Excursions too rushed and actually didn't see anything properly and definitely did not have the experience expected. Summary - 'Been there seen that' - Not 'Been there and done that'. Embarkation and disembarking were very well organised and efficient. Cleanliness was high and service from our steward was excellent. No issue service wise. Food was basically the same form day to day will minimal variations - food was ok of you love great if you love salt. Would have preferred to have more local foods from each destination we went to. Couldn't get into the restaurant we wanted even when booking a day on advance. Was my first cruise so wasn't sure what to expect - but definitely felt underwhelmed. My 2 teenage daughters did enjoy it but even their excitement was starting to dull toward the end. Everything seemed to have an additional charge when I expected most things to be included. Overall pretty poor value - rather do hotels and stay for a few days at each location that this overrated hop on hop off bus. Read Less

Selected this cruise for the ports around Greece and Turkey because line offered two overnights, one in Mykonos (magical) and Santorini (overrated, way too many steep stairs). The staff was friendly but also up-selling at every occasion, and reminding you "that's extra - not included", hence calling it the "SS Nickel & Dime." Embarkation was a disaster - the computers went down and we were kept waiting in line outside for an hour in 37 C heat . 45 minutes in the staff passed around paper cups with some sticky sweet green beverage - we passed. No apology offered, and no explanation. Only found out real reason because we overheard staff talking about computer access issues. My traveling companion was never able to get his credit card registered - some issue with computer. WiFI - not included! That's extra. And it's not cheap at 16 Euros for 3 hours. Other lines we have traveling on include WiFi as standard issue with fare. We kept phones in airplane mode and found wifi in port every day to keep up with email and calls. The included drinks package was a real disappointment because like other lines where you could use the average base cost of a glass of wine to pay extra to get something potable, we were reduced to drinking plonk and no-name budget beer and cordials. The drinks included in the package were sticky sugar laden things - the good cocktails were all at extra price. If guzzling pink zinfandel and Long Island Iced Teas is your idea of a great time to get drunk, you'll love this ship. If you have more sophisticated tastes, prepare for a week of sparking water and disappointment. It was farcical since the cheap stuff was all included that you had to present cruise card each time. It was for "Inventory control" purposes we were told. Staffing is "Soviet Full Employment" - one person takes your order with the card, then it goes to the bar, then a third person brings you the drink. Beware the Happy Hours where you can purchase for extra money potable cocktails and wine. Bars are understaffed and it took 20 minutes to get an Aperol Spritz one afternoon. Interestingly, the same drink is priced differently at different bars, even at happy hour. My account was also padded with some extra items I never ordered that I challenged the last night and had them removed. Specialty Coffees - come out of a machine using powdered milk, unless you go to one of the bars - by the pool and the rear deck on 5 have real espresso machines. Smoking Policy - unacceptable. Smokers have use of the best areas on the ship - all the decks and the rear deck bars. Even though the smokers are supposed to be on one side of the deck, they smoked anywhere they wanted to. Vapers thought they were excluded which made for smelly hallways and public areas. Smoking policy was not enforced. If being around smokers bothers you, this is another reason to skip this line. Ship photos - photographers are everywhere making the Selfie generation happy. One night they offered a photo stand where you put on ancient Greek costumes and pose that was good fun. Wait until the last night to buy photos when the package offers get better. Onboard Shopping: boutique (watches, jewelry, basic fashions, cosmetics, cigarettes, liquor and a few sundries) was open only when in international waters so shopping opportunities were intermittent. If you see something you want in handbags, scarves, rings or or gold chains by the inch, best to buy it the first time you see it as stock gets wiped out. They do have a sale the last night and I picked up two dressy blouses at 50% off that was a good value. Meals were monotonous and just average. Breakfast is a buffet even in dining rooms. Same items every day got boring in a hurry. Stick with Greek and Turkish food for best chance of having something that isn't frozen. Sad that all the fish/seafood was frozen, when you are surrounded by the Aegean Sea. In order to get a fresh fish you need to pay 25 to 35 Euros extra to sit at a special table for a Greek Taverna style meal. Not worth it, especially considering we ate well in Athens for 20 Euros a person average, including nice house wine/quarter litre. No room service included - not even for rolls and coffee in the morning - that's extra! Pizza and Ice Cream are available - but that's extra! Ship is a converted ferry boat. Conversion efforts were basic - lacking in decor, lots of rust around the edges and worn carpets, warped railings. It felt like a budget Las Vegas hotel. Smells of bilge and sewage were often wafting through the hallways. We kept the balcony door open a lot of the time to counter the unpleasant aromas. Beds were ok but topped with thick duvet that are not needed in 35 C heat. Mattresses are hard - not the pillow top type you find on Princess, Celebrity etc. Since it was so hot I slept on top of the duvet and asked for an extra sheet. We had a Junior Suite that was OK for ship cabin - slightly smaller than what we are used to on Celebrity, Princess, Holland America. No bedside tables available so we used upturned suitcases for bedside tables instead, wedged in between beds. The hangers are the annoying kind that you need to slide into a ring that is permanently attached to the rod. I brought two plastic hangers and clips to use to dry hand-wash items-very handy! Were told by other passengers that we were lucky to get bar soap and also individual bottles of shampoo and lotion. In standard cabins you access these via a dispenser on the wall. Hair dryer was adequate if you have short or thin hair. It is tethered to the desk area and cord is not very long so tiring to dry long hair - took 2X longer than usual to get the job done. Overall the staff were friendly, and our cabin staff were flawless. However there were some floaters among the group. At Santorini tender station the staff sat in the folding chairs eating ice cream while the passengers, some elderly with canes had to stand. There is no such thing as queuing in Greece - the tender boat approached in a different area, so passengers that dutifully waited in line were pushed aside and made to wait for another tender to arrive. It's every man for himself at port side tender stops! Three shore excursions were included: Mykonos tour, Crete/Knossos Palace and Kusadash/Ephesus and Turkish carpet weaving shopping stop. Tours were good, guides spoke good English and didn't have their hands out soliciting tips. Those who wanted to offer tips did so discretely. Ephesus was the most amazing Roman ruins - best preserved (not restored) I have seen in any country. Turkish carpet weaving stop was interesting until we became trapped by salesmen. Managed to evade them and get back to the bus. Turkey is a lot like Mexico - people chase and hound you to buy souvenirs and enter their shops. The Greeks are much more relaxed, they say hello and leave you to it so it's nicer shopping for souvenirs in Greece. Other shore excursions like beach trips and sporting activities were available - but that was extra! Bottom line - if you want to stop at Mykonos, Santorini, Crete, Milos (boring, stay on ship unless you need to buy groceries or medicine), Kusadasi/Ephesus, this line has it covered. If you have basic tastes when it comes to food and beverage it will do. Otherwise skip this ship and this line. Read Less

We chose this cruise because we wanted to see the Greek Isles in a convenient, economical fashion. We were searching for a cruise that focused on seeing the Greek islands and found that most of the major cruise lines that visit the Greek Isles sail to/from Italy and Athens with various stops along the way in Sicily, Naples, etc. This seemed to be the most economical cruise that sailed in/out of Athens and only visited the islands. The biggest benefit of this cruise/itinerary is the long time the ship docks in Mykonos and Santorini, and we took advantage of this. So many of the cruises we looked at only had half a day+ on the islands and that doesn't give you much time to do more than get off/on the ship and walk around a bit. We toured Mykonos by taking the ship's bus to the old town early, walked around and shopped a little, took some pictures at the windmills, and then caught a bus for like 5 Euro round-trip to Paradise beach where we stayed for 4-5 hours eating/drinking/swimming and had a great time. It was a nice, relaxing day. We also planned our own excursion on Milos (speedboat tour around the island with swimming/snorkeling). We left the ship and spent the night on Santorini to be able to do a 5-hour sunset catamaran cruise that Thurs night so we didn't do the ship excursion. You can get a room a few blocks back from the caldera rim for under 100 Euro in June. The next day, some of us did the hike from Fira to Oia while the rest of the party rented a van and met us in Oia where we did more walking, shopping, and eating. Finally, we drove to the Venetsanos Winery for a wine tasting/food pairing before heading back to the ship for dinner. Santorini is amazing. We did the ship excursions in Eraklion/Crete and Kusadasi/Ephesus and they were fine. Ephesus is an amazing site and a must-see! However, by the time we got there it was crowded and then the whole rug factory tour/sales pitch at the end was a bit over-the-top. I didn't hear anything about any of the other ship-based excursions, but I'm not a big fan of riding around on a bus on someone else's schedule and priorities when it's easy to plan day-trips/activities in port independently. The staff was great, our room stewards took care of us, and embarking/disembarking was pretty seamless although the disembarking took a while. For whatever reason we never heard the "all clear to get off the ship" notification before we saw people on the dock leaving the ship. The ship is perhaps slightly dated and smaller than most, the pool is small, I think there's just 1 hot tub, and the buffets don't have a lot of variety day-to-day. The restaurants had a different menu each day and were fine. I would highly recommend this cruise for the purposes of seeing the Greek islands, but know in advance this is not a luxury cruise and you won't be disappointed. Read Less

We wanted a short cruise at the end of our two week vacation in Greece. This one fit the bill perfectly. First, I am NOT a cruiser. However, as the fates would have it, I ended up on three cruises this year. The first two were on major cruise lines, the third on Celestyal. The Celestyal cruise gets my prize for least annoying cruise. First, the ship is run like a finely tuned machine, and when you have so much to do in a short period of time, it is a good thing that it is. The staff were incredibly accommodating and friendly, unlike my first two cruises. These people seem to really like their jobs! The ship itself was beautiful in an awesome retro kind of way. It was meticulously maintained and the lounges were beautiful. They seemed to have restored the perfect retro vibe. Meal service was a well executed military operation as were the frequent disembarkations. It is not a small task to get all these people on and off that ship, usually twice per day. The food was a-ok, not a foodie paradise, but serviceable with nice variety and two enjoyable bbq's on the pool deck. The number of ports visited was truly remarkable, but it really was nothing more than getting a taste of the islands. Now we know where we want to spend more time. We had one whole day in Rhodes, which was blissful because we finally got to enjoy some beach time -- something we did not get in the other ports. The two included excursions were excellent. In other ports we simply rented a car for a couple of hours and got a feel for the islands. Another wonderful aspect of this cruise is that there is not a constant push to spend, spend, spend. The included drinks were great. We only ordered a few extras on the trip -- a much needed brow wax, a couple of smoothies for the kid, and a couple of knick-knacks. Our tab at the end of the cruise was around $39. On our other cruises we were greeted every morning with a stack of coupons and advertisements for art work, jewelry sales, photo packages, and on and on and on. There was none of that here. Everyone on the ship was genuinely concerned with our comfort and ease. We paid for the cruise and that was that. If you can manage the frenetic pace of frequent disembarkations and we want to see many places, this is a great option. Read Less

It should be the first cruise and should be a great experience. On closer inspection, the ship was outmoded, worn and not up to date. Data transfer to iphone or laptop a sheer catastrophe. The bed width (we had twinbeds) only 80 cm - with a little swell you threatened to fall out. There should be a butler individually available to each cruise guest (which was mathematically completely impossible) - but that per Butler 15 guests were to look after, shows how rarely one had "his" butler actually available. The entertainment events were rather of moderate quality. Good were the mostly Filipino staff in the cabin cleaning and in the service of the three restaurants. In this overall form you can not advise a trip on the SilverShadow.A clear difference was also noticeable when offered dinner in the inclusive restaurant "the restaurant". We ate there twice and in both cases the food was extremely salted and we let things go back. Good were only the food in the two restaurants, where the drinks were charged separately. Read Less

Having cruised once before on a bigger ship, my wife and I did not know what to really expect from Celestyal. Yes full board was part of the package, but how were they going to be different. That easy, instantly we made great friends with the crew. Celestyal want their staff to socialize with their guests so you would often see staff sitting having a quick chat with passengers. What surprised us was that we were greeted by name. Staff were excellent and everyone greeted you with a smile Crystal was awesome, catering for all our needs. the one positive was disembarking. Very quick and efficient and queues moved very efficiently. The entertainment was great and varied to cater for all types of passenger. Another positive we noticed was that were docked longer than other cruise liners so you could really experience the islands without the pressure of getting back to the ship in time and not seeing enough. We opted for a Junior Suite so we had our own balcony. This was great to be able to sit on our own deck and stair into ocean especially during sun rises. I would seriously recommend Celestyal Cruises to young and old alike. Read Less

The cruise was not a very good experience for us. When travel agent was selling us the ship, we were told us it is comparable to the royal caribbean fleet. We came in this ship expecting similar conditions for the ship and we were shocked by the general condition and the lack of cleanliness. He did not sell this as an inferior quality cruise liner. When we complained at the reception desk we were told to wait to the end of the cruise and express our thoughts in the opinion survey. About the ship - Horizon: Ship itself is old and run down, probably should be retired. With alleged major refurbishment in 2012 only certain areas looked acceptable and that did not include cabins. About our cabin: bathroom smelled like urine 90% of the time, vanity top pealing, cabin AC not working, bathroom light not working, the showers were mildewy, furnishings dated and worn out, towels had seen better days, carpet was filthy and with stains It was very noisy in the rooms, we could hear our loud neighbors, as well as people calling on each other from the hallways. The majority of the passengers were spaniards and they are loud! Most passengers did not use the disinfectant machines People smoke almost everywhere outdoors The staff was friendly and helpful. The value for money was poor compared to what is on offer elsewhere. Read Less

We went on our 1st cruise with Princess on our honeymoon and wanted to renew our vows on our 30 th Anniversary with Princess again. The service we experienced the 1st time was the deciding factor to use princess the second time around. Our best friends accompanied us. We arrived in Greece two days before we sailed and got to see the sites of Athens. When we arrived at the port we found it was very easy to check in and board the ship. Once on board we were able to go to room very quickly and get settled. We then got word that Francesca wanted to meet with us to go over the itinerary of our vow renewal. On the day we renewed We started off with a couples massage in the spa. It was pretty relaxing and set the mood for the entire day. The ceremony itself with nothing short of spectacular. The chapel was decorated accordingly and corsage and bouquet were supplied by the ship. It was part of the package I know it was but you still say i we started off with a couples massage in the spa. It was pretty relaxing and set the mood for the entire day. The ceremony itself with nothing short of spectacular. The chapel was decorated accordingly and corsage and bouquet were supplied by the ship. After the ceremony that was performed by Captain Lawes we had a photographer and a videographer follow us for our camera shoot. The captain even allowed us to go onto the bridge where we got some great shots and video. The ENTIRE experience is one I will never forget. 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

Oceania is a fantastic cruise line, up there with the best. The crew were second to none and the food is of course exemplary. We never had a problem finding sun loungers (despite many shaded sunloungers being reserved every day) and there were many day beds available at all times too. The show lounge is called the Sirena lounge and it is more akin to a bar/lounge rather than the more typical double height theatre that you get on slightly bigger ships than Sirena. My comments on the cabin are below. We travelled as a family with four daughters and we were made especially welcome, particularly by the entertainment team who appreciated guests who were more similar aged to themselves! The ship was run extremely well and everything went smoothly. From the reception staff, the restaurant waiters to the room attendants, everyone made sure that we never queued for anything and it helped make our holiday superb. Read Less

We were looking for a cruise to the Middle East and had traveled with Viking on a river cruise. Their itinerary most closely matched our plans. The ship, its amenities, the crew were all outstanding. The excursions had a few bumps — it’s a difficult region for problem free visits, and the August weather temperatures were very challenging. The guides were well prepared and knowledgeable; there was a good selection of both included and optional tours, but logistics were complicated. I would have enjoyed more evening entertainment on the ship. The food and restaurants on board were great. Our cabin was spacious and comfortable. The common areas were beautiful and luxurious. I have traveled with other cruise lines and I think Viking is absolutely the best in customer service; every member of the staff was friendly, competent, helpful, and cheerful — all of which contributed to a most memorable experience. Read Less

first timers, good staff and attentive service on this smaller ship. Food was not Michelin but was more than satisfactory in all restaurants. One downer though- in the A la carte rest'nt the dress code has been allowed to slip- not saying it should be black tie etc, but sitting down next to persons in flip flops and shorts who have just come back on board from the shore visits is not great fun! if unable to dock, they do need a few more activities during the 'sea time'. would have liked a little 'tour' of the ship for example, just to show the hidden workings and to keep us out of trouble on the aft deck with the Mojitos! Being a smaller ship, we were on some of the smaller islands and away from the larger crowds from other ships. But- friendly, money's worth, and excellent, clean cabins and public areas. Read Less

We enjoyed the new beds/bedding added to the Crown Princess recently and benefitted from a spring refurbishment to the ship. The itinerary and port excursions were excellent (though the Mediterranean in July/August is incredibly warm). Our steward was wonderful. Spa services continue to be over-priced and there is no beverage package that actually makes sense but we enjoyed Princess once more on this second cruise and would continue to look at the company for future trips. In short: mini-suites continue to work for our family of three (one teen), the new beds are great, the teen club is a hit with our son, and we still love the International Cafe more than the other regular food options. This time we did endeavor to do laundry at sea - rather frustrating with people ignoring basic conventions of removing laundry from washing machines when done. Token machines for laundry were on our floor - handy, but not on every floor - a pain. We were in D603 - nice location for our needs. Read Less

Very good food, clean cabins, great night shows and divers entertainment program. Really best value for money I've paid. Great for families with/without friends. I strongly recommend for everybody: you can enjoy the dense daily program or you just can relax in sun bath. I've have chosen 7 nights in Greek island with spectacular views; the atmosphere on the ship was like in (a big) family. The services was really good, the crew was very nice and we have really pleased with the overall atmosphere. Very nice live bands with Greek traditional music or from international . Danny, the cruise director, was a man of pleasant surprises every night with really good shows, that cover professional dance, good music, acrobatics, ballet and so on. The entertainment team was really good and interactive with peoples. Finally I spend very nice time on Celestial Crystal and I will back next year for a new experience. Thank you! Read Less

We went the whole family (2 adult children) on a 7 day cruise to the Greek islands. Excellent ship, renewed, great food, good cabins, Staff is very kind. Well prepared itinerary. What I liked the most is the human scale of the ship (1000 passengers), so that you have plenty of space and time to enjoy, no hurries, not being pushed by the herd of passengers coming behind you. Compared with the Costa and MSC ships (5000 passengers) where you just feel another number, and were you may not find a place for breakfast or lunch during rush hours (specially if you go to the buffet, instead of the restaurants), the atmosphere is much more relaxed on the Celestyal ships, And the staff is 10 times friendlier, not completely stressed like in other ships. Just make a simple calculation: in a 5000 passengers ship you have 1000 crew: on crew member every 5 passengers. On the Celestyal ships, you have 1000 passengers and 450 crew members: one crew member every 2 passengers, A huge difference!!. 100 percent recommend Celestyal Cruises. When we wanted to change an excursion from Efeso for another one in Samos (the same day), no problem, no extra charge. Good cruise company!! Read Less

We were in Athens a few days before we left, which helped us get acclimated both to the time zone and to the heat/humidity of Greece (and the Greek islands we would visit). Embarkation was not well organized in Piraeus, and we had little guidance as to what to expect, but once we were aboard ship all was well. Disembarkation in Venice was very smooth. I've been on a couple of standard cruises before (Disney, Royal Caribbean). What stood out most about this trip was the sense of actual *sailing*. This was not just getting a small hotel room on a floating luxury resort that ended up in a different place each morning. The feel of the ship, the ability to stand on the deck as sails were let out or taken in, listening to the music play as we left each port ... it all felt like we were actually sailing (which we were!), not just being transported. Going up on deck in the evening and seeing the sea passing around us, the star fields above us, the wind blowing past us -- it was all a remarkably special experience, and one that I will seek to repeat in the future. The cabin was comfortable and well-appointed. The dining was tasty, upscale without being hoity-toity, and quite satisfactory. The nature of the Star Flyer is such that evening entertainment was a bit constrained -- some DJ dancing, some occasional talent show stuff -- but, honestly, I spent my evenings up on deck, enjoying the air and the sea (and the cocktails). Shore excursions were generally good. Lots to see, usually multiple options, and guide selections ran from fair to excellent. We actually enjoyed just visiting some towns on our own, without doing a formal excursion. Service was efficient and friendly. The passenger count (around 150 on our cruise) was small enough that the bar and dining room staff got to know us ad our preferences. The entertainment director, Simona, was dedicated and excellent. The ports we visited were highly varied. I particularly enjoyed Corfu, Kotor, and Hvar, but they all had something to recommend them, depending on what you were looking for, and, as noted, instead of the excursions either just self-directed wandering at the ports or hanging out on the ship and relaxing were both fine alternatives. A few things I could have asked to be better: - The shipboard Wifi was pricey and spotty in coverage around the ship. - The "drink of the day" at the bar was usually pretty mediocre (the bartenders could make much better cocktails or straight pour drinks). Honestly, sailing the Star Flyer has spoiled me for hotels-with-a-keel style cruising. I will definitely be looking to them for further experiences. It was a memorable and wish-I-could-repeat-it experience. Read Less

The cruise was disappointing in that we stopped on the islands for very short periods. We were very rushed and at times it felt like we were herded like cattle. The food was mediocre and the ship is very dated with extremely small cabins even after we paid for an upgrade. The cruise was not my idea of fun and relaxation but more stressful and chaotic. Never again!! The pool was extremely small and uninviting. The room smelled like sewage and the toilet ran constantly. The ship was not very clean and the staff were inattentive. I am sure you could get a much nicer cruise elsewhere for the price paid. Make sure to do your research as there is an up charge for drinks, WiFi, and excursions. We definitely felt like we were not provided with the best service and accomadations for the mine up tjt was spent. Upon disembarkation we were all dismissed at one time cause a chaotic confusing crowded mess at the end of the cruise. Read Less

I’m used to have always gone on sea goddess back in its day and crystal, so unfortunately my standards are really high. This cruise ship made me hate cruising forever. I don’t understand the hype. Old cruise ship trying to squeeze out every penny from you by investing the minimum. The food is awful at the main dining room. My sons school cafeteria lunches are superior. The specialty restaurants are ok. Nothing to write home about. That being said it’s oretty disappointing that a “foodie” cruise ship has such substandard food. I. Would say the two most decent restaurants there are the French and Italian restaurants. The buffet is much better than the main dining room. Avoid it at all costs! Let’s now focus on the cruise ship. We had a PH suite with a butler. The room was tiny and they custom made the furniture even smaller so the room looks bigger. The Verandah unfortunately has ubstricted views... the hallways smells of sewage. This was the worst part of all for me. The toilets started overflowing and there were leaks all over the suites. Our butler was nice, unfortunately I can’t say the same for my mom’s. The only thing that made everything special for my son was the housekeeping crew. They were so nice and I wish they would be treated better. Thank you for putting me off cruise ships for life! Read Less

First time cruiser chose Crown Princess for the itinerary - Athens to Barcelona July 7-14. First, the good: Our state room was fantastic. I spent a year reading reviews on cruise critic to lower my expectations, so I was just stunned by how beautiful and comfortable the state room was (Balcony, R-230), efficiently designed, with great lighting, visibility, and ventilation. It was love at first sight. I had been expecting sewage smells and bad grout and broken beds. Everything was fantastic. The service is amazing. A thousand crew members provide "Disney" levels of service. They compete with each other to be first to refill our drinks. They are knowledgeable and friendly. Crowds are minimized. I hate crowds and lines, so I was thrilled that Princess has engineered processes that minimize the impact of having so many people in such a small space. Any time a line might form, they hand out numbers and give you a comfortable place to sit in a lounge, with a drink, and when you are called, you just go -- no lines. We had any time dining, and we never waited for a table. There was never any kind of line at Horizon Buffet, and we could always get a window seat. Unless an event had just let out, we never had to wait for an elevator, and even then we could easily go to a different elevator bank or spend a few minutes on the promenade deck. The food was excellent. My traveling companions disagree -- they concur with the majority on Cruise Critic who describe the food as "nothing special" -- but I don't know what their gripe is. The Horizon Buffet is extensive, it is open non-stop from 6am-11pm, and the view from the dining area is to die for. My colleagues wanted eggs benedict every day, instead or rotating between eggs florentine, eggs benedict, and fried eggs. My colleagues wanted more cut fruit instead of whole fruit. The bagels should have been next to the lox. But there was eggs, and bacon, and blueberry blintzes. There was every kind of danish. It was a great spread. But if the Horizon Buffet was good, the Dining Halls were better. Impeccable service and a terrific menu. Half of the menu stayed the same, and half changed daily, so you could stick with shrimp cocktail and grilled salmon, or go exploring. All three dining halls are identical, except for the wall paintings. The quality of the food was uneven -- I prefer my pot roast with more gravy, and the ribeye wasn't the best cut. Relying on the server's recommendations is a good strategy if you are torn. If the Dining Halls are better, then Sabatini's and Crown Grill are best. The food is the best that can be summoned on a cruise ship, which is far beyond my requirements. What you are really paying for, though, is space and quiet. The Dining Hall is busy and noisy; the specialty dining venues are quiet, with far-apart tables. My colleagues didn't like it; they found the ambiance pretentious and fake. Additional Delights Don't bother with the Deck 16 running track; instead is is just 2.8 laps to a mile around the Promenade deck, and the views from the stern and the bow never get old. The Piazza is a great place to relax and get a drink. We really liked the International Cafe, with gelato, dessert cakes, sandwiches, and drinks. The X-Trio was first rate, and we always welcomed a chance to hear them play popular standards on a violin, guitar, and accordion. They made the Piazza magical. What a delight to be able to do laundry on board. There ought to be more than two washer/dryer combos per deck, and you ought to be able to buy laundry soap without visting guest services, but we made it work. Our cabin steward Larry was magnificent, our stateroom was constantly refreshed. The Princess Patter did a good job alerting us to what was going on on the ship. Part 1 Summary So: A gorgeous ship, a comfortable state room, a first-rate itinerary, delicious and abundant food, beautiful views, what's not to love? The Bad Because of all these wonderful things, I was broken-hearted to leave the Crown Princess, and I wish I were still aboard. However, there were some bad things, too, and they were bad enough that I will try a few other cruise lines before I return to Princess. The Endless Ripoffs You are literally pounded with ads for overpriced Jewelry, Watches, Perfumes, Photography, and Spa Services. For the Spa, they give you a $50-off coupon for services that are overpriced by more than $50. For the others, there are daily specials, raffles, super-sales, hard-sells, etc. It's tawdry. The Mother of All Ripoffs -- The Champagne Fine Art Auction The Casino and the Fine Art Gallery use up a LOT of space on the ship, so even if you ignore them, you are still ripped off by loss of space that could be used for something else. But we attended the Champagne Fine Art Auction to try to understand what it could possibly be, and we we aghast. It was the most despicable collection of psychological techniques for high-pressure sales that I have ever seen in my life. We found a nice Kinkade Disney "Beauty and the Beast" piece that we knew for a fact could be had at the Disney store for $500 ($450 online from Kinkade, it turns out, in the largest, highest quality, most select version), and The Fine Arts Gallery offered it to us for the "rock bottom" price of $7,020. I won't go into all the details about all the scams and psychological tricks, but suffice it to say that Princess should be protecting its passengers from this kind of scam, not perpetrating it. This is unforgivable, and it colored for us the entire rest of the trip, because we knew that Princess would be willing to prey upon its captive passengers in the worst conceivable way. Bloomberg did an expose on Park West's Art Auctions at Sea a couple years ago, titled, "Prepare to Be Seasick." Read it. Mediocre Excursions Princess sold dozens of excursion at each port, which means dozens of tour guides. One of those tour guides will be the worst of all, and you have a chance of getting assigned to that guide. This is a structural problem -- finding 24 great tour guides is really difficult. But if you book an independent tour, like Viator, they aren't running as many buses, so they can afford to be more picky and in fact they do better quality control. Every Viator I have ever taken has been better than every Princess excursion I took. Princess was paid to do better, but in fact did worse. I'll try much harder to book independent tours in the future. Ultimate Drink Disaster The one Princess Scam Machine that you cannot possibly avoid is the Beverage System. Costco included an Ultimate Beverage Package in our tour, so we thought we had avoided any friction around that, but we were so, so, so wrong. First, even if you have a package, you still have to show your card so they can manually write down your account information every single time you get any kind of drink. So that's annoying. And the rules around that are one drink at a time, so you won't be ordering a Diet Coke for your partner who is off at the restroom. Unless they are there to order their own drink and show their own card, they'll have to wait. The delay and friction around the dinner table as everybody gets carded for every drink at every meal distracts from whatever moment you are trying to have. Second, the Ultimate Lie is that you can have 15 glasses of wine per day, but you can't have even one Diet Sprite. Fountain soft drinks are included, but their fountain choices are limited, and canned soft drinks are not included. That means not only do they charge me $1.73 for each Diet Sprite, but I have to go through an apology ritual with the server who tries to sell me on a sugared spite and apologizes five times for having to charge me $2.30, but consoles me that I get 25% off the $2.30 (hence $1.73) for having bought the Ultimate Lie Package. I had to go through this every single day for every single Diet Sprite at every single meal. We all know that they get Diet Sprite for 25-cents a can, probably less than they pay for the wine and mixed drinks they are retailing for $9 each, so charging for canned soft drinks is a major ripoff and a major inconvenience. HORRIBLE Enrichment The port o'call lectures were boring beyond words -- you could bond with other passengers over this -- I literally fell asleep. The activities were insipid or insulting -- Paper Flower Making, Napkin Folding, Speed Painting. We tried some of these. No kids summer camp can compete with the stupid here. HORRIBLE Entertainment I loved the X-Trio, and the musical lounge acts were maybe so-so. The "I was Mufasa" guy in the Crown Theater was talented, and his show was tolerable. The ambient music in the ship was poor -- too much whiny Millennial Indy music for the mostly over-fifty crowd, and four times at least we had to hear "Sailing Away," so call it unimaginative. But the two Stage Shows were a disaster. Don't blame the singers, dancers, and musicians -- they were first rate talent, who signed up to do Disney-style musical reviews, but the producer and director of these shows -- and let the blame flow like a river all the way to the Entertainment Director and the Cruise Director -- ought to be fired so fast and so hard that they never experienced anything like it. The problem with the Soul Motown show was that they chose some of the worst tunes to fill the time. This happens when a director is bored of the standard tunes and wants to entertain themselves more than the entertain the audience. It was okay, but it would have been a better show if they had done platinum hits of any decade, or show tunes, or the Great American Songbook, or anything. The problem with Blame It On The Boogie, is, first, that Disco is not worth reviving. Second, the Disco Era was about more than just having sex, but this show simply staged a 40-minute on-stage orgy, which was so UN-family friendly that at one point the actors caricatured the sleaziest possible men and started sexually assaulting the women on stage. That nobody at Princess thought this was inappropriate -- or at least thought they could do better, that there were SOME standards for stage entertainment on Princess at all -- boggles the mind. It was a tough way to finish the cruise and left a bad taste in our mouths. Princess obviously slashes its entertainment budget compared to other cruise lines, but what I witnessed wasn't just low-budget. It was poor judgment and bad taste. SUMMARY So Princess has a great ship, a great crew, great service, great food, and you can have a great time. I will try to find a cruise line that isn't so aggressively, furiously intent on scamming its passengers at every turn. If there is no such line, I might return to Princess, and if I do, I will just do everything in my power to ignore the Shopping, Spa, Casino, Art, and Entertainment, and I am sure I will have a nice time. Read Less

Coming from Australia, we are used to being savvy about cruising – our country is a dumping ground for older ships with poor facilities (looking at you, Princess and P&O) or decent ships that have their prices massively pumped up the moment they hit our shores for the season (looking at you, Royal Caribbean/Celebrity). Our family of four (parents, 19yo son and 17yo daughter) are experienced cruisers, so we are used to being cautious when booking our cruise holidays whether domestically or overseas. On this occasion, we were attending a family gathering in Europe and decided to extend our holiday by taking a cruise. Having done the Western Med several times, we were keen to concentrate on a different region. In October 2017, I cruised on Azamara Journey ex Athens return with my mother and had thoroughly enjoyed the itinerary, so I was keen to show my husband and children what Greece had to offer. Unfortunately, the choice for family cruising in the region is very limited, as many of the large, reputable cruise ships use Italy and Spain, rather than Greece, as their embarkation/disembarkation points, with limited Greek ports as part of their itineraries. Despite some research, we could find very little information from an Australian perspective on the quality of Celestyal cruising - even the travel agents we consulted had limited information and asked us to provide them with feedback if we went ahead with our cruise. (As we were to find out, most of the people cruising this line do not come from Australia, the UK or even the mainland of the USA; rather, they seemed to be from the Latin American countries and some European nations.) In the end, we decided to chance it, but played it safe by booking the best available cabins which, at the time, were a suite (Cat S) and an obstructed oceanview, both cabins being on deck 6. The total cost for the Idyllic Aegean itinerary (7 days), which included gratuities, selected drinks packages and three shore excursions, was in excess of AUD12,000. (We had hoped to upgrade both cabins onboard if this became an option, but it never eventuated as the cruise sailed at full capacity.) This price was in the ballpark of what I had paid per person for my 8 day cruise on Azamara in an oceanview cabin, so I was hopeful this cruise would be a decent one, though I wasn't naive enough to expect it would be up to Azamara's standards. My thinking was that it might equate to some of Royal Caribbean's older, smaller vessels, such as Rhapsody. THE GOOD: The ship is part of a Greek line and focuses on the islands, which is what we were looking for. We overnighted in Mykonos and stayed two full days in Santorini, which is not an option on larger liners. You can't take away from Celestyal that it offers unrivalled access to the Greek ports. Worth noting is that, at the last minute, the captain allowed all guests to disembark for an hour or so in Samos, while he picked up passengers who had attended an alternative shore excursion - this was unscheduled but appreciated and not something you could expect on larger liners. Our suite was very spacious, but had no opening windows or balcony. In fact, it was more like a very large oceanview, with just one large porthole. The shower stall was generously sized with a sliding glass door and the shower itself had the best pressure we'd ever experienced at sea. Fruit platters were provided each morning and canapes each evening (though the latter was often dry and tired) and there were complimentary toiletries for suite guests. These appeared to be the only privileges for this room category, with no advantages offered at embarkation/disembarkation, dining or for tender tickets. The cabin staff (Shafik and Teresa/Silvia) were excellent, which is usual on any cruise ship we've been on. They were attentive and keen to help with any requests. We ensured they received additional tips, accordingly. THE BAD: Our children's oceanview cabin was tiny - it was uncomfortably small for two adults and was sparsely appointed. The mattresses in both cabin grades were unusually firm and the pillows unusually soft, so we all ended up with sore shoulders when attempting to sleep on our sides. This was the first ship I have ever been on that didn't allow toilet paper in the toilets. As is the tradition in Greece on the mainland, all loo paper had to be disposed of in the bathroom bins. I found this off-putting. We have travelled diversely, from trekking in third world destinations to staying in five star resorts, however, this was the first time I felt the toileting facilities were substandard for the price we were paying. At home, we live on self-sustainable acreage with a biocycle septic system on the driest inhabited continent on earth, yet we have never had issues putting loo paper down the toilet in any system in our country, let alone on a cruise ship. I really think they could make more effort here. At the time of booking, our children were initially assigned an oceanview cabin on deck 2, however, I'd read the CruiseCritic review cautioning about the diesel fumes on this deck and I insisted on a deck change before final payment. Thank goodness I did. As it was, we still experienced occasional diesel fumes in the cabins on deck 6, as well as in the restaurants. Not terribly pervasive, but I can only imagine how bad it could be down on deck 2. THE UGLY: There is no polite way to say this - the food was appalling. We were looking forward to something more tempting than the usual American-influenced fare offered on the larger ships (which we sometimes find overly sweet and heavy). Celestyal claims to offer authentic Greek cuisine. Sorry, but last time I was in Greece, bland boarding school food was not part of the local experience. There were too many times that even the a la carte dinner in the restaurant was inedible (such as an Osso Bucco that was nothing but a bone chunk and fat swimming in packet-tasting gravy with no accompanying muscle meat to be found). Sadly, even breakfast offered little relief. If you strayed from the omelette and waffle station on the pool deck, there was only bland scrambled eggs and stale pastries on offer. The cereals, fruits and yoghurts were all poor quality; given the wealth of produce available in the region, it was unnecessary and very frustrating. The waitstaff in the restaurants were, almost without exception, terrible. They would forget entire courses, often provided the wrong meals to the wrong people and could not be bothered to apologise or seem at all concerned when their mix-ups became evident. Waitstaff on cruise ships are usually hard working and attentive - these guys were clearly not trained in the same manner as any others we've encountered over the years. It was like the Fawlty Towers of cruise ship restaurants. We had the 'all-inclusive' drinks package as part of our cruise and, at the time of booking, I asked our travel agent to find out how much it would cost to upgrade to premium drinks so that we could take care of this upfront. My experience is that included drinks packages with 'selected' drinks are never particularly good. After having some difficulty getting responses from the Australian wholesaler, our travel agent was told it would only be about an additional $5 per day to upgrade and we could do this onboard. The unpalatable truth is that it was an additional EUR14 per day to get the upgrade once on the ship. The included drinks were so poorly prepared that we decided not to risk throwing good money after bad. We found that as long as we stayed away from any drinks that involved mixers (viz. all the cocktails), then we could find something drinkable. Surprisingly (and fortunately), the house wines were not terrible. My husband, who is a whiskey drinker, simply purchased a bottle of Jameson from onshore and kept that in our suite for his drinks, rather than being forced to pay the premium upgrade for a watery version. We had a mixed experience with the included shore excursions. We didn't take the one offered in Oia, but did use the one offered in Heraklion. It was well run and very enjoyable. The shore excursion in Kusadasi was a travesty. When sailing on the Azamara, I did this port with a private guide and thoroughly enjoyed it. However, the guide provided as part of Celestyal's excursion couldn't speak comprehensible English and ruined the whole experience. It was so frustrating to know how it could have been presented and to see the faces of so many people glazing over from the way it was presented. Then, to top it off, we were dragged to the unwanted rug sales pitch where a couple fell for the hard-sell and purchased a rug, holding up our entire tour group so that we got back to the ship within 5 minutes of departure. My husband had wanted to explore the options to purchase a leather jacket, but in the end there wasn't even time to shop independently for souvenirs. The whole shore excursion was unacceptable and I would strongly encourage people to use a private guide for this port. The final insult to this cruise was the disembarkation. We arrived in port at the same time as another of Celestyal's ships, holding up disembarkation so that many passengers were in a panic as to whether they would make their flights. Unlike any other cruise I have been on, there was no prior request for information about people's plans for the next stage of their journey and there was no priority offered to disembarkation of suite guests. Frankly, watching people argue with the crew and push and shove to disembark the vessel was a fitting end to this cruise. Not at all recommended. Read Less

Save your money & do not book a Silversea Whisper cruise! My family and I just disembarked from a 9 day Greek Islands cruise (Athens to Venice) and it had to be the worst luxury cruise we have ever taken (previously on Crystal & Oceania). To summarize: 1. Food - Not at luxury quality not service. Silverseas must be saving it’s $$$ portion sizes were tiny and we were often hungry after a meal. Service slow (lunch on pool deck often 1-1 1/2 hours). 2. Ship - ship is 17 years old and needs to be scrapped. Paint chipped, old carpets, etc. Felt like I was on a cruise in the last century. Silversea should be ashamed for charging what they charged us and put us on a ship like this. 3. Excursions- the cruise business of continuing to rip off its passengers continues. We were charged $180 to sit on a bus for 40 minutes then dumped on a remote beach for 2 hours. One highlight was the Sea Safari on. RIB boat in Split, Croatia but even then on a 6 hour trip we were only provided a “snack” of tuna fish salad and anchovies. 4. Staff - Our Butler was always in a rush and nervous. Compared to our Oberoi-trained butler on Oceania Rivierawas a stark contrast. Reception staff inexperienced often could not answer questions. Wait staff slow and forgetful. Maitre d in one restaurant yelled at a staff member and a passenger. 5. Entertainment - awful. 6. Fitness Center - Pilates classes were NOT Pilates (I know I’m an instructor). Save your money, do your research and don’t book on Silversea. Read Less

We have been on more than 15 cruises and fur this one we chose Silversea as we heard how nice it was and wanted a smaller ship. From start to finish including embarkation and disembatcation were flawless. The cabins were luxurious and the butler service was outstanding. All excursions met or exceeded expectations and the food and open dining experience was nice. You do have to make reservations for restaurants early as the do fill up but no matter where you ate the gods was great and service was above and beyond. Everyone had a smile and would customize as necessary. Took 6 Adults and they all were in awe of how nice it was. Highly recommend. Entrertainment was very good but don't expect the big production as on large ships. We made aloe of new friends as the small shop experience made it easy to meet people. Will definitely cruise Silversea again. Read Less

We boarded on Friday June 22nd. We entered our room (2039) and realized the floor was wet and there was an odor of mold. We called the front desk and they sent someone with a blower to dry it. I then realized the lower bed was wet. Not sure if this was related to the problem on the floor or if someone sat on it with a wet bathing suit and the housekeepers never bothered to put fresh sheets on the bed! Unacceptable either way!! My son then decided to take a shower and the entire floor was sopping wet! I called again asking to be moved to a new room and they repeatedly told me there was nothing! We decided to handle the problem in person so went down to the desk and said we would not stay in that room as our son has asthma that could be triggered by his mold allergy. We were told again and again there was nothing available but we refused that unacceptable room adamantly!! Finally they found an interior cabin (2114) which was fine and they told us we could have it until Sunday at 7:00am . Friday night at 11pm just as I was ready to go to bed in our new room they put a note under my door saying room 2039 was ready any time I wanted to return to it. Luckily I didn't move. The next morning we went to 2039 and a man was in there working on a broken pipe!! How that is ready to go back to I don't know! The odor persisted. We probably went to the desk 3 times on Saturday trying to get an answer as to where we would go on Sunday at 7am, everybody including Oksana gave us the runaround and wouldn't tell us. We told them there was no way we were going back to 2039! What they didn't seem to understand is that the carpet needed to be ripped up and replaced. Mold is something that should be taken very seriously and obviously they didn't get it. Saturday evening as again I was just going to bed at 11pm they put a note under my door saying I had to vacate 2114 by 7am. I was furious! All day I tried to get an answer to no avail. We had an excursion planned and had to be off the ship by 6:45 am on Sunday. At close to midnight on Saturday we found ourselves once again arguing with them at the front desk. They made us pack our bags and said they would move them to a new room by the time we got back from our excursion. This was a huge inconvenience at midnight!! We came back from our excursion and they said now we could stay in 2114 until our stop in Santorini. No one seemed to know what they were doing!! Meanwhile everything was packed. We came back from Santorini at 10pm on Sunday night and the general manager I believe Zlata Dukic or Martine Barbier ( the passenger services supervisor) finally got ahold of what was going on and put us in a suite. Earlier that day they gave us a pass to the more upscale dining, free wifi, and a bridge visit if we wanted it . Although it was a nice gesture at this point the damage was done. They had ruined our vacation with the constant fighting and begging with the front desk. I felt as if we spent more time fighting with the front desk than enjoying our vacation. We moved rooms 3 times during a 4 day cruise. We spent less than 12 hours in the suite because we had to vacate our rooms by 7am on Monday to disembark. One of the most upsetting parts was being informed via letter at 11pm that we had to move rooms. I can't imagine poorer customer service. It was as if on Sunday they finally realized they had failed at basic service quality standards. A dry clean room would be one of them. I will never set foot on a cruise run by them ever again !! I will be posting my experience on trip advisor because the public needs to be aware. I guarantee you they put some poor unsuspecting passenger back in to 2039 mold and all! This was my 11th cruise and never have I experienced conditions like this! Celestyal needs to be made aware that people pay money expecting comfort and satisfaction, they failed miserably!! Read Less

After several embarkations with Princess, we decided to embark with them once again. Princess never failed to provide us with all of our needs and leave us wanting more after disembarking The service and the people who work there are very professional and kind. Our dining hosts, Vincent, Christian, and Peter were all so compassionate and motivated with their work. Our room was refreshed every day and we were consistently welcomed home by the room server. Not tomention the little chocolates that were provided everyday for us to munch on. Princess provided great service for the Sea Days as well Although there were a few moments when the boat was too shaky, it was entertaining majority of the time. There were consistent events provided for the passengers so they wouldn’t get bored on the ship. There was not a single moment that was uncomfortable during our stay and we would love to return again. Read Less

This was our 10th cruise with Princess and our third trip on the Crown. We boarded the ship in Athens Greece and we had 14 days of perfect weather, calm seas and the ports we visited were fantastic..Our cabin was clean and bright, but the ship is starting to show it's age. The water in our shower would suddenly turn cold then stop altogether and leave us covered in soap suds. After frantic tries to get the flow going again it would slowly come back (ice cold) then warm to normal. The first time it happened I figured it was an anomaly but when it later happened to my wife we started calling for help. A plumber showed up several hours later and said he 'fixed' it but the next day it did the same thing and after more trips from maintenance people they finally said they would have to move us to another cabin, which required that we pack everything up and move. Also, there was an entire bank of elevators that didn't work the whole cruise and with the ship being at full capacity it made for long waits. The food was better than we remembered and the waiters were pleasant but the service was very slow. If you ordered a drink before dinner it would sometimes takes 15 or 20 minutes to get there. Read Less