We chose this cruise as our traveling companions wanted to experience a total luxury cruise. Unfortunately, our experience was less than total luxury.
Our first disappointment was with the air travel to Barcelona. United canceled one of our flights less than 30 days before departure. Instead of a reasonable layover we now had to wait close to 7 hours before beginning our red eye international ...
Background
We mostly cruise with Viking, Tauck, and with others, but three years ago we saw this itinerary and we couldn't wait - and then we waited three years. We are also introverts, so there are things Oceania offers that are simply not relevant to us - the bar scene, the entertainment, the casino, the sea day activities. We spend a little more for a larger room where we can happily hang ...
Just completed Barcelona to Abu Dhabi - 20 days on the refurbished Nautica.
The refurb is outstanding!
Better food in the Grand Dining Room. Portions are much better/lighter.
Speciality venues are excellent.
Butler was Superb!
Excursions were very good and the overnight in Luxor was outstanding.
I am baffled by the other reviews in that this was one of the best cruises we have ...
HAL is always our go to cruise line so when we decided to try a transatlantic cruise we booked with HAL. First off, the cabin we were first given (which we picked out) had a toilet that was not flushing properly. After 7 or 8 calls with guest services and 2 plumber visits they finally moved us to a different cabin (after 4 nights of crossing our fingers that it would flush). When Patrick from ...
Wanted to celebrate a special birthday the Holland America way. There was no celebration! No song. No cake No card. Service was mostly adequate, but slow. There was a decided lack of vegetables available, and I really tried to order extra veggies at dinner but they never came. Mariner ceremony was a big, flat nothing. We used to go to the dining room for a special lunch after. This ...
I chose it for the variety of ports, and we wanted to see St Peter's basilica in Rome. Unfortunatly my husband hurt his bag pushing luggage, so we took it easy. I did the Royal Up and won the bid for an Owners Suite...lovely with nice perks to go along with it. Our stateroom attendant, Claude, was very nice, and did a great job. Always a smiling hello from him. He kept ice water in our ice ...
This was my first cruise following the pandemic, my last being December 2019.
I chose this as I love T/A cruises, so many sea days to savour. I chose the Jewel as I don’t like huge ships, the Jewel is 2500 passengers and there were only 1200 on this cruise!
The ship is a delight, so much wood and glass it is beautiful. All areas were sparkling clean and staff were fantastic ...
My dream was to cross the ocean in comfort during my lifetime. It was all so easy. Our cabin attendant introduced herself right away and explained that for the next 12 days, we were not to worry about anything. We opted for a suite, and indeed the extra space and amenities made a big difference. Thirty-four drawers for storage and two built-in wardrobes. Very pleased how well the A/C worked. Beds ...
Chose this cruise for the eastern Mediterranean itinerary and to experience the Splendor. We've been on the Explorer and wanted to compare. Like the decorations and feel of the Explorer better but this is an excellent vessel. It handled the gale-force winds and waves we encountered one night just fine. We stepped down from Penthouse to Concierge D for this 17-day trip and the room was very ...
We picked the cruise for the itinerary. We were able to get Greece, Israel, and Turkey on one trip with the bonus of starting in Barcelona. We were originally booked into standard balcony class on deck eight. We were offered a modestly priced upgrade to concierge class on deck ten and decided to try it.
We spent three days in Barcelona (our second time there). The highlight was a food and wine ...