Other (Asia/Africa/Middle East) Cruise Reviews

We really enjoyed cruising on this smaller ship. It allowed people to get to know one another more, especially after 16 days. We met a lot of nice people and have a lot of good memories. About three days into the cruise the noro virus hit. The staff tried to cover up any blame they might have and put all the blame on the passengers for not properly washing hands or reporting any symptoms (hard to blame them--if you called the doctor you were quarantined to your room for 48 hrs, which means you were not allowed off of the ship, and after the 48 hours you could get off of the ship, but were not allowed on any of the ship's shore excursions). As a nurse who works with infection control in a hospital, I saw a lot of habits by waiters that caused me to believe they were the vectors spreading the virus, but when I talked to the person in charge of dining he denied any wrongdoing. Since there were quite a few people staying on, I wonder if it affected the next group of people who boarded in Bangkok.

Just got back from Mexico on Mercury . I didn't like the gourmet food Quail , frog legs, duck is not my cup of tea. Rooms were nice & roomy ,lots of drawers & closets. Entertainment was good. I don't fine the service that great. Most people rave about the service.

This was our 6th cruise with Holland America and all cruises earlier have been great. This time the entire experience was ruined by the Officers. On the second night out there was a reception for the suite guests in the Neptune Lounge. The captain refused to shake hands with anyone. I guess he has forgotten who pays his salary. Officers would ignore you in the passageways and stairways. When told that a shore excursion had been a problem, the cruise director said it was not his concern. The non-officer staff was wounderful but the attitude of the officers had everyone talking. Many passangers that I talked to said they would never sail on the Statendam again, some said they would never sail with Holland America again, and this was a special Mariner cruise.

The cruise was smooth. The Captain updated us on the weather and course everyday. All the bars around the ship provided outstanding service.

This was a great cruise, we have made lasting memories of wonderful trip. If there is a next time, I think we would do land tour in Japan, plan your own itinerary. Japan's public transportation is easy to navigate.

The Millennium is a large ship. The ship docked at all ports. The staff gave instructions for each port so the passengers can exit the ship orderly. The Oceanview Restaurant on Deck 10 had several stations serving different foods. The seating at times were limited.

Enjoyed the ports of calls very much. Ship experience not as remarkable as our last cruise. Not sure I'd book this line again - definitely not this ship.

I enjoyed the whole vacation. Wish we could have spent more time on the ship itself! Would have preferred a longer cruise. The hotels were great and I believe either a 4 or 5 star! Did enjoy Jordan as well. Loved the JW Marriott in Cairo and at the Dead Sea!!

Typical cruise with stops in several Japanese ports and 1 Korean port. Little Japanese presence on board. Sushi avaiable only at the sushi dedicated Specialty restaurant - never showed up on the Main Dining Room Menu. The excursions we took were excellent. Even just walking around ashore was great, with a few exceptions.

This was an amazing adventure. The Japan ports were so fun. I can't believe how welcoming the people were. Even when walking down a back street, far from the port we saw signs that said "Welcome Royal Princess". The people, food, sights, etc. leave a lasting impression on you. I was fine during the eight (in a row) sea days it wouldn't be my first choice though.

Great Cruise. We will go again and spend more time in each Port.

Serenade is dated and needs a facelift, but all in all, a lovely relaxing cruise, pity there were so many sea days, 4 on the trot, could have stayed in some ports longer, or added one, between Japan and Vietnam

It was Always an ambition to visit Australia and Japan so when this Itinerary appeared there was no hesitation to Book it. It was our first time with Princess, seems to be the Royal Caribbean as our first choice usually. I would not hesitate to do this same Cruise again, we absolutely loved every second of it, the Food and Service were excellent.

Fantastic ship and very good itinerary, staff very helpful. Food great

If you must go with Regent avoid this ship at all costs. I have had better food on cruises that cost half as much. Going back to Viking.

It's interesting how one negative experience can overweight all of the positive and wonderful experiences. We wanted to kayak. I was given a defective dry suit (it was missing a part). I then tried to go to the location in which the suits were located, but no one was there, and it delayed to departure of everyone else (who were given proper dry suits). My wife tried to tell the expedition leader the problem; his response was to berate her and to tell her that she and I were delaying everyone else. He was completely unsympathetic and unhelpful. Another expedition member came to me, got me a proper dry suit, and helped me get onto the Zodiac.

Overall an excellent cruise. The Millennium is a very nice ship, that has recently undergone a full refit giving it a fresh and modern feel.

Our group of 7 family and friends were excited to begin the NCL cruise embarking in Mauritius that we had all been planning months. When we arrived in Mauritius, We received a letter via email saying that the cruise was unable to dock due to health concerns by the port. We were instructed to report at our pre-arranged boarding time to the port. at which time we would receive accommodation until the ship was cleared to dock. We came at the appointed time and waited an hour and a half observing approximately 20 staff milling around and one person processing a long line of passengers. When it was finally our turn the representative was very nice and recorded all of our passports and then supposedly reserved 4 rooms for us at the Casuarina Hotel. We had three young children in our party and because the transportation provided by NCL wouldn't be able to take us to the hotel for hours, we elected to take a private taxi. When we arrived at the hotel , staff and managers of the Casuarina Hotel assured us they had no relationship with NCL and had no reservations in our name. We contacted NCL reservations immediately and they instructed us to find a hotel for the next two nights and that we would be reimbursed instantaneously. For the next 3 hours we visited approximately 15 different hotels that were all full due to NCL's accommodation of the over 2,000 passengers experiencing the same circumstances as we were. At 10:00 pm at night after two of the children had thrown up all over the taxi from car sickness, we reached The Hilton hotel who had three rooms left and informed us that they were accommodating hundreds of the delayed cruise. passengers. We again contacted NCL reservations who assured us that we would be reimbursed for accommodation and meals as well as for meals and transportation outside of the hotel per the per diem in the letter NCL had provided us. During that call and in eight subsequent calls to NCL reservations we asked if the billing could be moved directly to NCL as it was for the hundreds of our fellow cruise passengers being accommodated at the Hilton by NCL. We spent hours being passed from representative to supervisor and back to representative We were ultimately told to submit our receipts and get an instant reimbursement per the letter they had provided Upon our arrival at the port for departure,we were again reassured by the very apologetic cruise staff and management that we would be reimbursed very quickly by NCL in Miami. We followed their exact instructions and submitted the hotel bills as well as our taxi bills and bills for the food consumed outside the hotel during that 2-day period. We received a form letter denial of reimbursement. We reached out to our booking agent who was extremely frustrated with the treatment that we received and contacted the person who signed the form letter . Our booking agent in subsequent calls also reached out to her supervisor and multiple other people in the NCL organization, only to report that she was hitting a brick wall of bureaucracy. To date we have had no contact or follow up from NCL and if not been reimbursed per the letter NCL provided and the multiple assurances from the customer service and cruise staff. Because of the delay in departure NCL eliminated the two ports that had compelled us to book the cruise in Madagascar which meant the cruise sea days were doubled, certainly increasing the revenue of the cruise but leaving many passengers feeling extremely disappointed. The Norwegian Dawn staff put in place mandatory hand washing and many other health practices for the passengers, which we fully supported and followed diligently. Despite following and exceeding all the health guidelines suggested by the ship's staff, all seven members of our party got a severe stomach virus with symptoms of throwing up and diarrhea causing us to leave the cruise a day early in Capetown. One can only deduce that this virus had to be transmitted from the staff's health practices rather than the passengers, given the passengers strict adherence to all health recommendations Our dream vacation became a nightmare and now we are spending more time filing legal and regulatory complaints against NCL in an attempt to resolve the situation. All the best,

This is a bucket list cruise and it doesn't disappoint. Antarctica is majestic and the ports of call are different from what you have probably been used to. If you can, take this cruise on Celebrity because they do it right!

The change in itinerary changed the atmosphere of the cruise. What could have been an outstanding cruise is now overshadowed by the loss of the day in Antarctica. Obviously still disappointed with the way NCL handled this. Not likely to cruise NCL again.