Other (Asia/Africa/Middle East) Cruise Reviews

We planed this cruise year ago. We wanted spend time all holiday in the cruise ship.    Ship were very old. Nothing fancy, elegant in the reception area. There is no lobby. Usually I take a lot of pictures, but was not this time. Not so many people are dress up for the gala night. Quality of food was better than Princess. They make fresh pancake or serve you salad, but getting food in buffe there is long line everyday. I do not believe it. Getting omulets takes 10 Minuit, getting Salad 7 minuit everyday. I could not do this ever day for 28 days. They have small swimming poor that was everyday occupied by kids. Price of tour seemed to be expensive to me, because it's cost you only 3 hour tour over $ 100. There are some complimentary Shuttle by Holland America in some city, but they do not tell you in advance.

Only thing I miss a lot is dinning staff. They are working very hard, very friendly and nice. Do I take another cruise with Holland America?

Even thought I liked dinning, I probably not. Proses to getting bord, I had bad customer service, too.

This cruise, although pricey, was a wonderful way to see Africa.  It was worth every penny for the trip of a lifetime.  An all-inclusive cruise may be on the horizon again in my future.  It was so nice not having to be charged for anything outside of going to the shops or the spa.  The room was spacious with a sitting room and a balcony.  Our cabin stewardess was the best.  and the food...filet mignon and lobster tail every night of the week if you wanted it.  The only frown I would bestow would be the entertainment.  It was so-so, but they did have wonderful lecturers on board from the Smithsonian.  They also had free laundromats on board to be able to wash your clothes for such a long trip.  Would I cruise with Regent again - absolutely.

Princess cut a lot of corners on this refit.  Looks good on the outside.  Between the fires floods and exlosion

 it was the worst dry dock I have ever been a part of. Every couple days I Google the sun princess to see how it is doing ,because I know something bad is going to happen. I would never go near this ship ever again.  We call it the slum princess.  Or the scum princess for a reason. 

The final sailing of the Splendour of the Seas will surely remain one of my most memorable ever. 16 remarkable days with an itinerary of varied cultures and 4 alphabets. There was a nice mixture of sea days and port days. The staff was wonderful, so much so that most of the passengers felt their sadness as their "family" was breaking up and going separate ways at the end of the journey. The condition of the ship, the food, the cabins (wonderfully comfortable beds!) were outstanding - no slacking off even though the ship was being retired. An amazing trip! Thank you! 

We had originally booked on the cruise after this which was scheduled as a Chinese New Year Signature Sailing, but when Celebrity chartered the ship, we moved to this cruise as the itinerary was almost the same.

The service was generally what we had come to expect from Celebrity from previous cruises, but there were a couple of standouts such as Maria in Cafe al Bacio and Sever, one of the somelliers in the main dining room.

While most people go to the buffet for breakfast and lunch, give the main dining room a try, as the food there is as exceptional through the day as it is at night.

If you get the opportunity, try the progressive dinner (limited spaces available) which samples the food and experience in each of the specialty restaurants on the ship (one restaurant per course).

We did have a slight change to our itinerary (extra night in Hong Kong) as a result of bad weather.  Even delaying our departure we experienced 18ft waves the day after Hong Kong.  The ship was prepared, putting out extra paper bags around the ship for ill passengers affected by the high seas.

Overall a great cruise and some very interesting ports (particularly Vietnam).

The quality and number of exotic, new-to-us destinations on this cruise made it a thoroughly enjoyable and memorable experience.  Highlights included Malta (perfect location for a Segway tour with all it's hills), Crete (hired our own expert in Minoan civilization as a guide - Marilina Paters was fantastic), Muscat and UAE (especially Dubai - incredible architecture, and the light and water shows at the base of Burj Khalifa at night), Myanmar (overnight excursion to Bagan to tour the ancient temples; Yangon - Shwedagon pagoda at night), Singapore and Bali.

What a fantastic cruise. Group of 10 friends - we all had a wonderful time.  The boat is a perfect size not too big. So clean. The staff are all friendly and polite and always helpful. The Martini Bar was our favourite watering hole for a yummy cocktail or the best vodka - glad we did the premium drink package! The food in all the restaurants was of a high standard with plenty of variety. Thanks to our waiter Chris at the Martini Bar who looked after us all. We had a balcony room on deck 7 and it was ideal.  Shower was maybe a little small and not always cold water flowing but didn't spoil the cruise, weren't in the room that long anyway. The entertainment on board was of a good quality. Would totally recommend this ship and have already booked a new cruise.  

This ship is beautiful and we so enjoyed times of relaxation and renewing while we were sailing. This ship has the unique feature of having the most well balanced engine of any ship we have been on. With the calm seas, we often had to look outside to really see if we were still moving. There seemed to be absolutely no vibration what so ever when we were underway. And like we are trying to say with this picture, we wish our vacation could simply go on for ever. 

Viking River cruises delivered a superb experience in every way. From booking/planning and arrival, each step was shephearded by my United Cruises consultant and I couldn't have asked for a better experience. Our United flights were excellent, the Tour was completely escorted, including all baggage handling, all meals for 12 days, 3 internal flights within China and some included and optional evening entertainment. The initial touring around Beijing included major sites and descriptive insights by our tour escort/tour guide. Xian was the high-point featuring the Terra Cotta Warriors and then free time to explore the local Pagoda. The 4 night cruise was a wonderful way to get to know passengers from other buses and see the beauty of the river and the 3 Gorges. I was pleasantly surprised to find the ship had a tailor on board making custom silk clothing, an artist producing paintings in front of our eyes and pearl jewelers who make pearl jewelry per your own design all overnight at a very reasonable price. There was even a tea ceremony section where the tea expert spent considerable time educating and delighting all of the passengers . The evening entertainment featured our ship staff performing ethnic Chinese song and dance. This was so distinctive and different from large cruises.  Our fellow guests were a wonderful mix of academics (teachers/professors) and other professionals. Sharing our interests and views of the trip as we experienced together made the journey even more special. Viking attracts a very educated clientele, including young couples, families with teenagers and young adults as well as middle age and slightly older crowd.  This trip was definitely a bit strenuous for the guests in their mid-late 70's.  We were very pleased with this trip in every way from cost to experience.

We just completed the Viking trip to China that started in Shanghai and ended in Beijing.    It included the terra cottas in Xian as well as the 3 gorges dam on the Yangtze.   It was an excellent trip and really well done by Viking.    We had not been on a Viking tour before, but it was definitely a great experience.   We plan on going on more in the future.   We were able to see all of the important things in China with this tour, which was well organized, great tour guides, and the weather cooperated for us as well.   The fellow travelers we had on the trip were also great, and we thoroughly enjoyed their company.   I would highly recommend this trip for anyone who wants to see all the highlights in China with a great tour group.    All of the hotels were 5 star, and excellent.    The in country flights that we took were also convenient and top notch.   We loved it.    

i was on same boat 2 times before, i love this ship and crew, but i was never know fact this is crossing will be involved with pirates area in yemen, fact we have security on board with army ''TOYS'' made me nerveous from time it is was annonce and last 6 days of cruise from 16 days i was not feel comfortable, from over 30 cruises i take it is was first time in my life situation ..alsoi i was very unhappy with noise in my room 10230 in previous cruise on may 2nd and after this similar line 12230 with pneumatic sounds noise on middle of night, made me feel tired and dont sleep well for week, it is finally was resolved on this cruise, but i already was feel exosted from non sleeping for 1 week, i got same size room just diffrent side of ship 8630 and it is was not noise,, also royal caribbean was ssold for this cruise internet service, which was not working for many days at all, and few days in and out all time, mot only slow.. only highlights of this cruise was great captain Sresco Ban and cruise director Ken Rush who made as feel optimistic..i also meet couple from russia room 13210 who come from moscow and dont read and dont speak any language exsept russian, unfortenatly on this cruise was not one person from personal was able to translate for this guest programm, so i did assist this couple during this cruise, i think if company selling cruise russian speaking clients, should have programm and menue in restaurant at least omn russian language ,in case dont have russian ambassador...if i have knowledge about this destination and pirates area i will not booking this cruise, we all passenger on board was nerveous for 6 days after we learn about this situation

Excellent food on the specialty restaurant, very good on all others, best Pizza on sea, and may be in all lots of places . ship ok, Capitan no way to be found, main desk not so great in giving information. Asia cruise must watch on the buffet on the 14th fl. that they touch food with there hands, and putting back. other than that was a very good experience.

I will keep this concise and to the point. Major shop fitting/building work taking place on the ship throughout the 7 days, Cutting , grinding and drilling on a continuous basis. This is not classed as routine maintenance in my opinion. The main bar was regularly closed for "exclusive cocktail parties"??? This severely limited your chances of sitting down and enjoying a drink. Breakfasts were poor. Toast was like cardboard, no beans and the cereals were cheap and nasty imitations. The grill was only open 12 till 3. The restaurant only catered for Italians and the portions were tiny. The restaurant food was presented well but this did not hide the poor standard of the meals being offered. I was often hungry in the evening but there was literally nowhere to grab a snack after having your evening meal. The theatre`s entertainment was extremely poor. The general entertainment was poor. The ship was old and tired. The holiday was ruined by the time spent on the ship. Princess cruises was a far more enjoyable experience. 

This trip began with a 2-night stay at the Shangri La Hotel in Bangkok, a gorgeous hotel with wonderful buffets in the dining room for breakfast (included) and dinner.  The first morning included a visit to the Grand Palace/Temple which we did not take because we had been there twice.  Other travelers complained about how crowded and hot it was, but they enjoyed the shopping.

Our boat was very nice - small and sort of "African Queen".  The rooms were teak - pretty small but adequate with private bathrooms and access to the communal veranda with chairs.  The boat could hold 58 passengers but we were a group of 12.  This made for a nice "family" tour, but didn't provide the desired tips for the crew.  

Burma has only been open to tourists for a few years and this is a good chance to see it while still relatively unspoiled.  We saw many fascinating small villages and lots of beautiful temples and pagodas.  All the shore excursions were rated 2 (moderate) but this did not take into account the fact that the river was VERY low, so that we had to climb to the river bank to get to where the busses could come.  In the hot (102) and humid weather this was difficult - mostly a fairly high bank of sand into which the crew cut steps.  Our tour guide was excellent, the crew was wonderful, and the food was exceptionally good.  The excursions were just the right length, and any "down time" was appreciated.  We appreciated the opportunity to pay a lump sum to include tipping for the crew and excursion expenses.

This is unlike other river cruises, as the boat is much smaller than most and does not offer a beverage package.  The spots where we anchored are not conducive to leaving the boat unattended to look around although occasionally someone did.  It is not dangerous - only difficult to climb up and pretty isolated.  The nightly cocktail hour (drinks with local beverages were included) watching the beautiful sunsets were very pleasant.

As veteran cruisers, we were markedly disappointed in our cruise experience on the Sapphire Princess Feb 15–28. We had been looking forward to a new experience after having been on Celebrity multiple times, Royal Caribbean and Carnival

While we had some individual highlights, here were our issues: 1) The overall crew attitude was not been welcoming, as if we had been a bother to them. In fact, they seemed more interested in socializing with themselves. Example of poor service: My room card stopped working--went to desk-- said she would replace it, but reprogrammed it instead. Went to room, still didn't work and had to go back. Employee blamed me for why it didn't work. This happened a week later again--  scolded again but none of the staff ever said sorry for my inconvenience, even when I called this out after the 3rd episode.  The irony is that Princess shows you on TV their service standards and their acronym for the program? Based on our experience, the acronym should be FAIL! 2) Dining-- no question, the worse service and quality of food of any cruise we've been on-- it seems as though  Princess was going cheap. Only positive is having lots of fresh fruit around. Service from our waiter Francisco was very impersonal at best, the bus boy, Joni, was useless-- in-attentative and incompetent. He couldn't answer any of our questions about the menu. The Maitre'd in the Dining Room was not helpful either, never smiled.  The menu repeated twice in our 12 days on board --exactly the same--which we found disappointing. Even though our expectations were not super high, we stopped going to our assigned table in the Vivaldi dining room at 8 pm the last several days because the service was better elsewhere. This is not very efficient for Princess and leaves us, the passenger, with a bitter taste in our mouth. The positives--excellent system for getting you off the boat for shore excursions and disembarkation.

I don't think this is us being overly picky--many others on our cruise felt the same and were going to be telling Princess about it.  One comment we heard from veteran Princess cruisers was that you have to know how to work the system and demand to get what you need. I feel that I shouldn't have to work that hard on my vacation since I do that at work all of the time.

There were other issues, but the bottom line is this:  Make sure your cruise is not 2 separate cruises put together, otherwise you will get repeat dinners in the main dining room and repeat entertainment shows without getting credit for going on 2 cruises. Also, fellow cruisers told us that service varies ship to ship and, in their experience, the Sapphire Princess was one of the worse. 

If you are very price conscious, then maybe this cruise will be acceptable for you. For us, we'll be looking to go back to Celebrity whenever possible.

I booked a back-to-back itinerary which took me from Mumbai, India to Singapore, with ports (many overnights) in India, Sri Lanka, The Maldives, Myanmar and Thailand. This was a fascinating itinerary and the many overnights al;lowed for in-depth touring. In most ports I booked one of the ship's excursions (the excursion staff was the most knowledge and helpful I've experienced on over 50 cruises) while going on my own or booking a private tour (there is an onboard concierge to help with this) when we were in a port for 2 days (actual;ly 2 nights & 3 days in Myanmar). However, while I was attracted by the ports of call, what also stands out in my memory is the warm hospitality of the onboard service staff coupled with food that overall equalled or surpassed that that I've enjoyed on luxury lines, including Seabourn. Fellow passengers were, as one might expect, well traveled and a joy to meet for good conversation and congeniality. The Azamara Journey's officers were also very visible, including the Captain, and mingled socially with the guests. While my luded fine boutique wines at lunch and dinner, these are now complimentary in all bars as well. One of my favorite hang-outs was the coffee bar, where (again complimentary) specialty coffees and snacks are available throughout the day. Bottom Line: Azamara Club Cruises offers one of the best values in the business for guests who are seeking a combination of interesting itineraries, overnights in ports and the warmest service and some of the finest cuisine at sea. Bravo Azamara: Well done.

We did the 14 Day Asian Explorer on the Zaandam out of Hong Kong in February 2012.  To date we have sailed Holland America Lines (HAL) seven times and will sail the Zaandam again at the end of this month. 

We are looking forward to sailing the Zaandam again, to see how well they have refurbished it since we sailed in 2012.  To be honest, one of our few complaints was the Zaandam was showing it's age.  We were advised that it was going to dry dock soon for refurbishment. 

Once again, we were fortunate to be staying in the Penthouse Suite (now known as the Pinnacle Suite), which not only has a very nice cabin, but, gives you access to the Neptune Lounge, with their own concierge service, and priority to restaurant seating, embankment, disembarkation, and other perks.

As we sailed HAL over the last eleven years we felt they have had great service and food, but, in the last few years, it appears to us that their parent company, Carnival, has been making some cutbacks on Holland America ... maybe too many. 

The other concern we have with the Zaandam and HAL in general is that need more restaurants.   The Zaandam only has four restaurants.  That gets old really fast on longer voyages or if you travel HAL often.  We will be trying NCL for the first time on their mega ship, the Epic, as they have 21 restaurants.  Regardless, we do think HAL is a class act.

The Rotterdam Dining Room (Main Dining Room) offers good service and food.  The menu does vary from day to day yet offers some constant mainstays for people who do not want to try anything new.  

The Pinnacle Grill, their specialty steak and seafood restaurant, offers fine food with excellent service.  There is a fee, but, it is well worth it and I highly recommend eating there.  You need to make your reservations as soon as you get on board as it does book up fast.

I also recommend the Canaletto restaurant that offers Italian food.  There is also a fee for this restaurant, but, once again, well worth the price.  This is located within the greater Lido restaurant area, but, has it’s own section.

The Lido restaurant offers buffet style food.  It changes it’s menu daily and actually serves some of the dishes offered in the main dinning room.  During peak times it can get very crowded, but, overall does move quickly.  Window seats do go quickly.  Most evenings they do offer a late night (around midnight) snacks and light meals.

This ship is outstanding. I really enjoyed everything. My reviews are all the same because I haven't found a cruise that I didn't enjoy. Believe me IF I DO I WILL CALL THEM OUT. As for now, Everyone I've taken has been OUTSTANDING.