Viking Lomonosov: Cruising the Dneiper

The Viking Lomonosov cruise starts at Kiev, visits Crimea and finishes in Odessa. There can be no better way of sampling Ukraine...its culture, history, geography and peoples...crusing down the mighty Dneiper. It is fascinating. I will recommend it to my friends. However Viking Lomonosov does not reach the standards of comfort of the more modern river cruisers. Standard cabins are very small, beds narrow and the air conditioning is noisy. There are no lifts. On the postive side service is excellent, management is efficient and the food and wine reaches a good standard. Avoid paying for a drinks package. The cruise includes some very interesting excursions led by knowledgeable leaders however the optional excursions in the Crimea are expensive. The Ukraine still retains some of the characteristics of a post Soviet state: long waits at Immigration, poor factilites at Odessa airport and expensIve dachas for the elite. Ignore the boat's deficencies and enjoy a fascinating cruise.

Carnival Dream: Carnival Dream was anything but a dream

To give you some perspective our family has cruised before with Princess and Royal Caribbean. We haven't sailed with Carnival but heard they had a good children's program which was important to us. We saw this cruise and decided to book it. Embarkation was easy and we were onboard within 20 minutes. Our cabin was ready before 1:30pm which was nice so we could unpack. The ship is quite beautiful and a larger ship so it took us a while to get familiar with it. We noticed on deck in certain areas you could smell the sewage which wasn't appealing. The kids liked the kids water play area and slides so that kept them very happy. We however were not very happy with the pools onboard. First of all there are only 2 small pools for all those people. Second they were filled with salt water which I didn't think any cruise ship did. We usually enjoy relaxing in the pool but found we couldn't do that on this trip which was disappointing. The cabins were livable and had space for all of our belongings. It was nothing fancy but it did the job. As for the food in the main dining rooms and around the ship it was average at best. The alternate restaurants were good if you are willing to pay to eat there. Though eating there every night would be expensive. Our kids did enjoy the Camp Carnival and had a lot of fun and made some friends onboard. I wouldn't sail on the Carnival Dream again as though some of the staff tried hard I think they just corners everywhere and those little things make or break a trip for me. I think I will stick with Princess and RCCL.

Norwegian Epic: Good Cruise on the Norwegian Epic

We were looking forward to our cruise on the Norwegian Epic we had flown into Miami the night before and were ready to board. Boarding the ship was very quick with no problems. Food onboard the Epic is average at best. Now with this ship if you want good food you have to pay the extra and go to the specialty restaurants don't expect much from the main dining rooms. Definitely recommend LeBistro. Freestyle dining is great and the only way to go as far as I am concerned. The casino if you are into gambling is the largest at sea so lots of choices. Though don't know how the payout was. The ship is huge and it takes you a while just to explore everything on the ship. Entertainment is great and we enjoyed all the shows. I would definitely book Cirque Dreams, Blue Man wasn't that great but some loved it. The bathroom design I just don't like especially if you are travelling with someone other than a spouse. What was wrong with a regular bathroom. Workmanship on the ship is not that great with things breaking on a new ship. Staff was very friendly and did their job well. The Norwegian Epic was a good cruise but I would only sail on her for a good deal

Norwegian Sky: Bahamas cruise on the Norwegian Sky

We decided to sail to the Bahamas on the Norwegian Sky over the 4th of July. The ship itself looks great and as soon as we arrived at the port we were almost onboard. Really quick embarkation which we enjoyed. We had an outside cabin but we found the room smaller than what we had on other cruise lines. We found it tight getting around the cabin but we didn't spend much time there anyway. The same was true about the bathroom don't expect to be moving much in that shower but it does the job and it is clean. the Norwegian Sky is a bit of a smaller ship and we did notice the sewer smell onboard. It wasn't all the time but in certain areas you could smell it. The food onboard was excellent and we really enjoyed it. Though we did spend most of the cruise dinners at Le Bistro or Cagney's. They have a small charge but the food is worth it. The ship was a good quick vacation and we had a good time. It isn't as modern as some of the other ships and it has its quirks. I definitely wouldn't take this ship on a 7 day or longer cruise but for shorter cruises it does the trick.

Equinox: Caribbean Cruise on the Equinox

What can I say we just loved our cruise on the Celebrity Equinox. They have mastered embarkation and we were very quickly onboard the ship. Went and got a bite to eat and then we headed to our stateroom which was cleaned by now. Overall a very painless embarkation. The cabins were comfortable and had lots of storage room. We loved having the balcony door open at night and hearing the ocean come in. Cabin stewards did an excellent job and were so nice. The solarium is the place we choose most of the time to relax. Though it often got quite hot in there and then we would move. I think we liked that kids aren't allowed there so you can just have peace and quiet. We had the celebrity select dining which was perfect because we could choose our dining time and were able to make it to the shows. The food onboard was excellent and we really enjoyed everything from the hamburgers around the pool, to the evening dining to the buffet. Just top notch. Celebrity did a great job on this cruise and we really felt like we got a relaxing vacation which we needed.

Sapphire Princess: Alaska Cruise on the Sapphire Princess

I have heard so many people who enjoyed cruises that we finally decided we were going to take a cruise to Alaska. Through our travel agent we decided to take a cruise on the Sapphire Princess. I took her recommendation as we didn't know which cruises were good. I have to say now that we are so glad to have booked a cruise with Princess. We just had a wonderful time. Embarkation was very easy and we were on the ship within 20 minutes of arriving. We went with the cheapest cabin onboard which was an inside cabin. It was a place to sleep and store our luggage that is all. It was small but manageable and very clean. The ship was built a few years ago but they are always doing maintenance on it. They are always cleaning and polishing so everything looks great. We really liked the look and feel of this ship. The ports were all good and we went with Princess shore excursions in every port. The service was excellent and everyone was very attentive. Dress code on the ship was very casual even in the dining room. Many people just wore their jeans which I thought weren't allowed. What a wonderful cruise on the Sapphire princess and now I see why people like cruising.

Island Princess: Alaska cruise – Island Princess

This was going to be our first Alaska cruise for me and my family. My wife and I have cruised before but never with the kids. The cruise on the Island Princess left out of Vancouver. We enjoyed a few days there and enjoyed all the sights. Embarkation was quick and easy and we were on the ship very quickly. Wish lines at the airport would move this quick. As we have teenagers we decided to get them an inside cabin and we would take a cabin with a window. Both cabins were really nice and clean and met all our needs. Food is plentiful and you can always get something especially with their 24 hour dining in Horizon court. We all enjoyed the food and we able to find something we liked. The shore excursions were well planned out and very imformative. The service of our room steward and waiters were amazing they really did a good job. I enjoyed the Island Princess and definitely would cruise again with Princess.

Dawn Princess: South Pacific on the Dawn Princess

Why did we choose the Dawn Princess over other cruiseships. One reason and that is the itinerary. The ports we visited were the ones we wanted to see and having not cruised before we didn't expect much difference between ships. What I love about cruising is the fact that we didn't have to spend our days checking out of a hotel going to the airport taking a flight and then checking into a new hotel. That is just a wasted day and not relaxing. On cruiseships sea days mean you can just relax under the warm sun. Though I did miss being able to stroll on a beach in the evening and watching a sunset. The entertainment in the evening was good and the food was average. There was plenty of food but nothing of high quality. The ports were wonderful and we enjoyed them can't say anything about the excursions as we did our own thing. All in all a good cruise and a great way to see the South Pacific.

Ruby Princess: Ruby Princess in the Meditterean

This was going to be our first cruise and when we were planning our vacation we knew we had the choice of doing it ourselves or taking a cruise. We decided to take a chance on a cruise and were looking forward to our trip. We were under the assumption that it would be all 5 star quality like many hotels we have stayed at. I found the staff onboard to be rude and unhelpful and they were just interested in getting their job done as quickly as possible. Most of the staff onboard seemed liked they didn't enjoy being there. The entertainment was just horrible and their shows are not Broadway shows. We struggled to find entertainment to fill our evenings. I gave good points to our cabin and the ship itself. It really is kept clean and is a long the five star line that we were expecting. The ports were okay and we did enjoy some of the excursions. I think from now on we will stay away from cruises and go with actual five star hotels.