We chose this Baltic cruise for our Golden Wedding treat principally because it spent 3 days in St Petersburg, which I've never visited, and was a small ship. We flew to Copenhagen, a city we've both visited before, and spent the night there, giving us time to see several sights before our taxi arrived to take us to the port (via a delightful unscheduled whistle-stop tour of Copenhagen!) Embarkation was perfectly smooth, and we had a penthouse suite, on the 8th floor, which, though very expensive, was gorgeous - spacious, tasteful, soothing colours blending with the sea and sky outside, a lovely verandah, and extremely comfortable. The food throughout the trip was quite outstanding - we dined most evenings in the Grand Dining Room, where the menu (including at least 2 vegetarian options per course) changed each day, and every dish was beautifully cooked and prepared. We had breakfast on most days at the Terrace Cafe, which had a huge variety of delicious food, including masses of fresh fruit. Occasionally we had a meal in our room, elegantly served by our butler. Everything was kept spotlessly clean, and all the staff were unfailingly pleasant and polite. I was impressed with the attention to safety, and the fact that we had well-organised and thorough evacuation drill before we left Copenhagen. This also gave the comforting impression that other important and unseen matters were treated with similar care. I read comments about the Nautica being 'tired' and 'dated'. Perhaps. But it's like a grand hotel which has been very luxuriously fitted out in the first instance to high standards of craftsmanship and old-fashioned comfort, and scrupulously maintained thereafter. (OK - we're British. Perhaps we view things differently!) The public rooms were lovely - I particularly liked the sumptuously-furnished, panelled library with its splendid selection of interesting books; and we loved sitting in the lounge at the top of the grand staircase to listen to the brilliant string quartet each evening - their enormous repertoire wasn't repeated once during all the time we were on board, and they were stunningly good. In fairness, one disadvantage of a small ship is the pathetic size of the swimming pool! But there was plenty of room for sunbathers, even if enthusiastic swimmers might be disappointed. (I was, a little bit. But I coped ... ) As first-time cruisers we were very pleasantly surprised at the lack of queues. We never had to wait for more than a few moments for anything (apart from final disembarkation, where the ship was at the mercy of the customs authorities) and, amazingly, you could sometimes go on deck for a spot of sunset-viewing and find no-one else there - just like in the advertisements of cruises! This uncluttered ambiance was very unexpected - and that, despite the fact that the ship was absolutely booked up. The only real criticism I have is of the excursions, which were very, very expensive. In St Petersburg we took instead a 3-day independent Russian excursion for a small group, which was absolutely outstanding, and far better than anything Oceania had to offer, at half the price. We did in fact take some Oceania excursions because we had a deal that included free ones. Most were rather good, and included interesting insights into local life, but the Stockholm one was pretty pathetic (frankly I am NOT interested in having American-owned hotels pointed out to me at the expense of learning more about life in Sweden, and I'm not sure how thrilling even the Americans on the trip found it!). The onboard enrichment lectures were also variable in quality - we had a wonderful and fascinating one on amber, would you believe, and a couple of rather muddled ones on Stockholm and St Petersburg (historic dates, please, people, and clearer royal genealogies - it does so help to put things in context), so we stopped going to them after that, and relied on our guide books. My husband looked in on a couple of the evening entertainments, but reported raucous, rather flat singing, so we left this to those who enjoy that sort of thing (of which, I think, there were quite a few, so fair do's.) We didn't patronise the casino or card rooms; and deck shuffleboard didn't speak as an activity, but hey, that's fine. The few children on board seemed perfectly happy, but this is certainly not an ideal cruise for the average teenager (tho' the non-average one might like it!) It was, however, perfect for a well-travelled couple in their 70s who like comfort, good food, cleanliness, quiet, elegant surroundings - and meeting others who are similarly appreciative. Yes, it's very expensive; and I have nothing to compare it with in my experience. But as a treat it was really fabulous, even given the small caveats above, and it's a memory I shall treasure. Read Less

We initially chose this Cruise and ship because of the itinerary. I have always wanted to see these Mediterranean cities, towns and historic sites we have read so much about. We chose Oceania's Promenades and Palaces on the Riviera because it included a visit to Valletta in Malta, which had a family connection. Also it was at a great time of year and the weather certainly justified our choice. Well we had a marvellous time, the experience of a life time.The excursions ashore were great because they were so well-organised. But the life on-board the Riviera was just as enjoyable. The Riviera is a beautiful ship with all the facilities one could need, but a highlight for us was the amazing service everyone received from every single staff member who simply couldn't do enough for you. The ship's reputation as having the best cuisine on the seas is undisputed after our trip. The atmosphere on the ship allowed us to make many new friends from a range of countries. I would recommend the Riviera to anyone. Peter McCudden (Australia) Read Less

The cruise line P&O Cruises is a British cruise line, a constituent of the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company. P&O Cruises claim to be the oldest cruise line in the world. Its predecessor company operated pleasure trips since 1844, and the world's first dedicated cruise ship in 1881. It is the sister company of, and retains strong links with, P&O Cruises Australia. P&O Cruises was de-merged from the P&O group in 2000, becoming a subsidiary of P&O Princess Cruises plc, which subsequently merged with Carnival Corporation in 2003, to form Carnival Corporation & plc. P&O Cruises currently operate seven cruise ships and tailor their cruises to the British market. Why we chose P&O We have sailed with P&O on a number of occasions as they sail from Southampton. They offer much more of a British feel and use pound Stirling for currency. Having 3 pin plugs in all cabins is always good as it saves carrying all those extra travel adapters for those essential electronics. We chose this cruise primarily for the itinerary as it stopped in Israel, and the fact that Arcadia is an adult only ship. We boarded the ship in Dubai and sailed home via the Suez Canal to Southampton on the ship as part of her 2019 world cruise. The ship Arcadia was ordered by Holland America Line in 2000 as their fifth Vista class vessel. In 2003 she was allocated to the Cunard Line to become their Queen Victoria. Shortly before her launch the decision was made to transfer the ship to the P&O Cruises fleet. As a result, Arcadia has a Cunard style mast similar to those found on the RMS Queen Mary 2. She also sports a modified QE2 style funnel, with cowling removed instead of the traditional P&O style funnel found on the other purpose built ships. Arcadia has a gross tonnage of 84,000tones with a passenger capacity of just over 2000 and is an adult only ship. Arcadia’s biggest disappointment is her lack of a usable atrium in the centre of the ship, although P&O have tried to lighten the space with coloured lighting etc in her last refit in 2017. Arcadia has been plagued with problems with her cabin waste system with blockages and leaks again something P&O have been working to resolve all of her working life. Arcadia’s signature features are her midship glass lifts and the retracting roof over the main swimming pool both of which are features from her being built for Holland America Line. She also boasts over 3000 pieces of art through the ship creating a sophisticated feel on board. Dining Options on Board Dining on Arcadia is as you would expect very well taken care of, from buffet dinning to several specialty restaurants. The main dining room is on 2 levels at the rear of the ship, on the lower level it is set dining times 18:30 and 21:00. The upper level is freedom dining where you can turn up for a table any time fro 18:00 to 21:30. This option has to be pre booked when booking the cruise as there are only a certain amount of spaces. Even then at peak times you will have to wait for a table for 2 or get to the restaurant when it opens. We had freedom dining on our cruise and would certainly have this style of dining again. The buffet restaurant ( The Lido) is open from 06:00 to 01:00 serving breakfast, lunch, afternoon Tea, dinner and evening light meals. The food is of good quality, complementary fruit juices are only available at breakfast in the buffet area. The 2 specialty restaurants, Sindhu and Ocean Grill both have an additional cover charge. They are both very good and they change menus several times during the voyages. While we were on Arcadia P&O were trailing a glass house style menu in intermezzo outside of ocean grill, this worked well and we hope that it becomes a permanent feature on board Arcadia. Eric lanyards afternoon tea is another specialty offer, it is served in ocean grill on selected sea days and is worth trying. During the day by the midship pool (Neptune’s) there is a grill serving burgers, fish and chips ,jacket potatoes etc there is also a small sandwich bar just to the side of this grill. This area can get busy during the day, especially when the sliding roof is open in warm climates. The Cabins Arcadia’s cabins come is 5 basic categories with a number of sub categories. The categories are inside, ocean view, balcony, mini suite and suite. There are also a number of single occupancy cabins both inside and ocean view. Most of the mini suites are midships. All cabins are well appointed as you would expect with all the normal cabin features. All cabins have UK 3 pin plugs as standard, also tea/coffee making facilities replenished throughout your stay. The cabins have a mini bar(chargeable to your on board account ) and fridge. Most of the mini suites and suites have a bath and shower. A few of the Balcony and Ocean View cabins have combined showers and baths. All grades of cabins have complementary shower gel, shampoo and body lotion. There is plenty of wardrobe space in all cabins. This is a feature on all Vista Class ships that make them great for longer cruises or round the world trips. All of the cabins following the refit in 2017 now have flat screen TVs with pay for view films but as yet, like other ships in the P&O fleet, you can not view your cabin bill or order room service / interactive services via the tv. Things to do on Board As with any UK main stream cruise company the daily entertainment is varied from guest speakers to deck quoits. There is always something going, and the good thing about the ship is that you can always find a quiet spot to read the book you have taken from the library onboard. On this cruise because it was the last leg of the world cruise there was daily art classes in one of the meeting rooms. There is a small onboard cinema seating around 30 in leather recliner chairs, they show current films that are on at the cinema at home, due to space restrictions it’s always best to book a seat. The gym also has a full daily program of both free and chargeable fitness classes all of which are good quality and the instructors know what they’re doing Swimming pools, sun decks and Spa There are 3 pools on board, the main one being in the centre of the ship. It is known as Neptune’s pool, this is where the sliding roof covers the pool in less favourable conditions. There are sun loungers around the pool. The pool has a bar area and a take way food place serving burgers and chips etc The second pool is on the aft deck behind the lido buffet, again there is a lot of space for loungers and has a large bar, this area is fully open to the elements all the time The 3rd pool in located in the spa area and is a pay for use pool, it is always heated to around 34’ and has whirlpool jets that can be turned on and off. You can pay a one off fee for the entire cruise or choose to pay daily providing there is space available, they only have 30 spaces per cruise for this area The sun decks through the ship are spacious even at peak times so you are always able to get a bed with space round it. The large well appointed gym and spa are right at the top and front of the ship above the navigation bridge. It has it’s own sauna in each changing room . If you want to use the steam room hot bed or sensual sauna then again they are chargeable with the use of the thermal suite. The gym offer daily fitness classes and talks. The spa has a full list of wellbeing and wellness courses / treatments again all as additional costs. Would we Recommend P&O We have sailed with P&O on a number of their ships, this is what lead us to book this cruise. If you are looking for a cruise that looks after the UK cruiser then P&O is definitely for you. Would we book another leg of a world cruise, definitely yes but there are a number of things to consider with this type of cruise. • Large amounts of sea days back to back, we had a 6 and 5 day run of sea days • Average age of the customers is generally higher than on normal cruises • Entertainment tailored to type of cruise and age of customers • Customer familiarity with the crew most noticeable in the buffet and main restaurants as they have been together for the last 3 months or so, it can make you feel left out. • Numerous special event for world cruisers only, so parts of the ship often restricted (bars and restaurants etc) This aside we did enjoy the trip home from Dubai especially sailing through the Suez canal and the trips in Israel ( the reason for booking the trip) We like the smaller ships ( around 2000 passengers) as they are usually more friendly. Our biggest dislike is P&Os Great British Sail Away, complete with Union Jack waving, but majority of the ship joins in so we go with the flow with it. So if you live in the UK and want a great British cruise with a main stream cruise line then P&O certainly deliver no matter what ship you travel on. Read Less

The crew were for the most part pleasant and accommodating. Food was above average and the pastry chef was particularly good. Themed dinners were okay but too much Thai. Food not always available but 24 room service was pretty good. The tours were conducted by good English speaking instructors (Dalian to Lushun prison and Beijing to Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square). Internet was spotty. Room 6004 was a good size, beds comfortable with lovely sheets but the whole ship needs renovation. Do not reserve this cabin if you have any issue with motion sickness. It is in the forward part of the ship and it was awful in rough seas. It was also very noisy when the entertainment in the lounge was going on. Overall a good trip. The port agent in Kobe did a good job helping us to get back to the ship on time on one precarious occasion. The age range though really is 65-80. Read Less

We chose the cruise for the itinerary and the fact that we had been on the Mariner before and had liked it. This time however we were sorely disappointed. The captain seemed to have difficulty communicating with the passengers and any major announcements were handled by the cruise director. There was no warning that we would be without internet or communication the last half of the cruise. The itinerary was poorly planned and the Easter Island draw had been been promoted on the ship as being a pretty sure thing, was a great disappointment to all. Even though it wasn't the fault of the ship that we did not get to go to Easter Island, it was misrepresented as 80% chance by their enrichment speaker and the staff. The food was off and on with some excellent nights and some nights we couldn't find anything desirable to eat. This is amazing on a ship with so many nice restaurants. Surprisingly the buffet turn out to be our best option several days. The exit off the ship was extremely and unnecessarily chaotic. The disembarkation problems could have easily been avoided since the cruise line knew our flight time and the conditions at the airport and Cruise dock , but insisted on holding us back from leaving until after all of their tours left before us. Therefore those with flights from Lima had to wait too long and therefore get in last at the airport lines and almost missed flights. Even with all this time we had the buses were still not ready when they told us to leave. Combine this with the fact that they did not service their printers or computers to print boarding passes Etc the days before we had to disembark, seem to convey they we're focused on getting their excursions going to Lima rather than on the needs of the passengers who were still on board. Read Less

OK, the cost and value are pretty good (World Cruise 2019), but its let down by two key things. Firstly the food. It varies between average to terrible and tends to be stodgy, swimming in gravy or sauce and usually over cooked. (Our table of 6 must have sent well over 30 meals back or not eaten in just 70 days.) Not forgetting that when avocado or anchovy appears on the menu! All you get is something from a tube or powdered anchovy??(Dont try and find it on the plate or in the flavour). Secondly the service many of the drinks waiters/waitresses are offhand and rude as were the shore crew. The dining staff are very friendly but lack support to help solve problems when they arise (Fusion restaurant being an exception and very good), the cabin staff are a shining light (along with the little contact you may get with engineering type staff. For the rest the cruise is comfortable with reasonable sized cabins and comfortable beds, not lush, but comfortable. The entertainment team are very good and put on a wide variety of shows that are choreographed on board. Lee Cooper, Holly and the team take a bow. I guess the frustrating thing about this cruise is that it easily could be better, without becoming an expensive overkill. The boat is as big as you need, just fix the food! It’s the only issue that holds me back from booking again. Read Less

We booked a 50 day cruise with Cunard Queen Mary 2 primarily to visit Petra, Rome plus about 20 other countries. The cruise departed Feb 23 from Shanghai to April 14 in South Hampton. While boarding in Shanghai, I was bumped by a luggage handler and my knee was scratched. The scratch became infected by Feb 27 and I had to take antibiotics for the whole cruise, so we never saw any of the sights we intended. After the cruise, we submitted our claim to a Cunard cruise claims adjuster because I needed to continue antibiotics April 15 to June 12. The Cunard claim adjuster gave us a runaround and distorted facts to avoid paying any fair compensation. I wrote the President of Cunard asking to be treated fairly in compensation, and were emailed in return indicating since we purchased our cruise in the USA he could do nothing! I wondered why they are marketing in the USA if they cannot treat folks that book in the USA fairly in compensation. I must say the Cunard medical staff is excellent, but their onboard antibiotic selection is limited. The exercise facilities are limited for a person with a knee infection caused by Cunard. The pools are beautiful and clean, but someone with a leg infection can not use the pools or hot tubs. From the stern from the 11th floor or above, one can see 3 pools on 3 different levels. Dining room food is limited quality but good variety; and deserts are for a European palate. With my leg infection we were forced to do things we normally would not do, viz. painting, read and gamble. The casino has really nice folks working there and the odds aren't bad as my wife and I bot one several times. The art classes or lessons was a fantastic experience. On level 2 at the pursers desk or level 3 at the shops the central foyer is a classic 0 the flowers display is the nicest we have ever seen on any ship. Read Less

The main idea of my post is that I strongly recommend you to refrain from taking Viking Cruises. I was dreaming of a round-the-world cruise and decided to a 3-month journey with Viking Cruises. It turned out into a total disappointment. Beautiful website descriptions and vivid manager speeches have nothing to do with reality. I have huge experience in sea journeys and have traveled with almost all well-known companies, thus I have a lot to compare with. Personnel qualification level is very low and does not correspond with the one declared by the company. The crew is occasionally rude and careless. Throughout the whole journey I felt discriminated against basing on age and nationality. From my personal observations, the company focuses its services on aged clients but there is nothing to learn this information from and managers will not inform you about that. The quality and variety of meals is very poor: the menu barely differs from day to day and it’s not tasty at all. Meal courses are mean and thrifty, quality of service is very very low. Here’s an example, we were given an apple (a single one) and were constantly stared at, harassing us and signaling us to leave. Here’s my story: My acquaintance with company started with my personal manager almost ignoring me shortly after I purchased the voyage. Later on, he totally disappeared. It turned out occasionally that he quit the company and forgot to hand over me to another manager. It was almost impossible to verify the status of my special requests before the start of the journey. And that’s what they call and individual approach to every client. The first day on board ended up with room service team breaking all the buttons on my new suit, which was quite expensive and purchased exactly for the trip. My friend faced the same situation. The only thing offered to us as compensation was to attach black buttons used for the crew uniform. As soon as we boarded, we informed guest service about food allergy. Despite this, kitchen crew ignored this information and served dishes with products we are allergic to during 2 months of our journey. Guest service never intervened and helped us, we were able to fix the situation only after a huge argument. Soon after leaving South America, the entire ship was left without internet. Guest service managers made up various excuses: something broke down, no signal and many else. The connection was restored only at French Polynesia islands. This information was published in daily bulletin along with new excuses for the situation. Be aware that cafe waiters are very tardy and lazy. You may spend an hour or two waiting for your order to be cooked. The guest service explained the situation in a way that cruise focuses on elderly customers and thus everything is done slowly on purpose for the convenience of aged people. That is a real problem, instead of making the crew work faster the guest service justifies their lack of action. Moreover, the waiters behave themselves very unfriendly. Another serious problem faced throughout the whole journey - dirty dishes and cutlery, in all of the ship’s restaurants and room service as well. Dirty spots and leftovers from previous clients were noticed on a daily basis. Waiters never reacted to this situation! After contacting officers, the only answer received from them was an explanation of the factors that may lead to these leftovers not being completely washed off. This is not the information that I am willing to receive as a guest. I require proper service, not the explanation why the dishes are dirty. Sanitary conditions were a very serious issue, so keep this in mind while booking a cruise. Be extremely careful while ordering chicken eggs during trips on Viking ships. It was a common issue to receive dirty eggs for breakfast while ordering room service. There were several occasions when eggs were messed up in something black or had feathers stick to it and something else, supposedly feces. Multiple complaints to guest service ended up in nothing, Ana, the manager, set it off and stated that she doesn’t know whose fault it was. Fish dishes were of low quality, the fish itself was literally old and tough, absolutely impossible to eat. It felt like fish was frozen several times killing all the taste and flavor. I faced certain problems with Australian visa. Officer pretended he was helping me. I was made to pay for new visa with no guarantees for success, and I felt that Officer wanted me and my friend leave the ship. We got lucky that my friend found a way to solve the problem and Officer had nothing to say against us. Discrimination was also present during this journey. Me and my friend felt being discriminated against every time we went for dinner. Waiters were extremely friendly and gallant with Americans and blatantly ignored other guests. Furthermore, we faced negligent attitude as we were the youngest on board. Discrimination against nationality and age is present and it is unacceptable for international company! Shame on Viking company. The entire crew of Viking’s ship turned our journey into a nightmare with constant problems arising due to their actions or inaction, and nobody except us tried to solve those issues. Financial issues are not properly solved by the personnel. As the journey started, I was told that residuals on my on board account will be refunded at the end of the cruise. The day before the journey ends, I was told that residual funds will be sent to my credit card. Two weeks later I discovered the fact that residual money will be sent to me in check via mail services. This is a total incompetence of the crew and purposely misleading. I’d also like to pay your attention to the uniqueness of cruises declared by Viking company. Small ships used for Viking’s voyages should be able to visit unique ports as it’s claimed by the company. This is a trickery. During our 3-month trip the ship often made stops far from main city ports forcing the passengers to spend 50-60 minutes each way to reach the cities. There were several occasions when the stops were made in absolutely uninteresting and empty ports. The way Viking company contacts its clients after the trip requires special description. All my inquiries are being ignored and none of my e-mails were replied. Official complaint took very long time to be replied and in the end the only thing Mr Cohen could offer me was a 250$ refund for the spoilt 3 months or discount voucher for further cruise. This sounds like mocking rather than serious approach to problem management. I encourage all readers and those who traveled with Viking to write reviews and leave comments on things thaw went wrong during your trip! Currently, the company services are just overvalued and its ratings are absolutely unreasonable! I urge all those who suffered from the actions of the Viking company to unite! Read Less

The cabin D7017 is small and poorly appointed with a small dressing table, minimum storage facilities, particularly if a long voyage. The bathroom small but manageable however the shower cubicle is pokey! Television channels are extremely limited and there is no interactive channel. Frankly it looked rather 'tired'. Room service is available but our experience has been that nothing arrived 'hot'. Lukewarm seems to have been the best that could be managed. Public areas of Queen Victoria are comfortable and the waiter service excellent. Dining is tedious with a two seating arrangement at 18.00hrs and 20.00hrs. 18.00 rather too early especially if returning from shore excursions. The shopping on board was as appears to be the case with most cruise ships directed toward high end buying with selections of 'watches and jewellery' endlessly tedious. Bar prices are definitely high. Personally I wouldn't choose a Cunard ship again...there's far better value for my hard earned cash out there. Read Less

A Grand World cruise is a bucket list thing. We loved every day of this. The trip from Aqabah out to Petra was breathtaking. Tahiti was a disappointment...just a big dirty city. Bantry , Ireland was a serendipitous stop...Bantry House was amazing, as well as the impromptu Irish dance and music at Ma Murphys Pub. Snorkeling at the Pink Beach in Komodo, Indonesia..outstanding! But the best of all was having the President of the cruise line treat us ALL to a private reception at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam! What an awesome privilege! Travelling around the world , from east to west means lots of extra hours as we turn our clocks back through all time zones! Music was wonderful, for easy listening or dancing. Captain Jonathon Mercer took us through some stormy seas, we were never nervous. Service was top notch. There’s just something incomparable with a Grand World on HAL! Class act all the way. Read Less

We chose this cruise because of the itinerary and it did not disappoint. Check- in was a long process as those going on the World Cruise are mostly four and five star customers and the designated line for that was just as long for the other guests that were new to the ship. There are a lot of seniors on this trip (who else could take off for 113 days) so don’t be in a hurry to get anywhere as that won’t happen. We had an Oceanview room on the second deck right in the middle. We would not choose this again for two reasons. The pilots that board to help the ship dock usually come in very early in the morning right below your window and then there is the cleaning of the deck (deck three is the walking deck) also very early in the morning. However if noise doesn’t bother you, the cabin was nice. It had a large picture window, plenty of drawers and closet space and ours had a renovated bathroom that had a large glass shower and a marble counter. Unfortunately the rest of the décor was aged and some of the wood on the dressers had chips out of it. The rooms on deck 6 and 7 were fully refurbished during the last dry dock, hopefully they do the same with deck two. The itinerary was the best. Top ports to us were: Easter Island, Komodo Island, all of New Zealand, Singapore, Oman, Jordan, Cadiz (Seville), Copenhagen, Oslo and Dublin. We learned a few things to pass on to others regarding ports. If you are going into a tender port and really, really want to explore that port book a shore excursion. Even though the price is double what a port excursion is, you are first off the ship. We had rough seas when visiting Easter Island and some people did not get on the tender to view this impressive place. However, we were lucky to get a couple of hours on the Island and were very disappointed in Holland America when we saw an awful lot of staff on the island before we got there. Some were helping out with the tours but most were either from the shops or officers, we assumed that guests would have first dibs on the tenders. Pros: - Itinerary was absolutely amazing. - The Microsoft Digital Workshop was a free service that had classes on how best to use Windows 10. We learned a lot - Gloeta was a biology lecturer we had on board that was fabulous. It was standing room only for her lectures on the Pacific Ocean and what was lurking below the water. - The staff was second-to-none. Big shout out to Captain Johnathan Mercer. He kept us informed about all that was going on and always had time to say hello or answer a question. Henk Mensink is the hotel director but you see him everywhere. Wishing you a pleasant day in port, helping you on to the tender, picking up after guest. Holland America is lucky to have him. The wait staff and kitchen help were happy and helpful. - The ship was amazing clean, down to staff polishing the hand rails everyday on every stairwell and even brushing the carpet. Rooms were also exceptionally clean. - The food was all you could hope for. No need to dress up for formal nights in the dining room as the same food is served at the Lido (sure saves on what you have to pack). No need to get to the speciality restaurants either as the food is just that good. I liked the fact that almost all the food is served to you from behind the sneeze guards. We assume that there would be a lot less waste and much more cleanly that way. Cons - The internet is stupid expensive and so unreliable. We paid $700 US for a plan for the whole cruise and had better luck at the ports and in McDonalds on land, than trying to get the internet either to work at all or was so slow you couldn’t connect with what sites you wanted. - Staff – the cruise director was invisible except when the captain was at an activity, otherwise you never saw him or he quickly passed you without even a nod. The shore specialist was more interested in telling you all about the history of the place or what his favourite items were (sailing and pubs) than giving you hints on what to buy, where to buy, how much to pay, etc. Very disappointing for both of these. - Library needs to either get updated books or become a digital library. Some of the books had been there an extended period of time and anything new was few and far between. - The entertainers on board were average at best. Some good, some bad. The average age looked to be around 75 so the entertainment was geared to that era. - There were two big back windows in the dining room that you could not see out of because they were shattered but were never changed out the whole trip. Also couldn’t see out of most of the windows by the end of the cruise as they were not cleaned. We had to complain in order to get our window in our cabin cleaned. Even though there were some cons (as I assume all ships have), this trip was a once in a lifetime experience and what was saw of the world was fabulous. Read Less

This was a cruise in celebration of forthcoming Golden Wedding and a birthday on board. We had selected this cruise because of recommendations from our friends how helpful they had found the crew with respect to special meals. We had sailed on one of the early voyages of the RSS Explorer in 2016 and found the service and cabin exceptional, catering for every need without any problems. On this cruise we experienced exactly the opposite. The special meals coordinator was not dedicated and had other duties that prevented him devoting detailed attention to our requirements compared to the one on the Explorer. The chef was laid back and whilst promised to make special exceptional dishes in addition to the prepacked meals to meet our dietary requirements did not check the food preparation and presentation so it lacked the finesse one would expect. It appeared it had been left to an apprentice chef to deal with our requirements. On several occasions we ate with friends we had made on the voyage, they being aware of our special Kosher diet. We always gave the special diets coordinate more than 24 hours notice of our requirements and where we would be taking our meals. Even so, when we "strayed" from the main dinning room we experienced major problems. Our table had been preordered and whilst the other guests made their selection of the dishes, ours had already been registered. Imagine having to sit at a table where the other guests had been served with their food and after a half hour our food had still not appeared. One of the other guests dinning with us summoned the head waiter and asked why our meal had not been served at the same time as theirs. There were apologies all round by the crew but the truth of the matter was as we were the only ones on the ship having Kosher food the buck was passed between the restaurant staff, the kitchen and the executive chef - the later could not even be bothered to express personal apologies nor did the Restaurant Manager. As to the prepacked Sterling Kosher meals they left a lot to be desired and were certainly not of gourmet standard one would expect, but more like economy airline meals. We had selected a dessert on several occasions and when it was presented in its prepacked package found that the packaging had changed, even though we had been assured that we would be served all of our pre cruise food selection - it was as if, as one of the waiters put it, the kitchen staff had found the same item that had come from previous voyages. When we requested to speak to the Provisions Manager to query this, the Executive Chef advised that they all work for him and it was his responsibility but he could not give us an assurance regarding this issue and did not consider it of any importance that old stock was being used. Of course the individual packages did not have the date they were prepared or a use by date and the Executive Chef claimed the date was on the outer packaging of the box. When we had booked the cruise in October, it was on the proviso that we could disembark in Singapore the day before the general disembarkation at that port. From the date of the booking till the night before our disembarkation nobody advised us that when early disembarkation takes place one is expected to take ones luggage off the ship and proceed to the port immigration. On the night before our disembarkation we received a letter in our state room advising that there would be nobody from Regent Seven Seas who would help us to disembark with our luggage. We immediately emailed the CEO of Regent pointing out this was not an acceptable way to handle disembarking passengers from a six star cruise but we received no reply. The distance from the ship on the elevated bridge to the immigration was 330 meters. We requested assistance from the front desk of the ship who refused as did all members of the crew who were going ashore. As such, since there were no trolleys available because the Port Authorities do not provide them for passenger use until after immigration, we were left to take 5 suitcases, including 2 carry-ons, with 4 hands, to the Customs & Immigration area. We had a schedule to meet after our disembarkation and we could not wait around even though we had advised the Front Desk 2 days earlier that we would be disembarking at a certain time.to meet our onward schedule. What a wonderful way to end an expensive superior luxury cruise. Certainly we would not recommend Regent after this experience. . . Read Less

We usually travel with P&O during the January - March period to escape the British winter but they had nothing new this year so we thought a return to Fred Olsen with a different itinerary would be different. We travelled on Balmoral 10 years ago and she has been sympathetically updated since and is very well maintained. The problem we had last time still exists unfortunately - she is just not up to maintaining her itinerary in heavy weather. Whereas P&O ships maintain 18 - 20 knots, we were down to 11-15 most of the time. This adds to the length of any passage; 6 days on the Atlantic rather than five for example. We missed 2 ports owing to this and our time in many ports was often reduced to little more than a half day. As we actually visited 13 ports in 62 nights, it was lucky that we enjoyed sea days! Fortunately the Atlantic was kind to us both ways so we lost no time there. Unfortunately the ship picked up a fishing net in the Pacific (not anyone's fault despite popular opinion) and we were reduced to 10/11 knots maximum. Fortunately we were able to fix the problem in San Diego. All credit to the captain (and the excellent Cruise Director Elliot Taylor) who ran two forums for the passengers to explain the issue and its implications. He didn't have to do it and it was much appreciated. As a result, tours to Los Angeles had to run by coach from San Diego which was not viable for many. An unexpected side effect of the change to the itinerary was that in retrospect our days in the US ports co-incided with the few days of good weather during a cold wet period there. The original itinerary would have meant our visits would have quite bad weather. So it wasn't all bad luck! The crew, as always on Fred, were terrific. The Filipinos particularly appear to be a joyous and optimistic people and are so friendly and accommodating. On 'special' nights, the bar girls were often allowed to dress up in all their finery which made some of the passengers feel very old indeed! The crew shows are always a 'Must Do' on a Fred ship. The entertainment, particularly the Show Company was pretty good, as was the lecture programme (which included two submarine historians strangely). Violinist Michael Bacala was the star of the cruise for us - and it was good to see Captain Henrik Mattson keeping up the Fred tradition of getting involved by being thrown in the pool on one 'Pirate' event! One thing that did disappoint a little was the quality of the meals; the dinners in particular. They were often unimaginative and not very well done which was not usual in our Fred experience. On P&O the same meals are served up in different combinations to add a bit of variety but on Balmoral the menus were fixed - and appear to have been so for several years in some cases. The two Canal transits were well commentated, in good weather and full of interest. We actually did the transit four times - twice by ship, once by coach and once on the Panama Railway heritage train which is 'must do' tour. The ship had around 900 fellow passengers aboard - well below the ship's capacity. This was probably because we had many singles (who were well catered for) and nearly always good mixers. Inevitably the age profile was older but we found most people to be pretty friendly and they were nearly all frequent Fred travellers ; we were surprised by the loyalty everyone expressed. Fred really is a family concern. Whenever we encountered a big cruise ship in port, universal revulsion was expressed! Interesting since so few of our fellow passengers had ever sailed on a bigger ship! Fred does deservedly well to keep such a loyal following - hopefully they have a business strategy to cater for when we all die of old age! It was a good cruise that rolled happily along with lots to entertain us on the may sea days. Maybe people who are more interested in destinations would have been disappointed by our progress but we enjoyed it. Read Less

We chose this cruise for three reasons: 1. it stopped at many ports/countries we had never visited, 2. we wanted to be away for much of the Canadian winter. 3. we've travelled on Cunard, QM2 in the past and enjoyed the luxury and amenities it has to offer. It's been 4 years since the shipped was refurbished, and while still beautiful, she'showing the wear & tear in some areas (carpet in the Grand Lobby Hall had pulled away and created a walking hazard, especially for guests who had mobility issues. The only port that was not satisfactory was Goa, India. It is a commercial/industrial port, not set up to receive the travelling public. The whole process for getting the VISA was troublesome, and the process to clear immigration was disgustingly long and poorly organized. You can't expect seniors to have to stand in line, some up to 2 hours, for Immigration Inspection. On-boarding 4 Officers to clear 2700 passengers was ridiculous! Suggest Cunard take this port off their itinerary, unless the India Officials are prepared to make better accommodations and arrangements. Also, the calibre of the lecturers was fantastic, especially Judith Hinchcliffe, the Forensic Odontologist. Her presentations were AMAZING. Also, Roy Hunt, who presented on the lives of legendary musicians, Berlin, Gershwins, Hammerstein & Sinatra was wonderful, taking us down memory lane Read Less

We went on the worldwide cruise with Cunard in Jan 2019 and have vowed never to cruise with this company again. The ship was tatty and the furnishing were mediocre. Air con was cold throughout the ship and you could not turn this off in your stateroom. It would have been nice to have been able to open our balcony door but if we did this the air con went into ‘overdrive’ and dripped. I am sure that the air con throughout the ship did not help with the problem of the prevalent cough/cold that circulated - everyone we met had this and we also fell victim, myself twice with one occasion necessitating me having to stay in our cabin for 6 days to recover! Internet availability/connection was poor and expensive if you did not qualify for free wi fi (this was dependant upon your length of trip/previous cruiser as to whether you got some ‘free minutes’). Cunard organised trips were poorly thought out bearing in mind that the average age of the passengers was 65+. Some of the destinations offered coaches that were suited to the local ‘slight’ population and not to northern hemisphere population with no air con or PA system. Next time we will book with an independent luxury cruise ship which offers better quality and value Read Less

Decided to do the world as a ‘Well Why Not’ and wasn’t disappointed generally. Arcadia is a very stable ship in adverse weather conditions. Cabins were very comfortable, although a tad tired/well worn. Meals in Meridian Restaurant were excellent, think there was only one dish I disliked and that was me, not the restaurant’s choice. The Sindhu is totally delicious. Entertainment was very mixed. Mark Labett (The Chase) was particularly good as were the many talks by naturalist Nigel Marven. So many to chose from. The Headliners in my opinion weren’t up to much as the female lead singers always shouted rather than sang. The Runaround Kids were excellent just a pity they have a silly name. Too many jugglers and mind reader type acts, once is enough! Entertainment Manager Emma was very personable, the same could not be said of her counterpart when Emma was on leave. The excursions team were superb especially Sam and the ladies, the 2nd man wasn’t in the same way, not overly helpful or friendly. Sam’s port talks were quite outstanding. Most staff on board were courteous, very friendly and helpful particularly Manuel in Meridian and Elinore in Piano bar. My only complaint really was the coffee. That in the buffet was quite disgusting and undrinkable which meant I spent an absolute fortune on Costa cards/coffee. Dependant on the barista really whether a good or poor cup was dispensed. The quality was not consistent. Great room for improvement and a poor show that you can’t get a decent drink without having to pay for it - beverages I mean AND the fact you have to pay for water which is deplorable. Need water to live! As I have already said, the trip all in all was amazing but a bit of tweaking required. Read Less

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

This was our 4th cruise with Oceania so we are obviously biased. Although we have sailed on a few other ocean cruise lines and river cruise lines, we keep coming back to Oceania. The food is Fantastic, the service superb and the atmosphere is very warm, casual and comfortable. It feels like a home away from home. We just completed an 18 day voyage (our longest cruise yet) and we wished we could have stayed longer. We met some very interesting and lovely passengers with whom we had much in common. Oceania seems to attract like minded customers. Information about ports and sites was timely and thorough. Local tour information was provided on board as well as on cctv. No guess work or Google searches required. There was plenty to do on board if one took the time to read the daily activity bulletin. Front desk staff were also very helpful when memory failed. Kudos to the staff, crew and management for a job very well done! Read Less

It was a wonderful cruise, we visited some remote islands which we found very interesting, the lectures were informative relating to the region. The food at all of the restaurants was very good with a good variety, the wines were of excellent quality and we particularly like the caviar service which was available 24/7! The premium restaurant was very good, no cover charge, was an added bonus, however you must book this venue. Our cabin was in a very good location for us. It was spacious and well appointed, with walk in robe, the bathroom was a good size with a full size bath and glass door type shower (no shower curtain!). The ship and crew were excellent at all times, no hard sell of tours, for that matter did not push any agenda, and were most helpful if you wanted to do your own thing. Nothing was too much trouble. Can’t wait to get back on Seabourn! 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 chose this cruise to sail among the small islands of the Sea of Cortez with abundance of marine, birds, and reptiles. Professional team with Kit Masters leading. She made every effort to insure that everyone needs were met. There were many opportunities to snorkel, hike and view birds/landscapes from Zodiacs. Our cabin was very comfortable with Butler/attendant on call. The food could be better, Particularly the fish - not fresh. Lack of fresh vegetables, lots of salad greens instead. Lots of desserts. The wait staff were friendly and attentive. Travel to Copper Canyon was too long 16 hours there and back. The landscape was beautiful from our balcony view of the can tonight. Shipboard credit $1000 per person only if you ask.. other couples which we met told us so, you had to ask. As first timers, this is a ridiculous offer. To get with Silverseas again is questionable. 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

Lima is the worst embarkation experience ever. Our transfer dropped us off a Oceania pickup point filled with hucksters trying to help us with our bags. We were lucky when we got on the Oceania coach to take us to the ship. There were only two of us. The competition with shipping trucks was chaos. The backup for the port security guard to check our passport and sift through disorganized paperwork to find our name took and inordinate amount of time. Imagine the later coaches FILLED with passenger. The back up was horrible. My wife has special dietary restrictions. It took a third of the cruise before the came close to meeting her needs. The ship is tired and outdated. We went on the Basic City Tour Excursion in Iquique in the Atacama Desert. Oceania put 25 elderly passengers coming from winter in North America on an UNAIRCONDITIONED bus with temps in the high 80 in the . By the time we got to town, I was soaked with sweat. I told the tour guide he needed to get the bus fixed. We did a walk around and a tour of a museum and palace. When we met up with the bus, it was not fixed. I bailed on the excursion and walked back to take the shuttle back to the ship. I complained at the excursion desk. After a non-committal initial response, Oceania sent a second written reply giving us a 25% refund. HOW GENEROUS, he said facetiously. There was so much right and wrong about the cruise. When you can't use the toilet in your cabin and they can't get your wife's food correct, it spoils the whole cruise experience. Our previous experience on the Oceania Marina was entirely different. My final word for Oceania is this. Viking Ocean cruises is coming for you with a fleet a brand new ships and a base cabin that is better than this ship's veranda cabin. The days with you can compete with an outdated ship and an inferior cabin (bathroom) design ARE NUMBERED. The word is going to get out. A 'luxury cruiseline'. Not on this ship. Read Less

Absolute thrill to spend 3 days on-bard the Queen Elizabeth from Sydney - Brisbane. Fabulous food, beautiful state-room. Stunning, commisioned works of art. Incredible/wonderful décor and design. Loved the Art deco style evidenced throughout the ship. A truly unforgettable experience. I walked the passageways for the three days transfixed by the surroundings. Every turn produced something extraordinary. A wonderful painting or sculpture, a beautiful dining experience, incredible inlaid timber, beautiful furnishing/furniture/etched glass alcoves. The ship was remarkably stable. Leaving Sydney Harbour on the night of our departure was unforgettable. With A Caribbean-style band playing and the Bridge and Opera House as a backdrop the experience was excitement plus. The only gripe I have is the waiting time to book for future cruises. We were on board for just three days and would have loved to have had the time to sit and plan another cruise before we dis-embarked. The Cruise section was open for a limited time each day with lengthy delays and long queues of passengers enquiring about further cruises. I had three visits before I was able to speak to a Booking agent. She gave us a fabulous deal on a 2019 cruise but the route/ports of call didn’t suit us. The Cruise Office on board the Q.E. had two only Reps. and with a short duration cruise we didn't have the chance to sit thoroughly explore further options. The Dining experience was outstanding. The stewards in both the Lido Buffet Restaurant and the Brittania restaurants were exceptional. The choice of food/quality/the diversity of meals/the freshness and range were superb. Sharona from Queensland Read Less

We chose this cruise because of the amount of sea days! Floating on the blue pacific is heavenly! The entertainment was great and the food was too! But the ocean wins the prize for the best of all! The ship was the smallest I have ever ridden on. I liked it because I could get around easy. It was fun getting to know people because there were not so many. I have some knee trouble so needed to take the elevators and on this ship the elevators were usually empty!! I took advantage of the spa and had many treatments to help my knee. i felt like the spa personnel were friendly and very helpful. We enjoyed the gym too. I do not eat in the main dining room much as most guests do. We like to dine at different times so the buffet is more convenient for us most of the time. Read Less