Cruise Mediterranean Reviews

This cruise was on the Celebrity Galazy, sailing out of Rome this May. The ship, while quite old, is in excellent condition and the staff were well trained and very attentive. Food on the ship could be taken in a variety of restaurants/eateries. There was fixed dining which was quite late for the second sitting- 8.45pm, though often it was later. Food was excellent and of a high standard. Similarly in the self service restaurant, the food was good, though you were served by staff rather than helping yourself.

Cleanliness was paramount and wipes were handed out before entering the restaurant and on boarding the ship.

Entertainment in the theatre was not up to the standard of some other ships and some nights there was no shows. However the music in the bars was excellent.

The ports of call varied from Greek islands which were very picturesque to cities like Istanbul and Athens. It was hot even in the middle of May and I would imagine it would be very uncomfortable in the height of summer. We took several tours but if you do your homework, most places are easy to do on your own.

Overall a relaxing holiday and I would certainly sail on a Celebrity ship again.

Went on Independence of the Seas in July 2008. Our party included 2 adults, 2 seniors and a 10 year old. We have cruised with Royal Caribbean several times before as well as with P & O and I have to say that this ship was definately the best of them all. There is so much to do on board for all ages that sea days are never boring even if you don't enjoy sunbathing. The flow rider is a major attraction for kids, teens and grown men. The staff were the friendliest I have come across yet and seemed to enjoy themselves too. The food is always excellent on board Royal Caribbean ships and our cabin, which was a large outside family cabin, was the most spacious we have had. Boarding and disembarking at Southampton is a very smooth and speedy operation and is very well organised. No complaints about anything at all.

Never having cruised before we found this Island Village holiday excellent.
The holiday was actually 2 cruises; "Olives and Ouzo" and "Temples and Tavernas" Mainly around the Greek Islands but also calling at Dubrovnik, Cyprus and Kamaris (for Ephesus - which actually was Greek many years ago)

Food was excellent in quality and quantity and ran on the 24 hour buffet system so there were no set times for meals.
The ship was very comfortable, the cabins very spacious and the crew very, very helpful and friendly. the timings of arrival and departure were great. Arrival was normally 8 am and departure 6 pm so there was plenty of time ashore and the evenings were spent cruising into the sunsets.

Luggage handling was very good as was transport between ship and airport. Plenty of reps at the airport to point out the coaches, well informed on the coach about registering and boarding and once the luggage was given to the driver we didn't see it again until outside the cabin door.

At the end of the holiday luggage was collected from outside the cabin and we didn't see it again until on the carousel at the UK airport.

Aircraft boarding cards were issued on the ship so at the Greek airport we went straight to the Security Check without having to queue at check-in.

My only complaint would be the organisation of going ashore by tender which was a shambles. It was the first cruise of the season but it should really have been better organised. On one occasion we sat in the tender bobbing up and down and bumping the ship for 25 minutes while they decided which other optional excursions should go ashore with us.
Optional excursions were (as normal with any tour operator) very expensive and I would advise finding out availability from local tour operators before leaving the UK - local tourism offices are usually very helpful in this respect.

With those reservations I would happily recommend the cruises and the cruise line and am even thinking of going again ourselves.

There were SOME great features on this boat (Costa Concordia) that came with us having paid slightly extra for a luxury cabin. However, the logistics of our arrival, check in etc were ridiculous and I was very disappointed from the start.

I had booked a romantic break with my husband. I splashed out for the Samsara Suite, which was meant to give us priority check-in among other features. When we tried to check in, the attendant dismissed us to the queue, seemingly not believing that we were Samsara guests! It took plenty of persuasion to get her to look at our ticket and give us our boarding passes. I was quite insulted by this and humiliated by the fact that my 'surprise luxury holiday' had fallen at the first hurdle.

It took us an age to find our cabin, and to find out that the key had been locked in the room. We had to wait longer for someone to reluctantly sort this out.

As I said, the cabin itself was lovely and the bonuses like the spa and the private Samsara restaurant were worthwhile and made the trip more romantic. The food was a very low standard though, considering the extra expense.

All in all, it was nice to get away and I'm glad we did opt for the Samsara option, but the whole trip was let down by poor service and low quality food. Thank god for the spa!