Europe departure, nationality catered fro?

[kken67]

We are considering taking a med cruise from either Venice, Barcelona or Rome and having a pre cruise stay. We went on Independence from Southampton and had an amazing time. The first couple of days travelling to the med and obviously travelling from the med the weather/sea conditions were a little hairy so we were basically thinking of cutting that out by going out from a med departure. Hubby just brought up whether these cruises cater more for the med nationalities and whether food/entertainment language barriers would be an issue. Whilst i fully appreciate that a lot of nationalities are being catered for, we would want the entertainment etc in English. Anybody advise what to expect.

[Bobal]

We've cruised from all 3 places with Royal Caribbean. The first language on the ship (re announcements/shows) is always English then, depending on the number of other nationalities onboard, it may be Spanish or Italian. The only cruise we've sailed on which was predominantly non-English passengers was on Adventure from Malaga, which was mainly Spanish guests with entertainment and dining times geared towards them, but even then the first language was English.

 

The dining choices are the same cruise-wide with a nod towards Europe, not enough of a nod I would say with such wonderful Mediterranean food to choose from and RCL go with the same old choices. The only exception was Splendour from Venice which had a lovely antipasto buffet by the pool on a couple of days. Dining times tend to be later as the Spanish and Italians eat later, so second sitting which would typically be 8.30 on a Caribbean cruise could be as late as 9.30.

 

There will be a mix of nationalities onboard but generally English-speakers will be in the majority, as there are often many people from the UK on those Med sailings, as well as people from the US, Canada and South Africa. I prefer sailing from the Med because of the cosmopolitan feel onboard.

 

I think you'll be happy sailing from any of those ports :)

[gogo65]

Do you think they will speak Australian?:D

[Past it]

Do you think they will speak Australian?:D

 

 

 

Ha, not a chance! there were only about 6 aussies on our trip and we were mistaken for kiwis!!!! A lot of Americans on ours, it was a real eyeopener for me. The clothes on formal night,wow, I thought i was on the red carpet at the Oscars!!

[insulationbabe]

We went on the Brilliance out of Barcelona and here's what we found:

 

Although we thoroughly enjoyed the cruise and the sightseeing there were a few drawbacks for us

Too much Lamb served and NO Lobster - Also lots of Pork - this tells me they catered to Europeans

When we complained they were very good about it and told us that "they didn't realize there were 450 Canadian and Americans on board - which we find that hard to believe, because I am sure not many booked last minute

The entertainment was not good - except for the young lady who was great singing a tribute to Celine Dion - the others were pianist, and a violinist who were OK but there were no comedians - etc and not one headliner

The music around the ship was not to our liking - was a lot of foreign singing even by the pool - we wanted a little mor upbeat type current day tunes which never happened

Luckily we were very tired of all the tours we took so it didn't really make it a big deal for us - was the worst Love and Marriage show we've been at.

Besides the blisters and being completely exhausted after the trip we did enjoy the cruise itself - but not the food and entertainment

Hope this helps

Looking forward to the Oasis next month - Ahhhh the Carribean and relaxing - lol

[UKBayern]

It will depend on the national identity of the ship. If you go on Hapag Lloyd, TUI Mein Schiff or Aida, the majority will be Germans. If you go on Costa or MSC, you can expect a lot of Italians. If you board Fred Olsen or Thompson, the majority of the passengers will be British. Generally with RCCL, NCL, =X=, HAL, there will be an interesting mix, with english-speakers in the majority, and all entertainment in english. Food will be geared towards the American market, served Sirloin Steak, Key Lime Pie, we even had Thankgiving Turkey on the Splendour last year, although at the most 20% were Americans and the other nationalities had no idea what it was all about....

Considering dinner times: most cruiselines now offer my time dining, anytine dining, etc, so you can still eat at your desired time.

[gogo65]

Ha, not a chance! there were only about 6 aussies on our trip and we were mistaken for kiwis!!!! A lot of Americans on ours, it was a real eyeopener for me. The clothes on formal night,wow, I thought i was on the red carpet at the Oscars!!

Mistaken for Kiwis:eek: Never.

I am worried abut the whole formal night, I will be travelling for 7 weeks, starting with 3 weeks in Africa, so will have to take my formal clothes with me around Africa.

My cruise will be at the end of my trip, so looking forward to 7 nights around Greece and Turkey, I don't think I will care what language peole speak:rolleyes:

[bionicman97]

We sailed on the voyager out of Barcelona. To us, the menu seemed the same as all the previous RCI cruises. All announcements were given in English, then Spanish. The shows were all in English.

[orchidj5]

We did a B2B on the Navigator out of Rome this summer-we did not see other nationalities "catered to" per sey. The menus ran a bit more to European tastes-no lobster but it wasnt something really noticiable. On the Eastern Med leg North Americans were definately in the minority but the majority of passengers on that trip were either indian or chinese and the announcements were still in both english and italian, the food was basically cruise ship food and the entertainment was in english.

[CVU]

We went on the Brilliance out of Barcelona and here's what we found:

 

Although we thoroughly enjoyed the cruise and the sightseeing there were a few drawbacks for us

Too much Lamb served and NO Lobster - Also lots of Pork - this tells me they catered to Europeans

When we complained they were very good about it and told us that "they didn't realize there were 450 Canadian and Americans on board - which we find that hard to believe, because I am sure not many booked last minute

The entertainment was not good - except for the young lady who was great singing a tribute to Celine Dion - the others were pianist, and a violinist who were OK but there were no comedians - etc and not one headliner

The music around the ship was not to our liking - was a lot of foreign singing even by the pool - we wanted a little mor upbeat type current day tunes which never happened

Luckily we were very tired of all the tours we took so it didn't really make it a big deal for us - was the worst Love and Marriage show we've been at.

Besides the blisters and being completely exhausted after the trip we did enjoy the cruise itself - but not the food and entertainment

Hope this helps

Looking forward to the Oasis next month - Ahhhh the Carribean and relaxing - lol

We have sailed in or out of Barcelona 4 times. Love Barcelona!! There are the usual languages of the cruisers on the announcements but it is no problem and the menu caters to all. We found it no problems at all.

 

On our NOS they had 2 Love and Marriage shows, one in Spanish in another lounge at the same time, the lounge was full, and the English one in the theater. They were on bended knee begging for any Eng. speaking couple to come on the stage.....

 

The entertainers did cater to non English speaking passengers with shows that anyone could enjoy. But if you are in a minority, that is how it could be.

You are on a cruise holiday so it is still fun!!!!:)

[north29]

Having been on two Euro cruises, I wish they would have a little more european flair, almost too American in Food and entertainment but food and types are Corporate wide choices, with some slight differences. As to Lobster, this is coming from someone who has had all the Florida Lobster he can eat, I consider the lobster on cruise ships almost nod edible, with a few exceptions. Mostly over cooked, but other reasons as well, I will not venture there.

[kken67]

Thanks for all the advice! Its not that we want a Brit cruise at all, in fact love chance to get to know other nationalities and of the opinion "when in Rome......" just dont really want to be in the minority either and as selfish as it sounds, would want the entertainment to be in English. Obviously Independence cruise was predominantly Brits with Southampton departure but also done the caribbean from Florida with Royal Caribbean and no problems there. Just looking to cut out the weather sea conditions going through Atlantic to Med. The eastern med looks like an interesting itinery. Have seen Costa cruises doing this route but really put off as heard they cater primarily for the Italians.

[uksimonusa]

I have an English speaking Australian friend who is the guest entertainer in the Pig and Whistle pub on Voyager, out of Barcelona, at the moment. When we cruised with him on Navigator our of Rome, the only differences we noticed from the Caribbean, was later dining times (1/2 an hour later), announcements in English first, then italian and spanish and no lobster.

[Bobal]

Just looking to cut out the weather sea conditions going through Atlantic to Med. The eastern med looks like an interesting itinery. Have seen Costa cruises doing this route but really put off as heard they cater primarily for the Italians.

 

I have no wish to sail from Southampton to the Med for the same reason, particularly with flights so cheap. I prefer to start my holiday in the sun. The Eastern Med routes are particularly nice - nice weather and most of the sights are close to the ports, whereas in the West Med it can take you up to 2 hours to get from the port to the main attraction. Costa is an Italian cruise line, hence it caters to Italians, Royal Caribbean is an American (English speaking) cruise line so has English as its main language.