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Airtours

MV Carousel

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Reviewed by:  Patrick Donovan
# previous cruises: 10+
Date of Trip: January 8, 2002
Itinerary: Africa

Our cruise on the Carousel was a wonderful alternative to staying on just one of the Canary Islands for a week. We got to see lots more things and had a relaxing cruise with a wonderful service.

The two lounges in the aft of the ship, "Midsummers" and "Showboat" had been renovated in 2000, and was both comfortable and had a suitable size. The "Midsummers" was both a piano bar as well as a disco from 11.30pm. The "Carousel Lounge" in the forward of the ship was in need of renovation, but was still OK.. They told us that this lounge was next in line. The "Camelot" restaurant has also been renovated, and the color schemes in the lounges was modern and bright, with tan leather and and so forth. The pool was somewhat small, but yet big enough for an older cruise ship. We didn't use the casino, but it looked nice.

The food was excellent, however, we were somewhat displeased with our waiter, his assistant and the wine waiter was excellent though, all other waiters and bar staff was very good too, always smiling and doing their best to make sure that we had everything we needed at all times. There was a choice of eating all meals on deck or in the restaurant. We did both, and found it to be very nice. We bought the "Unlimited Drinks" card for 119# and found it to be of great value to us.

Our cabin was located on A-deck, quite close to the engine room, but was still quiet enough for us to sleep well, so if you get a cabin further forward in the ship, you are bound to sleep well. Our cabin was somewhat small, but it was standard size for a 1971 liner, and it was clean and comfortable, the shower was big enough for a person 6'5" to be in there.. and the water was always hot. There was a phone in the cabin and two small portholes, Sun Cruises offer 24hour room service at very reasonable prices. The cabins on A and B-deck have portholes, Main and Promenade decks have real windows. But portholes are fine, and the cabin is the same size on A, B, and Main deck. Our cabin steward kept everything tidy and clean.

The entertainment on board ranged from cabarets to magicians, all british, and the shows was EXCELLENT!! The singers and dancers were just wonderful. Truly Hollywood class.. and especially when you consider that the ship didn't have a "real" theatre, but only a small stage, but the lighting and sound was very good, nothing was spared when it came to equipment.

Our trip started at Tenerife, and we stopped at Lanzarote, Marocco, on day at sea, Madeira, La Palma, Gran Canaria and back to Tenerife. We didn't go on any of the tours arranged by Sun Cruises, we found them to be too expensive, however, we did rent a taxi for 4 hours in Marocco at a cost of 30$ and we saw things that no tour could have given us. There was a small gym on the aft deck, sufficient for regular needs, as far as we know, there was no babysitting, but there was a childrens club from early morning till late night.

Mostly British passengers, but a large number of scandinavians was on board too. We were four guys in our early 20's and we were clearly out the normal "target" of passengers, but nevertheless we had a great time, we were seated with other Danish passengers, three couples, all old enough to be our parents, but they were all polite, and pleasant company, and their first remark to us, was that they were glad to be seated with younger people, we usually sat with them at the show after dinner.