Having done over 15 Thompson cruises with our husbands and together have to say that Thompson have not just rebranded but have sold out to Merella.The ship is nice enough but some how lacks the touch of the Thompson's older ships, there just was not the atmosphere any were on board, most of the staff were friendly enough but that spark has gone, and well some are down right miserable , never saw the cruise director walking around meeting people ( as they have on our other cruises) and the entertainment staff did a few quizzes and that was it. The evening shows were good but the girls singers did tend to screech, the groups, singers and soloist were good I think it is now all about paying extra in the specialist resturants if you want a decent meal, the choice at breakfast was good as we always eat in the resturanr, as the self service is a free for all fighting for tables. Luch was ok with plenty of choice from a sandwich to a 3 course meal in the resturant, (salad was a bit of a let down) evenging meal in the self service was terrible very little choice and it closes early., the resturant is better but very hit and miss not as good as it used to be, i could of soled my shoes with the duck i was served, looks nice though, lots of complaing at night. I am not a big drinker but i do like to taste it when i am having one, had a cidar with lunch one day tasteless, so watered down as were the cocktails, have to say the banana daiquiris were good but more of a mocktail, very little choice in the wine and the house wine coloured water. We were very luck as there were only 43 children on our criuise (very noisey around the pool deck) as there were 450 a couple of weeks ago, what they did i have no idea as there is not the facilities for so many children. We thought we would spoil ourselves and have a cabin with a large balcony, yes the balcony is large but the room is very small with little room to move around, but the bathroom was good with a walk in shower with glass door (not curtain) plenty of wardrobes and draws. On one of the days we were unable to tender as it was a bit rough, would of thought that the entertainment director would of had a program for such an event but it seems not it took 2 hours with a lets do Q&A with the show team once they had got out of there beds. To sum up the cruise would i do another Merella cruise the answer is NO, i am afraid it was like Butlins on the sea ( i beleive that they are targeting the younger couples with children) and we were very thankfull that we had gone that week and not the week after as that was Buzz Bingo week and you could play bingo 4 times a day every day, my friend said she woukd of thrown me overboard but i said it was ok i would of jummped. Read Less

Viking was wonderful! They met us at he airport and delivered us to the hotel in which we stayed in Rome. A beautiful hotel, which was part of their package. There were Viking agents there almost round the clock to help us with anything. They took us on to the ship. The embarkation was the best of any ship we have taken. Smooth and efficient. Then the ship was absolutely beautiful. Our bags arrived very promptly and our cabin steward was right there to make sure that we were settled in and aquatinted with everything. The cabin was spacious, beautiful and very comfortable, as was the bathroom. It is a beautifully appointed ship with ample comfortable and elegant seating throughout. The ships staff were welcoming and helpful. I really can’t say enough about this entire experience. We stayed two extra nights in Venice, as we have always loved that city, and although the hotel was across the water from St Marks, it was very pleasant. In fact the hotel itself was amazing and very comfortable. This was our first experience with Viking, but it certainly will not be our last. So many passengers on our ship were repeat clients. All sang the praises of both the ocean and the river cruises...our next adventure! Read Less

Taking a Star Clippers cruise is about being on a true sailing vessel. If you like to sail, this is your ship. Our trip to Italy and Greece was amazing. We spent a day exploring Rome on our own and then took the train to Civitavecchia (make sure you take the bus from the train station....walking doesn't work) where we boarded our ship. It is breathtaking because it's a sailing ship that is well loved and taken care of. After we did all the check-in's, drills, unpacked, etc. we had a delicious dinner and met new friends. Our stops were Ponza, Palmarola, Sorrento, Lipari, Syracuse (Italy), and Pilos, Elafonisos, Hydra, and Athens (Greece). All of our stops were beautiful. Every day, there is a talk and a sheet of paper that explains destination, tours, opportunities to explore. Do some research on your own too. Many people did the tours but some explored on their own and had a fabulous time. One couple would find a cafe with a beautiful view and spend the day painting. We love seeing their pictures. Because this is a sailing vessel that can transport you to smaller ports, sometimes the ship cannot dock right at port. In that case, you will take a tender to the port. Embarking and disembarking the tender is only as easy as the calmness of the ocean. For 95% of people, this was fine, but there were some that struggled. Also, don't take the first tender in the morning. The first one is too packed with people, it gets hot and they're figuring out how to work with the ocean and waves. The tenders go back and forth regularly so you can have short or long excursions....whatever floats your boat. The cabin size was perfect for us. They are small, but we don't sit in our cabin, we love the ship and spend as much time out on the deck as possible. One of our favorite activities before dinner is to enjoy a glass of wine at the back of the ship watching the rolling waves and the scenery and then going into dinner a little later. You can sit wherever you like at meal times. If you have a preference (i.e., english-speaking table or if you have a group of people, they will seat you together). The food is delicious. You probably get fancier stuff on big ships but this is trip is about sailing. I ate fish almost every night and loved it! Their soup is delicious too. Cocktails are very reasonably priced. We enjoyed their house rose too. We had a category 2 cabin/bathroom and the shower is small....but it feels delightful after a full-day of excursions. I would choose this cruise over a big cruise any day because the crew is fantastic, the ship is beautiful and it's a fabulous experience. There were some issues with night-time entertainment on our ship because the piano player had a medical emergency and could not be on our boat, but we were so tired at the end of the day, we couldn't stay up anyhow. If dancing/music are important to you, bring a phone with your favorite playlist and they will make a party/dance club on the tropical deck. Category 1 (500 level) rooms can hear some of the action on the deck (pounding/repairing sails, music from the dance club, etc). Category 5/6 (100) level rooms can hear the engines. Not much you can do about that other than bring earplugs. Star Clippers vacations are fabulous. Read Less

It was our 1st cruise and we thought it was a great experience the entertainment staff catering bar staff cabin staff highly recommended would do it again .would recommend it to other 1st time cruisers as well only thing we didnt like was that you was unable to watch england games in the world cup tournament and to have wifi would be rather expensive the captains announcements were very clear and accurate information. My wife unfortunately broke her ankle while we were in rome and the medical staff were great and was Amanda of entertainment who came with us to th hospital while we docked in palermos spain also the very kind taxi drivers who took great care with us .I travelled with my with and mother in law and none of us had been on a cruise before we would do it again one year liked it very much. Read Less

We choose this cruise because the route from Venice to Rome covered so many areas that we wished to visit. Having been spoiled by a couple of Viking cruises this one didn't measure up in some regards. Much of the food in the buffet was not hot enough and we quickly adopted the formal dining room. The educational lectures were well done and much enjoyed, we not not so keen on the entertainment. The shore excursions were very good but some of the local tour guides were much better than others. Can't believe the number of times we went back to the desk to have our card keys replaced. They cheerfully replaced and reprogrammed new cards but fixing the problem would have been better. Our final day was not a happy ending. We did the Ostia Antica tour in the morning and the Vatican tour in the afternoon. Between tours some of our people were dropped off at Rome hotels with their luggage and picked up again on the second circuit of the route. Some of us were kept on the bus without access to toilets, water, lunch etc. I mentioned this to the company and the response or waffle made it worse. "We should have asked to get off at one of the hotels." (We spoke to our guide, it wasn't possible.) "It was an external tour, we can not be responsible." (We paid Voyages to Antiquity and they arranged it.) I would recommend this company with a bunch of provisos. Read Less

We received an up grade to a balcony cabin, had an excellent cabin crew member,Bambang. Rarely had any spare time as there was so much organized activity to keep us occupied. The ports visited in many cases were a first time for the ship and ourselves. We were offered a large choice of shore tours at each stop which we really enjoyed. The food choice and range was excellent at any dining place on the ship and our table of 8 was spoilt by the service and quality of the meals at our 5:30 pm meal. Overall, our time onboard was brilliant thanks to the organized running of the ship by the Captain and crew. The shore excursion to Petra in Jordan was on our bucket list and was a highlight of the tour except that through lack of information and understanding we decided that my wife would be unable to undertake the long and strenuous walk and climb it entailed. Had I known, it would have been possible for my wife to have taken a horse and buggy ride both down and back, she would have been able to go. To me that was not highlighted enough and was our biggest disappointment. Read Less

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My husband and I just returned from Italy with Uniworld on the "River Countess", 15 day tour called the "Splendors of Italy". The hotel in Milan, Florence, and Rome were very,very nice and the location in Milan and Florence were fantastic. The ship was also very nice; the cabin size is average for a river cruise but very comfortable, (we loved having a candy dish full of chocolates in our room); the food was good, but not great; the entertainment was what I expected from a river cruise - a pianist/singer who was good; the service was exceptional and the staff was very friendly and accomodating; the ports were wonderful, the shore excursions were great, and the local guides were fantastic. Our cruise director, Agnes, was wonderful. Our biggest complaint was that the trip wasn't a few days longer, especially in Venice and Rome. In Venice it would have been nice to have an extra free day and in Rome, you really need at least two more days to see it all. Plus, since the hotel in Rome was not in the heart of the city, we would have liked to be given the opportunity to stay in town for the day or an afternoon and then to be picked up by the bus to retun to our hotel instead of finding transportation on our own. But we loved this trip and would recomend it to everyone. Read Less

CroisiEurope should be proud of the staff on board the Michelangelo, they were magnificent, very helpful friendly and pleasant at all times, they clearly worked hard. The ship was spotless and the food absolutely wonderful. The cabins were roomy with plenty of wardrobe space for two and there was a large window in each. Air con or heating was standard at the flick of a button and cabins were cleaned thoroughly each day. I would say that it was great value for money. I would definitely recommend to all my friends, a holiday with a special difference. The tours and the cruising was excellent, Michelangelo docked every night by the quayside in Venice not too far from the Doges Palace and St Marks Square. During the day when not on an organised tour its possible to see lots of Venice using the vaporettos to get around. The atmosphere on board Michelangelo was very convivial with some form of entertainment on every night. Read Less

Ship was good aimed at families there is a lot to do for the children.As we are used to travelling from Southampton there are a few things to take with you If you smoke there was NO Duty free on board as we did not call at any none EU countrys so take enough to last you until your 1st port of call.All merchandise has to add 18.5 % Vat so can work out more expensive than things look. We eat in the Windjammer due to my milk alleges there is always something i can eat in there but not as much choice as there used to be seems like instead of creasing prices for cruise there are putting less choice . Staff can not do enough for you but you may need to ask if you have alligies . look at booking trips before you go with outer trip companies as RC is appoximatly 30% more expensive. The shows are fair to excellent but this is a matter of fast. Casino i gamble for fun on the tables but not on this ship minimum chip value was 5 us dollers so if you just want to have a flutter then think again. We went on a cheep getaway so no frills state room the room was fine for 7 days .We normal book a suit so lots of things you get as the norm we did not have bur as i said this was a cheep getaway and as we are diamond guests we do have some free extras. Just want to add overall very good value for money superb i will do this ship again Read Less