We chose this cruise because the price was right. Loved the ports (even though it was cold) and the tours. We would have appreciated more time at Tallin and Helsinki but the other ports were perfect shore times. Our ship, The Getaway was great and truthfully better than we expected. Our only suggestion would be to have the entire ship smoke free as there were some places where the smoke smell was very apparent. Food wise, w. We especially enjoyed The Bistro French Restaurant and Cagney's Steakhouse though the Tropicana Dining Room always offered a nice selection and the live music was a plus. The Spa was so much fun! We met a lot of nice people on this trip though it never felt like there were as many passengers as I know there was because the public spaces are so large ... and there is lots of variety to find your "own space". Read Less

We got this cruise at a great price which included 4 restaurant upgrades and the drinks package plus taxes and service charges. Embarkation and disembarkation were both excellent, quick and efficient. There was no hanging about. We sailed on 2 October and it hailstoned. Bring plenty of warm clothes on this trip, we could not go outside on deck as it was so cold. We got as far as Tallinn and it was -2 C. We found the temperatures really cold. The ship is not built for this type of weather, it's better suited to the Med as there is an outdoor pool and slides which are only used by the brave hearted. There should be more entertainment indoors because it's too cold to enjoy bands by the pool. The one hour safety drill went on too long.....boring. Our inside cabin on floor 5 was fine, clean and adequate. You do not need a balcony at this time of the year as its too cold. I would have preferred drawers in the dressing table for my makeup. The studio was a good size and the bathroom was too. I always used our bathroom as the public ladies toilets left a lot to be desired. The ship library was the worst we have come across. We found all the staff very pleasant and friendly unlike a lot of the passengers. As I am plant based we used the Garden Cafe mostly for breakfast, lunch and dinner. The food, especially the vegetarian food was always cold. (We have travelled with NCL 6 times now and have told them over and over again about this but it's still the same). The meat was served beside salads, open for contamination and Vegan options were never labelled, staff were not always knowledgable regarding ingredients. There was not a great variety of salads available and there were 2 curries on at lunch and dinner every day, no variety whatsoever in the Vegetarian corner. The Photographers tortured people, it was like running the gauntlet trying to escape them, everywhere we went. Please NCL stop trying to make money this way. We ate in Cagney's twice and the Italian twice, the Bistro and Argentinian would not accommodate me. The food and service was excellent in both restaurants. Worth having the upgrade. We enjoyed Syd Norman's Pour House, it was always packed and the music was good, if not repetitive. The shows in the theatre were OK. We enjoyed our cruise and would sail with NCL again if we got another bargain. The tipping should not be optional, it should be built into the price. Read Less

This cruise was based on itinerary and friends that we travel with had opted in to a package with Norwegian where they received 2 .free deposits for previously putting money down. The itinerary was great and we enjoyed the ports. We booked our excursions through Alla Tours as they were less expensive and we were not disappointed! They are rated very high on trip advisor and they were excellent! Dining- not very impressed with Savior, Taste or the Tropicana. We were a group of 7 travelling together and they kept trying to put us at a table of 6 which we refused as 2 of our party of 7 are over well over 6 feet and being squished in like that gave us no arm room . One night after yet again trying to sit us at a table of 6 they ended up sitting us at 2 tables which we were not impressed with either. They did offer to pull the two tables together which still led to no elbow room. Service was slow and all over the place in these restaurants. Food not exceptional but okay. In the Tropicana one night they had a group of thirty in and held there table for close to 45 minutes as per one of their staff, so this meant we were lined up longer than normal. They post that they will not hold tables longer than 15 minutes but I guess when you are with a tour company the same rules don’t apply. O’Sheehans was also a hit and miss. 2nd day we went for breakfast and they only had scrambled eggs and no real eggs as they were loading up on food in Berlin. They also ran out of butter on the last morning and instead of telling us they just brought us dry toast which we would have not ordered. Not sure who does their ordering but they need to do a better job. We noticed in the last few days that the butter would change from individual packages to shared butter, whipped unsalted butter and then nothing. We also had an issue on our last morning with getting seated together. Emmanuel (manager?) would only give our friends a table of 4 but said he would pull the empty table of 2 beside us or move us to a table for 7. He ended up sitting someone at that table of 2 and then refused to move us to a bigger table as he previously stated. We did have a few decent meals in this pub though on other days with good service. Best meal I had on the ship was at Cirque dreams steam which you pay for. The show was incredible and my food was good. One of our party had her meat way undercooked and struggled with that. She also was not given the option of how she wanted it cooked. We had a drink package included in our fare and I was disappointed that chocolate martinis were not included. I would have had to pay $4.00 extra for that. Strange that they charge extra for them while Royal Caribbean includes them in their drink package along with bottled water and their special coffees at their coffee shop. Not sure if opting into the drink package is even worth it because you still pay a portion of it and my husband and I are not big drinkers. One thing that was really disgusting was that they did not put soap in the soap dispensers by the pool area/ ping pong area for a day or so. I guess when the staff check off their list they don’t see if their is actual soap in the dispensers. We went to both sides of this bathroom and no soap in either side. We also had a phone package and internet package included. Internet slow but okay to send an email or talk to family members on messenger. Phone okay but noticed after 12 a.m. that you couldn’t call out or reach guest services. I wanted to a family member after 12 and it was out of service. We were on a 6 hour time change from home so it was the perfect time to reach that family member. The first time this happened I tried to call guest service which rang and rang and then just hung up. 2 of our party were smokers, myself included and we were told we could only smoke on deck 15. When I was on the escape a few years ago we could smoke in the warm cigar room which is now not allowed. The few times I walked by that area there it was empty. Why is it that cigar smokers have a nice warm area and we were up on the 15th deck in a semi closed off area that was cold and windy. You can also smoke in a part of the casino if you are playing. I don’t gamble so that was out for us as well. Our room was an inside room on deck 5 mid ship and was cleaned well. No complaints there! Limited space to put clothes away but we managed. Embarking and disembarking was effortless and one thing they did really well on this cruise! All and all is was not super impressed with Norwegian this time around. We have another cruise booked with them for Feb. so will see how that goes. They have already changed the itinerary for that one with no explanation despite sending an email on Aug 4th. I also called Norwegian and the person answering did not know the reason for a few ports being changed and suggested that we email and also that we had the option to cancel the cruise . Problem with that is that the airfare was already booked well In advance. I don’t find Norwegian really cares about customer service at all as of first hand experience. I have had much better Royal Caribbean cruises , Carnival cruises and Celebrity cruises. Read Less

I’m sure by now you are aware of the issues that the passengers on the cruise of the Norwegian Spirit endured. I will recount my experience. We saved and saved to do this cruise to Iceland. It was our once in a lifetime trip to Iceland. An overview: Boarded the ship in Southampton. Were informed we could not go to Amsterdam so rerouted to LaHavre. Were informed we could not go to LaHavre. We had a sea day. Arrived in the first port of Bergen. We were informed we could not go to Iceland. Continued on to the 2 other ports in Norway. Then we added on 2 more ports in Norway. Were informed we were going to Scotland after 2 more sea days but couldn’t dock there either. Another at sea day. Docked one day in Belfast and one day in Dublin then yet another sea day before arriving in Southampton. For us it was a complete waste of time and money! Points to consider: Increased sea days. Half the trip was spent at sea. Lied to by staff: 1)One staff said we couldn’t dock in Geeenock because a naval ship was blocking the port, then another staff said the weather was bad, when in fact it was fine. 2) one person at guest services said there was no case number for us but the person next to her said there was. 3) booked an excursion in Dublin and paid the ship $88. Due to protests in Dublin we couldn’t find the tour bus after walking to 4 stops. Gave up and decided to look for the shuttle back to the ship. The shuttle couldn’t get through the protestors. The ship never sent a representative to find us and direct us to a waiting bus 3 blocks away. There were “200” people left at the shuttle pick up with no contact from the ship, bitterly cold, and no bathrooms. On our return 4 hours later we went to ship excursions and demanded a refund. They said it wasn’t their responsibility. If that’s the case don’t sell excursions if you don’t plan to take responsibility for your passengers on those excursions. That is common decency. The next morning we were able to get 20% off. Wow! 4) we were told that passengers were not to walk on the dock in Belfast and Dublin and that we were forced to get a taxi or shuttle. We were told by the visitor centre staff in Belfast and Dublin that NCL were the only cruise company that charged its passengers to get a shuttle into town. Again - it’s all about the money and taking advantage of your passengers. Passengers walked on the piers in both towns and there was no issue! NCL is making up rules to get more money from the passengers?? 5) Since we were alarmed by the pending hurricane we followed it closely and received constant updates from our home. By Wednesday the hurricane path was toward the Azores and the UK. We don’t believe there would have been any issue with Iceland, but we do understand safety first. 6) The schedule said that there were two days in Dublin when in fact there was only one day in Dublin and another sea day. Most staff were kind and obliging, but one at guest services and 2 at shore excursions were unfriendly and sometimes even nasty. We tried to avoid them. The two extra stops in Norway were disappointing. Came out of the fiord from Gerainger and circled in the ocean and went back in the next day to a small town that had closed up when their tourist season. They were not prepared for us and nothing was open. A waste of a day. Then we went back out of the same fiord and did circles in the ocean and docked for the third time at the entrance to the same fiord! Then when we couldn’t dock in Greenock we again found ourselves doing circles and biding our time to land the next day in Belfast. Over and over and over... The entertainment was generally good. The “Beatles” show left a lot to be desired. By the third night they were on we went elsewhere on the ship. No entertainment during the sea days, then lo and behold they found 3 movies to show in the theatre on the last three sea days. It was great but should have had them every sea day. It was very disappointing and that left nothing to do during sea days. TV was terrible. Sporadic reception and only one English movie which played over and over the entire duration of the trip. No account information was available on the TV. With no indoor pool and hot tub, there was nothing to do during the 7 sea days. It was very boring and time passed slowly. The food wasn’t wow or even great. I would describe it as “adequate”. The last few days there were no bran muffins or bananas for example. There was no special night with lobster or prime rib which is common on a lot of cruises. Previous cruises the attendants served tea and coffee at your table in the buffet section. At Raffles we had to get up to get a glass of water. Get up again to get tea and coffee. It never felt like we were special or ever being catered to. When we arrived on board our toilet was black in the bowl and on the seat. The white was worn off. We were told by our cabin steward that it was clean but in need of being replaced. We have had inside cabins before but it was very difficult to walk on one side of the bed except by sidestepping and the reading lights were behind the pillows. Seemed like a fire hazard to me. Went to play cards in the card room but there were no cards. An attendant said there was a box full of card decks at guest services. Went to guest services. “I would like a pack of playing cards” “we don’t have any” “we were told there was a box full of playing cards left here” “I don’t know” “could you ask please” the girl asked and came back to find them under the desk. “Could I have a pack please” “you want the whole box?? we can only give you one pack” “I only want one pack” Fortunately, I didn’t have to pay for a pack of playing cards. There were no maps provided of the places we were visiting until we disembarked and picked up a map in town. No news or newspapers with headlines from passengers homes. Terrible smell of cigarette smoke on decks 6-8 in the elevator lobbies located aft. Because we had counted on having many more days onshore to use wifi we only had a small wifi package and of course couldn’t afford to upgrade but no allowances were made for people who had depended on contacting home while onshore. Went to get a refund for all of our prepaid excursions. Refunds were all cash. The man at guest services said we only have $10 bills left. We were owed $1930.00 Then to insult our intelligence by offering 25% off the next cruise. We still have to pay 75% of the next cruise!! This was our first cruise with NCL. We have used Celebrity, Royal Caribbean, and Princess in the past. Never have we had anything like we experienced with NCL. If you want any future business I would suggest you give refunds to your passengers to entice them back. Read Less

Embarkation went smoothly with exception of a change of schedule, the first port Amsterdam. Not a major deal because the substitute port was Le Havre, France, outside of Paris. Not, the ship was unable to dock and we were given a day at sea. Then, Iceland (two ports) was canceled and we were given two additional ports in Norway and one in Scotland because of Hurricane Lorenzo. This was disappointing but understandable because of weather. Then on the day we were to dock in Scotland at 8:00am, we were told a Naval ship was docked and we would arrive at 9:30am. 9:30am came and approximately at 9:45am the captain states we had to abort port because of weather. Okay, there is a discrepancy with this story. This is when the ship loss all creditability and a protest started on board. Our 14-day Icelandic cruise became a Norway/Ireland cruise. Regarding, the ship, cabin, dining, activities and service on board were excellent. The ports and shore excursions we were able to do were great. The ship offered 25% off a future cruise and refunded $60 for Iceland port charges and taxes. Many people are not going on another Norwegian Cruise. This was not a cheap cruise because of the destinations we were supposed to go to. A 25% refund needs to be given on this cruise. The ship made news headlines all over the world. Read Less

Cancelled half the ports and offered no refund or apology. Terrible customer service. Leaking sewage and overflowing toilets. Ruined our very expensive trip and lied or withheld info from customers on several occasions. Wouldn’t travel with Norwegian ever again even if it was free. The food service and cabin cleaning crew were great and the food was decent but everything else about this cruise line frankly stinks. There was even a protest on the ship because of so many disappointments. Apparently they had canceled several of the ports before the cruise even began and then told us that it was the weather When we called one of the ports they said no ship was even scheduled to dock that day. This company is dishonest and greedy. Sail with someone else or be disappointed I have cruised many times w other lines w no problems. This cruise had nothing but problems and cancelations from day 1! Read Less

This cruise was going to Amsterdam, Norway, Iceland and Ireland. Iceland was the important stop for us, but the others were exciting as well! This cruise definitely did not deliver. Hurricane Lorenzo caused weather issues. Instead of communicating those issues to us ahead of time, giving us time to reschedule or cancel planned shore excursions and tours, Norwegian waiting until the last minute (under 24 hours) to tell us that things were canceled. The food was not good and there where many issues with the bathrooms across the ship. Sewage could often be smelled in public areas. We were on the ship for 5 unplanned sea days and were happy when it was over! We have been offered no refunds or any other compensation for all that we missed out on and experienced. I will never sail Norwegian again. People were protesting in the lobby, the customer service was abysmal and we lost out on many great experiences because Norwegian couldn't be bothered to plan ahead correctly. Think I'm kidding, Google "Norwegian Spirit" and see the news articles that come up! It was bad enough that we were on all the news sites! Read Less

We chose this cruise leaving from Southampton UK, for the itinerary - Amsterdam, 3 ports in Norway, 2 ports in Iceland, Belfast and Dublin. Before boarding we found out that Amsterdam was cancelled due to bad weather and instead were going to Le Havre, France. This was also cancelled so 2 sea days before we got to Norway for our scheduled port stops. Iceland was then cancelled due to weather and 2 more ports were added to Norway. Seen one fjord seen them all. As Iceland was cancelled we were supposed to stop at Greenock, Scotland. We almost made it there and at the the last minute that too was cancelled due to what, I am not entirely sure as the reason kept changing. We did, however, get to Belfast, where passengers left the ship with their luggage as they were so disgusted with this cruise. Made it to Dublin too then back to Southampton where I was glad to get off the ship. 2 sea days turned into 6. Food was pretty ordinary and boring. Service was not good either. Our toilet in the cabin would not flush half the time either. Phone did not work for a few days until we managed to get it fixed. Sliding door to balcony did not shut properly thus wind howling in and a draught. I could go on and on. I have been on my different cruise lines and have had wonderful experiences. This is my first with Norwegian, and my last. Communication on board was terrible. Read Less

The cruise was supposed to go to Amsterdam, Norway, Iceland and Ireland. When we first boarded the ship they informed us the first port was canceled. We had no time or internet to cancel our excursion so we were out that money. The port they substituted was canceled as well we did stop in Norway than we were informed Iceland was canceled and two more Norway ports were substituted. The next day we found out the port we docked in was closed for the season, you couldn’t even get coffee. One more Norway port than the next substituted port was Greenock Scotland we were ready to dock and than turned around and was told we were not docking. Riots broke out. 3 days at sea missed ports and toilets stopped working. Food was cafeteria class, entertainment not as expected, a juggler, magician We did stop at the two scheduled ports. Norwegian offered a 25% discount on a future cruise. No compensation for this cruise. I don’t plan on booking with them again. Read Less

I have just disembarked from this Norwegian Spirit cruise that started in Southampton on 27th September and was supposed to call at Ijmuiden for Amsterdam then on to Bergen, Flam and Geiranger in Norway before heading off to Iceland to visit Akureyri and Reykjavik then on to Belfast and Dublin before returning to Southampton. Prior to departure from Southampton passengers were informed that due to very strong winds we would not be visiting Ijmuiden but would go instead to Le Havre. This port of call was cancelled the following day due to bad weather and the ship proceeded to Bergen then on to Flam and Gerainger. Whilst in Gerainger the passengers were told that due to very high winds and rough seas the ship would be unable to visit Iceland and instead would spend another two days in Norway visiting the ports of Hellesynt and Allesund before heading off to an additional port of Greenock for Glasgow.. Many passengers were upset that the Icelandic part of the itinerary had been cancelled and a minority felt so upset that they held a protest meeting in the atrium. Videos of this protest were posted on line. The number of passengers involved was quite small and the vast majority of passengers, including myself, were completely unaware that a protest had taken place. Once the videos were placed on social media the newspapers got hold of the story. Despite the published views of a minority of passengers that the whole cruise was terrible the actuality was almost the reverse. Despite the disappointment of not being able to visit Iceland the majority of passengers fully understood the reasons for the changes to the itinerary in that Norwegian Cruise Line places passenger safety ahead of other considerations. The passengers who demonstrated on board and demanded refunds of their cruise fares would more that likely have sued the cruise line for putting them in harms way if the itinerary had not been changed. As it turned out the visit to Greenock did not eventuate even though the pilot was on board, as winds in excess of 40 knots prevented the ship from mooring up. The two final ports of Belfast and Dublin did not pose a problem weatherwise. It is unfortunate that the ships Captain is not a good communicator and his accent is sometimes difficult to understand but his announcements to passengers were, if important, relayed by the Cruise Director so everyone was adequately informed of the reasons for the changes to the itinerary. Life on board the ship was very pleasant with the crew being extremely friendly and helpful.Despite the bad weather there was a full programme of entertainment that passengers could avail themselves of if they felt so inclined. I believe that only one show had to be cancelled due to the weather. The food in the main dining rooms was of an acceptable standard and that in the speciality restaurants was very good indeed. These views of mine are shared by many of the passengers that I spoke to and many were astounded at the negative remarks made to the press and on social media by a vociferous minority. The reported problems associated with the sewage system and the reports of stale food being served in the restaurants was not experienced by any of the many passengers that I met on this pleasant if rather rough weather cruise. I would certainly cruise on this ship again although I will probably take a greater interest in the time of year to book a cruise that includes Iceland in the itinerary. Read Less

Chosen cruise as a good way to see Scandinavia. Disappointed as extra days at sea and missed 3 ports and 2 alternative ports given in 14 days.Missed one of the highlights and draw cards, Iceland ! Extra sea day trapped with expensive internet and business to do! Poor, crowded, noisy inside lounge accomodation as weather was bad. Food was ok, shows were ok. Staff lovely and bad working conditions( no full days off) in 2 weeks and long 12 hours+ days. No compensation no plan B nor C. Poor communication with passengers about what was happening and why and where to next. Staff seemed to be as poorly informed as we were. Understand weather was poor . Perhaps this cruise was too late in the season altogether! This was our first sea cruise.. we won’t be doing another with NCL despite the 25% reduction for next cruise offered. They saved money on the port fees and fuel costs and should compensate us with at least s 25% refund for this cruise. Disappointed. Read Less

I chose this cruise as it was smart casual as we dont like getting dolled up every night , we paid £3500 for 14 days in a balcony cabin , the service we got on board was excellent ie cleaning cabins bars and restaurants, even though we paid £1500 more than people with an inside cabin wegot no additional perks ie premium package was £100 each for 14 days extra all trips were extra we worked it out if you went on a trip every day for your trip you would pay between £1000 and £1500 extra for your holiday . there was no advice on trips that you could do yourself without paying for the trips out , which we thought was unbelievable we asked about a tourist attraction which we thought we could walk to and was pointed in a direction 1hour walking later we asked a local and it would have been impossible only by a car to get to and would take 4 hours. as for the ship there was only 1 bar you could get a proper coffee and that was after 1pm all other bars was coffee in geezers which was absolutely awful even with breakfast we used the free sachets of nescafe that we got in our room to make a decent coffee at breakfast no sachets available in the restaurants .. food and drink was excellent there was a 4 all inclusive restaurants all fab. as for the northern lights well the captain only mentioned once that they had made an appearance and wouldnt broadcast this in the cabins as somepeople didnt want to be disturbed at all so what was the point of going on anorthern lights cruise hence i was in the shower so couldnt hear the announcement. when we did go on deck 11 there was no bar open outside no seating people were just stood outside with a member of staff serving hot chocolate out of a machine in paper cups, its as though the "northern lights" cruise was secondary to being just on a cruise to norway we were extremely disappointed with this , it was just rubbish. the ship is good creaks in the cabins abit but as a ship it is good . we cant say anything about the shows as we didnt go to any as we only got out of restaurant at 9.45 . would have been lovely to go to Stavanger at night instead of sailing off as it looked great for a night out as being on aship for 14 days can be very mononotous all in all it was good but not upto our expectations for the money we paid out , we shant be going on another cruise personal choice for us . Read Less

Choose the Pacific Princess as we enjoy the small ship atmosphere. Arrived 2 days earlier and stayed at the new Holiday Inn, Terminal 4. Took Princess shuttle to Dover cruise port. Small ship plus is that you really get to know your fellow passengers, disadvantage would be that you do not have the movies under the stars. Balcony rooms are larger then the stand balcony. Highlight of the cruise was the 2 days in St. Petersburg. We did an excursion with ALLA TOURS and would highly recommend them to anyone. Did the St Petersburg 2 Day Grand Tour. Had early admission to most points of interest, 2 lunches, ours was a group of 10, and they take care of your tourist visa requirement. Another plus was the Kiel Canal - another plus for being on the small ship. Captain and staff were all very friendly. Disembarkation was very organized and just took the shuttle to the airport and we had early flight. Read Less

Started in Copenhagen lovely city but expensive This was my first ever cruise so don’t have much to compare it with the ship was big and felt very crowded, probably because most people were inside the weather was fine but cool. My cabin 9158 was nice small balcony with a lovely view the bathroom was good clean with a good shower the twice daily service was good and the cabin steward helpful. Food in the restaurant was good and I never had trouble getting a seat service was good. I did not like the buffet it always felt crowded. I only went to a couple of shows they were ok nothing to rave about. The best thing we’re the ports which is why I had chosen this cruise they were great St Petersburg being the high light for me I did a two day tour using Alla tours they were Considerably cheaper than the ones offered by NCL and only 16 people enabling us to see more and get about easily . I was a solo traveler but did not feel uncomfortable there was always someone to talk to and people to have dinner with if I wanted and a table available for just me when I preferred to be alone. I booked this cruise very last minute and got a very good rate overall very pleased I would certainly book again if I was able to get such a good deal. Read Less

We enjoyed the places we visited. Our stateroom was quiet and well serviced. We enjoyed meeting different people at meal times. The staff were invariably friendly and helpful. Provision was made of a meeting room for an informal church service on Sunday evening. BUT We found the number of people on board a bit much and would consider a smaller ship therefore another time. The music was often loud. Our first meal in Tropicana was spoiled in this way. The background music in the corridors was irritating. We felt the excursion to St Petersburg was over priced and the lunch provided disappointing (no bortsch!) The guide, however was very good. If we had known about independent excursions we would have booked one of those. Apparently one of those had a short river cruise and a visit to the Church of Spilled Blood (and bortsch!) and some free time ashore, all of which which we would have enjoyed. On the second day of the tour we had to stand for a while for admission to Peterhof. This was made bearable by a brass band and that the weather was dry. To stand in the rain would have been miserable. We were disappointed that the speciality restaurants attracted a charge and that internet was charged at too high a price. It wasn't clear just what our basic drinks package allowed. At the rescue drill on the first afternoon, we found it hard to hear what was being said, partly because a gaming machine was playing music, until an enterprising passenger unplugged it - but surely it should be good practice for staff to ensure that there is no distracting music happening during safety drills. Read Less

We chose this cruise to visit Baltic capitals, specifically St Petersburg. Chose NCL based on our prior experience with Alaska (Sun) from Vancouver and Gem ( Eastern Caribbean from NYC) experience more than 3 years ago. This big ship with 4000+ Passengers was a big disappointment for many reasons. There were also some good points. Good: Great cabin stewardess, Varied cuisines in Garden Cafe, Clean and spacious mini suite with balcony on the 11th floor. That’s about it. Bad: confusing ship with all sort of carnival like money making outfits between the fore and aft sections of the ship. You pay for almost anything that is tasty or of quality (like Cappuccino, gelato, water bottle, fountain soda and many such items). You pay through your nose for alcoholic beverages with 18% mandatory gratuity and the same for specialty dining. Included dining rooms serve at snails pace and food is mostly cold by the time it’s gets to you. If that’s not enough there are continuing game shows, Bingo and other scams that are heavily weighted in favor of the house. Casino area, unavoidable as you go for dining area, are smoke filled. For this big ship, the deck board walking track is about 1/8 of a Kilometer as opposed to nearly 1/4 of mile or so on the smaller Gem class ship. Avoid taking shore excursions with the cruise line. You can save more than 50%. Viator offers St Petersburg 2-day Excursion (Russia exempts one of Visa if taking approved tour) with 18 or less passengers in AC van for about $220 per person (you pay for lunch that costs about $15- $20 or less per person per day). Compare that to some $550 per person! Read Less

I prefer traveling alone and I sail Norwegian because of the studio cabins. I also have rewards with Norwegian because I have sailed them so many times. I have not had the opportunity to travel abroad since the 1960's and I wanted to be more adventurous so I chose this Northern Europe cruise, I was interested in the ports, the culture, the people, the history, the beauty, etc. If I were to do it over again, I would have done so much differently. I stayed in Copenhagen for four days pre-cruise. I bought the Copenhagen Card but lost money because I did not use it enough. I wish that I had bought the HOHO bus in Copenhagen. I stayed at First Hotel 27 and can recommend. Breakfast was excellent and so was wi fi. Staff was great and I loved the personal care items. Location was very good. Copenhagen is great. Beautiful City with lots to do but as you have heard, it is also expensive. For Germany, I did not want to deal with the trek to Berlin and went to Schwerin and Schwerin Castle. I was not disappointed. I was surprised at how beautiful Tallinn was. I took The Palace and Old City tour. I learned a lot but HOHO bus might be a good option depending. St. Petersburg was still very crowded with tourists. The Hermitage was still overcrowded and frantic. I wish that I had chosen the evening visit. Try to avoid using the cloakroom if possible because it is so hard to get your things when leaving. Things were so chaotic in the Hermitage that I took a fall. Peterhof was beautiful. Recommended. Another very pleasant surprise as I was not expecting it to be so beautiful. Helsinki was a peaceful and relaxed respite after St. Petersburg. While I took an excursion, this would be a good port for doing the HOHO bus or just walking. In Sweden, I took the Stockholm by Sea and Land excursion. Stockholm is beautiful and so interesting but then so were all the ports. Another port where the HOHO might be a good choice. I believe that it picks up and returns to the port. I ate at the Garden Cafe and 24/7 restaurant only. The food was just so so. It was a hit or a miss. However, if you had a miss, you could always go back trying to find a hit. Desserts were always delicious and coffee is always terrible. The Atrium was always too loud and noisy. NCL needs to move some of the entertainment to The Theater or somewhere else on the ship. I did enjoy the Abba Tribute. I also sent to the Farewell Show and Million Dollar Quartet. Both very good. I was upgraded to a large size Oceanview which had a bathtub but no coffee machine. While I liked the window, I often could not see out because of water and fog. Embarkation and Disembarkation went smoothly for me. Some staff was friendly and helpful while others were not. That has been the situation on all my cruises and I have learned to go with the flow. Weather was good to us. It was always in the 50's and overcast but only a few sprinkles now and then. Very comfortable with the right clothing. it was a wonderful learning experience but it was a very demanding and exhausting and intense voyage. Also, a very expensive cruise. I went way over budget and I still was frugal and cautious with my spending. If possible, try to avoid having to change planes at Heathrow which is a nightmare. Read Less

We chose this cruise because it went to the Baltic. NCL is not different than carnival. The buffett is better on NCL but the dining room is better on Carnival. I was expecting NCL to wow me and it did not! Getting on was a breeze we weren't supposed to board till noon and we were on by noon. Getting off was really easy we put our luggage out the night before and it was ready by 7:30am to pick up. Never saw room steward and I don't like that I like to see them at least once on our trip. We like to tip them the 1st day an then several days also. We had the dining package Moderno was awful! If you get a chance go to Cagney's it is the best! It will not disappoint you at all. Le Bristo was ok nothing special at all. Have a great cruise. Read Less

We only booked this because when we were on a Mexican Cruise 2 years ago, we got suckered into their Cruise Next promotion and prepaid $1000. This is a party boat designed for the Caribbean with water slides, blasting music, 4000 passengers, and a constant fake party atmosphere. There is no quiet place to go for a drink or to listen to music. The food in the complimentary restaurants was so lousy, we opted to pay for specialty restaurants. The shore excursions had 32 or more people, and usually, no microphone system. And very expensive! Negatives: The seafood restaurant ran out of lobster in a few days. The free restaurants were awful. The noodle restaurant had the most bland food and worst service on the ship. It was continually noisy and crowded! Everywhere! I hated the blaring speakers and fake crew dancing to welcome us back from Stockholm. I hate the constant pitch for the horrible art auction, jewelry, and shopping. I think the casino pumped in a smoke fragrance into the air to stimulate play. Lots of very heavy drinking. The ice bar was filled with drunks every time I tried to get in. I had food poisoning one night from eating at the Tropicana room. I think it was the coconut sherbet, since that is the only different food I had from my husband all day. Disembarkation directions should be printed in the daily schedule; some of us are not glued to our phones or the TV. Positives The stateroom was clean. Service was very good. We were able to change a shore excursion at the last minute. One bartender made the best French 75. Several shows were excellent. Suggestion: Provide movies related to shore excursions. It would really provide context for the sights and reduce the inane questions some people ask on excursions. Most have no idea what they are seeing because they don't read. Read Less

Kiel to New York Embarkation at Kiel: Complete chaos took us 3 hours to get on the ship. There were no real lines for USA Citizens EU citizens after 2 hours they tried to rearange after thet it was more chaos. Food : Common this was sad the waves restaurant we eat 10 of the 17 nights i had one good meal that was the ribeye. I had a curry which was no curry. Spinach with some Meat no flavor. Lasagna was cold on the inside, frozen ????? Staff was very polite and was ashamed of the food. Buffet: every night the same and poor quality and very strange organised, i like yoghurt wit food and cerials you have to do 3 dif stations to complete ( breakfast was ok ) Hola Tapas restaurant, You pay a €30 for a standard menu which was very simple, if you do tapas like that in Sevilla you are out of bussiness in a month. The Butchers Cut steakhouse, simple menu for a extra €39,- A big sirlion steak which was very poor quality. My wife had Filet Mignon which was good. For €80 for 2 i have a perfect steak everywere. Dinner at Cirque do soleil was chaos but the fish and the lamb was good. Internet, i understand it can be slow on ships but this had nothing to do with slow it did not work or was very very very slow. Television after Iceland it was gone until New York Our toilet smells terribly, our great room steward masked the odor with coffee smell, thanx he was great. Embarcation after a port was dramatic only one entrance one control 20 30 mins to get back to the ship was no exception. Pasportcontrol New York took 6 hours. Disembarkation New York walk off at 8 was easy. My verdict, msc has nothing with giving people a great time, the greed is everywere money money money. This was our first and last msc cruise. We do Celebrity or RC next time. If you think it will be ok, everybody we spoke on the ship was negative. Read Less

Quick caveat that while this was my 25th sailing, this was my first (and will be my only) sailing on an MSC ship. It didn't take long for my group and I to notice that MSC caters to the European market, not the American market. This is blatantly apparent when it comes to customer service. MSC has a "it is what is is" mentality when it comes to delivering poor customer experience, which they did quite often during the 18-day transatlantic sailing. FIRST: MSC doesn't keep time well. Disembarkation was later than scheduled on most ports which caused tours to either start hours late or be rushed missing key sights. MSC's response, "you're the first one to complain so..." A refund was denied and I was told that someone will contact me. Nobody did. SECOND: MSC decided it was a good idea to drain all pools in the thermal spa area for several days during their transatlantic tour. I invested $300+ on access specifically for their hot tubs so when I found out that they will be out-of-service for a long period of time I asked for a refund. MSC's response? "take it up with the spa since they are a third-party company." Spa company's response? "take it up with MSC since you bought it online." THIRD: Most employees will not know the answer to your questions and if they don't, they'll guess. If you ask 5 employees the same question you'll get 5 different answers. I was asked to put a card on file when my on-board balance exceeded $300 euros. When I proceeded to put my debit card on file the lowest pre-paid denomination was much higher than I expected to pay. When I asked what will happen with the remaining unused funds I was told that it would get credited back to my debit card. On the last day, as I was disembarking with luggage in hand in NYC the machine made a loud noise and I was told that I owe a balance. When I visited the reception desk I was told that they owed me several hundred dollars and that I'll get it in euros. A refund on my debit card was not feasible despite the information that was provided previously. Now I have hundreds in euros that I'll have to spend 1/3 of it to convert to dollars. I will never sail with MSC again. Read Less

Due to poor weather we missed four ports. I have to believe that HAL knew the weather would be difficult for tender ports before we left Amsterdam yet kept us guessing. Being that we had more overnights in a port because we could not go to the next port, they did not plan things to do on the ship assuming all would get off the ship. That did not happen and you had many bored people. The only time they did plan was the last sea day which was supposed to be a tender port. Along with that many many people were sick and there was so much coughing and sneezing on the ship and on the bus tours. I also was sick and by the end of the cruise after talking to many passengers found that about 1/4 of the ship was sick. After traveling with HAL for many cruises this was my first experience with this kind of sickness, I have experienced the stomach problems but not this. The whole experience was sad as after you plan for a great experience you come home so disappointed and still sick. Since home have gone to the doctor and on antibiotics. I stgill wonder is many of the crew were sick and they still make them work or something is wrong on the ship. My worst experience on any of the 25 cruises I have been on. Have to say service was great Read Less

We chose the MSC Poesia as the Itinerary and price influenced us. Copenhagen to Genoa in September 2019. Aurea Balcony Suite, inclusive Drinks Package,(the old one as we booked before the new drinks package took over) We arrived at Copenhagen Terminal at 10.30am, they said we could board at 11.30am and a large Group of tourists decided to rush first, not lining up correctly, it was very chaotic, this was sorted out swiftly by the Crew. We boarded and even though our rooms weren't ready till 1.30pm, that didn't stop us exploring the lovely and elegant MSC Poesia and grabbing a bite to eat and drink. The ship is over 11 years old, but you would not know this, as it is kept in pristine condition. (and I have cruised with ships only 5-6 years old and they have had a beating!) Our room was always clean and spotless, cleaned twice daily. Lovely balcony, one floor down to access the Spa and pool deck. The ship is ultra clean, crew spending their days polishing everything and hosing all the pool area down daily. I found all the crew friendly and chatty. With regards to the language barrier and despite other reviews, I understand that as an Australian, English would be the last language spoken, as MSC being an Italian cruise liner, and there were many nationalities on board, Italian, Russian, French, German and Chinese. Not once did I find the language barrier a problem, in fact I praise the crew, most of them could speak three or four languages! We had My time Dining, never an issue granting four of us a table each night, waiting time probably no longer than 5 minutes. I found the food to be exceptional, I have cruised 10 times , RCI, Celebrity, P&O, Princess, NCL and Carnival and the food served was on a par with all cruise ships. All the waiters were extremely friendly and polite, never anything a bother, even when we ordered two or three entrees, mains or desert. The buffet was huge, we ate there for breakfast and lunch. It wrapped around the whole back of the ship and the food was plentiful, enough for anyone to find something to eat every day, vegans, Gluten free etc., Late night snacks, bread, meats, cheeses, cakes and pizza from 11.00pm to 12.00pm, despite another review on here, I found the Pizza to be very edible, dont forget its an Italian ship, so not many toppings! There are 7 Lounge bars and you could always find a nice quiet spot to have a drink. The only downside was the entertainment, night time shows (2) and they were okay, we went to most of them. No day time shows or entertainment. The singers in the lounge were a bit of a let down as well. They need to address this. As the weather wasn't perfect, no outdoor entertainment or activities. Only one Flower 60's70's night and that was the 2nd last night on board. No Italian night, or white night as expected. We did 4 shore excursions with MSC Rotterdam - we chose to do the night time canal tour in Amsterdam, This was such a great experience, going down the canal by boat and seeing all the famous houses etc., free wine and soft drinks and a small antipasto platter to eat. We then had 2 hours to explore by ourselves. Vigo, Spain - was a bit of a let down, the UNESCO Church was under re construction, they should have explained this to us, we could not see much, 1.50 hours travel in a bus, 1/2 hour in the Church, 30 minutes to explore and then back on the bus to the ship, for the price we paid, I was disappointed, it was expensive . Lisbon, Portugal, - what a great excursion with our tour guide Maria, Tram ride through the town, over an hour, custard tarts and port wine for brekky, and then 2 hours for site seeing, including stops to see Palaces, Castles, etc., all the best parts of Lisbon. This was inexpensive and a great way to see Lisbon! Cadiz - Spain, we chose to go to Seville to see the UNESCO Palace, 2 hours in a bus, should have explained that to us, (brochure said, short drive), but it was worth the drive, the Palace was lovely, the exhibition place was as well, then a lovely lunch included at a near by restaurant, with unlimited wine! All other ports, we explored ourselves, Warnemunde, Rotterdam, during the day, just cross the bridge, lots to see, Cartagena, wow, what a fantastic little port, duty and tax free haven, checked out the castles, roman ruins the amphitheatre first, then went on a shopping trip. Overall, despite the weather as it was not favorable for 6 days, it was a fantastic cruise and I would travel with MSC again. Read Less

First off, we were told we had a free upgrade. I tried to contact the travel agent to no avail. When we got onto the ship, I asked about the upgrade and had a sign literally pushed into my face which said there are no free cabins. We were told to board the ship at 5.15 pm. We discovered that the ship had been parked at Southampton all day and most people just got on when they felt like it. Like wise disembarkation, we were told 10.15 am. We left at about 10am and discovered that most people had already left. Dining:- The quality of the food was poor, lukewarm at best and it was impossible to get a hot drink. The buffet area was horrendous, doesn't do to be a shy retiring Brit. Survival of the fittest (loud Europeans). Excursions:- Extortionate. Bruges transfer approx. 55 Euros. Lovely lady gave us information (including safety) on the coach into Bruges. Very pretty town. Rotterdam:- Transfer to Amsterdam about 55 Euros. Horrendous. The ship was parked up all night (until 6am next day) and yet we had to be back on the ship by about 4pm. It took 1.5hours to get into Amsterdam and nearly 2 coming back, and so we had about 2.5 hours in Amsterdam, time to do next to nothing. There was a commentary going on all the way to Amsterdam, in German. We asked the German guide where we were when we arrived, he drew a circle on our map, we asked him which direction we should go in and he pointed to a street, which was a very seedy back street selling undesirable items in the shops. Best value was taking a trip round Amsterdam on one of those bikes that holds two passengers. People who had been to Amsterdam before said Rotterdam is much nicer. We complained at Excursion reception and we were told by a very rude lady that there was no guide on the bus. True but there was no safety instructions either on or off the bus. Don't bother complaining about anything, you are wasting your time. Hamburg:- We took the shuttle which was about 15 Euros. Unfortunately it was Sunday so all shops closed. We took a HOHO bus which was good value. Once again we had to be back on the ship way before it left. Le Havre: we just stayed in Le Havre because most of the trips were expensive. E.g. Paris 119.99 Euros. 11 hours but takes a good few hours to get there. Le Havre is a dump. Entertainment:- Most shows were very samey and only lasted for about 30 minutes. Cabin: We had an indoor cabin which we will never do again. Cabin staff were very good though. The ship itself was fantastic, but trying to partake in any activities was difficult due to overcrowding. We will not travel with MSC again and cannot recommend it. Read Less

We were on a cruise with Mr Bridge and about 70 others in our group.we booked early with Mr Bridge and the offer of 2 for 1. Great value for money. Less good was the change of itinerary some time after booking. We were informed of a change from Stockholm to Nynashamn, however none of us received notification of a change from Amsterdam to Rotterdam. In addition passengers were expected to pay the cost of the transfers to the original destinations. Eventually after some protracted communications we were offered cabin upgrades. The Baltic cruise is special, with great cities on offer to explore. We had previously visited some of the cities. For new ports were Rotterdam, Copenhagen, Rostock / Wanermunde and Helsinki. We used the shuttles when available and either self guided or chose the excellent freewalks. The only tours booked were in St Petersburg. Our 2 half-day tour with CMV were very disappointing. Too much time travelling and in the same tourist shop, too little time in the Spilled Blood Church and Peter and Paul Fortress. My advice is to book through an independent operator. We also attended the evening ballet to see Sleeping Beauty which was enjoyable and well organised. Just a few comments about the ship: Staff worked hard and efficiently, although we found sometimes the crew did not understand our request. At the 1st sitting in the Waterfront waiters had no time to chat with us. The food was lovely and well presented. Other times we used the buffet where the food and service were good. The buffet can be very busy and sometimes full. They also varied meal times and these were not always matched to our needs. On one occasion we found the breakfast finished at 9 and we were too late. Our cabin boy was friendly and efficient. The daily quizzes were too difficult. Typically the winners scored 11 / 20. Some of the bar waiters were great and remembered our order, and offered packages to save money. Raffles was strange though with one particular miserable and unhelpful waitress. She was downright rude, and they often closed up when the bar was still well populated? Customer Services were not interested to receive feedback on this issue! In summary, we were generally satisfied and think the cruise provided good value for money. CMV need to ensure their staff are better trained and improve their shore excursions and caucus to receive service. Read Less