Grimaldi Lines Reviews 6,457

Thanks for your respectful interest ...

Following our previous review — written out of genuine frustration and disappointment due to a ticket cancellation — we were pleased to receive a direct response from the company. The agency staff we had been in contact with via email also showed great attention and care.

We sincerely thank each of them individually for their support. They even reimbursed the additional accommodation costs we had to cover due to the cancellation, which we truly appreciated.

This level of responsiveness is exactly what one would expect from a reputable company, and we’re grateful for the way the situation was handled.
Thank you once again. 🙏❤️

Erhan Erçelik

‘Nothing’ went wrong per se, When booking, I booked a two-room cabin for the family to have a nice experience.
Now, if you notice the word business when booking the meals, DON’T think business as you most probably are used to when booking other means of transportation.. This only relates to their business model, and has nothing to do with what the rest of the world considers business travels.
The cabin was not too bad, only a tad of BLACK MOLD in the shower, which had space enough two reasonably sized people at once.
If you, like me, don’t speak anything other than english - Good luck, you’ll need it.
Though, there are some employees that actually walk the extra mile and try to be positive - You guys, Great job! For their sake, I’m not gonna tell you what happened when they tried to ask their co-workers for additional information.. They only had to apologise. And I can understand that, really, and if you try this way of transportation, yeah..

Let’s have a walk-through of the meal.

Self-service and business usually means a kind of buffet, if this is your approach to Grimaldi, then your view of life are about to be rewritten, but I’m not gonna be negative. This is what we experienced; Cold food, some tended to be too salty, the language barrier was hard to cross for my family, so I had interpret what they meant as best as I could.

Having travelled many years, I can understand the crew's way of doing their job. It can’t be easy

Oh, a funny thing that enlightens the experience a bit; We were to be given a welcoming drink, that was hilarious. It wasn’t until the second day I found someone on duty that were able to tell me where to go to get the ‘welcoming’ drink. I have yet to go claim it, but I’m a bit anxious here..
Oh, I’m sitting eating the ‘breakfast’. I have never had anything like this, you don’t even get a slice of cheese or ham, and don’t get me started on the, hmm.. warm? Foods.. I dont expect it to be warm, but I dont want to waste my money.

My recommendation?
Bring a big lunch bag with you, enough for two days.
Should I say more? Probably.
A few days earlier I used the ferry from Oslo in Norway to the capital of Denmark, Copenhagen. That’s an unfair comparison, I know, I guess you’ll have to make the experience yourself, but I wouldn’t recommend it.

Sailed Civitavecchia - Barcelona on 20 May (1 pax, 1 car).

Paid for the highest tier of cabin hopping for a decent 22-hour ride.

It was quite awful in every way.

Check in. Check in line took 10-15 minutes to serve each passenger (yes, each passenger). Rotten system. Staff looked angry and bored. Why can't you just scan your confirmation voucher at a machine? No automation effort. It's 2025, guys. McDonald's has a better service experience than your check-in. I blame management for not caring.

Boarding. There were no clear directions at the port. Hard to find correct gate & car line even after being told the gate number. Circled the port a few times searching. Then sat in car for 90 mins after the official boarding time before being let on.

Access. After parking the car on the garage deck, it was hard to find the right door to go upstairs. Followed crowds of equally confused passengers around parked lorries for a while.

Room. Key didn't work first time, had to get a new one from reception. Staff say it's my fault for keeping the key "close to my phone or a credit card" (I didn't). Maybe invent a key that doesn't demagnetise by being kept in... a wallet?

Bathroom. You get what you pay for (I had an exterior 4-bunk cabin to myself). It's small but OK. Bathroom shower curtain sticks to you when showering because the space is tiny. Trying not to think of all the sweaty truck drivers who have j*cked off in there over the years.

Food. Awful and overpriced. I get it, this is Easyjet on the waves, but offer some decent food options instead of barely edible plastic for €25 a meal. You're an Italian company FFS. Way to bastardise the cuisine of your own country. Serving staff looked mostly miserable.

Facilities. The boat had a pool that wasn't open even though it was warm and sunny outside. Some kind of gym opened two-thirds of the way to the trip, but when I went they said it was being cleaned. Don't get me started on the musical entertainment on stage... haha.

Cafe. First time in my life I've seen a barista empty the dregs from a used coffee scoop (that thing with the handle that goes into the machine) into... the top of the fresh coffee dispenser. Like, literally reusing old coffee for the next client. In front of the passengers. Wow.

Staff. Rude. Was sat in the dining room (100+ empty tables) with other passengers, reading a book for a couple of hours before being shouted at because "we're closed" and told to leave. Chastised for it. Shouldn't have been in there at all. At 11.45am. Guess they didn't want me to see the rats they catch to prepare the buffet.

Emergency drill. Guess they had to hold one by regulation, around 10am. A handful of passengers showed up and were led to a lifeboat. Most passengers didn't. Stood in a line against a filthy wall for 10 mins while the staff coordinated among themselves through walkie-talkies on whatever was supposed to happen next. The whole exercise was just the crew ticking boxes and looking good in front of their superiors rather than instructing or even acknowledging the participating passengers. Just get it over with. I found one crew member smoking in a corner during the drill. If this was a real emergency, I'm willing to bet that this crew would abandon ship first and screw all the passengers. If they can find the exit.

Checkout. Asked to pack up & leave cabins 2.5 hours before arrival and wait in the common areas for disembarkation. Not a big deal, but again feels like this is done for the convenience of the cleaning staff rather than the passengers.

Overall. Look, I get it. The main money spinner for this shipping line is long haul truckers, not regular tourists like me. The no-frills approach works fine for the trucking companies who give their drivers a daily allowance (there is an on-board cafe for truck drivers only, where food is cheaper). But it's disappointing that they miss the opportunity to showcase good Italian hospitality or even attitude, given this Italy-Spain route (one of only a very few available) has every opportunity to be very popular with summer travellers, cyclists and motor tourists if it was better advertised.

I hope management take action to improve the overall situation, and I can sail with them again in the future. They can't change the ship, but they can definitely improve staff attitude. But for now I advise travellers to avoid this company and its ships, or expect an unpleasant experience.

I booked a return ticket for about 3 months in advance. However, due to some issues, I had to cancel the reservation a few days later. Their website clearly stated that cancellations made within 14 days are eligible for a 100% refund. Despite this, they deducted €350 from the total amount I paid.

They claimed that the refund policy only applies to domestic routes. When I asked where the policy for international routes was stated, they simply ignored my question.

If a website has a refund policy, it must be clearly and explicitly stated. Minion Lines is a third-party booking service for Grimaldi Lines. So, I contacted Grimaldi Lines customer support directly. However, they also refused to help me in any way.

We've taken many ferry trips before, but this was our first time booking with this company. They unfairly withheld €350 from us and have since stopped responding to our support tickets. We will absolutely never book with either of these companies again. For anyone considering making a reservation with them—beware: if anything goes wrong or you need to cancel, they may unlawfully withhold your money.

I will consult with my bank and lawyer as soon as possible and begin legal proceedings. There is only one refund policy published on their website, and what is written there is legally binding for the company. Anyone acting otherwise is either ignoring the company’s official terms or engaging in digital fraud under the company’s name.

Booking Reference: G250636012
Ticket Number : GL250493219

The ship was in really dirty condition. Everywhere smells terrible. The deck smelled of human feces. The selection of shops is really poor, two restaurants where the buffet had ice cold food. The food was really overpriced. The indoor air was really bad, dog excrement on the floors and there were really few power outlets. The ship was straight from the 90s. I do not recommend this.

First off was discriminated against on my free meal only person that had to show id out of all the white ppl I am of color myself so I see why now! If you are an American or just of color period do not book this boat we had cabin with couch and bed it was not a good experience! The bedroom was extremely hot and had no A/C vents were not blowing @ all! The staff very disrespectful not helpful and boat is just old and dirty I repeat do not book this not DO NOT BOOK THIS BOAT! There is a few more to choose from I would recommend getting besides this the reviews speak for itself!

In April 2025, my family and friends traveled with Grimaldi Lines from Livorno to Sardinia and back. An extremely bad experience with the ferry. After passing through Livorno, the way to the ferry boarding area was extremely poorly marked (since it was our first time on such a trip, we didn't know where to go), we were helped by passersby who directed us. The ferry itself has too little space for passengers, and these areas are also dirty and very worn out. There are too few sockets to connect chargers for mobile devices. The most pressing thing is that the lights in the main areas never turn off. We completely understand that the lights should not turn off even in the middle of the night, but they could at least adjust the light. Not to mention the distribution of vehicles on the ferry. We arrived among the first to board as soon as possible and waited almost 2 hours to be boarded, where we were among the last to board. It is also worth noting the very poorly marked signage on the ferry. A very unpleasant experience overall. The entire experience with Grimaldi Lines is a test of endurance, a disregard for health and safety.

WARNING! Luggage theft and lack of assistance from the staff on a GRIMALDI LINES cruise
During my cruise from Spain to Italy, my luggage was stolen from the ship. Unfortunately, the staff was not only unhelpful, but I had the feeling that they were trying to cover up the incident. After noticing that the bag was missing, I turned to one of the security guards who was on site at the time for help, but I received extremely rude and inappropriate behavior. Extreme indifference and blame shifting were shown. Instead of assistance and sympathy, I received arrogance and ridicule with the words "this is not our problem". I asked for the cameras to be checked, whereupon I was first told that some of the cameras were not working, and a few minutes later, they simply explained that the records cannot be checked by civilians. It was later discovered that several other bags were missing, having disappeared under the same mysterious circumstances and at the same time, and were also never found. Be extremely careful with your belongings and do not rely on the staff for help in case of a problem. I recommend that you think carefully before traveling with this company.

Our trip with this ferry company was a mess. The outbound journey to Tunisia was tolerable, though we were required to arrive at the port a full 3.5 hours early—only to sit around and wait over an hour before we could even board.

The return trip, however, was a complete disaster. We received a notification that the ferry was delayed from 7:00 PM to 3:30 AM the next morning. Wanting to be safe after our first experience, we arrived at 10:00 PM—well in advance. To our surprise, we were told that check-in was already closed and we wouldn’t be allowed to board.

It was only after a local intervened on our behalf that we were finally allowed through passport control. Even then, we had to stand out on the dock for another 1.5 hours before being allowed to board. The ferry didn’t end up departing until 4:30 AM.

To sum it up: we arrived at 10:30 PM for a ferry scheduled to leave at 3:30 AM, were told we were too late, and then the ferry left even later than the delayed time. The lack of organization, communication, and basic consideration for passengers was unacceptable.

Where do I begin?
Well let's begin with the positives, the seating/sleeping area was pretty clean and the ac worked well. Sadly that's about it.
Although there were more than enough seats for everyone, nobody was able to lay down on the seats, because the Armlehnen between the seats were not moveable. The seats can neither decline or incline. The seats are probably to hard to have a good night sleep anyways. There was also no free drinking water, and I was advised to not drink the water out of the sinks in the toilet, because the water comes out of the sea. There are also only 3 plugging stations per hundred seats.
The toilets are dirty and most of them do not have toilet paper. Wifi is extremely overpriced.

I’ve already experienced the cruise from Barcelona twice, and both times were absolutely wonderful. It’s not just about everything the boat has to offer, but also how incredibly pet-friendly the environment is—which makes a huge difference for us.

Last time, we visited the spa and had an amazing time in the sauna and jacuzzi. I want to give a special shoutout to Maria Rosaria, who was working there. She was so kind, professional, and helpful—she truly contributed to making our experience unforgettable.

Thank you all for your hard work. Keep up the great job!

April 2025. Overnight Ferry from Livorno to Olbia. Outside Room with window was simple but clean. Shower was hot. Food was good. Slept great. Would take this again.

Terrible interaction with manager.
Told me to come at certain time. Came and they made a mistake and wanted to come back in 15 mins. Asked to talk to manager. Manager was rude

Return trip Naples-Cagliari April 25. Outward, the toilets were blocked, puddles running along corridors. Didn't eat. Return trip we had prepaid dinner and breakfast at self service. Food was tepid, wine served in paper cups. Breakfast bacon and scrambled eggs also cold. Coffee just awful.

On march 14/15 and march 31/april 1 I traveled from Barcelona to Civitavechia and viceversa with Garibaldi Lines . Ticket included cabine. 4 hours before arrival they advised through megaphone the “invitation” to leave the cabines and to stay the rest of the travel in common areas (4 hours with all the luggage!). After this kind invitation (which was repeated each half an hour), the cleaning clerks knocked very intensively each 10 minutes on the cabine door, and even opened it which can be considered introduction in private sphare, in order to clean up the cabins. It is not understandable that customers which have paid complete travel in cabins are forced to leave them 4 hours before arrival for the only reason to clean. The company should instruct or organize their crew to do that after arrival to the destination port in order to enable a comfortable travel to the customers, which is what they have finally paid for. Bad service, low customer orientation and poor private sphare respect. Very improvable service.
The answer received from Grimaldi on apr 28, 2025 (safety reasons) is very unprofessional. Nothing to do with that.

I didn't buy a seat or cabin because it was so expensive. I took an overnight ferry from Napoli-Cagliari, 15 hours in total.
It said to board 2 hours before departure. I was half an hour late, but all the walking passengers had to wait outside in the cold until half an hour before departure. Why did it say come 2 hours before then??
All the sofas in the lounges were made so you can't sleep on them. Even though, people tried to sleep on the floor/on chairs. But the light was never turned off or dimmed the whole night. I get they want you to buy a cabin, but in all other forms of transportation, they always dim the lights at night..
Almost all the public toilets (for women) didn't work..
Also, if you don't have a cabin, there is no place to put your luggage, so you have to stay with it all the time.
Also, you have to pay to use the Wifi..
The workers were polite.

it's ok the travel.
I like to travel by boat.....

Clean up is terrible, service is just not there. Seemed like I was the trouble for the service people.
Just don't be that person who has to be stuck on their horrid boat. Avoid them.

Never been on this shithole of a cruise.. i seen images from a friend....... is a shame! they should cancel this craphole of a ship!!! never go on this so called Ferry..... you will be better of on a rowing rubber boat! this is a shame!