Like Celebrity with some reservations. The ship was clean and comfortable, the food in both main restaurant and self service was generally very good although sweets are not their strong point. Too many cake based. Entertainment was not great with exception of Jayne Curry. She not only has a great voice but always makes me laugh. Doing 3 shows in 4 days was amazing. Shore excursions were quite limited partly because of small towns but generally were not good value for money. In particular a 2 hour trip on the Flam railway with only 2 x5 min stops costing over £100 each was very disappointing. Service is very good although bar staff are variable. Celebrity must surely give thought to an all inclusive cruise. The drinks package is fairly expensive but is required as even bottled water is charged. In this day and age, WiFi is surely a necessity. Less emphasis should be placed on selling speciality restaurants. Finally we told Celebrity that we were celebrating our Golden Wedding Anniversary. After 4 days we had a card and fridge magnet delivered to our cabin. Read Less

We chose this cruise as we understood Princess to be 5star. And we were right in our opinion. All staff were without exception polite and attentive from boarding to disembarkation and all points in between. We chose Anytime Dining and also took the Silver Wine package purchased on board ( the standard alcohol package didn't appeal to us). The choice and standard of food and service was spot on across all three rooms plus we also ate in the Club class Sante Fe one night due to Pacific Moon being busy but at all times we got a table for 4 when we booked or just turned up. Bar service very good ( slightly expensive with 15%added to all drinks) but felt right for standard and speed of service! Cabins E207/209 obstructed view but perfectly liveable with shed load of storage and hanging space. Large TV with ample choice of movies and programmes. Aircon worked and well kept room with large comfy bed. Stewardess very friendly and efficient ( if you use your door card displaying 'privacy/ make up room' correctly, no issues). Entertainment and shows on board some of the best we've seen ( veteran cruisers), plus Eddie Eagle meet and greet and Jeff Stevens comedian brilliant. Entertainment director and crew energetic and great fun, really made even the most boring quiz fun!! We didn't care about winning!! Overall great cruise, quiet itinary which we wanted, no pushy sales unless you wanted them, definitely use again Scores below reflect that we didn't use the enrichment facilities (?), the gym/Spa or ship tours. Read Less

We chose this cruise because of the destinations and enjoyed it very much. The ports and excursions we took met our expectations. We took a couple of excursions and they were enjoyable and well organized. We enjoyed the smaller destination cities. Ghent was our favorite. The ship was clean and staff very friendly and helpful. The food was better than average.We found several specialty areas on the ship that were very relaxing and enjoyable to spend our time relating. Our cabin was very clean and the staff was very accommodating to my numerous allergies. We did not do many of the entertainment activities but so enjoyed a piano/violin duo that played in a common area several times of day. We are just not in to magicians or canned entertainment. We felt that overall it was worth the money. There was a variety of age and demographics that we appreciated, enjoying many interesting dinner conversations.Would take this line and ship again to another destination. Read Less

Food The sapphire has one main dining restaurant, The International Restaurant for traditional dining and three anytime dining restaurants. The Pacific Moon, The Vivaldi, and The Savoy. There is also The Santa Fe for Club Class. Horizon court is the buffet restaurant and the ship has other eateries such as trident grill, prego pizzeria and international cafe, which are fast food style places. There is an ice cream bar and a sit down Alfredo’s Pizzeira too.i can’t fault the food anywhere on board ship. Can feed myself 24/7 with quality, tasty food. Cabins We had an inside cabin and my fiancé expected to feel claustrophobic. This didn’t happen. We were happy with a steward, William who we didn’t see much of, but he cleaned twice a day, leaving little chocolates on our pillows in the evening. It was a warm cosy feel with the lamps on. We had on demand movies to watch after our evening round he ship too. Bed was so comfy and didn’t take long to drift off. Good wardrobe area to store plenty and tea and coffee were available in the cabins too. Amenities Gym and studio were over looking the sea. There was a free sauna and steam room in the changing rooms and a thermal suite to use for a hefty charge. This was near he adults only pool and jacuzzis. This area was called The Sanctuary and wasn’t really used. Just the gym really. There was a small library and on deck games. Entertainment Plenty of entertainment going on in bars and the main piazza(music, champagne waterfall, sail home party) It was the real hub of the ship and never quiet. Bars, restaurants, shops and events always happening here. I thought the production shows were just okay. Maybe just not my cup of tea. The comedian and the soprano were good. Ports of call. Exactly what we wanted. Zeebrugge, Copenhagen, Skagen and Oslo. Enough time in each port and then two days at sea. Ship as a whole The ship gets a 5/5. For those of you that see negative reviews on here, ignore them. I genuinely don’t get what hey are after. It was a high standard from start to finish. The ship is not worn which some reviews suggest(someone even complained a free gift she was given. Thing some people go on holiday to complain. It’s crazy). Concentrate on the positive reviews as they clearly aren’t looking for faults. Everyone we spoke to onboard didn’t have a bad word to say about the ship and it’s staff. And we would happily set sail on her again if the itinerary suited us. The only downfall we had is that we couldn’t stop longer! Read Less

I needed a break so short notice I booked the week prior to leaving. The whole process effortless and on arrival at Southampton this was further established as a very well run operation. I was a little concerned over travelling solo but apart from paying the extra to travel alone there honestly was nothing to worry about. My balcony cabin was perfect 9 steps from the terrace pool bar and restaurant from Riviera deck with easy access to Lido and above. Why kickstart well this cruise is the first real break in 2 years, have thrown myself in to work and given little back. So I purchased the drinks package in my case great value, great brands Tarquins Gin and Doom Bar Ale are a pre requisite for fun. The food excellent, Peninsula Restaurant and the waiting team Emmanuel Table 44 too good to be forgotten. Entertainment well hence the four from five rating it was enhanced by the presence of the Osmond's but the headliners although talented seemed to lack the soul they were trying to portray. Back to travelling solo I made some great friends and we all certainly were men not without hats! Itenary six days of great weather, only one wet day it would have been great if more entertainment were available on wet days. The Gym pool sauna and steams in the Oasis were fantastic and being surrounded by genuinely lovey people made the recipe for a great week. Book again? Yes Recommend? Yes Sparrowhawk on my Balcony? Yes Thank you Azura Read Less

When booking I enquired at length about the kid's club and whether the children were confined to a room or if they were taken out to use the many facilities on-board. I wouldn't have booked had I known that it was basically a babysitting service in a dedicated room. The staff were pleasant but the overall concept of the program is poor. All sessions were in the room and it was always some dodge-ball type games, some arts and crafts and sometimes a video. Such a shame when there was a whole boat of interesting and exciting things they could have been doing. It meant that I was not able to book long excursions because it wasn't fair on the children. In Club Med resorts they can't wait to ditch us and get to the kids club but this was more like a creche than an enjoyable holiday activity. Service is sometimes pushy rather than genuinely and appropriately friendly. My impression is that the staff are terrified of negative feedback, under orders to be friendly at all costs and desperate for tips so they launch into their prepared patter or present you with extra (unasked for) food items rather than taking their lead from their guest. There's an air of desperation as well about keeping the bosses happy which takes priority over the guest experience. Some people may like this service style but I didn't enjoy being stalked at breakfast each day and cornered into a lengthy conversation when I was trying to eat, chat to my family, get my children fed and get out to get the day started. Even when I thought we were making it pretty obvious that we just wanted to get on with our meal it persisted and was very awkward. Many of the staff are genuinely friendly in a nice way and it was lovely to get to know them a little bit, but the pushy over-familiarity of some really had a negative effect on the trip. I think it's probably a cultural thing - it's a very American service style but taken to extremes by some staff members. Buffet was decent. Main dining room food was OK - a bit patchy and no frills but as expected given the numbers they cater for. Desserts weren't great in comparison to other courses (the ice creams were particularly cheap and nasty but the free ice cream from the machine out by the kids pool was much better). Ate in all the speciality restaurants. Wine lists were a joke - it seemed that more of the wines were unavailable than available. I was told that many of the wines by the glass hadn't been available for weeks - they are not long lists so why not reprint them and keep them current? On a number of occasions the wine I ordered by the glass was definitely not the one I was served - mostly it was a similar style of wine and I didn't say anything, but on one occasion I was given a glass of red and assured it was the albarino I had ordered. Chops and Giovanni's were decent but Izumi was very disappointing - for the price and given the decent raw ingredients they use the finished food was terrible and the production very gimmicky. My Family Time dining (another reason we booked) was unavailable with hundreds of people already on the closed waitlist when we tried to change our Main Dining Room late sitting allocation. The ship is spectacular with lots to do. Information in the daily bulletin (on your bed at night) is sometimes too late to allow for planning of activities. Shows are of a high quality. Read Less

This Baltic Cruise was a “Bucket List” vacation that we had been looking forward to for a long time. We selected this particular cruise because the itinerary was focused more towards the Scandinavian/Nordic ports than the Northern European ports. The port calls and excursions were wonderful and we learned so much about the people, the countries and the history of this area. The Regal Princess was the biggest ship we have sailed and for the size, and with the number of people aboard, there was a minimal amount of waiting. The food was very good, although it is funny that we are using the buffet, grill and pizza areas more often than the dining room. We were gifted with a delux balcony breakfast by our travel agent and that was a very nice gift. If you have a chance it is a little pricy to buy but a very nice experience and they do it up nicely. We especially liked the entertainment on-board, excursions were well run, and the Embarkation & Disembarkation were the smoothest we have ever encountered. The combination of the above, combined with the friendliness of the crew (and the Captain), along with the entertainment I can’t recommend this enough. One thing to take note of is that this cruise was port intensive and it did not leave a lot of time for rest and relaxation. For us this was just fine. Read Less

We chose this cruise last September, 2017, to fit in with our kids school holidays and to celebrate our 55th Wedding Anniversary we took all l7 of our family for a memorable trip instead of a party. We had nothing but agravation from beginning to end. Firstly we used Cruise Kings, who were the worst company to deal with, incompetence, useless, and difficult from the very beginning, they did not listen to our requests re cabins etc., and the more we spoke to them about bed configurations the more confused they got. We asked for cabins on one day, keeping in mind we booked a year ago, and they gave us cabins from deck 2 to deck, so we were all over the place, we argument of argument, but got nowhere. That was our first gripe. Now on to the Indepence of the Seas, we chose this ship because our grandchildren range in age from 7 to 28, and this ship seemed to have something for everybody, we have been on 30 cruises, and know the ropes by now. The cabins were minute in some cases, one daughter had to climb over a sofa bed to get out of the cabin this was a hazard had there have been an emergency. Our cabin steward on deck 8 was worse than useless, there were 4 people in our cabin, and every day we had to ask for 4 towels, 4 face flannels etc., very poor show. Now to the restaurant arrangements and food. We asked at the time of booking for two large tables next to one another, on the first night having arrived at the restaurant for dinner we were told that we had been split into 3 tables, in all different parts of the dining room, of course they was argument, and after half an hour they managed to find two table immediately next to one another. We sat down, ordered our food, and when it arrived some 40 minutes later, the food was inedable, and the goats cheese was off, the rest of the food was dried up and tasteless and very poorly presented. We complained and were assured that the next night it would be better. The second night was a formal night so we were all dressed up and had intended have some photos taken, but our dismay we ordered our food, the first course was stale, and had to be sent back. One of the grandchildren asked for a piece of salmon, and was told by the waitress that there was non available. Eventually after my grandson ending up in tears because he was hungry, the salmon arrived, my daughter cut it up for him and to her horror it was raw inside I hate to think what might have happened had he have eaten it. My eldest grandaughter was served with a meal with a bar code label stuck on it, everything was cold, the service was apalling, and two of us had to wait for an hour for our meal to be served which when it arrived was inedable, we entered the dining room at 8.30 and did not leave until 10.30, my grandsons piece of salmon arrived some 45 minutes after ordering it. The Chef came out and the hotel manager, and maitre D, and when we questioned the Chef about the health risks, he did have an answer, and so it went on. The last night was an improvement as they pulled out all stops to try to make things better, but it was too little too late. My Husband and I were terribly distressed over the whole matter and instead of being a great celebration it was a great aggravation. Never will we cruise with Royal Caribbean again, avoid them at all costs, it was like Butlins on Sea. Very disgruntled passengers, oh and by the way they offered us 5% off another cruise what an insult having ruined what should have been a lovely and enjoyable celebration. Read Less

Beware if you are tempted by the stay awhile program, it is an absolute ripoff and a great example of mis selling , the description is misleading, you have use of the pool decks as listed but are surrounded by closed signage and chains everywhere, no pool was open at all. The spa sauna was switched off as was the steam room, the towel station is closed. The whole atmosphere was hostile and uncomfortable not relaxing at all, It spoilt a previously enjoyable cruise which was a great pity, as although crowded at times, the service and quality are fairly good value. My advice to anyone who needs to stay awhile in Southampton would be to use the various dayroom options which lots of the hotels offer for about 1/3 of the price of the Royal Caribbean deal and often include taxi transfers and full use of there facilities and baggage storage. The cruise itself was pretty much as you would expect for a Royal Caribbean large ship, the facilities are good especially if you are traveling with children, the main issue for us was the my time dining which involves queuing and just as you get near the front you are told to come back in an hour! One hour later, guess what- another queue, is frankly ridiculous, they cannot cope with such numbers for my time, you have to make a reservation which defeats the purpose somewhat. Once we made reservations and got to dine the waiting staff were excellent and the food acceptable for mass catering Read Less

I chose Norwegian because of its reputation for catering to solo travelers and the studio cabin option. I chose this particular route because it was port-heavy and the ports would be easy for me to explore alone. It lived up to the hype! I had a great time all around - both the solo cruise part and the ports were excellent. The other solo cruisers were wonderful - friendly and interesting - and Kareem, our solo host, did a great job. Ship: The Breakaway is huge, but the only time I felt overwhelmed was at the buffet. It just always felt hectic. I got the Thermal Suite Pass which I highly recommend, particularly for a cool weather cruise like the Baltic. If I was on the ship, I was pretty much either sleeping, eating, or in the Thermal Suite! Cabin: The studios are small but perfect for my needs (somewhere to sleep, basically). They have a lot of storage, good temperature control, and were quiet. I appreciated that access to the Solo area was keycard restricted, which added an extra level of security. I also really enjoyed the Solo lounge for an easy snack or cup of tea. Dining: I'm not a foodie and didn't do any specialty dining. The buffet food was fine for breakfast and lunch and for dinner I ate with the solo group at the complementary restaurants (Taste, Savor, Manhattan Room). The food was satisfactory, but again I don't have high standards. Entertainment/Activities: The only shows I went to were Burn the Floor (I made reservations online before the cruise) and the Russia Folkloric show. I enjoyed both. I had reservations to Rock of Ages but gave them up in favor of dinner with the solo group. Preferred to spend my free time reading in the Thermal Suite. I also splurged on two foot massages at the spa because my feet hurt after multiple days of walking 7-10 miles. Service: Again, Kareem the solo host was excellent and my few interactions with Guest services were smooth. Ports and Shore excursions: I relied heavily on Rick Steves' maps and walking tours. Copenhagen (embarkation). I spent two night in Copenhagen before the cruise. Stayed at Skt. Petri hotel by the university. On disembarkation day I saw several of groups of people going on this cruise staying at the hotel. I pre-ordered the Copenhagen card, which I used to visit several museums (National Museum, Rosenborg Castle) and Tivoli Gardens, take a canal tour, and travel via public transportation. I also took a great walking tour from Copenhagen Free Walking Tours (which meet at City Hall). On embarkation day I took a taxi from the hotel to the port around noon (I think there are buses that go but that seemed like too much work!). The embarkation process was very smooth but the rooms weren't ready by the time I got on board, which was annoying. Warnemunde, Germany: I did a Friends of Dave tour around Warnemunde, Wismar, and Schwerin. Highly recommended. We met Christian, the guide, around 9, which is later than most of the other tours leave so it was easy to walk off. Christian is a local, and offered valuable insight into the charms and changes in the area. Lunch at the brewery was excellent. This was a good low-stress way to start the cruise. I bought some lotion scented of a local berry at a boutique and chocolate from a grocery store (which I then ate). Tallinn, Estonia: It was very easy to disembark and walk into Old Town. There are signs (and crowds) to follow. I did a free two-hour walking tour that left from the Tourist Information Center in the main square at 10am that was very good. It was led by Nilson a local student and hit the highlights with a local/youth perspective. After the tour I stopped a local cafe to rest and have a latte and then wandered around using Rick Steves as a reference. I bought a few juniper wood hot plates as gifts. I had lunch in a market area outside of old town by the train station that was recommended by the guide and then walked back to the ship. St. Petersburg, Russia: My favorite city on the cruise. I did an intensive 2-day tour with TJ Travel. Highly recommended. Our guide Victoria was excellent at shepherding us through the sites and explaining the detailed history. And the sites were just beautiful: the Hermitage, canal tour, Peterhof, Church of the Spilled Blood, Yusupov Palace, Peter and Paul Fortress, Catherine palace.... One shiny thing after another! I bought several amber necklaces for the women in my family and furry hats for the men. Disembarkation/customs was not as difficult as I'd feared. TJ provided me with the visa. Early on in the cruise I went to guest services and was put in group B. This got me out in plenty of time to meet the tour group. Others in the group just walked off with no difficulty. There were enough customs lines that the wait to get through them was very short. Helsinki, Finland: We had a short time in port (the rumor is that its because the port fees are so high) on a Sunday morning and the morning was extremely foggy, which caused me to change my plans and not go to Soumenlinna island. I took Tram 7 into the market square area, went to the Lutheran Cathedral and the Orthodox church, then did Rick Steves' full self-guided walking tour on my own through the city and up to the Temppeliaukio Church (church in the rock). Then I took the tram down to the design district and went to the Design Museum (small but excellent if you are into design) and then window-shopped because most stores were closed on Sundays. Then I took the tram back to the ship. The city was very easy to navigate on my own. I bought a few scarves at Marimekko. Nynashamn/Stockholm, Sweden: Another Rick Steves day! I did the "Stockholm on your own" tour (a.k.a. Norwegian bus from Nynashamn into the city) because I was too chicken to brave the train and risk not getting back. I also bought an all-day pass for the pubic transportation. I was on one of the first buses to leave. The bus dropped us off at the Opera House around 8:30, just over a bridge from Gamla Stan (Old Town). I did the Rick Steves' walking tour of old town before it got crowded which was nice. Then I took the ferry to Djurgarden and walked to the Vasa Museum. I bought my ticket ahead of time and did not have to wait in line. I watched the video, then did the 11am tour in English, then wandered around for another hour or so. I was exhausted so I had a long lunch in the museum cafe. I then popped briefly into the Nordic Museum. Then I took the tram 7 back to Kungsträdgården and did Rick Steves' modern city walking tour. From the end of the walking tour at Hotorget I took the subway back two stops in the direction of the opera house. Then I stopped at a cafe and had a snack before boarding the bus around 4 for the ride back to the ship. Copenhagen/disembarkation: I did the Norwegian transfer to the airport. My flight left at 2:45 but I got put in the transfer group for flights after 5:30, which left me more time on the ship. I think we left around 10:45. Very easy. Copenhagen airport has good shopping and food options but not a lot of seating if you are delayed (as my flight was). I enjoyed the ports so much I'm thinking of doing this exact cruise again in a few years! Read Less