What a beautiful ship that is! Due to the fact that it is new the outside of the 225 metres ship is off course top notch - once entered things are even more impressive. The Lobby is comparable with a Dubai 5 Star Suite Hotel and the glas-elevators going from deck 4 to 10 are stunning. You are actually not really feeling like you are on a ship at all the first minutes. They do have a max of 500 guests - with the tour now there were about 470 = more or less fully booked but on a ship of that size you could carry twice more and that advantage of just beeing with 470 you can feel every minute onboard - it never feels loaded and crowded there. 7 restaurants are onboard - i am totally surprised about the level of quality they can serve on that stunning ship - its almost like you would eat in a 1 star Michelin Restaurant. All restaurants are a la carte except the Yachtclub (Buffet) and the Sansibar (Bar with Snacks). Have eaten Italian, French and also in the Asian Restaurant as well as in the Sushi place where food is just awesome. Portions are a bit smaller but very fine made with just really good ingredients (where do they get that that fresh?) - the wine and champagne lists are complete and top wines they serve by glass as well. The prices are astonishing low, for a bottle of "normal" champagne 40 Euros, Dom Perignon or Roederer Cristal for a 160 Euros a bottle - you wont find that elsewhere. Longdrinks and other cocktails for about 5/6 Euros - glasses of wine and softdrinks about 3 Euros etc = that has been a nice surprise. Acutally you can eat fine dinners which are all inclusive (even a la carte restaurants) and drink the choice of your favourite drink for almost no fee. The Spa and the Fitness Center are situated on deck 5 - with a full 200 squaremetres balcony for the spa and large windows for the Fitness - equippment is top notch as well as the service - quite rooms with marble warmed beds, large hottub etc etc and different saunas - again i was surprised what they are able to offer - never thought a ship could do that + it stays exclusive and you never have to search for machine to use in the Fitness area since they have plenty. Spinning room is availbale as well with about 15 bikes. The Service is then off course fine as well since 370 crew members are serving 400/500 guests - you always find someone to serve whatever your needs are - i noiced in the Sansibar restaurant that a kid asked for mashed potatos which was not on the card but after checking they made it fresh for this boy - this kind of service i just can imagine must be difficult on larger ships... also the waffle service at the pool with fresh fruit is "hit" for the travellers and surely for the kids onboard - they do have btw a 10 percent max kid policy which makes it not too loud ;-) I did not really use the tours offered - just the tender service every 20 minutes for each port, just programs like champagne and gin tastings which were offered on the ship i attended and were fully happy with that... i think they do have 37 gins onboard ;-) so you can try some of them... During the day when many are visiting places and attending tours the staff is cleaning the ship from A to Z - they do have one employee just cleaning the wooden railing all year long ! never thought about that a ship needs that much of attention. Anyway - will go there again and made actually the next booking - since the waters from Barcelona to Rome were that calm and the temperatures that high this summer i took the Northern Europe Tour for next year - sure i will enjoy it ! Read Less

Best ship ever! Stunning, amazing, there are no words to describe the infrastructure. It is clear that it concerns a German cruise line, but that is also the Unique selling point of this product. Food, service, ports, it was all just perfect. The WOW-effect is in all the details. Kids for free, welcome packages for the kids. For the baby we just ordered in advance all pampers, milk solutions, drinks, food, ... and it stood all prepared with toys in the suite. The cruise line also has 2 expedition vessels, that experience they also use on tis luxury vessel. They have scientists on board giving lections, but they also have zodiacs. When we were in Corsica the captain gave order to put the zodiacs in the water. We were able to do a very surprising trips through the hidden bays of Calvi. 7 restaurants, 6 bars, biggest gin collection on board of a ship, highest ratio passenger/staff that exist, biggest basix cabins (suites) that exist. And this ship is more like a boutique hotel, it can not be compared with any other vessel so far. Read Less

However I did many cruises i was very nervous to join ms Europa as German is only my fourth language and it was a complete new challenge : going to a cruiseship mostly catering to the German speaking market. So after a punctual flight and a long taxi drive - the traffic was hectic- i did arrive at the terminal where my hand luggage was taken over; only my electronic ticket and my passport was necessary - no single request for a copy of a credit card. In the Lobby of the ship I immediately was offered a glass of champagne Duval leroy what appeared to be the house champagne. In my cabin - suite is better - a bottle of champagne strawberries , fruit two petit fours and a fully stocked mini bar with soft drinks and beer if you want it. The suite was very nice with ample space - a lot of lights and the first part is with a wooden floor. Beautifully appointed bathroom with separate shower and ample closet space. The people working on the ship are really wonderful and they all seem to be very happy to work on the Europa. The Europa is not an all in ship, the drinks in the mini bar in the suite are complimentary the wines and soda's are not. The service in the different bars was simply outstanding - the Piano bar became my favorite. Champagne however not free seemed to be the most popular drink on board. The first two days i did receive all the information in both English as in German but after the third i could manage to go for german in full; The first dinner was in the Italian Venezia restaurant what appeared to be open for lunch as well like the Oriental restaurant. Service was outstanding and the food simply delicious. It seemed the maitre d 'h started up the first Italian speciality restaurant on a cruise ship ever. The first breakfast was on a sea day and on the Europa on such a day a Gourmet Breakfast is served with complimentary champagne and delicacies as gooseliver, carpacccio of tuna steak tartare and more nice items. The welcome aboard dinner was great , in the morning the chef already did present his dishes in detail and the sommelier did introduce the wine suggestions with a tasting.The party was a superb experience with a lot of very special hors d 'oeuvres and canapes. Such an experience was like cruising in the "good old days". During the cruise Iranian oscietra caviar was on the menu - such a caviar is not for free but available at a reasonable cost. The wine list is extremely well balanced with a great selection of champagnes and the very good German wines were presented as well; a nice item for singles is that 30 wines are presented by the carafe and some other wines by the glass as well. 3 champagnes were available by the glass, Duval Leroy, Veuve Clicquot and Taittinger rose. One lunch was bavarian with beer and schnapps; In the afternoon there were waffles , tea time was memorable. In Casablanca a great Moroccan night was organized on open deck, it appeared the product manager of the Europa herself did the entire organization of that evening. Other culinary events were a special dinner done by a michelin starred chef Petz from the palais Coburg in Vienna and a presentation of high quality Austrian wines. Overall friendliness of everybody, a captain who did like the social aspect of his function and simply perfection make a cruise on the Europa a very special holiday on a beautiful ship. The last days no single striving to obtain gratuities could be found. Some cruises are announced as bilingual - everybody does speak English on board. There is no casino on board , some people must think about it and the formal nights are formal indeed with crew wearing tails. Read Less