I went on the World Navigator from Athens to Portugal last summer. The ship had the unfortunate timing to begin their first year during a pandemic. I thought the ship was beautiful and the crew were outstanding in their willingness to provide great service; and with some seasoning and productive feedback that they will provide exquisite service. In the two weeks I was on the ship, I saw subtle but impressive improvements in service.

One very nice thing about Atlas is that they have a number of complementary excursions with at least one in each port and quite often two. The pricing for optional ones were usually quite reasonable unless you wanted ones which you would expect to cost more. e.g. dinner at a Michelin starred restaurant. And yes, we did spend a lot of time on buses but most of the places that I wanted to go could only be reached by bus or van. One thing that I loved were the ear pieces provided by Atlas. They were small and could be used on either your left or right ear and had a flat earpiece which if you have hearing aides you appreciate. Everyone received a lanyard which attached to the earpiece as you were never in any danger of losing it. I felt that all the guides on excursions which I went on were great with one exception (Italy) where the guide was so worried about the group not keeping together (Italian Covid restrictions) that we were not able to really enjoy our time off the bus.

I got a room with a juliette window (the window retracts about half way down) rather than with a veranda/balconey and I wasn't sure if I would like it but I loved it as my room was larger than those with balconies and there was a large aft deck right outside my door if I wanted to go outside. My room steward kept my room spotless and was very eager to make sure that I had everything that I needed/wanted, even providing ice for my gin and tonics (you receive a complimentary bottle of liquor (your choice from a menu) when I came back for excursions and a variety of soft drinks/mixers (from a menu) which were stored in our rooms small refrigerator. Each room had a water bottle and at least one water stations (there may be more but I only used the one) where you could easily fill your bottle. Read more