Other (Asia/Africa/Middle East) Cruise Reviews

Ck before you book, specially if book a mini suite with a tub that is not proper, and Japanese toilet sear extremely uncomfortable. Also not much help on board, the ship dock in all commercial ports with nothing around, but dinning service was very good, the PIZZA was the best at sea.

This is our second sailing on the Constellation, in comparison, this sailing the crew appeared less experienced and it was a new itinerary for most of the crew.

Our favorite part of this cruise was the Entertainment and Bar Staff/Sommeliers by far.  All of the shows provided top-notch entertainment, the singers were excellent, as well as the small venue entertainment (soloists, duos, bands, DJ) were also excellent.  The Bar Staff/Sommeliers were very friendly, of course the drink package helped!

The ship needs to go through a serious dry-dock maintenance, as many areas showed rust and wear including sagging floors in our shower and the Ocean View Café.

Itinerary-wise, they could overnight in Hong Kong since there is so much to see and do and not enough time to see 25% of it.  They could skip Manila all together.  Unfortunately due to extreme winds at the tender port of Boracay, we had to skip that port and Kota Kinabalu is still a destination port "in-progress", so maybe wait a few more years before stopping there.

The Shore excursions department really needs to expand their information available to cruisers regardless of whether or not they are on a tour or not.  We did 2 "self guided" tours with the ships transfers, but the maps of the locations were awful and there really wasn't any additional information to help out those not on an organized, escorted tour.

"Traffic Management"

Tour disembarkation - Celebrity still has yet to figure out the best way to distribute the tour bus number stickers to passengers.  This time they had the line wrap through the photo gallery and around, whilst passengers were arriving in the middle of the line via elevators and stairs. 

Philippine Health Inspection - this was ridiculous, people merging and converging into the line from 5 different access points.  All to walk through and hand a piece of paper to the Philippine immigration officers.  No one really say the point of this exercise.

Passport Pick up - DEBACLE, worst location on the entire ship for mass pick up of passports for 2034 passengers, in the Art Gallery!!!

The Art Auction was generally routine, as expected, but the advertised auction for no work over $750 immediately started with many works that were over $3000, all under the guise of "requested art".  This cleared out the room of about 30% within the first 15 minutes of the auction.  During the normal auctions, they were auctioning the high cost art that didn't seem to resonant with anyone, but they kept putting those pieces on the auction block.  Piece of advise for the auctioneer "Read your audience".

The trip was good but changes in dinning made it difficult to do activities the way we wanted to.  Shore excursion staff continually gave us bad info on steps on each tour.  Wine service at dinner was poor always trying to substitute other wines rather than what we ordered and we were on the premium package.

My wife and I were celebrating my 70th, and we enjoyed our holiday despite some serious issues which we had not experienced on 5 previous cruises including a cruise with Constellation. The Luminae Restaurant service is outstanding, food excellent. Our suite same as we have had before was excellent. We particularly wanted to dock at Kota Kinabalu where we had been twice before, and this was a highlight with private trip to Kinabalu national park.  

Our disappointments were over missed transfer from airport in Singapore, poor return transfer; very poor service in specialty restaurants; worse Muster ever had; truncated times in ports so less sightseeing time; poor internet connection.

We were pleased to have visited Vietnam but would not wish to return, Manila is a nightmare; we like Hong Kong and Singapore but had been before.

If one did not stay in  a suite I think this itinerary would be poor. We organised our own private trips , I heard many complaints about Celebrity excursions.       

I sent a 6 page email answering this question to Guest Relations, as well as to my travel agent.  If you would like a copy I would be more than happy to email it to you.  

The nightly dancing entertainment at the Centrum was great.  The band was very good.  The shows were not bad either.  Dinning room and House keeping services were great.

Only complain was the lack of respect for other races on the list.  As long as the cruise ship has even one other races on board, on a special day like New Year to their customs, it should be mentioned and showed respect.  Everybody likes to be acknowledged especially on an important day like that.  The cruise director lack of knowledge on this was shameful indeed.    We Asians tend to be more  polite and keep quiet about it.  But deep down we really felt insulted.

Anyway, something for the cruise directors on all ships to learn that all the customers are important to their business.  They should mention them even when they ask where everybody comes from.  Lately I have seen more and more Chinese, Indians, Koreans and other Asians on the cruise ships, they are not invisible really.

Thanks for taking this for me to let out my steam.  Have a nice day.

Priscilla Chan

it wasnt not as advertised. there were only two restaurants which while good were not outstanding. never mind johnny rockets which was a dive. there was a gay bar but nothing for straight singles to do. they did not dock in either excursion port contrary to what you are led to believe. they nickel and dime you for everything including a 90.00 fee to tour the ship!The cabin was a dump, the couch was filthy. the cabin attendant could not get it through his head i just wanted to be left alone and would call if i needed something. seeing Vietnam was wonderful but here is where they should have spent the night. as it was only five hours. after travel. i am so disappointed, especially since my last royal Caribbean was so great. too many kids as well and you would think there would be asian selections of beer. i feel like i got taken. 

Excellent staff and ship.

We flew in from the US and having a relaxing cruise to adjust to the jet lag was perfect.  We were told that English would be a second language and food would be completely different, but that was not the case at all.  English was first, and although the dishes had a lot more variety, it was that different from taking a Caribbean Cruise.

It was very comfortable and everyone was very helpful on the ship.  Good food and entertainment.

Embarking and debarking was quick and efficient.

This cruise doesn't happen much, but we recommend it for a comfortable way to see several parts of Asia.

As stated, I was billed twice for gratuities for 5 people. That's 500 USD.  I received no refund, or even understanding from staff. If you book this cruise, refuse to pay gratuities as your booking, you will be billed again and forced to pay again out the door. And demand an itemized invoice after you complete your booking. They don't send you one, and as prices are always fluctuating there is no way for you to prove how much of your bill was the ticket price and how much was the gratuities and the health insurance they make you pay for as you book the trip. 

Royal Caribbean has TERRIBLE internal communication! Just try to find out which port your leaving from, you will never find a definitive answer in English. 

Favorite Parts: Panama Canal full transit, food, entertainment, general elegance, history, and ambiance of the ship

Needs Improvement: Cabin (6012) climate control very inconsistent/either too or or too cold; no Coca-cola products on board (!); Internet is too slow and way too expensive

The staff were great and the food was fine.  But this cruise was a trouble one.  The Norwegian Star had mechical problem with one of its propellor in Singapore in December and they informed passengers for this cruise before the sailing of January 16 from Hong Kong that they had to cancel two ports of calls, Ho Chi Ming City and Bangkok.  It was a disappointment to me but as they informed us before the sailing and offered $200 pp on board credit as compensation, I went on with the cruise.  After we visited Bali, the captain announced that the next port of call for Komodo Island had to be cancelled to make up time as there was now. Unrelated issue with the propellor and it was not operatable.  Then we received notice the next day that two more ports were cancelled, Brisbane and Airlie Beach in Australia. NCL upped the compensation to $500 pp obc and 50% cruise credit on amount we paid for this cruise but has to be used within a year.  This created huge protests among passengers as many see the NCL was not being transparent with the mechanical problems associated with the ship and the compensation was not enough to cover the loss of 5 ports of call out of ten.  Eventually, after meetings and negotiation, NCL agreed to change the credit to 100% of the payment paid to thus cruise and there is a 5 year time frame to use the credits.  Some passengers were still not happy as many think they may not be able to cruise again due to age and health issues.  A refund of the cruise fare would make more sense to many.

with the cancelled ports, we had a lot of sea days which were not planned for initially and we arrived Sydney on time on Feb 6. But I had unsettled feeling that this ship is mechanical unsound and should not continue to sail.  NCL is taking a chance to continue to operate it for the rest of its iteninary.

Post Cruise note:  Two of my friends, with many other passengers stayed on the ship to sail to New Zealand.  My wife just received text messages from my friends that the Norwegian Star engine failed and the ship is inoperatable 70 miles at sea from Melbourne.  The ship has to be towed back to Melbourne which may take 20 plus hours.  NCL now have to offer all kind of refunds and compensatiion to passengers that now are put into Avery bad situation out at sea.  The saga of is ship continues to unfold

The on-board experience was pretty good.  Cabin stewards, dining staff and shore excursion staff were helpful, friendly and efficient.  The problems all came from mechanical breakdowns and NCL's mismanagement of the situation.  Five of the original ten ports were cancelled, and two more were rescheduled to later days, making shore excursion availability uncertain (and often unavailable for advance purchase).  NCL staff in Miami were generally unhelpful.  The first two compensation offers were insultingly small, and they only got better when passengers started behaving badly.  Bottom line: a pleasant experience once aboard, but we never would have bought it if we had known the real itinerary.

This was an excellent cruise. Captain and crew treated guests outstanding. Some guests became an angry mob demanding full money back. NCL gave $1000 account credit, 100% of cruise cost less port charges and taxes towards another cruise in the next 5 years.  I thought that was fair. We traveled on this cruise at 50% off last year's cruise price due to problems on POA SF to Hawaii last spring. Will have to spend more air fare to get to another cruise if we book in future so no one comes out 100% no out of pocket expenses for further cruise.

The ports we visited were a great experience. The cruise line left a lot to be desired. Staff were mediocre as were the menu in main dining and buffet area.

We loved everything about this cruise. The cabin was bright and spacious. The food was great. Staff was friendly and helpful. Overall a wonderful experience. 

The Queen Elizabeth design was beige and wood. It reminded me of a traditional British Club. I was disappointed with the lack of glamor.

The entertainment was wonderful and presented in a vibrant setting. The lectures were interesting. There were plenty of public rooms to spread out in. We enjoyed the wonderful service of Puma, our room steward, Louisa in the salon, Robert and Avish in the dining room and the knowledge of wine steward Cletin. The sailing into New York was fantastic! 

The only down note was the immigration process in New York, where some passengers sat all afternoon in the immigration hall until all passengers got off the ship. My husband and I opted to stay in our room and then a public room until final call. We only sat in the hall about one and 1/2 hours.

we loved Sri Lanka and the Maldives. This itinerary allowed us to see a lot of Southern India which other cruiselines do not cover.

Small ship experience

For me, the best part was the sea days.  These were the most relaxing days and gave us time to socialize with our travel companions.  The ship's entertainment was good, especially the Stardust shows and the Melodic Trio who performed nightly in the Atrium.

As for port stops, I wish there had been more Level 1 excursions.  We did take and enjoyed an excursion of the Vung Tao highlights and the Hong Kong highlights with airport transfer. 

Nice Aqua Class cabin with balkony. The BLU restaurant is a lovely addition to the ship. Excellent service at the restaurant. Our waitress from Indonesia, Novalia was the most pleasant, thoughtful and helpful person.

We really missed Michael,s bar. It is only for Members and nobody was there....

We were really unsatisfied with the entertainment. Not even one piano player in one of the bars. Instead 2 violin player girls were playing in a bar every afternoon. Very boring!!! They don,t have  many activities during the day comparing with other cruiselines. No country line dancing classes!!!!! Basicly, yes it was a boring cruise. Of course the places we were visiting were fantastic!!!

ABu Dhabi, Muscat, Oman, Khasab, Oman and Dubai!!!

We greatly enjoyed our Azamara cruise. They went out of their way for it to be a festive time. The service was excellent, the food was good, and the itinerary had enough diversity of shore time and at sea.

Some of the features in the room were showing wear, which is surprising since they just did their major refurb. But, it did not diminish our enjoyment of the cruise.