Europe Cruise Reviews

The places we visited were very beautiful, but getting off the ship, and back to the ship was very difficult, and there was not enough time to enjoy any of the places.

Particularly the last stop at Dubrovnik that landed at 7am before any place was open.  It was a little like a wine tasting - only enough time for a taste, but not enough time to relax and sip a glass anywhere.

Since my regular life is so scheduled, I prefer to go on vacation to relax and not have any time constraints and schedule demands to meet.  This was my first cruise and I thought it was very stressful always having to be somewhere on time.  I would not be inclined to take another one.

Also, we booked a balcony room, mini-suite, that was supposed to accommodate 4 people, but it was very cramped, not enough space for the luggage, and the the 2nd bed was a pull out sofa that was very hard!

Had wonderful dining room service (hats off to Eddie) and great cabin steward (DaDang was really good), Jewelry store staff was terrific (Mariana, Lavinia and Eric). Alex with the Shore Excursions desk was outstanding in helping us pick out meaningful and physically doable tours. Did not like some of the changes to cruising that Holland America and other cruise lines are making. Food was mediocre, and limited in its variety. Main stage entertainment was nothing special, although I did like the fact that they had different lounges for different types of music,

The ship  at full capacity is really tough to navigate,  even though the amenities of a big ship are nice, you wait for everything. Also their customer service is corporate  polite and not really friendly.  Also they uncharge the heck out of you!  The buffet while not classy was  impeccable, clean and good food.  The rooms are a bit tired, rugs dingy bed spread drooping etc...

Just about every time I asked a question wether a food was gluten free I received a different answer for that food. Heard complains about eating from other gluten free travelers. Food had not cards letting us know what was in it.

Checked out teen club to make sure it was not just video game playing.

Was assured that this was not the case. My son went the first day and there was to be an activity, but he was told to play video games......wow. Went back to speak about this and was told no adults allowed..... They had a guy named Turtle (big drug user in tv show?) who talked to me like I was a joke. He had a big smile when I tried to speak to him at end of cruise about a few matters. Only took this company for my 13 year old son. Bad choice. Asked in beginning if my son could go to 12 and under club, he wanted to be active on the ship, they said no he had to go to teen club because he was now 13.

So me and my son kept busy playing all these games on board and got cards checked off, to find myself and my son going all around the ship, by the instructions of stafff who really had no idea where to collect my sons gift. Spend a couple hours been sent from one end of the ship to the other to get nothing but excuses. To top it off I met Turtle.......

If you are gluten free or don t want your kids playing Vedio games all cruise.

Look else where. Please pass this on to the cruise line.

I expected a very nice cruise line but was quickly disappointed, The best part of NCL is the majority of their employees, we met some wonderful people.

The food at the buffet was terrible, no flavor no variety, and every time you turned around the staff was saying you needed to pay more money, the ship was very crowded

I really did not like all the extra charges on the ship, even for decent coffee, nothing special, just a decent cup, the coffee they served to the masses was very low quality.

I wont use this cruise line again

There was not enough security to manage the teenagers at night

Some of the food was missing in the garden cafe such as smoked salmon, prunes an nuts. Had to continually ask for it. Shortage of lounge chairs on the deckNeed 

good price and went where we wanted to go.  all Holland America shore excursions were over priced and to much bus riding sight seeing.  should have more stops to take pictures, than trying to get a picture from a moving bus. not enough variety in night shows, not enough actives on sea days, food buffet was same items day after day for all three meals for short cruises would be ok but not when on 44 days 

Favorite part and the reason for selecting this one was the cities it stopped at to visit.  Improvements on this itinerary would be (1) Notify early on that a Gondola Ride would be available on the first evening in Venice.  Had a frustrating time trying to find out how we could get one on our own.  And then when it was announced on the website, it was more frustrating making a reservation as it indicated space available but wouldn't accept the credit card.  Finally, after numerous tries, we were confirmed.  (2) Included excursions/tours were not very desirable.  When Florence is listed on the itinerary, one would expect an included tour there.  The included tour of Toulon was a waste of time.  We bought more excursions than anticipated.  It was a very good cruise but recommend not going over Easter weekend as the crowds are overwhelming; example, impossible to walk through the streets of Corfu on Good Friday.

The boat is sparkling new, but so is the staff. We spent a portion of every single cruise day at the guest services desk ironing out problems with billing and service issues.

We had a wonderful time on Oceana.  Beautiful elegant ship and the food was beyond incredible.  We loved that we were in a different port each day and we were able to see so many different places.  I believe this ship is geared towards an older crowd.  If I had to improve anything it would definitely be the entertainment.  Not much night life and the shows were below average.  

I have no  complains of the ports that we visited because they are spectacular, but the main complain was the cruiseship has this religious group that composed half of the ship ,I'm not a prejudice when it comes to nationality or religion but MSC catered more for these people with Indian food for the entire cruise and the services sucks because they got busy catering for these group. they should understand that we all paid  the same price so we should all get the same  exact treatment as them . Its not only me and my husband complaining but we spoke also to most  of the cruisers who were complaining  also of the services. The food really don't look appetizing in the buffet, first time I complain about cruise food, never touch the desserts either

The Riviera ship is beautiful! Oceania delivered on the fine cuisine they are known for which is outstanding! The service is also outstanding! But I'm only giving them 4 stars because of the following:

The entertainment needs a lot of help and it doesn't start until 9:30 pm which is late for most people, including us. May I suggest that they have two shows? One for the early diners and one for the late diners. 

The free internet package is also a joke because it is soo slow and intermittent and only allows one device at a time to sign on. This made communicating with my husband a little difficult if we were in different parts of the ship. 

Crown Princess, built in 2006, refurbished in 2011 (we thought again in 2015 but going into dry dock next year) lacked the enclosed protection over the pool which we could have really used.  Both the Balcony and the room was very small, dated and worn out and the shower was super tiny.  Laundry facilities were available on almost every floor which was a huge plus for a TransAtlantic Crossing.

Staff was wonderful and we loved that they had "Happy Hours" that were BOGO for $1.00 (3 times each day but we only did it 4 times.)  International Cafe was free pastries and sandwiches; coffee and/or hot chocolate was $1.67, gelato also but for 3 big scoops. Captain's night was Champagne and Mimosa's. 

Buffet Cafe not very good as they were inclined to serve the same items for several days in a row and choices were not that great.  Omelets had to be ordered delivered so were generally cold. Breakfast and Lunch in the Dining Room had limited menus.  Dinners were excellent and the Servers and the Service were awesome.  

Entertainment was mediocre and activities were inclined to be somewhat limited other than Zumba, Line Dance and BallRoom Dance Lessons for me, silly games and of course Karaoke. But talks, which are hugely popular were scarce. "Movies Under the Stars" were 3 times a day but it was too cold to even think about it.  The movies were excellent and showed the next day in one of the lounges and then again the following day on TV in the room.

We talked to well traveled Princess guests who had the same problem with the ship - even those that had been on it before.  So, thinking the ship is tired and the crew in addition to the ship needs a "lift." 

The Captain was fabulous.  Very vocal, kept us informed, and kept the ship steady even in a "following sea" and winds of over 40 knts.  Days at port were all pleasant and sunny with Ponte Delgada in the 70's, Lisbon and Bilbao in the 60's and LeHavre in the 50's.  Loved Ponte Delgada (Azores) and Bilbao, Spain.  Lisbon is a huge Metropolis, congested and prone to pick pocketingWe took the Hop On / Hop Off (HOHO) bus and used it as a tour, never getting off.  The Shuttle to town in LeHavre was 32 euros (roundtrip for 2) I thought was rather steeply priced.

These ports were fabulous and exceeded our expectations!  Besides the warnings we had for pick-pocketing in Lisbon, we still felt safe wherever we went.  Punta Delgada, Azores had a wonderful walking area along the marina, and it and Lisbon, Portugal had wonderful architecture and cobblestone streets to explore.  In Bilbao, Spain we did a lot of walking to see museums and the old part of the city with Basque history.  From Le Havre, France, we went on the ship's Normandy excursion, in which we saw a lot of territory in 1 day...the beaches and American Cemetery were so moving and the provided lunch at a B&B was delicious!

I have traveled many times on Princess and this is not the level of service I have come to expect from them.  There did not seem to be enough staff to cover all the passengers even though they tried very hard.  The service in the dining room was extremely slow.  They seated my husband and I at a table with 7 other people - it was only designed for 8 people and with 9 it was very crowded.  The waiter often would wait for everyone to arrive - and they were always late.  Even after we asked him to take our orders without waiting we usually ended up finishing up dinner at the same time as the whole table - which meant that there were long periods of time we were just sitting at the table waiting while the others ate.  It also meant that we missed activities we wanted to attend.

Nice way to travel to Europe. Food was good, entertainment and programs were lacking.  Very limited time in Paris with long bus ride each way.  Difficult to get tables for two in the dining rooms.

This cruise from Venice to Barcelona was out fourth trip with Viking but our first sea cruise.  We are planning to take another one.  The ship has less than 1000 passengers but there are still plenty of things to do on board and great entertainment.  Several tours were offered at every port.  And the food on board was fantastic.  

This was our eleventh transatlantic cruise.  Regal Princess went into a shipyard for two weeks upon arrival in Hamburg, and this could mean that there was a reduction in crew staffing.  We had assigned dining in the Concerto dining room and service was so slow!  Our waiter had 5 tables which he served.  As table 4, we didn't get the next course until table 3 had been served.  Princess uses an exotic menu by Chef Curtis Stone.  What you get may not be what you thought you ordered.  We chose to dine in the Horizon Court where you could at least see what you were eating.  That still didn't improve the quality of the food however.  The towels were threadbare, but Princess now offers a "Club Class" which has "enhanced linens".  The bed was uncomfortable and I awoke with a sore back.  Four production shows were outstanding.  You had to be seated about 30 minutes before to get a seat.  The cruise staff introduced balloons for the audience to bat around while waiting.  This is only OK if you don't mind a balloon striking you on the head.  There were two lecturers - one for destinations and another for subjects that he had researched, such as Charles Lindberg for example.  Other entertainment included a ventriloquist, a magician, a comedian, a vocalist, and two pianists.  The cruise staff kept the schedule full with games of trivia, line dancing instruction, and games of skill such as bouncing ping pong balls into a bucket!  The weather was constantly cold (about 50 degrees F) and windy.  There was no one outside, so all of the inside spaces were crowded.  I saw a woman in a coat, waiting for an elevator, to go outside and get a slice of pizza on deck 16.  This was our 35th cruise on Princess (85 cruises overall) and the cruise failed to meet our expectations - primarily due to cold weather and possibly due to reduced staffing.  Do you bring replacement crew onboard now, ln Ft Lauderdale, or four weeks from now when it resumes service in Copenhagen?

Overall the time spent on Regal Princess was very delightful.  One place which I thought they fell short on was the Galley tour, it was not very informative at all.  The stations were all shut and you had no idea what was suppose to be going on at each section, the tour on Island Princess was very informative as they had people working and explained what each section was doing.

Which of one's children is loved the most?  The food was decidedly superior to RCL and NCL  I still enjoy the memory of the baked Alaska, the tenderness of the steaks, the flavor of shrimp, mushroom soup, gravies and sauces, and creme brouillet.  Then there was an outstanding selection of recent movies that I did not get around to the last year at home (again the best selection of movies of all competitors).  Do not forget the ports--four ports, all or which were new to me and quite interesting.  Great crew staff, excellent embarkation and debarkation (although I would wisecrack that I did not see anything "preferred" about preferred boarding).