OK this site wants me to type more so here it goes. My lovely wife of 32 years were considering the world cruise and she said Whoa! Our first experience on an ocean cruise was a tiny ship in Alaska I think it held 60 people. That was an amazing experience and our son was 10 then. Our second was Carnival Cruise the Mexican riviera and it was horrible even with the suite we hated every moment from embarkation to debarkation. We did that cruise for our teenage son to socialize all he did was read LOL. We have done 4 AMAWaterways trips and loved them but those were river cruises. So When it was announced Viking was doing a world cruise the same day I booked ES1 cabin 4000 put a deposit down and happily called my life partner and she said WHAT ARE YOU CRAZY! She pointed out the horrible Carnival Cruise experience and said what the ^%$& are you thinking. I promptly called the best travel agent and she was yea its a long trip but its the best ocean cruise not a Carnival cruise at all. She suggested a 14 day and I went for the 21 and suite 4000. With that said here we go. First the transfer to the hotel (four nite pre cruise) was flawless and tours amazing in a wonderful hotel. Our guide was awesome picture My Big Fat Greek Wedding. Embarkation was smooth as silk. The room; well lets just say like home. Our steward Mohamed and his team made us feel like we were at home and we wanted for nothing. Never waited in a line and never for want of a pool chair or towel or a drink. Our mornings were greeted by Gregory the Viking bartender, he also woks in the Restaurant, Alway a pleasant smile and makes the best coffee on the ship in fact the best I ever had. He always put Mr Dan and Mrs Lisa on the lids with smiley faces. The food was incredible Ellard and Glen always made us feel like we were the only ones in the restaurants. The Kitchen table experience was our favorite shopping with the Chefs in Monaco was Perfect. All tours were amazing and frankly to many to thank we cant think of much to change. What we did not like: The internet is horrible I can fly at 40,000 feet at 680 MPH and get better internet. The TV channels are lacking but movie selection was great. And on departure they had a lousy exchange rate to pay your bill in EUROS and a 3% fee. Were in Europe for gods sake be fair and convenient. Kind of a sucker punch at the end of the cruise. I just put it on my card and got a way better exchange rate and no fees from bank of america. We booked two more ocean voyages with Viking and were looking at that world cruise! :) Read Less

Hi All, My trip Aug 27th from Athens on the Crystal 7 Day Idyllic Aegean Cruise was beyond what I expected. With only 476 cabins this makes for a nice intimate group with no line ups. The extra pluses like all inclusive drinks, free tours and no tipping quickly made this my top favorite cruise of all time. The guests themselves were 40-75 age group comprised mostly of Canadians and Europeans. No language barrier at all as the staff for the most part are fluent in 5 languages. Very few children which does not exclude families but there is not a huge children's program and the sheer amount of walking and exploring would be difficult for kids or seniors with mobilty issues. Having said that the ship herself does accommodate physically challenged passengers. The food was superb with a la carte and buffet style options. We had a pre reserved table every night and we loved getting to know the staff. The food was international style with a North American flair and every meal was different and presented in the most elegant way. They do offer upgraded menu items like Lobster and select wines but we didn't feel the need to upgrade. I can not say enough about the hard working and friendly staff. By day 2 they knew us by name and we were always greeted in a friendly way. The cabins were spotlessly cleaned and had all the special touches you would find on any other larger cruise ship. Towel service, turn down service, cute towel animals and chocolate on the pillows. Our cabin was a large picture window which was lovely arriving in each port. I would have upgraded to balcony except there were none to book last minute. The best thing about this cruise is that it actually overnights in many of the Greek ports which give guests a chance to experience day and nightlife without having to rush to get back on ship. It was great to be able to explore these destinations on our own. The tours were amazing and very informative, especially Turkey which was a wonderful surprise as we were slightly nervous about going there. At no time did we ever feel any port or locals were dangerous. Of course there were lots of vendors selling their wares and for the most part they were ready to bargain and the clothing, jewelry and trinkets were truly authentic. I would not travel in August again just due to the thousands and thousands of tourists in each port every day plus the heat which was in excess of 38C every day. I would highly recommend this cruise to any of our valued customers and do recommend a few pre/post nights to unwind before the cruise. I will be telling anyone who is willing to listen how fantastic this experience was. Read Less

This was our second Viking Star cruise, first the Inagural year Venice to Istanbul. We arrived in Athens three days early an toured on our own. Once we boarded the Star, we felt we had arrived home. The most welcoming part was several of the bartenders remembered us from two years prior. When you are addressed as Mr. Lang and welcome back, that was it, this was going to be a great trip. Tours— Highly recommend Mykonos by 4X4 vechicle trip, Nazareth & Sea of Galilee Shore Excursion, and last and most memorable From Naples The Vistas & Villages of the Amalfi Coast Shore Excursion. The last one stops in Sorento shipping and Delightful 3 Star restaurant lunch. The road trip along the coast were as advertised most scenic, I finally got the Amalfi Coast off my bucket list after 3 prior visits. Food— My favorite Restaurant is Manfredi’s, memorable fine dining, Chef’s Table was disappointing both trips, the Restaurant is better. My breakfast and late night treat was Mamsen’s in the Explorer Lounge on Deck 7. Interesting note the Executive Chef David McDonald is the only cruise chef I have ever seen throughout the ship we’re food is served- “inspecting the troops”, so to speak, everyday. He has the time to talk to guests- a mark of a true professional. Future bookings and discounts were not available on this cruise because of the official reservations agents departure, a letter was given to some Explorer Members to use this code. I missed the window due to health issues, but will try now on an Amazon Cruise in December 2019. The staff in all corners of the ship were very professional, I believe this is due in part to the original crew who set and maintain a high standard for all new members. All in all Viking out got it right, I hope this experience is transferred the new Ocean ships coming on line. Last — This is not a family cruise for younger folks, I believe as it was modeled this way. Read Less

We wanted to try the small boat experience. Wind in the sails etc.Freedom. What happened was unexpected and not very good. Worse parts first I think - which may take a while. The sails only went up when the boat was becalmed and not moving. Then only for short periods to take photos.So travel was by engine - noisy and smelly. We missed one important port due to weather conditions. Larger boats didn't have this problem. The substitute port was of no interest to us. Little to see, no maps or information. No excursions organised or even ideas on what to do or see. There was no time or research or plan. We were just dumped. No internet access to research ourselves. Lack of professionalism and unfriendly staff. It was obvious that no one really cared if we had a pleasant voyage. The staff were terrible in some cases. There was a lack of language proficiency. German was the main language. English and French and other speakers were badly treated. There was a large group of German travel agents onboard and all efforts were made to make them happy. The staff ignored the rest of us. There was no "sail away" from ports with music and sails. On departure from Athens it was pitch black on deck. Very crowded and no one could see or knew what was happening. I think I could vaguely hear the famous Vangelis music but although I walked around the deck it didn't get any louder. Staff were only there to sell champagne. The dining room was too cramped and full. Staff canteen feeling. Staff didn't engage with passengers, We sat with a delightful French couple one night and tried to find other french speakers for them. Asked the Maitre D' but he didn't bother to even think about it. Summed up the voyage I've saved the worst for last. Embarkation was easy but we were told to wait on deck for the safety talk. I'm guessing that the cabins weren't ready and they wanted to "manage" us there. Waited and waited. Sickly cheap drink offered. Eventually gave up and found our cabin. No map or introduction to the boat or schedule was given to us on day 1. Staff were here and there but no talking or engaging with passengers. They were mainly Filipino with poor english. Returned later for the safety talk. Disorganised mess. There are simply not enough European speakers there to manage the amount of passengers. Not enough space to do this properly. If that wasn't bad enough we had to sit while a staff member went through a long rambling talk in German, English and French. Went on and on. We can only hope that her German was good as the rest wasn't. All the briefings on deck were like this. Long, long waits. Long, long mangled talks that were often unintelligible. We wasted so much room waiting and enduring these. When we were on deck there was no where to sit and enjoy the feeling of the sea air. All seats were taken early and aggressively defended and were too few for the number of passengers. We had to stand or stroll but that was hard given the number of people packed into such a small space. The public rooms had very small windows and missed the sea experience. We didn't dock in ports. Apart from Athens all were done by tender or even zodiac. Now for the good bits. We found prices for drinks very reasonable. There was a great cheap laundry service. Food was plentiful. It was easy to move around the boat even for those with slight mobility problems. Not suitable for wheelchair users but there were plenty of elderly and/ or walking stick users. We did like our small but very comfortable cabin and the whole boat was very clean. Being on a small boat could be pleasant but there were far too many people for that to happen here. The overcrowding made the staff too stressed to do a good job and the passengers unhappy. It was not a happy voyage. Read Less

We had a great time on this ship. I appreciate the size of it. For the first time since I began cruising, I didn't need to take any motion sick meds. Embarkation was smooth- we waited until around 2pm (it started at noon). We were met at the taxi by baggage handlers who took our luggage and waited less than 5 mintues to board. Our room was an upgraded balcony, partially obstructed. You could see a lifeboat next to us, but who cares? The extra space was great. We spent a lot of time on the balcony. We ate in main dining every night at the 8:15pm seating. It gave us time to explore on shore and then nap and clean up for dinner. Shows were cruise ship standard, though others at our table absolutely loved them. (We are probably pretty cynical as regular concert/ theater goers). We loved the adult pool, the sanctuary. Our cabin Stuart and wait staff were great. We ate at Sabatini's. Food was really good. I've heard Crown Grill is even better. Pro's: Lots of space to wander. The main dining was great. We didn't have a bad meal the entire time. The coffee card was a great deal. We used it for Gelato too. Con's: The room service breakfast could be better. The coffee wasn't very good (so glad we bought the coffee card). Read Less

The advantages of going on a small cruise ship is its easy to get on and off without a huge crowd. Checkin was easy so was disembarking and finding your luggage. The crew as usual was great, helpful visible, the ship was spotless, service was impeccable as always. This was an unusual cruise with 3 large groups totaling over 200, all American and young. This changed the vibe of the cruise, in my opinion for the better. Lots of people in their 20-30s range and a few kids. It was easy to get a lounger around the pool, which I couldn't say of many other ships, free sorbet was offered as you sat there in the afternoons. Movies in the evening was nice with blankets if you got cold. The itinerary was great, the islands were amazing all different and worth seeing. Turkey was wonderful, the economy was hurting because most of the cruises were avoiding the country. That reduced the crowds considerably. We were the only ship in port and we got some amazing bargains in the bazar. They sell genuine fakes. Which was funny to see. But they were honest. The quality was excellent and at a fraction of the price compared to the duty free at the airport. The Amazing evening was a wonderful local Greek pianist playing in the local town square in Crete with Greek dancers and a fireworks display in the bay over the ship. Wonderful evening that the locals could enjoy too. My cabin was a handicapped mini suite. Which was nice with the larger bathroom and free bar if you like to drink. Wasted on me as I don't. The only drawback was the lack of storage in the bathroom. Barely anywhere to put your toothbrush as it is designed to be able to get a wheelchair in under the sink. The only other drawback is the front door. The usual deadbolt was deactivated. So there was no way to keep the cabin attendants or butler out unless you had the do not disturb sign out. Also the automatic door opener was right next to the bathroom light switch. So in the middle on the night if you went to the bathroom and turned on the light you could open the door by accident and not be able to close it. So I left the bathroom light on all the time with the door closed to save any embarrassment. My only other comment would be the menus are now including vegetarian as well vegan and gluten free food at every location. Great if you want it but it now restricts us boring meat and potatoes kind of people. So I only ate at the main dining room once when it was prime rib night. Which was fabulous. Also they are trying to make all the deserts healthy by reducing the sugar and fat content. But somethings are just not meant to be healthy and going on holiday for a week I just splurge and go on a diet when I get home. Any food allergies they really go out of their way to help, just order a day in advance in the main dining room. Amazing they will do that for you. It was my first time in a mini suite, it was nice but for the money I would rather get a cheaper cabin and go on two cruises. You aren't in the room so much so it doesn't matter that much. I have another two cruises booked next year on Azamara so that says what I think of them. Read Less

Small Ship, No children, photographers, or up-selling, Great Food Great Service and Staff Great cabaret-style entertainment Great Itinerary What's not to love? The cruise was Oceania quality all the way. Food, service, staff, programs all were as good as we expected and worth the money. Our original idea that a cruise was the best way to see this part of the world was verified in spades. It was really nice to come back to the sanity and safety of the ship, and to know what you would be eating, and sleeping in every night. The cabin stewards were not quite up to usual standards, not as responsive but still very pleasant and helpful. The time in port was just about right for this trip. This was certainly a part of the world where you could spend 6 hours or 6 weeks. We come back to Oceania when we want it right. Read Less

The ship is very nice! It's a old ship (1992) but renovated in 2016. It's a small ship (only 400 cabins) that's a very good thing. Service is excellent, everybody on board smile. You can lunch on the terrace on three floors at the rear of the boat and have a great dinner in the aegan restaurant. The food is good. You can choose when you want eat, there's no turns like in others companies (maybe you must wait 5-10 min for a table, but no more). The service is quick and very friendly. You have entertainments all the day and good shows in the evening in the small theatre and two bars with live music (a Cuban band & a Greek band). If you want a minimum of space in your room take a junior suite on the 7 deck, the others rooms are very small, but you have no time to be in your room.... I recommend the all inclusive beverge package for good cocktails and other beverages. We embark in only 15 minutes from the taxi to the boat!!! It's a small boat so it could park in smalls ports. We need only one time the tenders in Santorini. I recommend Celestyal Nefeli! Read Less

We chose this cruise because of it gave us a great itinerary and allowed us to stretch our budget enough to spend a few days in Greece before embarking joining the cruise. We were picked up form the Athens airport by Carnival and it was impressively smooth. The driver was fantastic and the embarkation process from the airport to getting on the ship was simple and efficient. When we got on board, our luggage was already at our room, giving us a chance to get unpacked and settled before the muster drill. The hallways were substantially wider than any ship we had been on previously, but this is our first newer ship so this may be more standard now. Also, despite being a sold out cruise, it rarely felt crowded on the ship. It was the largest ship we have been on and it was nice that it didn't feel like you were constantly fighting with people for elevator access and space on the deck, etc. The casino was one major drawback. You had to go through it to navigate from front to back of the ship on deck 4 and it was always smokey and the smoke tended to waft out into the common areas on either side. Being a new ship I would have expected it to have much better ventilation. The staff was amazing, from the dining staff to the entertainment staff. Although we did find that we had some trouble with meals being extremely slow in certain areas of the dining room. There was a bit of confusion on the first night surrounding special dietary needs but things were straightened out and they provided a delicious meal. Every other night was smooth, with menus being provided for the next day at the end of the meal. This was a very port intensive cruise so we did not spend a lot of time enjoying the amenities of the ship but what we did partake in were very good. We enjoyed most of the comedians we saw and the shows done by the entertainment staff were top notch. As others have commented, the liquid lounge design is not ideal for viewing the shows if you are in the floor seating at the back but I would say it is no worse than floor seating at any concert held in a sports arena. At most of the ports we did our own thing, but did do a tour with Carnival. That excursion was enjoyable but I would probably continue to arrange much of our time off the ship through private companies. I felt like we saved money and saw more/did more with the private companies. There's a big difference between seeing the Vatican with 6 people versus 50 in your group, The debarkation process on the ship was probably the smoothest we've ever experienced. I think some of this might have been helped by the fantastic gangways that they had in Barcelona making it so it was easy to get off the ship but it is worth noting that, despite it being such a large ship, it wasn't jam packed to get out with lots of confusion and chaos as we have experienced during debarkation elsewhere. Overall we had a great time and would definitely do this cruise again although we would try to have a TA after that port intensive itinerary. Read Less

Wonderfull! Al thé Time. The departure city was fantastic and we stained 2 days at a beatyfull hotel that was indicated by "windstar cruises". It was very easy to get on board.the ship was above all speciation! The cabin was excellent, The restaurants were perfect. The crew was absolutely friendly. There are some intertainments and activist on board but all the ports were so interesting that we stayed ashore the most part of the time. The travel's highlights were fantastic! Greece is marvelous! All the ports we stopped are one better than the others. The excursions were excellent.The passengers were all Americans, I and my niece were the only Brazilians passengers. If we had a wish, it would be real in one minute.Now my only dream is to do another cruise .I intend to go another time next year. I have already travel with my husband in many bigger boats but Star Breeze is the best one I have known. Sorry for the bad English, I speak Portuguese and French. Read Less

We chose this cruise as it was a brand new Carnival Ship thinking it would be awesome, we were very disappointed in comparison with other Cruise Companies, the lifts were dreadful, we were on the 14th floor and only 2 lifts to this floor, we waited ages for lifts and had a person in a wheelchair. No reserved areas for wheelchair or disabled passengers in any of the function rooms or theatre. We had prepaid the drinks package only to have it cancelled 3 days before the cruise and on top of the 15% tips gratuity were charged 24% VAT. The theatre was the worst deigned I have ever seen all chairs on the ground floor the same level. No poolside live entertainment throughout the cruise. Only one plus side the food was fabulous, good portions and nice and hot. Only time we heard the captain was to tell us there was a problem with the engine and that we would be arriving in Barcelona Late. Tried it once never again better off sticking to what you know Read Less

Embarkation was very smooth and we didn't have any waiting. The ship is huge but the crew managed to provide a very intimate service and it felt very personal. The bar staff remembered our favourite cocktails etc. Our cabin had everything we needed and was kept exceptionally clean. The balcony area was great and plenty big enough. The dining opportunities were numerous and the food and service were excellent. It felt we were going to a fine dining restaurant every night. Alfredo's did great pizzas and the International Café did a wonderful range of salads, panninis etc. The entertainment had something to please everyone, it was difficult to make a choice. The theatre shows were of a very high quality and we really enjoyed Marc Paul and The Beatle Maniacs. I think the shore excursions are on the pricey side but as I had my 80 year old mother with me I wanted it to be a relaxed experience and it certainly was. We did our own trip from the harbour in Santorini which was only £20 euros and excellent value but we did shore excursions in Kotor - Montenegro, Pompeii and Sorrento, Taormina - Sicily. Whilst I expected this trip to be my mum's once in a lifetime experience it seems she has other ideas and is keen to book for next year. The only negative comment is that Princess organised the flights that were split - Heathrow to Charles de Gaulle and CdG to Athens on the return we did Barcelona to Munich and Munich to Heathrow . We had 4 1/2 hours stopover in Munich which meant it took over 8 hours to do a 2 hour trip - CRAZY!! Never again, I'm wiser now and realise that I can actually chose the flights I want. Read Less

We decided to go on our first long cruise for our honeymoon and it was the perfect cruise and the best decision!. At arrival in Athens, the embarkation was pretty fast and smooth. They transfer our luggage directly to our room and our stateroom was ready around 14:00. We then walk around to get familiarized with the cruise and its installations and arrange for the Dinning Package and the Classic 7 Wine Bottle Package. Both packages were a very good decision, the Select Dinning Restaurants were outstanding. Tuscan Grill very good attention and service, excellent food, great wine and remarkable little details as a Limoncello homemade courtesy of the restaurant. Jonheider and Goran were excellent in their service performance. Both assisted us at all time with a great service. We returned for a second dinner at the Tuscan Grill on the second day at sea. Silk Harvest was also very good. The service at some point was a little bit slowly but nothing to really complain of. The food is of great quality and flavor and you can try several dishes and starters. Murano. Amazing. The service of Daniel was excellent, he assisted us from the beginning till the end with nice service, good talk and details. He brought us a cake with candles as a present for our honeymoon. We also were able to try several desserts and starters. For the main dish we both order lobster and Daniel prepare at our table with an excellent flavour and great ingredients. At last but no least we tried Sushi at 5. In my personal opinion they should change the name of the restaurant to something more elegant and nice because Sushi at 5 sounds like if it is a fast food restaurant or dinner room and when we tried it the last day at sea we discovered it is an amazing sushi place. The service is also very good, specially the attention from Sam who offered us the best Wasabe we have tried, natural one from the plant itself and cut in a shark skin table. If we knew the good quality of this restaurant before, we should have eat there two times. Regarding the wine package, it was also a very good decision. We could ask for a bottle of wine in any restaurant or even for our room. They have very good types of wine including Tempranillo, Zinfandel, Syrah, among others. Talking about other areas, we have to highlight the cleanness of our stateroom mainly based on the attention of Sim, our stateroom attendance. We heard that some rooms had problems with electricity and water which is such a pity but luckily we did not have any problem at all. The Ship we found it to be very good, clean at every time, with service people everywhere around and nice activities during the days at sea and after returning from the Ports of Call. The dinning room of the ship (Slihoutte) was very good. We had dinner 3 times there and were above average. The first day we had a confusion with the Sommelier since she did not bring us the bottle and instead she pour us two glasses of wine, nevertheless, she brought us the bottle afterwards and did not charge the two glasses. The rest of the days the attention and service was very good and the quality of the food was amazing. All type of different dishes and starters, including lobster, meat, salmon, etc. Regarding the activities we think mainly all of them were pretty good. The DJ was a little bit repetitive and ended the night very early some days. For the rest of the activities I found them very good. We would for sure return to a second cruise with Celebrity! Read Less

Our recent cruise aboard Celestyal Olympia was really amazing, from the first day we boarded did we feel like we where part of a family. They really go above and beyond to please you as a guest. The food was mostly Greek but amazingly great and tasty, we also ordered the grilld lobster in the main restaurant. Cruising with Celestyal Cruises brought us to two ports each day but that was not a problem for us. You have the feeling to have a seaday and portday in one. The cost of the drinks in the bars was also great and what we got was great and lots to chose from. We stayed in Grand Suite 9001 and was spacious and newly revitalised. Our cruise in two words: great and amazing. The entertainment was Greek inspirated and was nice to see some of the local dances. We sailed with our 14 months old girl and she also enjoyed her selfs and was loved by all the staff, she even walked with one of the officers on the hand. Really great to see. Our embarkation was amazing with a greating of 4 of the senior officers at the gangway. Disembarkation was even smooth with also a farewell from five members of the crew. Hospitality is a keyword of Celestyal Cruises and you can take this in the biggest sence of that word. Read Less

The food was amazing each dish was a beautiful creation. The staff was kind accommodating and always ready to say yes. The entertainment was mundane except for the piano bars which were great. Perfect cruise foe eating and drinking. If you have trouble walking beware. They do not accommodate , at least they didn't for me. I ended up missing activities because I couldn't get from my room to the event. I had asked for a handicapped room, not available, then asked for a room close to the elevator, it didn't happen. Confirm which cabin you're getting and where it is located., even thou I paid for a balcony no effort was made to make it easier. If you go just walk slowly and eat a lot I was disappointed that no food or entertainment was related to the part of the world we were in. but the food was so wonderful that it wasn't a big deal. Read Less

Our first experience and we could not be more pleased! The ship was spectacular, the service was outstanding and the amenities were the top of the line. The food was more than expected, and we are from New Orleans, in fact it was very hard to come home. The excursions were easy and well organised, the staff....from the deckhands to the officers, the service staff, were a real credit to this cruise line. I had a broken ankle (skydiving, blindfolded, from top of Empire State bldg, er.......) and we were very well cared for in every way, from transportation to pre and post stays. I will always recommend this line simply from the experience we had. I cannot wait to see the other ships in Oceana as the art on this ship was like living in a museum. The glass vases, the Lalique crystal EVERYWHERE , the fragrance of the ship, the crew....the restaurants. We did it all, from the Privee to the room service. I cried when we left. Am still teary. And I have NEVER written a review before. We stayed at magnificent hotel in Athens and stayed in a wonderful Hilton in Barcelona and Oceana and our travel agent were the best. Will be doing this forever. Thank you Oceania Cruise Lines and crew and staff of Rivera , for the life memories! Read Less

The cruise itself was pleasant and easy. We went from Athens through Greece to Albania, Montenegro and Croatia. It was a small ship and the other passengers were quite congenial. The group was broken into two groups of 25 that generally went on shore excursions together the small group leader was fantastic and would not only speak about the history of the sites and countries we visited but also about the current economic and political situations in the countries as well In general with the exception of one local guide, the local guides were also great I felt that we got a good sense of the various sites and cities we saw The rooms were adequate. It was a small ship and I think they were standard for that. I think the ship was built for generally calmer water than some we encountered so there were some rocky moments Many of the passengers had travelled with this company before and were quite happy with them. They were generally older thanme (I'm 60) but this was a trip with my parents who are83 and 91. The food improved half way through the trip when the chef was replaced. It was generally fair to good but we did enjoy eating at restaurants along the way when that was possible My review of this trip was very much colored by the way that they handled my father’s medical emergency. One morning my father woke up quite ill. Because the ship was small there was no medical staff on board. The paramedics were called but the captain would not let them on the ship immediately as there was some issue about their not being able to leave Croatian territory. The captain spent precious time making phone calls. Then the captain refused to allow myself and my husband to use the oxygen on board for my father (although we are both physicians). My father was rushed to the hospital where he remained for 9 days. Grand Circle cruise line was absent for the first 8 days of an experience where my 91 year old father shared a room with four other men who smoked in the bathroom, where coffee was served in pans, and where no one other than his cardiologist spoke English. Grand Circle referred us to their insurance company , On Call. On call also did not show up but rather had a different 22 year old representative call and talk to my parents every day to check in. My father was cleared to leave five days after admission. On Call, the insurance company, who was supposed to escort him back, did not even start to initiate a plan to return him until the day he was cleared for release. He had to remain in the hospital for four more days waiting for a nurse to arrive from the US. Then he had to wait two more days before he was escorted home. He spent an additional 5 days in Croatia just waiting to go home. Meanwhile, the hospital was appalled at the lack of communication from both the cruise line and the insurance company. This experience cost myself and my siblings thousands of dollars in expenses and lost income. It turns out that Grand Circle contracts out their insurance to On Call but On Call contracts out the underwriting to something called Trip Mate. Basically everyone kept passing the buck and saying that it was the other organization that should have done something. Fortunately my father returned home safe and well. However, both Trip Mate and Grand Circle refused to reimburse most of our expenses. My 91 year old father is now trying to see what his health insurance will reimburse for the hospital bill and then we will see if that portion of cost will be reimbursed by Tripmate. What we did get finally was an apology letter from Grand Circle for our miserable experience… and a final denial to compensate us in any way. We did get some reimbursement from Tripmate but it was a fraction of our expenses and lost income (and we did not ask them to reimburse our lost income, just our expenses). If you have any potential medical issues I would strongly suggest NOT going on this ship as the captain, the company, the medical insurance company and underwriter were not responsible, professional, caring or respectful. Read Less

If you cruise in November, you know you're taking a risk with the weather. In terms of destinations, we'd already been a bit unlucky thanks to the trouble in Egypt (no fault of the cruise line) and we had to forgo Tunisia because of 24-hours of bad weather, but for the rest of the time the weather was perfect. Sadly, the outdoor spaces were disappointing and if the ship had been full, they would have been impossibly crowded and unpleasant at least in terms of eating outside. The level of noise on the main part of the Veranda deck was very high anyway and when there was a grill or BBQ option during the days at sea, that was compounded by blaring live music for the whole 2 hours lunch-slot. I can't imagine that many of us (largely in the over-50 age groups) could have had a meaningful conversation - or indeed any conversation at all. The indoor Veranda restaurant got very hot and was extraordinarily badly planned, especially in terms of tea and coffee stations. People were in and out and jostling one another all the time, especially as there were no trays to reduce the coming and going. The food was plentiful and reasonably varied. Lots of salads and good cheese boards, but the fresh fruit was disappointing. The staff were fine often comprehension was an issue, so drink orders were a bit haphazard. The main restaurant was much better. Excellent varied menus and service. Smallish portions (a good thing) and we were mercifully spared the birthday/anniversary serenading which plagues other lines - balloons on the doors were a good alternative! Free room service especially in the mornings was a bit hit and miss but very welcome nonetheless, though I think they could have run to a boiled egg as well as just cereal and pastries. So much for the (mainly) good things. As a whole, the ship was disappointing. Public spaces first. Why was a large and comfortable space on Deck 8 used only for Bridge players and occasional classes or evening dos, when the main lounge and library were always crowded and sometimes very noisy with live music. Why was the 24hour coffee/tea station on the 7th floor and inside the Veranda restaurant - a trek for anyone partial to an early morning cuppa. Why was the sauna so far from pool or fitness suite? The library was OK but largely because passengers recycled and shared their paperbacks. Games sets were also fine, but there were no decent tables to use unless you trailed up to the 8th floor where the Bridge players were pretty accommodating. The sight of elderly rumps raised in the air while their owners retrieved dropped tiles added a new dimension to Scrabbling. And the decor everywhere was tired and shabby - the carpets positively dirty and the vacuuming seemed to take place at times of maximum movement. And watch out for extras! Excursions are expensive and cheapskate. We had one decent lunch on a full-day trip and two rotten ones. Any extras (like a glass of wine) had to be paid for. Shuttle buses for people not on excursions were few and far between which meant that people with limited mobility were not well catered for, since most excursions required quite a bit of walking. But - a really good point - the excursions didn't dump you for long periods in tourist traps on the pretext of a comfort stop. Laundry is also very expensive and takes a long time to come back relative to other cruises. No dry cleaning either, or at least not on our trip. Bar prices could be worse - though they're not nearly as reasonable as eg Saga -and the little shop wasn't too bad either. We're not great on entertainments, so I won't comment on floor shows etc but the lectures were really poor. One speaker had good material and spoke well, but couldn't be bothered to provide a single visual image- I don't mean death by Powerpoint, but just a map or a photograph to clarify the subject and retain interest. Another actually had the temerity to show a picture of his (large, luxury) villa and his wonderful family followed by another of himself with the Duchess of Cornwall during what was supposed to be a lecture on the politics Middle East..... Need I say more. Poor, poor quality stuff. So all in all, not a cruise line I'd travel with again, though in the end, they were practically giving the trip away and I suspect it turned out to be a cheap option for a lot of people. In brief, if you don't have to book ahead and can get a really cheap deal, it will be fine, but don't pay full price. You can do better elsewhere.   Read Less