Ideal Eastern Med Cruise

Cruises: 7+ cruises

Reviews: 2

Helpful Votes: 36

Review summary

This was our 12th cruise, 2nd in the Med. We have cruised New Zealand, Australia, Alaska, across the Atlantic and all over the Caribbean. We have traveled to Asia (Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, Hong Kong and Japan) and extensively in Europe (and the U.S. of course) countless times. Main Dining First of all, your head chef Joe is amazing. His recipes and execution are impeccable and 5 star. If he is directly responsible for the efficiency of the kitchen, then he gets 6 stars! If there is a kitchen manager behind the scenes other than Joe, he or she is to be highly commended. I have never had such great service even from the best restaurants (and we’ve been to some of the best around the world). Timing is everything in food service. The timing of food delivery was such that hot food came out very hot. The cold came out very cold. Even the salads were cool but not icy (which speaks to the efficiency of the prep work). I’ve only had better service at my own house! Our service team (which we enjoyed for about half the cruise) was also outstanding. The team of Santanu, Omar and Keith, our sommelier, had absolutely perfect timing. Our wine glasses were never empty, the spacing of the courses was right on time, and the attention to detail was exceptional. This team outperformed the specialty restaurants (we tried all three). The only criticism I have is the temperature of your red wine. It was all too warm! Red wine should be stored at 55 degrees F. I was forced to commit the cardinal sin of adding ice to my reds. I even asked Keith to ice one down for a few minutes. Your wine choices were excellent but I would have liked more mid-priced options. Great wines are not always expensive. As it is, we spent about $500 on wine over the 10 days. Excursions We had two formal excursions, one sponsored by Celebrity, the other by . I will share our experiences with both. In Istanbul, we took a half day tour of the major sites on a Celebrity tour. It was pretty good, but lacked one critical element: FOOD. Every excursion that exceeds 4 hours should include food. I can’t stress this enough. After about 3 hours, you can’t process what you are seeing. You need a bathroom break and food. This has happened a few times in our travels and is a sore point with me. Locals are the best source of potential food options (hopefully steering one away from touristy junk food). We enjoyed such a treat on the United tour of Ephesus. Even though it was tied to a commercial venture (in this case, a carpet vendor), we were served marvelous local food at a perfect point in the tour. The other issue with excursions is there was precious little advance information on ports we visited. Key information such as top activities and closings were either omitted or scarcely mentioned. We missed the Grand Bazaar, belly dancings, whirling dervishes and a visit to Hagia Sophia in Istanbul all because we were ill-informed of closing days and evening entertainment options. As travelers, we bear some of the responsibility of planning our travels, but YOU are the experts on the ground in these places and, at a minimum, should highlight the not-to-be-missed options in every port and ensure there are sponsored excursions to take them in. Entertainment With one notable exception, the entertainment on the ship was sub-par. Even Carnival has better talent. Stephen Barry was the exception. The man should be on Broadway! Sing-alongs and silent discos are fun (the one out on deck was particularly so), but the talent was sorely lacking. Your cruise director needs to spend a little time in Dublin or NYC finding real talent. General The ship was an ideal size, not too big, not too small. Oddly, there were no elevators or stairs aft or forward, just two sets amidships. A bit too crowded by the pool on days at sea. Too much space wasted on upper decks with a grassy space (?) and odd side rooms. But hardly ever a long line for disembarking or dining. A few tips for the two main cities on our trip Athens: We stayed in Athens both before and after the cruise (after a brief visit to Vienna as our entry port for Europe). Our hotel, Athens Gate, was in a perfect location and very affordable. It boasts a rooftop restaurant (with fantastic food) with a view of the Acropolis. The shopping alleys of Plaka are not to be missed. The Hop-on bus is a waste of time. Although we routinely take one in major cities, I would not recommend it here. You see half of the sites on the way to/from the airport and the port. I would also not recommend the Monastiraki area. Far too risky for my blood. Istanbul: The port area is thriving and alive all day and most of the night. Great views of the city from there and terrific Turkish food right next to the ship. The port restaurants are full of locals (that’s how you know they are good). Highlights of the city are many but make sure to see either the Grand Bazaar (closed Sundays!) or the Egyptian Spice Market, Hagia Sophia (also closed Sundays) and the Blue Mosque (which is spectacular at night). Take in a belly-dancing show and/or a whirling dervish show. A cruise on the Bosphorus is a highlight for some.

Embarkation

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

Onboard Activities

Entertainment

Children's Programs

Service and Staff

Ship Quality

Cabin / Stateroom

Ports of call

Piraeus (Athens), Greece

Mykonos, Greece

Santorini, Greece

Istanbul, Turkey

Kusadasi (Ephesus), Turkey

Rhodes, Greece

Disembarkation

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