A fabulous first experience which has given us a taste for this type of holiday.
Embarkation
5 out of 5
Embarkation was easy and quick.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
4 out of 5
In MDR whilst the food was good it wasn't particularly hot. There were too many dishes repeated every night. Desserts were OK but not brilliant. We ate here every evening and one lunchtime.
Windjammer - great selection of food, always hot. Desserts were a disappointment. We ate here at breakfast and lunch only.
Onboard Activities
4 out of 5
We only played golf and shuffleboard (which could do with new sticks) and enjoyed both.
Entertainment
5 out of 5
Westend to Broadway was excellent, we were very impressed.
Coco Loco were very good and the pianist in the Schooner Bar was good too.
Children's Programs
We didn't have children with us.
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
Each member of crew we encountered gave excellent service and worked extremely hard.
Schooner Bar would benefit from more staff as there was often a long wait as cocktails take a long time to make.
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
Although the ship is showing its age in places everywhere was clean and there was always signs of maintenance going on, this wasn't intrusive.
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
Whilst fittings were scratched through wear and tear the cabin was kept very clean. The bed was very comfortable, it had 2 toppers on. We were pleasantly surprised at how big the balcony was - we asked for 2 extra chairs and 4 of us could comfortably sit around the table on there.
Ship tip
The MDR is quite cool at night, make sure you have something to keep you warm.
The old town was less than a 5 minute walk from the ship and was lovely. We got away from the main area and had a coffee in a little B&B/coffee shop. It was so pretty and really clean. We did the tourist train which covered the new town which did not appeal to us, lots of high rise hotels packed in.
We did a ship tour of Santorini which covered Oia, Fira and a winery. It was really busy everywhere as there were 5 ships in. The buses were finding it difficult to drop off and pick up and we didn't have time to do the winery tour. The wine tasting and snacks were also very rushed. Our guide was very knowledgable about the island. Oia and Fira were both very beautiful.
We did the hop on hop off bus trip. We used the company that RCL recommended and booked on the ship with the Greyline rep, the cost went on our Seapass- 30$ each. When we got to the bus the company beside us was 16$ each. Not a good start! The traffic was very heavy and we were on the bus for almost 2 hours before reaching the acropolis. The queues were huge and we decided to cut our losses, only look at it from a distance and continue into the city. Again the city traffic was only crawling along. We got off the bus and had a lovely traditional Greek lunch before walking back to the Acropolis to get the bus back to the port. Not the best of days!
We did the ship's Pompeii tour and it was excellent. It was a 30 minute journey , we were given radios to listen to our guide and this worked very well. The tour lasted 2 hours and was very informative. We would recommend this tour.
We did this cruise a few years ago and also had a wonderful experience. Was this your first cruise or just first Mediterranean cruise? Your review really sounds like an experienced traveller and did not allow imperfections to interfere with your enjoyment. In any case, glad you had an enjoyable experience and with a little bit of adventure mixed in
*Cruiseline.com is not a booking agent or travel agency,
and does not charge any service fees to users of our site. Our partners
(travel agencies and cruise lines) provide prices, which we list for our
users' convenience. Cruiseline.com does not guarantee any specific rates or
prices. While prices are updated daily, please check with the booking site
for the exact amount. Cruiseline.com is not responsible for content on
external web sites.
Contact us
Submitting...
Need help from a personal vacation planner?
Loading...
Find the perfect cruise with weekly tips and cruise deals for as little as $30/night!
Sign up for weekly cruise deals
Join other subscribers and get the best
cruise deals of the week in your inbox every Thursday.
