incentives work. I don't really know why this occurs, but I experienced this type of problem with each cruise. 

Despite these complaints, we were very satisfied with the trip and would absolutely recommend Viking Ocean cruises as well as this specific itinerary.  We enjoyed the trip enough, that we have already put a deposit on a Viking River cruise.

this is my first time cruising with Costa,the impression is not that great to compare with Norwegian Cruise( my frequent cruise liner ). It's hard to understand why they don't serve coffee or tea after dinner,and coffee is available only on certain hours.

English is not the major language on the ship, I guess they cater mostly to the EU people, food is not that great neither, but, as the old saying said,you are paying what you get,so, can't complain too much about it,because the price is really reasonable, I give it a 4 star, because I found it was a quite enjoyable trip.