you think about a relaxed vacasion, fine entertainment, nice cabin, ship in good shape, interesting excursions, see new countries, meet nice people, have a good time? Nothing of all we found at a world-cruis with Costa Luminosa, starting 5. of Januar 19 till now (30.03.19). Explanation: the averig of the guest ist probably 75, that means we travelled with a lot of guests older than 90. Nothing against old people, but that is a special thing, severel in Wheel-chairs, probably 60% of them are sick, and we and almost all the other guests get also sick, for weeks, we called it finally the "Costa sickness", worst cough, fever, inflamed eyes, even people who never get sick otherwise, got sick, mostly for weeks The ship is old and in bad shape, old dirty carpeting, lamps, floors, dishes, we had a "Samsara cabin with balcony", Samsara means you get free entrance to the spa, be aware, maybe you get there some virus there (ist ugly dirty) You want to drink a free coffee at 06.15: bad luck, wait till 07:00 or make one yourself in the cabin (capsules), You want water to drink, you have to buy it, 12 bottle for US 36,-- (packet) You want Internet: you have to buy it, but you will be surpriced, often it is not working and the Connection is so terrible, that I could´dt never open my Banking account, I had to wait for land, Looking there vor a Restaurant and asked for Internet. Looking for a movie at night; you get one (1) per day, there is nothing more The tour plan itself: we got around 60 see-days (from together 112), that means we sit at the ship waiting for the next Landing, sometimes we had 5 see-days on a row, often we had to be at 05.00 p.m. back Ankering: we think Costa wants save Money, so the ship is ankering instead of pear, that causes you wait for the tender boat and the last tender boat is 04:00, There are other 10 Things to write, but ist not worth the time. Now why is my Rating one Point and not sero? The Food is good and the Service People try their best Read Less

Manly booked this for the itinerary. It was a 12 night - Venice to Barcelona . 11-1-18 to 11-13-18. Excursions were not as described. The stops listed were not accurate. One location did not have the handicrafts village as highlighted. Another town was completely closed on the day we were there. Nothing to see at all! They return you back to the ship 2-3 hours before ship left port. Not enough time given to sights that were available. Big waste of money. The destination desk personnel were useless and could care less. This Cruise line is over rated. Horrible entertainment. It doesn't exist. First time on Oceania and probably the last. Expected more from a so called upper class sailing. This is also not recommended for any one who is handicap. All ports of call and the excursions we were part of would be a real challenge for those who are handicap. The food was very good compared to other Cruise lines. But do NOT touch anything or the food Nazis will repremand you. Sparkling water and soft drinks are all included. As for cocktails, way over priced. Friends were charged $56.00 for 2 drinks in the main dining room because he made the mortal mistake of ordering a " double" rum and coke. He only made that mistake once. The staff were very good and attended to all your needs in the beginning of this itinerary, but slowly declined as the days passed. It seemed as though many have had enough and were anxious to go home, as this was their final voyage for the season. As previously noted the worst was the " Destinations" personnel. They could care less about anything. For your O Life choice, do yourself a favor and use the ship board credit. The free excursions are NOT the way to go! Go with an outside company or explore on your own. It should also be noted that this was not a voyage for families with young children. They would be extremely board due to the lack of entertainment and the ports of call. It's catered towards the adults. For the fees charged on this line, we expected a little more. Read Less

First, being a Boston resident, I am thrilled to board the Serenade close to home. I have done this sailing three times and have loved each one. The staff on the Serenade is wonderful. They will go the extra mile to get things done. The entertainment on the ship is diverse and upbeat. The ship was clean and shiny. The cruise director is full of energy and fun. Everyone has their own preferences and Royal does their best to accommodate everyone. I’m not saying they are perfect, but pretty close. I spent a lot of time in the Diamond lounge and the wait staff there is fantastic. The drinks and appetizers are delicious. I love the ports but I really don’t even get off half the time. I’d rather stay on the ship! I just wish there were more sailings by RCCL from Boston what return to Boston post cruise. I think I would be sailing every month! Loyal to Royal!! Read Less

We love Oceania for its amazing service and outstanding food quality and variety. We've been sailing on Oceania for the past 15 years and just got off the Marina yesterday. This was an unusual itinerary since it had so many sea days (which we both love). We boarded the ship in Papette, visited 4 ports in French Polynesia and then sailed to Hawaii and visited 4 island ports there. We sailed 5 days from Kawaii to Los Angeles where we disembarked. We really enjoyed the ship's excursions. We did an excursion in every port. We enjoy nature, birds and photographing beautiful landscapes - we were not disappointed. The Pacific Ocean was as calm as a lake (we were quite lucky). We had perfect weather on every port day and all but one sea day. Our butler proved outstanding service - including room service breakfast on disembarkation day. We have booked a 30 day voyage August, 2019 sailing from London to NYC - visiting Iceland, Greenland and some of Europe. That will complete 31 Oceania cruises for us. Read Less

As usual, we chose this Oceania cruise for the itinerary, the food, and the service and it did not disappoint. Venice is a wonderful city to explore when you get away from the crowds around San Marco square. Other highlights on this itinerary included Malta, Rome and Barcelona. Although Oceania’s shore excursions are pricey and we are not fond of large group tours, we booked quite a few of their excursions for this cruise because I was too busy to research independent tours. I did not enjoy some of their excursions because none of the guides provided headsets and some did not even use a microphone, which makes it difficult to hear them unless you barge your way to the front of the group. But we really enjoyed Oceania’s culinary tours in Corfu and Barcelona with Chef Kelly, which included a walking tour with a local guide. Chef Kelly has a great personality and we liked the smaller group sizes of these excursions. The food on this cruise was also excellent, especially the fish and seafood, and the crew was very friendly and attentive. Read Less

We booked an excursion to Paphos in Cyprus. The description of the tour which appealed to us was 1. Taken to Paphos and have three hours free time to explore independently or 2. Visit the Villa and see the mosaics and the tombs of the kings and lastly 3. Take a stroll along the harbour. However, we were given no choices at all! We were dropped off at the harbour and left there. There was only a few restaurant and tacky gift shops. I was in a wheelchair and on 24/7 oxygen. We tried to find some shops but it was a long trek and we only found a very small mall and went back to the harbour and waited there for a coach to return. We put in an official complaint at this persons desk when we returned and received 10% refund which was an absolute joke we had wasted our money and our day in Cyprus. The literature is completely misleading and if we had known what was in store we still could of taken the free shuttle bus or gone to Limassol where apparently the guests had a fantastic time which made us even more fed up ..... I keep trying to get in touch with the excursions specialist team as we was advised to do once we got back to UK but I have had no luck getting through so needed to vent my feelings somewhere. As for the cleanliness of the newly refurbished Kings Court, we found it dirty, especially the walls next to the tables, the skirting, the windows. Infact, a lot of the communal areas needed TLC. They were cleaned but the staff were very lethargic and did everything at a snail's pace and didn't seem to take any pride in the fact that they were on a Cunard ship, although they cleaned they didn't clean the edges or the corners. This is where germs lie ......... Read Less

We have cruised 5 times on other lines but this was a "Bucket List" cruise for us. We felt we were very lucky to get any disability cabin, let alone in Princess Grill. Embarkation in Sydney was fairly smooth, and we were on board in about 30 minutes, with our luggage waiting for us at the suite. We have a small electric wheelchair which is the same size as a normal wheelchair, but entry through the door was so tight that we constantly hit door frame or wardrobes getting in or out. It required a difficult "S" turn to get in, due to free standing wardrobes, in front of the entry, which were mainly unsuitable for disabled persons, being nearly all shelves with only one small hanging rail in one robe unit (no walk-in robe, as pictured online). The accessible bathroom was OK, but access past there, to the rest of the suite, was not wide enough for the wheelchair to pass. Space between beds and lounge furniture, chair & table was too narrow to get to the second bed or balcony and the lack of space also meant that there was no access to lounge or chair seating without moving furniture. The TV was also on the wall behind the lounge, so not view-able, except from the beds. Power points were also badly placed. We had 3 at the writing desk, but none at the fridge & mini bar cabinet where the kettle and coffee machine were positioned. These had to be moved to the desk, to be used. Bedding however, was very comfortable. In all, this cabin, sold as an "accessible Princess Grill" was false, and when we checked a non-accessible suite, it was the same size and space as ours, but with a walk-in robe next to the bathroom and direct access down the passage into the cabin. We spoke to the Grills Concierge about lack of accessibility in cabin and also later, to an officer in the purser's office, but despite their promises to respond within the day, neither of them got back to us for the duration of the cruise. The other problem for wheelchair access was to the outside decks. All door frames we encountered, had no ramps, but more like a house wood door frame, with vertical edges. All were very jarring to cross and some were too high for the front wheels of the small electric chair to climb, so the chair had to be manually pulled backwards (with help from other passengers to hold doors), to get back inside. This difficulty, and possible chair damage, effectively prevented wheelchair use on the upper decks for us. Although the lifts were small, access within the ship was generally no problem, and while there always seems to be some people who show no regard for disabled, the majority of passengers and crew were considerate & helpful. The entertainment we saw was, in general "average" and not as good as on other lines we have previously cruised with. We were unable to take the tender to Port Arthur, but went ashore in Hobart, where special disabled access busses were provided to transfer to and from town. Meals in the King's Court buffet were mainly average and selections seemed to be minimal, compared to some other cruise lines. On a good note, the quality of meals and service in the Princess Grill dining room was superb. We were seated on a table of eight and our dining companions were great company. They were very friendly, well travelled and we always had interesting conversations which sometimes extended our dinners to around 10pm! Would we sail with Cunard again? No. Lack of accessibility in the Suite and Cunard's lack of response to the issues, made for a disappointing experience. Read Less

Lovely ports of call made us choose this itinerary and adult medium ship. Dining was excellent, lectures varied and interesting, the evening entertainment was on the whole very good but the Headliners on ship singers and dancers were absolutely excellent. All very talented and ranked as good as any west end show. The cabin was the problem A86 mid aft four down from midships on port side. See cabin review and beware! Not worth the money. Excursions were varied and we took advantage of many in countries as Australia, New Zealand, Papa New Guinea, Japan, South Korea and China all well organised on time and educational. The dining area was well laid out although our table 48 was over the top of the propellor shafts and not only noisy but juddered from the vibrations. Most ships seem to think that rear ship for dining front for theatre and entertaining all at low level. Better if higher up, less shaking and stick the night club and gyms down the rear. Conversation had to be raised when ship moving above 17 knots, obviously designers never take a holiday on cruise ships. Still did not spoil a wonderful holiday (except cabin) see below. Read Less

We came on the ship as basically first time Cruisers for the World Cruise 2017. Jan 6 to May 3, San Francisco to Monte Carlo. We had no complaints about the cabin or the ship, it is a little dated. Many of the repeat cruisers were very unhappy with the condition of the ship as most were led to believe the ship had gone under renovation before the cruise. It turned out only some internal things were redone. New carpet was installed. Getting into the restaurants was not a problem. We thought La Terraza, morning and afternoon buffet was very good even though it was pretty much the same everyday. It was the best food of 3 in the evening. Food was very good, most of the time, but most of the menus were repeats. There was lots to do with many days at sea. Lots of lectures, classes and entertainment.. The service was way beyond our expectations. The crew was outstanding and worked very hard to anticipate your every need. There was a bit of a language barrier at times but their smiles and happy attitudes made up for it all. Some of the ports were redundant, and some we wondered why we went there at all, as there was nothing to do, or it would be Sunday and everything was closed. The biggest disappointment was the shore excursions. Many of the tours did not fit the descriptions. Many of the tour guides had their own agenda, or could not speak good English, so you were basically riding around in a bus wondering what you saw. Complains to the Excursion Desk fell on deaf ears. Hard to believe they had done some of these in previous cruises. Book with a Travel Agent company who has a representative on board and includes some of the land tour. Someone that hears you and advises you on board. Private cars were some of the worst unless you know where you want to go and a little something about the port. Don't be afraid to complain and fill in your reviews. We did not and that was a mistake, as we were basically ignored, I suppose assuming we were happy. We are not complainers. Final, this is not a cruise for children, not even any of the legs. Not a fit for the World Cruisers and nothing to do on board. Read Less

I chose this as it was a Maiden World Cruise and as such had a certain amount of expectations, one being that we didn't limp out of Tilbury without a fanfare, band or drink. Embarkation at Tilbury had boxes overstuffed with xmas decorations in there corners and dead flowers on windowsills.The cabin was suitable except there were no fridges, no coffee or tea making facilities and no heating. My bathroom flooded umpteen times and my bed was the source of an ant infestation. You couldn't find a chair to eat lunch al fresco and the food was poor. Entertainment all round was poor, no expert speakers for Panama or Suez. Hardly any entertainment on deck despite the tropical weather and very few buffets. The speakers were few and far between as was the cabaret acts.The theme nights were mostly a miss. The Bollywood amounted to a buffet and a showing of a Bollywood film. The ship was subject to flooding and leaks from pipes everywhere with blows being used to dry the large areas. This caused capers to small and staining on ceiling panels. The shore excursions were expensive and the amount of container ports was a joke, there were no facilities and no taxis and dos shuttle buses laid on Over 200 people got together for a meeting but management would not come and address everyone's complaints. Those that wrote letters needn't have bothered as they were not answered. A cruise from hell and if anyone has similar complaints I would love to hear from you at michele@mattmonro.com Read Less