X Itinerary departing from European port

[Mark.Jules]

After multiple sailing on X from US ports, this summer will be our first leaving from a European port (Rotterdam).

 

Will our on board experience differ in any manner? (I assume there will be little or no difference)  

[mahdnc]

23 minutes ago, Mark.Jules said:

After multiple sailing on X from US ports, this summer will be our first leaving from a European port (Rotterdam).

 

Will our on board experience differ in any manner? (I assume there will be little or no difference)  

Onboard experience should be similar. 

[mahasamatman]

I'd say it will be better because of the general makeup of the passengers.

[tfred]

same experience. difference will be the the cruise is more port intensive so more pax will get off the ship, unlike US ports.  Expect that portion to be more crowded. 

[cruisequeen4ever]

The cruising experience is the same. The only difference I noticed was that they let their hair down a little with standards of cleanliness/sanitation/hygiene because there’s no oversight while abroad. 

[C4HCG]

17 hours ago, mahasamatman said:

I'd say it will be better because of the general makeup of the passengers.

😂I would say the opposite, as a Yorkshireman I much prefer Americans to Europeans 👍

[Mark.Jules]

Thank you all for sharing your insight.

[Fly and Sail]

I haven't noticed much difference embarking in Rome compared to FLL, LAX or SEA. The procedure is the same except for the customs nonsense in the U.S.

[Esprit]

On 2/18/2023 at 8:31 PM, C4HCG said:

😂I would say the opposite, as a Yorkshireman I much prefer Americans to Europeans 👍

And I'd prefer Europeans to the foreigners north of Watford😉

[SbbquilterUT]

Our 12 day cruise out of Amsterdam was a typical Celebrity experience as far as passengers.  The following week 7 day cruise was full of families and was heading towards feeling more like RCCL with the noise and kids running around the ship.  Loved the trips but they did feel different.  

[mahdnc]

On 2/17/2023 at 8:11 PM, Mark.Jules said:

After multiple sailing on X from US ports, this summer will be our first leaving from a European port (Rotterdam).

 

Will our on board experience differ in any manner? (I assume there will be little or no difference)  

 

Also the onboard currency will still be USD and all shore excursions will be narrated in English.

[Arizona Wildcat]

On 2/17/2023 at 7:11 PM, Mark.Jules said:

After multiple sailing on X from US ports, this summer will be our first leaving from a European port (Rotterdam).

 

Will our on board experience differ in any manner? (I assume there will be little or no difference)  

A more diverse and upscale group of passengers.  Generally more polite. 

[Jim_Iain]

The cruise, food and entertainment will b basically identical.  You may notice depending on which port the ship is based that the customer mix will be much lower on American passenger count and higher on other countries.  

You may notice a small shift higher on the dress code especially on Chic nights.    You may also notice many more people more slender waistlines -   Especially in Scandinavia and the Med.

 

The real positive you will broaden your ability to meet other's from different countries and when talking understanding a different perspective

[cangelmd]

Have embarked from both Civita and Amsterdam in the last 12 months, 

Long lines for cabs in AMS on return, otherwise great experience. We were able to drop off bags at AMS terminal very early and enjoy almost a full day of sightseeing.

Civita was for a TA in a suite. Similar experience to Suite embark in FLL, even had a small lounge setup. Disembark from a TA is always a mess, but that’s custom’s fault, not the cruiseline exactly.

 

My most interesting Euro cruise that may better answer your actual question was on RCCL, over 20 years ago. One week western Med cruise for our 20 th wedding anniversary. We had school age kids, so could only be gone one week without them, so we took the shortest Med cruise we could find. (I would never fly all the way to Europe now for just a week, but I’m a lot older). We had never been to Europe at that point, and took a cruise because we thought it would be more time efficient.

The passengers were about 50-50 Americans and Europeans. Lots of Spaniards (left from Barcelona), and many of them were in bigger groups, families and friends, celebrating all sorts of things. It was also over the weekend of the Gran Prix in Monaco, and most people got off to go to the race. For the Europe contingent this was much like a Caribbean cruise, but they dressed up a lot more. Partying, going to pool and beach. LYou could pick out the Americans, they had all been out sightseeing all day and were exhausted. 
So the answer is depends on if a trip is appealing to Europeans/UK and many are

[Lastdance]

I was told by a waiter on my Apex 12 day cruise departing from Civi last October that the cruise before us was the strangest he had ever been part of in many years.  People were very curt, expressive about everything, along with feeling quite entitled to have everything perfect and fast. However, complaints were dealt out immediately after they were seated.  He finally just tuned it all out, giving them the serviced that had previously rendered high evaluations in the past.