Chris Gehring

Age: 40
Occupation: General Manager
Number of Cruises: 2
Cruise Line: Festival Cruises
Name of Ship: European Stars
Sailing Date: June 15th, 2003
Itinerary: Western Mediterranean

We selected this Cruise because of the length of time in each Port, not that we took part in any of the excursions, as we prefer to explore on our own. This was not an issue as there was either a local bus available or a need for only a short taxi ride.

The ship is spotless and the service outstanding in all areas with a very friendly crew. We had booked a Suite with balcony, which offers several benefits, from a very speedy embarkation to a private dining room with smaller tables and no need to share. The food was outstanding with a second-to-none service. Most impressive was the cabin layout, very spacious Suites with a full-size bathtub and a nice-sized balcony plus all the cabin amenities one needs, including hairdryer, safe, minibar and TV & Movies.

With regards to the facilities there is a nice variety of bars, lounges and restaurants, plus a Disco and Theater with nightly entertainment offering a variety of shows (some may find it disadvantageous as some maybe geared for Italian passengers). We actually enjoyed the differences in culture and languages on board as the majority of passengers are from Italy, followed by Spain, France and Germany with only a small number of English and US passengers. Communication was not an issue though as all Crew speak several languages, one of them being English. Following a conversation with the Ships Hotel Director we learned that Festival have made a few adjustments based on passenger feedback, such as the reduction in announcements, there are no longer announcements in different languages for all the daily activities anymore. The daily Cruise News covers all the information you need.

In summary, we highly recommend this Cruise as it has interesting ports and provides outstanding facilities, wonderful food, and reasonable drink prices together with a very friendly and professional service in all areas. We had a great time!

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