We chose the 17 day Renaissance Explorer from Civitavechia (Rome) to Fort Lauderdale. This gave us the opportunity to spend four days in Rome before boarding the beautiful Pacific Princess. We booked an obstructed Oceanview guarantee and were booked in cabin 6036, which luckily had a view between two lifeboats and was a beautiful cabin. We are "old style" cruisers, enjoying the smaller ship experience, set dining times with the same waiters and table-mates each evening (second sitting), formal nights and smart casual for the dining room, and no amusement parks on board. Princess has the best entertainment at sea and we enjoyed wonderful production shows, incredibly talented musicians and singers, and interesting and educational speakers. No hairy chest contests here! Fun game show formats, trivia several times a day, guitar lessons and dance lessons. My husband is a musician and for the first time in many years of cruising, he had use of a Princess guitar which he kept personally for the entire 17 days (calluses were kept intact and his daily practice regime was possible). I am a retired dancer. choreographer and director - I loved the talks with the entertainers where we could hear all about the hiring and rehearsal procedures, and life on board as a professional entertainer. The service was excellent. In fact, every crew and staff member on board was friendly - we felt like one big family by the end of the cruise. We also enjoyed all of the ports, and the sea days were especially wonderful with so many events and activities available. Embarkation and debarkation were a breeze - no wait at all! There were very few children on board and the ones that were on board were delightful and well behaved. The food was excellent - always new items on the menu every night with a wonderful selection of favorites. Made to order omelets and eggs available in the lido buffet with a great outdoor table section facing aft. We definitely hope to sail on the Pacific Princess once every year. Read Less

I like the organization of exterior public spaces. Most outward facing railing is composed of evenly spaced vertically oriented glass panels. Panels range in height from four to eight feet. All panels are about a foot wide and every gap between those panes is about 3 inches. It serves perfectly it’s intended perfectly in three ways. First, you can see everything. They may get a bit obscured with sea spray, but that just means that the spray is not on you. Second, they foil wind. Though forty knot wind was making the rigging howl, behind this screen I felt only a breeze. Finally the gaps between the panels are just the right size for a camera. Most of the topside around the midship swimming pool is chaise lounge sized tiers. It’s easy to navigate with a plate full of food and there is plenty of space for everybody. I like the complimentary restaurant meals. They were consistently well prepared. The portions were consistently well prepared and small, which is as it should be. If you need a larger meal, you simply order more courses. For example, I ordered five scallop appetizer courses, and skipped the entree. A major shortcoming that I found for the Star is that it lacks a public quiet interior space with a view of the sea. All those seeking an interior space to pull threads or read or play card are banished to artificially lit cave like places. On the Star, all the interior, sunny comfortable places serve the purpose of dining, drinking and watching sports. This shortcoming could be easily remedied by eliminating one of the upper mid-ship specialty restaurants or eliminate the interior portion of the “owners suite” or eliminating a half dozen cabins fwd of the library on deck 12. I did not like the access to the main dining room, Versaille, located at the rear of the ship. The room can seat probably 500 and is beautifully decorated. It’s well lit in the evenings. The problem is the entrance. The Access is gained by descending a stair from deck 7 down to the dining room floor on Deck 6. Midway down the flight is a landing that serves as the entrance to the room, and is where the maitre-de sorts party sizes and assigns tables. The stairs from the Maitre-de to the floor are ornate and inside the room. It makes for a very dramatic entrance, however for those guests who cannot take stairs very easily the only way in is via a single elevator shaft. What I mean is that on deck seven, directly adjacent to the dining room entry stairwell, is a bank of four elevator shafts serving Deck seven thru thirteen. Only one of those four shafts goes down to the floor level of the Versaille. To add to the insult, those shafts do not serve stateroom decks five or four either. For residents on those decks, travel to the Versaille dining room always requires a trip to deck seven. From the floor of the restaurant, decks five and four cannot be accessed directly by stairwell either. I did not like the Stardust Theatre. I’ve sat in stadiums with more comfortable seating than the orchestra seats. Many are broken. All are uncomfortable. In the current configuration all stalls seating must be accessed via two central aisles. Seating on the extreme right and left of the theatre extend straight to the walls. As human nature dictates aisle seating is taken first and the theatre filles progressively outward toward the walls. Because there is no aisle access at the extremes, much standing and jockeying is forced upon those seated at the aisle. If three or so dozen seats were removed from next to the walls to create additional aisles, human traffic would flow much more smoothly. The upper “box” seating is more comfortable. The “box” seating is a set of two heavily cushioned benches where the railings are composed of a series of glass panels. From the outermost, front, box bench the view of the stage is adequate. The second row view is not. In order to view the stage one must stand, which I was compelled to do because the ships steady dance troupe put on was wonderful. The live musical entertainment was too loud. Music for a sober mid-day crowd should not be louder than normal conversation. Mid day and sunny afternoons before an audience of middle aged and older adults is not a setting where entertainment should make itself the center of attention. Nor inside the atrium during dinner hours. At these times, in these places, musicians purpose is simply to set a mood. “Loud” is for the “not so sober” crowds later in the evening. For those of us that take care to wear ear protection when working with power tools, being exposed to the Star’s musical entertainment is (was) counterproductive. Read Less

In order to give you perspective, we chose this ship based on the fact we had sailed on the Regal on five different occasions and were excited to sail on the Sky during her inaugural season, we have also sailed on Princess’ Grand and Crown class ships but prefer the Royal class ships, having said that, we have enjoyed every cruise with Princess. Embarkation: We embarked in Barcelona, although we have priority embarkation, there was no line up and we embarked within minutes of arriving at the port even though we had to pick up our medallion as we are Canadian and not entitled to have the medallion shipped to our residence. First impression: the ship is beautiful, modern decor, everything we loved about the Regal with many improvements such as the layout in Princess Live and Take 5. The public spaces seemed bigger and more open. The Piazza is beautiful and spacious. Alfredo’s and Le Mer both have outdoor seating which we enjoyed on a nice day. The center pool area on the Lido deck is great with 2 large pools and 4 overall on the ship. We were blown away by how great the ship looked. Service: we found the service to be as good as any on any other Princess ship. Yes the ship is new and there might be a few growing pains but that is to be expected. The crew were friendly and went out of there way to help, is the service perfect, of course not, worth complaining about, absolutely not. Overall it was very good. Our room steward was very pleasant and professional as was the dinning staff at our 7:45pm traditional dinning. Entertainment: we found the entertainment to be top notch, the comedians, singers were all great including the gentleman who appeared in multiple theatrical shows in London. Rock Opera was amazing then only to be outdone by 5 Skies. The two best production shows that we have seen on any ship. The cruise director and assistant cruise directors were also excellent in particular Rachel and Stephany, who in spite of a few rude guests and a physical altercation over chairs during trivia kept the fun and enjoyment going. Food: overall quality of the food at the buffet and main dinning room was very good. I can saw that of all the meals that I had on board that I was only disappointed once. The service was very good. The Crown Grill was good as ever. We read a few complaints about the elevators, not enough, too long a wait, etc., when exciting a theatre with a capacity of 900 is it realistic to think that you won’t have to wait for an elevator, probably not. Overall impression: our overall impression was very good to excellent, are there a few minor issues which no doubt will be ironed out, were we disappointed that the escape room was not operational, yes, did it ruin our trip, no. We enjoyed the Sky Princess so much that we are booking a Caribbean Cruise on her this winter. Read Less

Friends invited us to join them on this cruise. We had cruised before, but never on Viking. It was by far the best, but also the most expensive. There was value for the price. The cruise manager and the entire crew were superior. The destinations were great. We made good use of the public spaces for playing games on sea days. The service was beyond expectations. The atrium concerts added to the experience. The sound level in concerts was NOT ear-splitting as on other cruises. We were glad there was no casino. We enjoyed the opportunity for alternative dining. But the Restaurant was our favorite. What was not to like? The two days to Iguazu Falls were wonderful, but the preparation for this excursion was by far the worst. Nothing was really entirely correct or adequate about this most memorable aspect of the cruise. The other excursions were shorter and guidance before far more adequate. All were good. Some guides were better than others. Read Less

We did a 40 day 3 back to back cruises from Rome To Los Angeles. The regular Rome to Barcelona, Reposition Barcelona to Ft Lauderdale, then Panama Canal Ft. Lauderdale to Los Angeles. We did a Princess excursion at each stop. Overall weather was perfect, we did have rain in Greece, and a stop in France was cancelled due to winds and rain, but overall given the time of year we were very lucky! The ship did list one morning in high winds off of Europe. We originally chose Any Time Dining, but liked our waiter Roberto and assistant Maria so much this was changed to Fixed for the last 2 cruises. They were very good to us each night, many nights we were the only diners they had (apparently not busy at 5PM seating, noticed lines at 7). Had coupons for the Curtis Stone Restaurant, service was good, food was so so, and apparently they serve the same food each night. Went to Crown Grill 2 nights, and enjoyed our meals there. We had a balcony room, but they moved us at Ft. Lauderdale, we tried to see if room could remain changed, but apparently someone else booked it before us. Both rooms were quiet, one on 15th fl, front of ship, the other 10th fl (Aloha) rear of ship. Both were very quiet. Cabin attendents on both were good, the first was much better than the second, but I think it is a personality thing, as everything got done. Food was good, but seemed to get much better on the Panama Canal Cruise for some reason. Embarkation in Rome was good, embarkation in Ft Lauderdale was terrible. In Ft. Lauderdale all passengers had to disembark for authorities to check the ship. Princess started checking in passengers, and went to lounge, but ship was not cleared to board yet, causing the passengers to be literally crammed in the lounge after check in for at least an hour before boarding. We did all the Princess excursions, and liked all of them except the city tour in Mexico. Read Less

We were looking for a longer cruise, and the possibility of a Trans-Atlantic and Europe (a first for me, not my Honey). We tend to look at Celebrity first for the balance and class - I can get a waterslide anywhere. We spent 3 days in Rome prior to departure, and actually enjoyed walking 20 miles (really!) to tour the city. We were very lucky and happy with our Airbnb rental and the location. Food was fabulous, and the history incredible. The Vatican Museum tour was a cattle drive, unfortunately. I wanted nothing more than to stop and admire art, but this was not practical. The neighborhood we were in had everything - history, food, churches, people all within 10 minutes walk. We would visit again independent of a cruise. We took a shared van to the port, which arrived an hour late due to traffic. One would think they would have accounted for that (Rome - traffic???). Note to self - shared rides somewhat unpredictable. The embarkation in Civitavecchia was as painless as any we've done. The best part was our room was ready so we could drop our carry-on and packs. That was absolutely terrific, and we enjoyed exploring. The ship is similar to the Celebrity Summit, and for that matter the other Celebrity ships, so we found our way around easily. We will say that the crowd was a bit older than usual, likely due to the long transatlantic. It wasn't a significant issue. Contrary to other reviews, the ship was well maintained - and I'm a picky engineer. There was no more wear than we might tolerate in a upper end hotel, and certainly as good as home. There were some elevator troubles during the trip, but the staff seemed to jump on them quickly. Interestingly, a manufacturer tech came on the boat at one of the ports. The meals in the MDR were always excellent and well presented, with the exception of one fish dish. This was promptly addressed. We even did the MDR a few times for lunch, which was relaxing. We did Select, and chose to sit with others - we were always quickly seated and met many nice people. The wait service was very good, though occasionally finding the Sommelier was a bit slow. I usually request medium rare, and didn't receive any meat overcooked. Veggies were fresh and crisp. We ate in Tuscan two nights. The food was excellent, and more than we could eat. The pasta and sauces were quite nice, and were the meats. The service was attentive and prompt. We noticed on both nights, it was not overly busy. We ate in Qsine one night, primarily to see the holographic "show". We were worried that the show was going to be more important than the "show", which was not the case. The food was properly prepared and served. We did not do Sushi on 5, but never got around to it for our lunch intention. While the specialties were of good quality, it is our intention in the future to largely stick with the main dining room, unless we see something on a menu or event that is exceptional. Sorry no Murano, perhaps our favorite specialty on the Equinox. The gym was fine, and not overly crowded. Funny, the sauna was crowded - many naked older men. The pools were good, and I enjoyed the "waves" of the boat motion in the middle of the Atlantic. There were a fare share of lounge hogs, but we found mid afternoon was a good time. We were surprised by the really fun canapes delivered by the waiters around the Solarium Pool in the afternoon - great touch Celebrity! The music onboard was enjoyable, with the best traveling minstrels being "Gilly and The Girl". They were worth seeing for their music and their gravitas. Smart of the activities group to give them and evening main stage show. The production shows were so much fun. The singers and dancers were talented/enthusiastic, and when among the passengers, very personable. Always made it a point to at least slot the evening show. The informative speakers (behind the Podium?) were fine. The "scientific professor" was interesting. The "naturalist" lady was a bit far out there - much anthropomorphizing by her for her sea life. Very much enjoyed the later hours night life at the bars and up in the Constellation Lounge. We will miss our bartenders in the Rendezvous! We took two Celebrity excursions. The Tenerife National Park and volcano was incredible. Not to be missed. The trip to Mijas from Malaga has a dual review: the town was wonderful, pretty, interesting - the tour guide was marginal in her English, and she left almost NO TIME to explore the town, or even sit to eat/drink. We will go back, but hire a cab in the future. We would have enjoyed lunch or an appetizer. Read Less

Selected this cruise to celebrate our 30th wedding anniversary so special occasion = the Yacht Club experience. I'm so glad I chose the YC as the rest of the ship was just way too big for me. One of the reasons I paid so much for YC was priority embarkation and disembarkation. Unfortunately there was no priority embarkation at Kiel, despite what I'd been told beforehand and it really was organised chaos. Worst part was disembarkation at NY Manhattan terminal when YC staff were told to bring a group of us near the front of the line and then leave us. Getting verbally abused by other -albeit frustrated - passengers as we tried to get off was bad enough; I couldn't believe it when they started to physically push us out of the way and security just ignored it. I still had the bruises on the flight home !! YC was a lovely sanctuary because the ship is HUGE....always something going on. Lots of bars, places to eat and lots to do - night and day. I was disappointed by the food in the YC restaurant with overcooked meats, dishes missing items, etc. Best meal I had was in Butchers Cut - well worth the extra as the steak was delicious. Make sure you go hungry as there's lots included in the price. Service in YC was incredible; the staff there were amazing. Thought it was a bit hit & miss in the rest of the ship though. Despite it being a TA crossing, we had ample port visits either side. Iceland was amazing and somewhere I'm looking forward to visiting again. Sailing into NYC was pretty cool too and coming back to the ship after a day and night out was great because you really couldn't miss the MSC Meraviglia once you got close to the Manhattan waterline. We didn't go to the shows - the only one we booked (Cirque du Soleil) was cancelled quite a few times, we were told it was due to the rough sailing so that's understandable I guess. Would I sail on her again? Probably not - she's lovely and clean but just too big for me. Read Less

We did the crossing from nyc to Southampton on Sept. 15th. The service was outstanding along with the entertainment from the National Symphony Orchestra. I think we were some of the youngest guests at 66,but it was a great ride. The food was excellent. We bought the beverage pkg. and think we drank more than normal so we could get our monies worth. The shower was very small in a Britannia balcony room. We loved the club dining room. The Matre Di was wonderful. Flaming desserts were an option every night. I loved the art lesson every day. I met great artists and made good friends. The Chart Room is one of the loveliest rooms I have seen at sea on many cruises-all lines. The English Pub was great for fish n chips lunch or dinner. We used room service a few times and it was elegantly done. We loved having a kettle in the room. Our attendant was very thorough and kind. The place to make friends is in the on board launderette. The lectures and programs were great! The cost is cheaper than a business class plane ticket! Read Less

Great cruise line. Awesome ship and service. One of the best designed ships we have ever been on. Wraparound Promenade deck. Thermal spa outfitted with more different treatment areas (whirlpools, snow room, dry sauna, steam room, etc). Great fitness room. Most rooms between the common areas on decks 1-2-7-8 limiting how many stairs to traverse to get between rooms and common areas. Ship had no feeling of crowding anywhere. Common services desks designed to address client needs. Ship was largely digital meaning that many things could be accomplished through television set in the stateroom. Service was exemplary in every way. Wait times throughout the ship were short or non-existent. Service was highly anticipatory. All administrative activities including embarkation and debarkation, as well as port visits were professionally and efficiently handled. Very good food, using fresh, high quality ingredients. Food was well prepared and tasty. Special requests were handled by the culinary staff with aplomb. World Cafe had most items of the Restaurant + some additional surprises. Mamsen's deli was okay, but the Pool Grill was outstanding. Both Manfredi's and Chef's Table were very good. Could have offered more traditional desserts. On-board activities, while not lacking, could have been more robust. Afternoon tea was great featuring more than 12 types of tea. Enrichment lectures were good also and were recorded for later viewing in the staterooms. No casino or bingo which was a plus. Read Less

Although we have cruised with Princess before, at 24 nights this would be our longest cruise with them and anyone else for that matter. The itinerary covered Canada and New England in the Fall, the only drawbacks was that there were going to be a lot of sea days, and difficult to predict weather. We booked this cruise in May 2018 and had got a good deal, with the 321 offer, Future Cruise Credit and we ended up with $1400 on-board credit. This would also be our first cruise in the Elite loyalty tier. Embarkation/Disembarkation The ship was using the Ocean Terminal in Southampton. We had priority boarding and so did a lot of others, from arriving at the terminal to getting to the cabin took 25mins. Check in took a bit longer as they had to confirm that we had valid US visas (ESTA). Disembarkation was straightforward, a few days before a form was left in our cabin for us to complete with our preferences. We selected Independent 09:00, we got 09:15 but this was not a problem. After breakfast on disembarkation morning we went to Club Fusion (the Elite waiting lounge) but it was far too crowded, so we moved on to the Savoy Dining Room, where there was seating. We were called 15mins early, walked off, collected our luggage from the Reclaim which was grouped by the coloured and numbered luggage tags provided by the ship. Cruise Critic Roll Call Meet and Greet We did have a M&G on the first sea day, a nice chat with quite a varied bunch. Dining We had chosen Freedom dinning and this gave us a choice of three MDRs for dinner, breakfast and lunch could be taken in the International Dining Room. At times we struggled with the menus, and we are not picky eaters. They seem to operate a two week menu rotation which meant that by the end of the cruise the choices were becoming very familiar. In general the food was well prepared and presented, but seemed to lack flavour. For Dinner we tended to eat in the Vivaldi, where the hostess Danielle did a great job of getting us a table of 6, 4 or 2 we find that with the noise in the dining room tables of 8 or 10 can be difficult. If there was a queue we would try one of the other MDRs. Wine prices are high, part of our 321 offer included a free bottle of wine each up to the value of $32, in the extensive list we could only find three bottles that met this price. Breakfast in the MDR can be a slow affair; we tended to use the Horizon Court (buffet) where there was a better selection of food, particularly fruit. The buffet can become congested at peak times and you had to be prepared to walk to the indoor swimming pool to find a table. We had lunch in Alfredo’s Pizzeria; this offers a reasonable choice of pizza and quick service. We also ate on the Lido Deck pizzeria Prego, I thought that the quality of pizza here was better, very thin, crispy and piping hot, but there are only three choices. The Trident Grill offers good burgers, hot dogs and fries. Bowls of fries were very popular. We also ate in the speciality restaurants Sabatini’s and the Sterling Steak House. Sabatini’s is great for a special occasion, you get a lot of food for the $29 uplift, the menu is interesting and the service is very good. Sterling again has a $29 uplift, if you like steak this is very good, on the occasion we used it for some reason service was slow. We also treated ourselves to the Chef’s Table, we booked it as soon as we got onboard, and the cover charge is $95. This was an exceptional experience; we were expecting a tasting menu we got a six course banquet with wine. This event only happened twice with 10 people at each sitting. It commences with a tour of the galley, with canapés and Champagne, before going on to a private area in the Pacific Moon MDR. Very memorable. Bars We decided to purchase the Premium Drinks Package, this may seem expensive at £49 per person per day but we calculated that due to the 18% applied to all drinks we would break even at six drinks each per day. Specially teas, coffees and bottled water were also included in this package. Our main watering hole in the evening was in Vines wine bar where Christian and Maria kept our glasses topped up. It’s a small area off the Piazza, it also got used as a waiting room for the Vivaldi MDR. We also tried most of the other bars, in general we found that if you sat at a bar the service was prompt, sitting at a table the service could be patchier. Drinks prices are quite high. Cabin Our cabin was on D deck starboard side just aft of midships (D523), this gave a smooth ride and convenient access to the rest of the ship. The cabin is classed as a Mini-Suit, starting with the bathroom, a clothes hanging area, the bedroom, a sitting area, and a good sized balcony. The bathroom has a full size bath with over bath shower; towels were changed every time they were used. Another nice touch was that a rubber bath mat was provided, particularly good when the ship is rolling. The bed and pillows are extremely comfortable. There are two large LED TVs, the selection of material to watch was very big, with a particularly good selection of movies. Our cabin steward Ramon Blanco, was friendly, efficient and eager to please. Entertainment The entertainment was disappointing; only four theatre production shows, relying mainly on cabaret type shows. The limited capacity of the theatre, and it’s not small, meant that if you wanted a seat you needed to be in there 30mins before curtain up. To try to relieve the capacity issues, matinee performances of the productions shows were staged on sea days. We did go to one production show which relied heavily on bright lighting and a loud sound track. Highlights were the encounter shows with Linda Gray and Valerie Singleton. The Enrichment lecturer Jevan Morris with his nautical themed lectures was also very good. Photography The photography was disappointing, where they used flash it did not give a good result, we did not buy any prints. Gym A good gym with everything you could want, most of the machines looked to be new. As usual it could become congested at peak times. The majority of treadmills are now in the fitness studio and can not be used when a seminar or class is in progress, this could be improved by swapping some of the cross trainers in the gym for treadmills. Shops Lots of shops to choose from, but prices were high. We thought that the amount of paper being posted to the cabins by Effy and the Art Autions was starting to have an environmental impact. Ports of Call Saint John’s, NF, Canada Our first stop after four days at sea, we were glad to get off! We took a ship walking tour led by local guide Jed Butt ably assisted by Caroline bringing up the rear. The tour was pleasantly paced and informative; fortunately it was a bright though chilly day. One particular highlight was unexpectedly being invited into the Governer’s House, a first for Jed. People were warm and friendly, and wanted to engage in conversation. This was a reasonably accessible tour; one of the party completed it on a mobility scooter. A nice touch was that two Newfoundland dogs were brought onto the ship for an encounter session before we sailed. Sydney, NS, Canada Our first sight was a large terminal and the world’s biggest fiddle! We took a historic walking tour; and our guide Wilfred came dressed in 18th century costume. We covered most of the historic sites in a living history style walk which ended with tea and biscuits at the museum. We were in luck as there was a vintage car show on in the main street which was worth a look round. Charlottetown, PEI, Canada A nice bright sunny morning, and we are off on a food and drink tasting walk. We munched and drank our way round Charlottetown in the company of Becky. Generous tastings included, oysters, craft beer, mussels, fries and a lobster roll. New York, USA We did not have anything planned for our first morning and afternoon in NY, and decided to walk down a couple of blocks from our berth on Pier 90 to the Intrepid Air and Space Museum. Most of the exhibits are housed in an aircraft carrier which has a large selection of aircraft including an SR71 spy plane and a space shuttle. On the pier there is a Concorde ($20 extra) and a submarine (included in entrance fee). We were lucky that it was quiet, definitely worth two or three hours of anybody’s time. In the evening we took a tour of Manhattan by night, this took in Brooklyn with a great view of Manhattan and the Statue of Liberty. Our guide Tony gave an interesting commentary and even threw in a visit to Grand Central Station. We were dropped in Times Square for an hour, 10:00 in the evening and the place in crazy, we didn’t feel threatened, just overwhelmed. Next day was a full day coach tour of Manhattan, but the UN General Assembly was in session and Donald Trump was in town, things got very congested. Our tour guide Anthony coped admirably. We took in the Lincoln Centre, Top of the Rock and the 9/11 Memorial. How the driver got the coach round the streets needed to be seen! Newport, RI, USA This was a tender transfer. We took a short guided walk let by Gail which was very informative had provided orientation. It’s a very pretty town with plenty to see. We took lunch in a local restaurant, lobster roll and fries. We would have stayed and explored a bit longer, but when we got back to the tender berth the queue was already lengthy. The tender operation was very efficient and the queue moved quickly. Boston, MS, USA This did not go well, there were problems with the berth and the gangways which caused lengthy delays in getting off and joining our tour, these should have been predicted. These problems resulted in wasting an hour and a half in the theatre waiting for the gangway to be repositioned and a compressed tour. During this time the communication from the ship was not great and they could have kept us better informed. We took a walking tour led by Patrick who kept the information coming. We did see everything we were meant to see, but at route march pace. The tour was compressed from 3.5 down to 2.5 hours, we decided to miss the Quincey Market and take the shuttle bus back to the ship, because the shuttle bus queue would only get longer as the afternoon progressed. Rockland, Maine, USA Our second tender port. Our tour was early afternoon, so we decided to stay on board in the morning rather than having to make additional tender trips to join our tour. Our tour was hosted by Marilee, and took us to a vineyard and winery, followed by time in Camden. It was a bright sunny day and the fall colours were really starting to show. Saint John, NB, Canada Today’s tour took in the reversing rapids; we saw them in both directions. It also included a run out to St. Martin’s, to see the beach and sample clam chowder. Our guide Barbara kept us informed and entertained with her commentary, and passing a basket of interesting objects down the bus. The chowder was excellent, the beach was beautiful, and the covered bridges interesting. On our return to Saint John we had some free time in the covered market before returning to the now reversed rapids. Halifax, NS, Canada Again we ended up on one of those trips in the middle of the day, and as a (free) shuttle was needed to get out of the docks stayed on board until our trip. The start was delayed due to a traffic accident in town; the ship could have communicated this better. We had driver/guide Bob, who turned up in his kilt. The run to Peggy’s Cove was very scenic and you got a good feeling of how isolated our destination was. Bob kept the information flowing in a very light hearted way. We had an hour at Peggy’s Cove, this was plenty of time to walk up to the light house, see the cove and walk round the shop. The return trip was a different route providing different scenery to look at. Anything Else? We were under no illusions that there were going to be a lot of sea days on this trip, and Princess could have tried harder but stuck to their 14 night American customer model. Overall it was a successful and enjoyable cruise for us, we were even able to cash in our unused onboard credit, up to $250. Read Less

This is our first cruise with Viking and we are converts! We have cruised with most other lines and while we don't consider ourselves "cruise people", we do end up taking a fair amount of cruises. We really enjoyed the low key luxury decor of the ship. I read an interview with the CEO of Viking and he described his line as "the thinking man's cruise rather than the drinking man's cruise." I think that this sums it up perfectly. The library on the ship was amazingly well thought out and the educational presentations were outstanding. We also were blown away by the thoughtful touches on the ship - like a free laundry room on each floor. A special shout out goes to all of the staff - they were so helpful and friendly. I never felt like they were chiseling for tips. Truly, Viking felt like a Four Seasons Hotel at sea. We will definitely be back. Read Less

2019 New England Cruise- Seven-day journey. The Regal is a large ship that handled the rough sea with grace. The Crew could hot have been and any better and always available for our concerns. We are already planning our next cruise as a result of this fine experience. The food was awesome and always warm. Choices on food are endless and the staff made every meal special. Celebrated my wives birthday for dinner and staff made the celebration a memorable experience. Thank you Princess for being one of the top cruise lines available. Entertainment: Comedian on board for several shows that was absolutely the funniest and kept it clean. This is the first time I have sat through a whole routine without walking out. Princess Cruise understands what passengers want. Ports: Rhode Island, Boston, MA, Bar Harbor, NB, St, John, NB, and Halifax, NS. Each one was unique and most enjoyable. Indulged in three excursions. Read Less

This was a 12-day Transatlantic Cruise from Lisbon to Boston. I was a little ambivalent about going on this smaller and older ship. I knew it had recently been in dry dock for some sprucing up, so I was curious what we would find. Well, it was wonderful. It looked as though all the carpet and furniture in all the public areas had been replaced. The furniture was comfortable and inviting. And, like all Holland America ships, they absorb people well - I never felt like I was in the middle of a huge crowd. It's a relaxing and very pleasant environment. The food, as with our every other HAL cruise, was really excellent. We had two occasions that were a disappointment, though. One evening in the Main Dining Room, I ordered lamb kabobs. They were terrible - cold, hard, dry. I immediately told our server that I wasn't happy with the dish and he very rapidly brought me something else I chose. So, it really was no problem at all. The replacement was paella, which I thoroughly enjoyed. The other less-than-lovely experience was in the Pinnacle Grill, which is HAL's premium added-cost dining venue. We usually go twice during a cruise because we really enjoy it. This time, however, we cancelled our second reservation. We waited 20 minutes for our appetizer, and about two-thirds of the way through my appetizer I found a 10" hair. The manager was mortified. Then we waited over and hour for our main dish. I was ready to walk out, but it was too late to go to the Main Dining Room. The manager was extremely apologetic, and confessed that they had been having difficulties in the kitchen. Needless to say, despite the excellent food, it was an unpleasant experience. The manager called our room a couple days later to apologize again and to say that he hoped we would come back so he could show us a better time. We didn't return. None of this should be taken as a review of all the Pinnacle Grills fleet-wide. Each restaurant is it's own, sort of like a franchise. Every other experience we've had in the Pinnacle Grill on other ships was top-notch. The embarkation in Lisbon wasn't what we expected. We stay in a Neptune Suite, and on every other cruise, as soon as we check in we're told "feel free to board any time". This didn't happen this time. It was a decent length wait. I don't mean this as a complaint, but as an observation that if they say priority boarding is one of the benefits of having a suite, then they should make sure that happens. One notable enrichment activity: on the sea days, they have America's Test Kitchen, which is a cooking instruction - just like there might be on t.v. Each of them were excellent. As a side note: we are a same-sex couple. We have never had one second of a negative encounter/service because of it. (In fact, for the cruise we took for our 25th anniversary, they decorated our door with balloons and streamer and a huge sign. They also brought a decorated cake to our table.) Our 12 days on Veendam were simply great. I would readily choose this ship to sail on again. Read Less

Everything about our cruise was great! We boarded very easily in NYC The ship, though older, is kept clean and well appointed. Restaurants: all were excellent! And I do consider myself a foodie! Have been on NCL, RCL, MSC, and way back on an Italian Line. Cunard was great in all areas; Buffet, Main Dining Room, and Verandah! Not a single line can cook a steak as well as Verandah! (Ships cannot use open flame so it’s difficult to cook a great steak without a flame!) The other point is cleanliness. Having been on all RCL mega ship crossings and each of their buffet rooms were not kept very clean when dining was going on. Waiters would wipe tables onto floor and often tables were hardly cleaned! So QM2 touché! Shows were ok. Not great but enjoyable. The walk/run deck was great! The Aqua Therapy was phenomenal and well worth the $$! Finally, as we enjoy the elegance of the QM2 the evenings, 3 of them formal, were great. The others require a jacket at dinner. (Tux are available and worth it!) The masquerade and roaring 20’s nights were a lot of fun. If you want casual go on a 7 day island cruise. If you enjoy great conversation, stimulating lectures, time to reflect and read great food, great drinks, formal evenings then go on QM2! And finally they do not beg for good reviews! PS our review for excursions says Excellent. But their weren’t any! Read Less

We had not previously been on an ocean cruise, but for our 50th wedding anniversary we wanted to treat ourselves to something special. So we booked a 15-night New York to Southampton cruise with stops in Canada, Iceland, Scotland and Ireland. It was a world away from our usual quiet life in rural Tasmania, but we had high hopes that the Queen Elizabeth would give us a truly memorable cruising experience, and we were not disappointed. Check-in: We boarded at the Manhattan cruise terminal which was easily accessible from our central NY hotel. Our cruise was the final leg of a much longer itinerary that had started in Vancouver, so this was not a full change-over day for the ship. Consequently there were only a few other passengers arriving at the same time, and the whole process was quick and easy with no queuing. We had been given a 12.30 check-in time and within 20 minutes we were in our cabin with luggage already delivered. It probably doesn't get any better than that; our holiday was already off to a perfect start. Cabin: We had dug deep for our anniversary treat and booked a Q4 Penthouse midships on deck 7. This was truly wonderful; a large and well appointed room with plenty of space to relax both inside and out on the balcony, a walk-in wardrobe with more than enough hanging space for 15 evenings of dress-up finery, a huge comfortable bed, and a bathroom with shower, deep spa bath and separate toilet. Nothing about the room was a disappointment, and the experience was made extra special by the butler Manny and his team. They were incredibly attentive with the room fully cleaned while we were at breakfast, everything restocked including the complimentary bar, fruit and flowers replaced regularly, canapes delivered each afternoon, and refresh/turn-down every evening while we had dinner. One of the really nice Cunard touches is that the staff know you by name and make a genuine effort to remember and deliver on your personal preferences. Meals: We ate mostly in the Queens Grill restaurant but also tried a couple of pub lunches after days ashore, and had room service occasionally. All were good, but the Queens Grill is exceptional for both the food/drink and for the service. It is a relatively small restaurant, less than 100 guests, and because you can eat at the time that suits you (for example, arrive for dinner anytime between 6.30pm and 9pm) it never seemed overly busy or crowded. There was really nothing that we could say to fault this restaurant; the range and quality of food was outstanding, plus a dedicated chef would try to produce anything off-menu if given a few hours notice and if they had the ingredients onboard. We asked for rabbit pie one evening which really wasn't much of a challenge for the chef but was duly produced and served at our table with theatrical panache. The Queens Grill provides a very sophisticated and indulgent silver-service atmosphere, part of the overall Cunard theme of reprising the 1940s/50s heyday of transatlantic voyages. In keeping with this, most Grills guests dressed “smart casual” for breakfast and lunch, then everyone dressed more formally for the evenings in keeping with the designated dress code of the day. Activities: During sea days there was always plenty to do onboard, both for organised activities or do your own thing. You can be as active or inactive as you like. We really enjoyed the outdoor games areas with quoits, croquet, carpet bowls, shuffleboard and paddle tennis, plus swimming and table tennis. Entertainment: The main entertainments included a classical concert most afternoons and then ballroom dancing and 2 theatre performances each evening. We found the shows to be mostly of an okay standard; enjoyable, glitzy and good enough for free onboard entertainment but not really outstanding. The theatre has a number of private 2-person boxes which can be reserved at an extra cost with champagne and nibbles on some evenings but are otherwise available freely to anyone who arrives early. Stewards are on hand to bring drinks. All passengers are expected to respect the after-6pm dress code in the theatre and ballroom. Final reflections: We researched Cunard here on Cruise Critic and elsewhere before deciding that they were likely met our needs. We were aware that a number of reviewers have not been happy with their Cunard experience but this often seems to be related to differing expectations of the type of cruise that these three “Queens” offer. This is not a party boat, and not primarily targeted to families and other younger cruisers although there are some facilities for children. The target market is very clearly aimed at a generally older group who enjoy a slower and more genteel pace of life. Other frequent criticisms of Cunard seem to focus on the so-called “class” system, the after-6pm dress code, and the price of drinks. In our experience this “class” distinction is really a non-issue; it's no different from most airlines where you can book economy and get a good service or book a more expensive seat that gives you perks like shorter queues at the airport, more personal space on the flight and a larger choice of meals. It's a choice for everyone to make, unlike a real class system in which there is usually no choice. The after-6pm dress code seems to annoy some people but in our view is central to understanding what Cunard is offering its passengers. Things like the flamboyant art-deco style throughout the ship, the white-gloved waiters, the traditional afternoon teas, the ballroom dancing, the silver-service ambience in the main restaurants, are all designed to create an evening atmosphere of old-world elegance, charm and sophistication. The ship and the crew deliver on this, and the passengers are also expected to deliver. The entire Cunard cruise is a piece of theatre in which passengers live the retro experience of an age when good manners and gracious living were valued. Nobody is forced to dress formally – there are areas of the ship that are more relaxed – but clearly for the vast majority of passengers the evening elegance is an important part of what makes the cruise special. Read Less

Would we go again on Cunard's Queen Elizabeth ? Absolutely. This was a late July east-bound transatlantic cruise with stops in Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, Iceland, Scotland, Dublin and finally Southampton. We were generally blessed with fine weather and calm seas; there was some movement on the north Atlantic but not enough to bother most people. Try to get your stateroom as close to the middle of the ship and as low as possible; it will minimize the rock-and-roll if there is any. Embarkation from Manhattan Terminal was perfect. From street to stateroom in 30 minutes. The ship is very elegant as others have said. it is sparkling in its art-deco appearance and it is very well-maintained, inside and out. Painting and maintenance are ongoing when we were at port. It is the very model of an elegant luxury cruise ship. We had 4 formal nights on the 15 day cruise; men in dark suits or tuxedos; women in gowns or smart cocktail dresses. Casual during the day but formal at night; it was not mandatory but for those not dressed up they had special dining locations those evenings. After the 3rd night I could get into my tux in 10 minutes, much faster than the first night. It was a chore the first night but it was special to dress up on this elegant ship. It takes a day or two to discover all the places on the ship and I'm sure I missed some. There are many public spaces where you can relax and read; many bars and cafes throughout the ship. Overall you get both a big but also intimate feeling on this ship. The library was very impressive; two stories with dark wood furnishings. My wife and I reserved the Queen's Grill Suite (Q4) Room 7088. On the QE there are 3 passenger classes: Britannia, Princess Grill and Queen's Grill. If it were a plane, Britannia would be economy, PG would be business and QG would be first-class. There is also Britannia Club which is a step above Britannia. The PG and QG restaurants are two, separate but similar restaurants on Deck 11 with similar menus and service. It is hard to tell the difference. They share a common lounge between the restaurants for PG and QG passengers. Apart from that, the rest of the ship is available to everyone. The PG and QG meals are served in their respective restaurants, including afternoon tea. For Britannia class, there is a large impressive restaurant in the aft of the ship; afternoon tea is served in the Queen's Room which is also the dance floor. The staterooms are of course larger for the QG than for the PG than for Britannia. Overall I think the QG is not that much different than PG. Service and attentiveness was very good. The big difference for the Grills is that you can have dinner anytime after 6 pm. For Britannia there is an early and late seating. We found the flexibility of the QG/PG to be very convenient. There are a mix of 2-tables, 4-tables, and 8-table sizes. My wife and I enjoyed our dinner mates very much at the 8-table size and we became friends. Food was very good but not great. The Verandah ($39 supplement) had much better steaks than at the QG; our dinnermates and we decided to go down there one night just to get something different and we all agreed that V was much better. Of course not everyone wants to pay a supplement for dinner when they have already paid for the cruise which could explain why the Verandah was not very busy. But it was worth it for the food. Age group was mainly in the 65+ crowd although there were some people in their 30s and 40s with children (ages 6-10) but this younger group was less than 10% of the passengers. Most were from UK, US, Australia, New Zealand. With QG there is refreshed wine and liquors in your stateroom each night, as well as refilled min-fridge at no charge. An Illy coffeemaker with refreshed tea, creamer, and coffee is provided. As well as evening canapes. This is in QG. Certainly nice touches but I think you could scrape by on PG or Britannia depending on what you are looking for. Activities on the ship were fine with lectures and high production value shows every night at 8:30 and 10:30 each night. Lectures on Broadway, Weather Prediction, Space Exploration, the upcoming ports were very good. The port excursions were generally well-organized and interesting. They are not inexpensive! And you may be able to find better value with some planning. But be sure to return to the ship on time! There are a few washing machines and dryers on each deck but not anywhere enough, so there was jockeying and some harsh words in the competition for them. Better to do your own delicates and send out the rest to the ship laundry which has a charge. I agree with others about the atrocious internet. Slow to connect, slow to use, and slow to disconnect. At $45 for 2 hours, Cunard probably makes as much on the internet as the cruise! You can't just shut off the computer because your account is still open until you sign off which was so slow I didn't know if I signed of at all. I had to call the purser every time to make sure they signed me off. Fortunately the long-suffering IT guy gave me back 45 minutes which was spent trying to get on and off the service. Befoe leaving home,sign on with your local wireless provider to use the port-days with discounted International Roaming. It is much faster and less expensive. Disembarkation was also perfect.Remember to leave some day clothes out before you go to sleep on the last night. Your luggage will be off the ship overnight so make sure you have something to wear on the last morning! We had a great time and we would do it again although we might try PG or Britannia Club for comparable value since 90% of the rest of the ship and activities are open to everyone. Read Less

Ncl provided the lowest grade of food possible whenever they could. Poor grades of meat & fish in main ding rooms and buffet. The menus were very limited in both dining rooms and buffet. Wait staff was mostly inattentive and poorly trained. This was certainly not the type of service we have come to expect after 51 cruises! The weather was bad (not ncl's fault) so all outside venues were closed, including the outside buffets and seating. Ncl did nothing to compensate for this. Seating was very limited in buffet because of this. Ncl also did not add any inside activities or entertainment considering the weather. They were not flexible in any way. Theyn did not even bother to change the daily schedule to reflect the closings etc. There was a severe outbreak of the norovirus, so ncl removed all condiments from tables, kept bathroom doors open, cleaned constantly, did not allow cruisers to get their own food or drinks in buffet, etc. But did leave casino open where people were touching slot machines. I guess the money factor was more important than health in that regard. Read Less

Transatlantic cruise was wonderful, so smooth. Dining, as always was very good. We went to several specialty restaurants, they were all great. Carney’s Steak house was fantastic. Entertainment was a little disappointing after seeing “Blue Man Group”, “The Legends”, and Electric guitar group on our last Transatlantic cruise. Need to ramp up the talent! Activities that I enjoyed were the MJ Thriller dance class and cupcake class as well. Service in O’Sheehans was horrible, staff was not well trained. Shore excursions were great, we did a few on our own as well. Excursion that we really enjoyed included a lunch in a Tuscany Winery, it was fabulous. Our last night on board after 25 days was wonderful as we enjoyed music in the Atrium. We returned to our room to put our suitcases out in hall for pickup. However after turning over our luggage the nite before debarkation-13 pieces of my clothing was stolen from 2 cases. The thieves had plenty of time to find what they liked-they actually paired items to create outfits! 13 pieces would require a couple shopping bags to cart off. I believe they were taken overnite in NCL storage, where was the security?? Plenty of time for these thieves to steal from me! Very angry, and getting thru to NCL Cust. Service has proved fruitless. I have always been very comfortable turning over our bags to NCL the nite before debarking, that feeling of security isn’t there anymore. I have to provide receipts and more paperwork. Not to mention shop for a swimsuit, favorite jeans and other missing items. Very disappointed!! Where was NCL security?. This is a huge inconvience and lots of time spent on this. It doesn’t help that Customer service doesn’t have your back - they never answered phone call about this. It has been 2 weeks now and we have not heard from NCL with an apology, a security report or any communication regarding our loses. Read Less

We wanted to spend enough time on the ship to explore it fully. We did have concerns seeing some of the early re3views. We decided to stop reading them as some where so very negative! We were in a suite 7306 aft S1. At the outset let me give some background. We are seasoned Celebrity cruisers. We are Elite +. We have travelled in all levels of stateroom on all ships other than Flora and Reflection! We are from UK so flew out from UK to Fort Lauderdale. We went to the cruiseport early, around 10-30. After an extremely quick check-in on computer, we were shown to the lounge where drinks and snacks were served prior to embarkation. After a quick coffee we were on board, straight to our room where we found our room keys, dropped off our handheld and were ready to explore! We just love the overall design of the ship, the big open spaces, the artwork, wonderful inspired seating inside and out. The pool areas indoor and our are just beautifully designed areas. The retreat sundeck and lounge areas have interesting modern design, nice seating, lots of private space as well as social areas. Some areas took a bit of getting used to, the club and the martini bar. They have plusses and minuses compared with similar venues on other ships. We found the club to be a little dark for our personal taste, and the twin levels at the martini bar a little odd, although we loved the live music and dance floor now in this venue. Tiny martini glasses though kept the bar staff very busy with those of us with premium drinks packages lol! Some of the entertainment we felt was aimed at an older crowd for this sailing… we are in our 60s!. When they did get it right on the last formal night the ship was buzzing and the dance floor crowded. Celebrity don't assume older folks don't like to rip up the dancefloor!! We went to one show on the first night. Nice venue, comfortable seating, but shows aren't really our thing and we didn't go to another. A bit predictable for us. We did go to the Eden show. It was a little mysterious, challenging and puzzling. Overall we enjoyed the experience, we loved seeing the acrobats from very close quarters. Maybe a narrator is needed to help some like us understand the flow of the evening. We ate in Eden. We sat by the kitchen and watched the Chef and his staff preparing food with great precision. The food was excellent in a very modern style. Entertainment very enjoyable and service just perfect. Eden was a wonderful place in the day. We had lunch from the café We sat outside at one of the 2 external seating areas. We also sat in the floating chairs just looking at the ocean. A beautifully designed multi use venue. Celebrity also threw a party for those married over 30 years. The cheers to the years event was beautifully handled with the support of cruise critic members. The ship provided champagne and a wonderful cake. The art work on board is modern and we loved walking round the ship to see it. Like all art it isn't to everyone's taste but overall we liked the décor. It was fun to find the photographs in stateroom corridors was themed and we saw many areas of the world we had travelled to and it brought back many happy memories. Luminae was as always a wonderful experience and a cruise highlight. Loved the photos in there and the themed colours and lighting. It might have been nice to break up the larger area with some screening to make it a little more intimate. The staff did a great job, never had to wait for a table, food was great and waitstaff and sommelliers very accommodating. We had premium drinks and were served a wide variety of excellent wines. Retreat lounge was a beautiful area. Nice seating lovely outside terrace. Beautiful pool area, loved the hanging chairs, great bar service, nice selection of chairs and loungers in busy and quiet areas. I do have reservations about the food and drinks in the retreat pounge. I dont think it is modern luxury especially on chic night to have self service food and drinks. There is someone behing the food counter but hey dont serve onto the plate. There is a wash station but very very few used it. Some helped themselves with their hands. For wine self service some were filling wine glasses almost to the brim to take into Luminae for dinner. The concierge told me very nice glasses for the retreat were being found all over the ship! one night there weren't ANY glasses available! Cofee and tea were a problem also with the small machine unable to cope with the deamd and resulting in people standing in lines. I bypassed it by asking a server for what I wanted. They were very willing and I was well satisfied but puzzled by the self service elements which clearly weren't working in the evening and for afternoon tea. With some staff and good service the lounge would work wonderfully well. Le petit chef we had dined at previously on Sillhouette. This time it seemed a slow night and although we enjoyed the food we found by comparison the animation to be a little dull. The somellier told us we couldnt use our premium wine package for the wine pairing. We asked for the wine list and ordered full size glasses rather than the smaller taster sizes in the pairing. It seemed unnecessary nickel and diming on good spenders! magic carpet. It was a great experience and fantastic food. Shame it doesnt have a glass floor like some buildings have. If you get the chance do it! Also loved having a drink out on it in the day. The weather didnt allow us to do it every day but when we could we did Fine cut steakhouse was a great meal, wonderfully presented and served. Would do this one again. We wanted to try a sandwich and pastry at the bistro one day, but we were told it was only the set meal at lunchtime. Again we thought this very restrictive and a missed opportunity by Celebrity for a nice lighter lunchtime venue. The spa, I was dying to see. Celebrity give access to the thermal suite to aqua guests but not suites. I live in hope they will readdress this and give a even a limited number of days or hours to suite guests. We booked a day in the thermal suite. It is a beautiful area, well designed with a series of rooms and showers to try. A day was really too long especially as the guidelines indicate no more than 10 mins in many of the rooms. Little things that can be addressed let the area down. Robes provided had no pockets so no-where to put spectacles when in the rooms, No slippers provided, the showers in the changing rooms leaked all over the floor of the changing room and a cleaner was almost permanently stationed there to clean up. It was a nice experience spoiled by those little things that make a spa a luxury experience. As always, the captain, his officers and crew are the stars on Celebrity. We have nothing but praise for their excellent work. The ship is different, will appeal to a new audience and the old audience if we dont constantly make comparisons with older ships. It wont be for everyone, and some may want to move over to other more traditional ships. Fo us the Kelly Hoppen designs were refreshing light and classy. With a few tweaks this could be a modern luxury experience........ Read Less

We chose this Transatlantic for the time and itinerary. We had a bad experience on Getaway Transatlantic 2017 with ship mechanical problems, skipped, shortened ports and crew unable to get passengers on and off the ship efficiently (3 hours to get off at Brest.) We felt this couldn't happen a second time, but the 2019 TA was cut short by Norwegian for their convenience with minimal notice. We were on another trip when notice came out and had to scrambled just before cruise date to fill two extra days in our itinerary. Phone ncl was not helpful. Ship was a circus with long lines at customer service with people who did not get notification and had to have help getting further arrangement made. We only knew of the itinerary change due to our TravelAgent. Trip was okay with good food, good entertainments/activities BUT everyone was on edge. This just was not handled right. The drydock date could not have happened suddenly. Repair facilities must be booked ahead. Everyone on the ship felt NCL knew they would not make the 12 day crossing all along but sold it to fill the shjip on a 2 port only voyage and them three everyone into making new plans. We have loved NCL and are Platinum. We have encouraged our children and friends, Brian Eades, Melissa Thibodeau, Miranda Thibodeau and Denise Clark to cruise with us thus providing new customers for NCL. Now we feel the line is not organized, not forthcoming about their plans and callous toward passenger service. No one wants to start a trip to Europe amid upheaval. We previously purchased Cruise Credits but declined after two bad trips on the Getaway. We also traveled a second time with a friend on Escape and found the dining room music to be jazz, not dinner music and club music to be disco only. Ventilation for the casino was terrible compaared to 2015. Our friend who we had persuaded to come on her first cruise said"never again." With all this we probably look for other lines despite the years of enjoying NCL. Another shame of this is the incredible burden this disarray put on the Getaway staff. Tfhey all worked to hard to make the cruise good despite the line's last minute decision. They were victims of the situation and should be commended for their efforts. I don't know who makes the decisions at NCL to inconvenience travelers in such a blasé fashion. I know some financial compensations is being offered but cruisers would rather have a nice, pleasant, uneventful cruise instead. Read Less

We chose this cruise because the itinerary was appealing and it had good value. We did not have time to explore Miami before we left, but we had been there before and found it to be a nice city if you can handle high humidity. Embarkation went fairly smoothly. We were on the ship by 12 enjoying our first cocktail of the cruise. On the other hand, disembarkation was a complete nightmare. It was the worst experience we have EVER had leaving a ship. The original, final port was supposed to be Barcelona. However, at some point in time, the final destination was changed to Tarragona with Barcelona in parenthesis, which on other cruises indicates an alternate name for the same city or a city located close at hand. Ex. Thira (Santorini) The reason our ship was shunted to Tarragona, which as it turns out, was more than an hour away from Barcelona, was because Norwegian had also scheduled the Epic, a mega ship with our EXACT itinerary. GRRRR! Just hours away from Epic, the Jade was also scheduled & appeared in port at least once with us. That meant a mad scramble for cabs and overcrowding in historic sites and eateries. Also, the Epic was so monstrous, that Barcelona could not accommodate both ships. That meant, our ship was dumped at an industrial port with no clue how to process passengers through immigration. It was a mad house. We couldn't leave on foot because of security. We waited for our own charter bus they wouldn't let in, because all the ship's shuttle buses had priority. (Norwegian had offered to "help" people get to Barcelona for a mere $30 pp. via their shuttles.) While trying to exit the ship, crew members had been given conflicting information about how to direct people and there was an area where 2 different lines were snaking in opposite directions. In short, it was an awful experience and by the time we got our pre-reserved ride, we arrived in Barcelona 5 hours later. This disembarkation fiasco and the double booking of other Norwegian ships at the same ports, will be at the forefront of our minds when considering whether to sail with Norwegian again. Read Less

Just got back from the TA cruise to Barcelona. We cruised with Norwegian 3 times before, but first time on Transatlantic. Despite many negative reviews on Epic I have to say everything was almost perfect and exceeded our expectation. Embarkation took 5 min. because we spent the morning by the pool at a hotel and didn't come to the terminal until 2.30 pm. Nobody in the terminal by that time, of course. Went straight to our cabin that was ready waiting for us. The cruise was sold out, so we kind of worried about the crowds on board, but there was literally no lines nowhere except maybe at the pool bar in some afternoons, but even then the wait was like 5 min at the most. After a couple of days we were puzzled about where all the people are and even asked different crew members how many passengers were on board. The answers were consistent - about 4,320. So it was sold out, but it didn't really feel at all. Maybe has to do with the demography, but we never regretted that! All bars and restaurants were good. The music bands were awesome! Didn't see any of the shows in full, but sneaked in a couple of times to stand in the back and watch for a few minutes. Nothing really exciting as we've seen them before. The service was phenomenal with almost no exceptions. The crew did their best to accommodate the guests, and they succeeded in that in my opinion. Overall an awesome trip and a beautiful ship! Read Less

I wanted to visit the Azores and try a transatlantic cruise for the first time. Unfortunately a week before the cruise NCL decided to shorten our 12 day to a 10 day and eliminated 50% of our ports, I never saw the Azores. They canceled Portland England as well which we could have dealt with. They did all this to displace their guests in order to put the Getaway to dry dock earlier than anticipated. Saw the dry dock results, looks like Starbucks was added onboard and new furniture. I'm not sure why that was necessary to ruin our vacation to complete this upgrade earlier for NCL. The ship itself was dirty, service slow and passengers mostly upset. We made the best of the situation making some great people but still very disappointed with NCL's decision. Also the 25% credit towards a future cruise was what you had paid for the room charges only on the Getaway? Seemed like yet another way to disappoint us. Carnival has given us 25% off before, due to a hurricane cancellation and it was a % off the future cruise price itself. Was definitely able to see the NCL customer service difference, they don't seem to have any. The ship was dirty, public bathrooms smelt so bad they propped the doors open. Glassware was dirty, received a lot of drinks with a side of lipstick. The entertainment and enrichment activities were lacking. Either sold out so you couldn't attend, or completely pointless like Burn the Floor. Interpretive dance is meant to tell a story, no one seems to know what that was. The rock climbing, ropes course and water slides were closed most of the trip. Not enough shore excursions for the passengers after the last minute change in itinerary. The one we did manage to book, everyone was sick from the cruise. There was some respiratory bug that went around. Just overall a bad cruise experience, I've been on a lot of cruises and I have never experienced anything like this. Read Less

April 2019 trans Atlantic from Southhampton to New York City. It's our 2nd Cunard cruise, we were on the Queen Elizabeth in the Med in 2012. We've been on small ships like the Thomson Dream at 42,000tons and the topic of todays review; the QM2 at 149,000tons, was the 2nd largest we've been on. Food: -The buffet and dining room food was just ok. Royal Caribbean and Norwegian ships have better. Service: Cabin and dining room crew: It's the same on all ships. Uniformly excellent on all cruise lines. QM2 specifics: -For her size, she feels much much smaller. Even the public areas have poor vistas. To get to some public rooms you have to walk through a public room. -Shopping areas are tiny. -The public area where the purser and shopping is is all white paint. There is a grand descending staircase here which was a yawn. -There are 2 theatres, which is nice. -The lending library is Outstanding! -We were in an inside cabin. It felt like any other ships inside cabin. Other passengers: -Mostly older folk of the upper middle class variety. They dress up, some splendidly (custom tailored tuxes on the men) and spend evenings in the lounges drinking. Many seem to know each other. Would I do it again? Yes. It's a very relaxing ship with an older passenger crowd. The whole feel is very 1940s. Read Less

This was our second Transatlantic cruise on QM2. We love this ship as it’s a proper ocean liner. Having read some reviews, all I can say is don’t listen. We had a wonderful time and I fail to see any issue with this cruise. The cabin... smallish yes, but everything there. And it is a ship, so space obviously won’t be the same as in a hotel. We had a balcony and enjoyed the fresh sea air. The service... probably the strongest part for Cunard. Quiet, efficient, friendly without being pretentious. Our waiters Ganesh and Arnold were particularly good. Any wish was catered for and next time quietly repeated. My husband was looking for a toothpick and there was one there every time. The food.... lovely food, good variety and in one word delicious!! Afternoon tea was a treat and always a spectacle. Entertainment... during the day there was lots to do and I enjoyed the fact that I would join activities, I wouldn’t normally do. Lectures on air travel, a dance class. In the evening we enjoyed the shows, yes some of the dancing wasn’t what I would ordinarily choose to see, but I still enjoyed it as part of the experience. Some of the shows were exceptional, Francis Ruffelles fro the West End was fantastic. Dancing in G32 was fun and a drink in your Sunday best in the Commodore’s Club is special! Embarking and disembarking was easy a very organised. Maybe my only criticism would be that drinks are very expensive. We loved every minute and can’t wait to see you again QM2 ❤️ Read Less