Ship was good aimed at families there is a lot to do for the children.As we are used to travelling from Southampton there are a few things to take with you If you smoke there was NO Duty free on board as we did not call at any none EU countrys so take enough to last you until your 1st port of call.All merchandise has to add 18.5 % Vat so can work out more expensive than things look. We eat in the Windjammer due to my milk alleges there is always something i can eat in there but not as much choice as there used to be seems like instead of creasing prices for cruise there are putting less choice . Staff can not do enough for you but you may need to ask if you have alligies . look at booking trips before you go with outer trip companies as RC is appoximatly 30% more expensive. The shows are fair to excellent but this is a matter of fast. Casino i gamble for fun on the tables but not on this ship minimum chip value was 5 us dollers so if you just want to have a flutter then think again. We went on a cheep getaway so no frills state room the room was fine for 7 days .We normal book a suit so lots of things you get as the norm we did not have bur as i said this was a cheep getaway and as we are diamond guests we do have some free extras. Just want to add overall very good value for money superb i will do this ship again Read Less

I planned this trip for my husband's birthday and did a lot of research in advance. The newly refurbished Sirena is beautifully equipped. Its layout makes sense and there are surprises tucked on every deck -music - refreshments - relaxation. There were some hiccups with communication - many of the employees speak limited English but they are efficient and friendly. Our cabin lacked nothing and we thoroughly enjoyed our room service coffee on the balcony ever morning. The food was just so - so. Not as good as expected and there were limited choices. If you want a specialty restaurant you need to book well in advance. The excursions were well done - again some problem with language skills and on one occasion we paid 3 times the normal price for a special tour that turned out to be identical to the one for the regular price. Plenty of information and access available for those wishing to go it alone on-shore. The entertainers sang their hearts out and a lot was done with limited space and resources. Lots of fun activities. Wonderful salt-water pool and large gym and spa. Relaxed environment. Nice people without the stuffiness. Read Less

Staff were lovely - friendly but professional and really helpful. Food in the main dining restaurant was good with a varied selection and always well cooked and presented. As ever on cruises the veg was lacking and under-cooked. The speciality restaurants were generally only half full probably as they are overpriced. Chop's Grill was particularly good and we dines there 3 times. Giovanni's Table was disappointing however with the pasta dishes being very bland. Azumi was really empty and lacking in atmosphere as a result but the food was delicious. RCL should look at reducing the supplements to increase patronage. Entertainment was the poorest I've seen on any cruise ship in over 25 yrs. We only went to the show 3 times - one was the cast which was fairly good but Tango Buenos Aires was a repeat of the show I saw on this ship 2 years ago and The Zoots was simply rubbish. Nothing like the standard that I've seen on NCL, Celebrity and Costa in the past. The only port on the tour that I hadn't been to was Ravenna and I was really disappointed. No taxis in port! Waited 40 mins and gave up. Ended up paying 22USD each for a shuttle into town. Others paid 129USD for a trip to the beach to end up on the public beach that was literally 10 mins walk from the ship! Read Less

I took this cruise with 13 other of my family members. I am very happy to have a great family because they were the only good part of the entire cruise while on the ship. To start the lines for food were terrible, long lines wrapped around the food stations every time I was there. The walls are so thin, that I was woken up at 1:00am in the moring on more than 1 night by noisy neighbors. When I called and complained it only got slightly better. I had an adjoining cabin that creeped me out, there is no way I would have ever agreed to an adjoining cabin with someone I don't know, they didn't even bother putting all of my family's cabins together or even put us on the same floor. I really don't think that was too much to ask. I wasn't even allowed to board with my family when it was time to get on the ship. On top of that the ship was delayed leaving due to some kind of paperwork problem that Carnival forgot to take care of. The internet service that I paid for was absolutely terrible. It was so slow that it is just better to give up than to wait the 5 minutes it took a page to load. Even worst, on a typical cruise you don't have to pay tax, oh well, not this time, there was a tax of 21%. There is absolutely no way I would ever get on this boat again. I think I will start encouraging my whole family to look at other cruise lines after the poor quality of this cruise. If you think about going to the spa, don't bother, they will just try to push hundreds of dollars of products on you after the visit. I have never felt so harassed for money in my whole life. Read Less

My husband and I took our first Viking River Cruise in 2011( Christmas Markets). After friends heard our how we loved it, they accompanied us in 2013( on the Rhine). In 2015 we stepped up to the Ocean cruise with yet another couple. (3 in total). Having been on the smaller river cruises , we did not know how we would feel on a larger ship. I tell you the worries were unfounded. The crew is professional and accommodating. The ship was beautiful and plenty of space for 900 passengers. I felt as if we were on a floating hotel and we had plenty of places to explore and relax after a day of sightseeing and a wonderful dinner. There was no "crowed" feel. All our meals were delicious. The excurssions were a little disappointing ( i think they are on all cruises) I personally would not do Pisa ( yes you need to see the Leaning Tower , but not really) Toulon, I would not choice Aix and on Corsica, there is no need to take a 3 hour bus ride around the island, although the brief stop at a local tavern was very nice. In Monaco we took the bus to Nice. ( cost a 1.50) Oh and a must see is Monserrat while in Barcelona. And I wish I had 2 days in Florence and a week in Rome!!! Two beautiful cities and so much to see. Our guides in these cities were spectacular! I highly recommend Viking to everyone and have had other friends take cruises based upon my reviews and they have enjoyed the trips as well. Read Less

This was an outstanding cruise. Everything was the best. Viking Star was a star of a ship. The captain and his crew were the nicest and best people to make sure everyone was taken care of and had fun. Many of the crew stood out knowing you after the first meeting and would call you by name/provide your normal service. The ports we wonderful and very fun. This was the first Ocean Viking Cruise Ship with 2 more in the process. Highly recommend this Boat/Cruise/Crew. They are the best. Just voted the #1 new Cruise Ship in the World. *Cabins were very nice and very efficient. *Activities and Tours were very well organized. *Service was the best. *Dining allowed you to go and get about any type of food that you wanted. *Entertainment was good but most of the time we did not use it as we were touring all day, having dinner and going back to our room. Abba presentation was OUTSTANDING. Embarkation/Disembarkation was so easy/smooth. Tours Security was excellent and did not take a lot of time from the day. Read Less

The Viking Star is beautifully and comfortably appointed w/ a gracious, accommodating staff. My husband and I have traveled extensively and this is our first ocean cruise experience. We have two suggestions: #1 The city included tours: No guide achieved the standards we believe Viking aspires to attain. Guides were well tutored, learned, and tried to please; BUT it is a studied fact that anyone speaking longer than 15 min. w/out a break looses his/her audience. Yes, the cities are bursting with treasures of all kinds, but have the guides select the most important, elaborate on that, then have a break in the dialogue so that us travelers can see, saturate, and remember. Our tour guides spoke endlessly. #2 Pompeii: My husband and I had the privilege of seeing the Dallas Museum of Art Pompeii Exhibit in 1979 and also the Pompeii exhibit in San Francisco several years later. The exhibitions reveal how Pompeii vanished beneath volcanic ash and recreates the catastrophic eruption results and freezes life in time. Issues of "Smithsonian" and "National Geographic" magazines, and even the recent issue of "Traveler" present Pompeii's natural disaster. BUT our tour gave us only a small portion of this. We saw almost no recreation of Mt. Vesuvius eruption except a dog in a glass case, excavated pots, and the town's proximity to the volcano. Yes, we could walk some of the streets and see the building foundations. Where are the lovely frescoes that are shown in noteworthy magazines; where is the recreation of the event that we see both in magazines and in museum exhibits??? Is it in Naples??? This most definitely SHOULD be included!!! Read Less

This was our second Disney cruise (first was on the Wonder) and was an outstanding trip. Staff was friendly, courteous, and helpful. Went out of thier way to accomdate us, and did everything we asked for. We did this trip without children, and though there were many families aboard, we were never bothered by kids. Spent a lot of time in the adults only pool and coffee shop area, which were quiet and relaxing. Food was very good, especially considering they are servicing thousands of people at a time. Definately book shore side excursions through the ship, but don't feel the need to do one all day, every day. Ship board entertainment was very good, especially the live music in the small venues. We thought weather in the Mediteranian in August would be hot, but it was a perfect 80 degrees every day with lite breezes. Read Less

First of all, I have done 10+ cruises over the past 15 years, worldwide using different companies. My last time with costa was 2 years ago.I have read numerous posts/reviews that the standards have declined. I found this not so. 1. The DIADEMA. lovely new ship, great entertainment.loved the country rock bar (british/american live music)..and the theatre shows. As a solo traveller I didnt meet many people from uk.. but all the other guests I did meet were friendly, and made an effort to communicate in english for my benefit , as I did in their respective languages. All the staff spoke to me in english and were very courteous.my cabin was on deck 1 outside premium, i would definetly reccomend premuim, i got my choice of dining venue and time, great free cabin service menu . my cabin was spacious, sofa,table,double bed and plenty of cupboard draw space.it had 2 bathrooms 1 with a tub. very quiet, didnt hear any noise at all. 2.food....I enjoyed continental breakfast in my room some mornings, and other mornings hot breakfast in the dining room.. great selection of fresh omelettes, fully english and buffet for ceraels,fresh fruit and pastries. lunch was sometimes in the buffet great selection of salad,pastas,oriental food, fresh grilled fish chicken,burgers and chef carvery station with beef,pork and chicken..selection of veg/potatoes, desserts, breads. never had a problem finding a table or queing.. the dining room at lunchtime offered 2 or starters and 2 or 3 main courses..served very tasty and hot.. evening meal i tried the main dining room 3 times.. 2 were very good , not so the other, but only because i didnt really like the choices.. the other 4 nights i paid 60eu inc service to dine in all 4 pay restaurants.. would give them all 10/10 for food and service.. loved the teppiki...... 3... I booked the all inclusive drinks package , definatly value for money. at 25eu per day. I am not a big drinker.. so average i had 3 cappachino a day, 4 waters, 2 cokes..couple of glasses of wine with evening meal and normally 2 cocktails whilst watching the evening shows..this would have cost around 40euro a day.. 4. excursions.. I only booked 1 with the ship and enjoyed it.. most times made my own way.there was a lack of choice as not enough english speaking guests to offer more excursions. looking forward to booking my next cruise.. Read Less

Firstly, I would say that I am not easy to please. I'm not particularly proud of this fact but it's important to know when reading this review. So, here we go:- This ship is amazing, we had a fantastic time. Yes, the show times changed but they did give you plenty of warning and you could easily re-book them. The main production was Hairspray which was absolutely fantastic. I have seen many West End productions and this was easily as good, if not better, than many. The Aqua Theatre was amazing. We saw the main production and then the 'comedy' production, both of which were fantastic. Costume changes and other small touches that made all the difference from being a good to a spectacular show. Exactly the same comments apply to the Ice show which was also spectacular and a feat to put on. We had a cabin overlooking Central Park. Before embarking, I was a little dubious thinking there may be a few trees and plants but nothing overly special. I was completely wrong it was done amazingly well with all the plants and tree together with the restaurants and cafes which really did give it a 'Park' feel. Sounds ridiculous but it's true. The promenade was also amazing. We ate at all most of the speciality restaurants and really enjoyed them. Vintages was a fantastic find with a wine list to die for!! I could go on but I think you get the drift. If you want to escape from reality for a few days, this is the ship for you! Have fun!! Read Less

The entire Noordam staff were graduates of smile school, and were very accommodating to any need that we expressed. - The Maitre 'd made a point of soliciting our comments about the Vista Dining Room ("tepid soup, slower service between courses than expected"- which he remedied). Portions seemed smaller than I remember from previous cruises, so we often visited the Lido deck later to get a bite. - The Excursion Director, KK, provided an informative overview of the destinations and had scheduled hours at her Main Deck desk to respond to individual questions; she had unlimited patience in dealing with people who did absolutely nothing on their own to become informed (and who also wasted everyone else's time). We took one HAL excursion and explored other destinations on our own- I find that privately arranged tours are about half the charge of HAL's and you can alter them as you'd like. Hop On-Hop Off buses are also a fairly quick and inexpensive way to get the lay of the land. - The crew was especially attentive to passenger safety during tendering operations at ports where the ship couldn't dock. Our single significant disappointment was that complimentary wifi wasn't available- not in the cabins nor in a central location such as the library. Cruisers get pumped about their activities and increasingly want to share their excitement through email and facebook (generating some buzz for potential HAL cruisers?). While Motel 6 provides it free, HAL gouges passengers 75c a minute, or lesser amounts if you shell out for a package of minutes, starting at $55 for 100 minutes ($.55 a minute). If capacity was a significant factor, I'd suggest providing some basic minutes free and charging for usage over that amount. Read Less

Our trip started on Mother's Day and ended on our Anniversary (great way to not have to think up gifts). It was a "sandwich" trip with a land portion, the cruise and then more land travel. I should also mention my wife is totally blind since birth. Also, you should know we've cruised 19 times with 7 different cruise lines. We are mellow and don't get excited because something minor went wrong. To begin, I regret it is with a "bad". Since our very 1st cruise we've asked for Braille menus, not received one and wrote the cruise line afterward. We've suggested everytime we'd be happy to Braille their menu for other blind folk. We talked with a Carnival rep this time who sent us printed menus ahead of time but said "No" when we offered to Braille them. We've suggested putting the menu on a dedicated phone # onboard, same with the Daily Activity newsletter on our bed every night. Nope. Sadly, Carnival seem uninterested in meeting this need. Okay, the cruise itself was very nice. Food was good, service good, room steward good. Movie offerings were better than most ruises BUT good luck finding what time they started -nothing in the daily schedule. Opening show was the usual Cruise Director welcome but that was the only similarity to introdction night. Instead of introducing the Captain, Food Director, etc. John Heard, Cruise Director, was as good a stand up comedian as I've seen. He basically did a show while giving info. Later he did port talks in a comedic waythat was great. Great job BUT never saw John except at the theater. He did a TV show each day that was not impressive at all. The rest of the shows were the usual mixed - some god, some bad but one night it was just a movie! Tour organization was pretty good getting us off the ship. Tours were normal and good except our Venice "Gondola, Murano Island, etc." The boat captain that picked us up at the ship couldn't find a place to park his boat, wasted time looking for one, then we had to walk 25 minutes to get to the gondola. We were late and instead of 1st class gondolas with singers, we got 2nd class ones. It wasn't a good tour and felt like rookies all around. The boat itself is way too gaudy with a Roman urn theme repeated way too much. Cruise excursion staff helpful but hours are poor, Automatic tips - bad idea. Cabin service seems unaffected but all the rest, in general, has slipped. Waiters have too many tables now and it just isn't as good. The buffet is mixed good and not so good. Food is fine except desserts were ho-hum. The problem is pizza had one guy working, very slow going. Wrap/sandwich station great sandwiches but took too long. Design of the drink/dessert/pizza/salad area threw too many people in one area. Salads were very good. Ice cream machine is well hidden! First cruise we've been on that seemed to understand people like Trivia Games a lot. Several versions every day. Very good idea. Self-serve laundry is a great idea. Very clean and nice. $3 a pop is a bit much but easy to use with ship card instead of quarters -great idea. Small jogging track with miniture golphers constantly stepping in front of us. Best disembarkation ever in Venice. Great way to do it Carnival. Overal a good cruise that went smoothly except for power outage of about 40 minutes. Read Less