Overall a really wonderful cruise, but without a doubt Iceland was the best part. We really feel we could spend weeks in Iceland and not see everything. The only drawback of course is the cost. A cruise is an economical way to get a feel for it, and the three stops we made were perfect. We had one pretty rocky day at sea and lots of people were sick - but the size of the ship made it quite manageable.
Embarkation
5 out of 5
Extremely efficient embarkation in Amsterdam - lines moved quickly and was very well organized.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
4 out of 5
Everything we tried was excellent. We primarily used the Lido cafeteria style because we all have different food preferences. I would have liked to try Tamarind. We did try the Dutch Cafe - food was ok, coffee ok - we only did it once. We went to the Deli/Pizza spot quite a bit - very convenient and tasty
Onboard Activities
4 out of 5
all good - no standouts
Entertainment
4 out of 5
Production values for the shows were great - really excellent and engaging stage and performers were great with couple of exceptional standouts (two of the dancers and the female singer). BB King was amazing as usual
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
really amazing - room stewards were lovely, and as usual there are always a couple of really excellent people at every station. Well trained, and service-oriented.
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
I thought the layout was clever. They added multi-purpose space in quite a few spots, which was a great idea.
Cabin / Stateroom
4 out of 5
perfectly fine cabin - there were three of us, so once the bed came down it was a bit cramped, but really very functional otherwise. We three could fit on the balcony if one of us sat on the footstool (which was fine). There was some noise from the Lido pool deck during the movies, but as we were typically watching one in the room anyway it didn't matter much
Ship tip
eat breakfast by the pool as there are far fewer people there.
We arrived in Edinburgh for Fringe Fest and INternational Art Festival. As a result, we took in a play. It was terrific and we felt very lucky. There were loads of great street performers (and some not so great). The castle was good, but honestly not my favourite part. The second day we hired a taxi driven by Terry and he took us to St Andrews along the coast. It was a lovely day of visiting countryside.
Urquart Castle and Lock Ness were beautiful. We hired a taxi and went there. Our driver didn't really listen to what we wanted so we ended up not having enough time to get to Culloden (which is too bad). If you hire a taxi, make sure they listen to what you want not what they want you to do.
We didn't even get in to the city - instead we hired a car and drove first day out the peninsula (we got in late so couldn't do as much as we wanted). The second day in the car we did the golden circle tour and we were amazed at the beautiful scenery. Really make sure that you spend time out of the city in this port, stunning!
We did no excursions here and were very happy with that choice. the city has a free bus and one of the routes takes you all around so you can see everything. we then walked along the harbour to the old town, which was lovely. They have done a fantastic job on the waterfront, and it's easy to tour by yourself. We had lunch at the Blaa Kanan cafe - which was good and typically expensive. The port souvenir shop has the best deals
We took a pretty pricey taxi to the Stave Church and were very happy to have done so. There's a nice walk to the church and while it's a reproduction it is nonetheless remarkable. We also took the tourist train here because we didn't want to wait 2 hours for the funicular, nor did we want the hop on hop off. the little train has a lookout stop and it suited us fine. We walked back to the ship along the harbour and enjoyed the old wharf. It was really fantastic.
*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.
