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   Cruise Travel - Reader Reviews

Welcome to Your Favorites, where you have the opportunity to share your travel experiences with fellow Internet Travelers around the world.


Airtours

MS Seawing

Your Rating:Four Stars
Reviewed by: Claire Rush
# previous cruises: 2
Date of Trip: July 7, 2003
Itinerary: Mediterranean

Overview
We thoroughly enjoyed this cruise even though some of the previous reviews made us apprehensive! There was no reason to be. This was a compact but comfortable ship. It was not a luxurious floating palace, but for the price, it was excellent value for money. My family wanted to go on an affordable cruise that visited amazing places. We really had a great holiday and hope to return to the Seawing next summer as they are altering the itinerary to include Venice, Corfu and the Ukraine.

Public Areas
We had been on the Sunbird twice before and in the beginning we were a little disappointed with the size of the Seawing. For example, some of the corridors in the public areas were extremely narrow and there was no place to wait for the dining room doors to open. Also the ship did not have a promenade deck so there was no where you could walk fully around the boat, sit in the shade or watch the ship leave the port. I think the Seawing is in need of a refurbishment especially window replacement in the lounges. In general the public areas were very comfortable. The Clipper Lounge was great for the evening show and always extremely well air conditioned. The Piano Bar and the Crows Nest were great to enjoy a drink in. The swimming pool was small though. There was adequate deck space but during the day at sea you needed to be up at 8am to get a good sun lounger. I also went to the gym and it was small, not very well equipped and hardly used. However, I do not want to convey a negative image of the Seawing. It suited my family's need just fine because we also made full use of our time in port. I don't think the facilities on the ship would be considered that spectacular if you never wanted to leave the boat and go on shore.

Food and Service
The food was always excellent. You could eat the whole day long if you wanted. Breakfast, Elevenes, Lunch, Afternoon tea, dinner and Midnight buffets. It was always difficult to choose from the selection on the six course menu. There was always just the right amount... they never made you feel full or left you feeling empty. The chocoholic buffet was to die for. You could not fault the waiter service!!! We never had lunch in the Riviera Buffet because it was always very busy and lack of table space. We recommend you go to the non hassle and well conditioned Eldorado Restaurant for a relaxing and appetizing lunch.

Cabins
We pre booked our cabin near the front of the ship to ensure that we would not have any engine noise. We realised that this was a problem as we overheard a number of passengers complaining about their cabins. We had a cabin on the bottom deck but we upgraded to an outside. The cabin was a fair size and the shower had ample room. However there was three of us including two teenage girls on a two week cruise and there was certainly not enough wardrobe space. Also it did get a little claustrophobic at the end of the two weeks because we were tripping over each other in the cabin getting ready for dinner. But it has to be remembered that on a cruise, you never spend time in your cabin.

Entertainment
The entertainment was very good! Our cruise director Sammi C. Baker was excellent. She had an entertaining personality, was genuinely friendly and possessed a knock your socks off singing voice!!! The shows were great but the selection of songs from Broadway was a real gem! The four singers had voices which belonged in the West end. Dave Evans was the comedian on board. He was very funny on the first week but we felt that he had ran out of things to joke about on the second week. The Piano Bar also had a talented soloist Paul Madden on the ivory keys. We felt that there was definitely a more relaxed and friendly atmosphere on the Seawing and the staff definitely contributed to it. It may not have the glitz and the glamour but it was an intimate cruise ship. You felt you really got to know people.

Activities
The staff made full use of the facilities on board. The day at sea can sometimes drag out but they made it enjoyable. Pool side quizzes, library. games room, introduction to aromatherapy, yoga, line dancing, ballet, darts, golf and napkin folding are just some of the things we tried. Honestly, the reason we go on cruises is to see the sites. The Shore Excursion Staff Suzie and Daniella were absolutely excellent. Two lovely girls that shared valuable information about the ports and what trips you could participate on. We booked orgnised excursions everyday. They were pricey but we felt they took the hassle out of the day and you got to see the most important places in the limited space of time. The tour guides always spoke great English. However the staff was very good in providing tips and maps if passengers wanted to do their own thing. The ports of Santorini, Kos, Rhodes, Marmaris and Mykonos were so beautiful, you could have an enjoyable day by yourself strolling through the quaint streets and shopping. However, we recommend a tour of Istanbul as it is such a gigantic maze of a city. We thought the city was amazing as we got to go inside the Blue Mosque and Topkapi palace! We thought Athens was a disappointment - a dirty and polluted city although the Parthenon was breathtaking. The Turkish ports of Dikili. Kusadasi and Marmaris were stunning holiday resorts and great for the bazaars! The excursion to ancient Ephesus is a must!! We also recommend the trip to Lindos in Rhodes and the excursion to the Lassithi Plateau in Crete. Our favourite port had to be Santorini... words can not describe it. Our photographs of Oia were of a professional quality taken with a disposable camera. Our favourite excursion was the day trip on the wooden gullet boat in Kos. It took us to two small islands and a deserted beach. As you can see, we had a great holiday because of the superb itinerary.

Who Goes
Lovely passengers. Our table mates on the first week were a family from Manchester and on the second week, a family from Glasgow. The conversation was free flowing and comfortable. However the acoustics in the dining room were awful and it was very hard to hear what people were saying. There was mostly families on the cruise and not just mature retired passengers. A quarter of the passengers were also from Scandinavia and the announcements were always repeated in their language.

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