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Island Escaoe better than expected |
| Reviewed By: Tiernan, Stroud on 6th Sep 2008 |
| Cruise Line: Island Cruises |
Times cruised before: 1-2 |
| Cruise Ship: The Island Escape |
Sailed:
August,
2008 |
| Destination: Mediterranean |
Age: 46-55 |
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Having read various reviews about the Island Escape, I was more than apprehensive to say the least prior to going, in fact based on previous reviews I actually tried to cancel but couldn't. You could see I didn't leave in the right frame of mind.
On arrival at Palma the transfer to the ship was well organised and quick. Being shown to cabin on Bronze deck initially confirmed our worst fears, the cabin was tired and a little tatty however it was clean, functional and actually bigger than anticipated. After a week on board I can honestly say that the cabin did in fact grow on me and was adequate and comfortable and always kept clean by the hardworking room attendant.
Food seemed to be the same in both the Beachcombers (24 hour cafe) and Island Restaurant (buffet), we didn't try the Oasis as it had an extra charge. The food was always presented well, a fair choice and usually of good quality although a couple of times one or two of the dishes were 'below par'. I didn't like the fact we were always shown to shared tables, even bypassing empty tables but when we did request on 2 occasions we were redirected to our own table. The International theme nights (Italian, Oriental & Mexican) were a major disappointment, usual food with just a few added extras for the theme night. I'd score food 7/10, plentiful but sometimes boring.
Entertainment was pretty good, although its true Bingo plays a fair part in the life of this ship, we were treated to some great entertainment nightly without ever playing bingo.
Ship is very friendly, from Captain down to cabin attendant, they all seem to be genuinely happy on the ship. I know the ship sells itself on this particular point and it is true but our 2 previous cruises were very much comparable with this (Airtours Carousel & Thomson Spirit).
Gripes, deckspace is at a premium and you'd have to be early to grab a space, only pool is small. Smoking seems to be confined to the Sundowners, Pub and Casino areas but as they cleverly sealed off front stairways to force you to walk through all the smoke the it is a problem for those who really dont like having their clothes smell of smoke.
All in all, I went expecting the worse, but was very happy to find that this is actually a nice friendly ship with quite good facilities. Accomadation is tired looking but clean and comfortable. Most on board seemed more than happy. Advice for people who've booked already, its not as bad as some of the reports, I would research the ports of call though as excursions are very expensive and it seemed easy to just do your own thing at each port.
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| Quality of Food |  |
| Mostly ate in the Island Restaurant, but did use Beachcomber for some breakfasts and late snacks. | | Entertainment |  |
| Entertainment generally very.very good. Didn't like the 'flown in' commedian though, some people would take offence. | | Shore Excursions |  |
| Excusions good nut too expensive. Best was Pompeii, worst was St. Tropez/Port Grimaud - really overated and public loos in St. Tropez - yuk !!! Maybe they think everyone has their own yaght !! | | Staff | |
| Staff were excellent - unfair to highlight only a few | | Children's Facilities | n/a |
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