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Airtours

MV Sunbird

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Reviewed by: Frances Heyda
# previous cruises: 10+
Date of Trip: December 17, 2001
Itinerary: Caribbean - Eastern

We went on the inaugural voyage of this ship in may 1999 and it was fantastic although a little short staffed.Since then we have sailed on her three times once on the Med and twice in the caribbean.This year we decided to take a three week vacation as the flights are so long and it seems to take us a week to settle in.[time difference etc]But unfortunately this time i feel the standards have dropped considerably from the previous cruises .There are a lot less staff to attend to you and on xmas day it took an hour between our starter and our main course to arrive certainly not acceptable but after two weeks we learned to like our useless waiter and forgive all of his incompetence and above all go with the flow and go for a cigarette break in between each course.[thats how long they took]I cant say it was really his fault he was just so overworked and basically did his best.

The public areas were always very clean and no problem getting served.There was only one miserable rude waitress that we had the misfortune to encounter on occasions. But all the rest of the staff were always efficient and courteous.The cancan lounge was where the shows were held but pillars from ceiling to floor obstructed many seats and the shows were very mediocre anyway.The only show i enjoyed in three weeks was the crew talent show that was fantastic and much better then their so called professional acts.[Equivalent to stars in their eyes]

The food in the restaurant was acceptable when you eventually received it and the waiters were always trying to please. Although not such a good choice as previous voyages. Lets just say seafood roulade was on the starters every night but sometimes with a different name. The food on the lido deck was okay as long as you stood in the queue early enough while it was still warm. But lunch in the restaurant was always good although slightly hurried

The cabins were as you would expect from this type of ship small and the shower was minute with most of the water running onto the bathroom floor.But the cabin stewards were excellent.I do not think the air conditioning ever really worked though. Maybe another cut back.

The cruise shows were top notch. We went to one every night, and often to the games afterwards. The bands were excellent, the cabarets were very well done, costumes great. The magician in particular was wonderful.

We were on the sunbird for three weeks and the teen club never opened.It had a note on the door saying closed due to vandalism.Obviously yet another cut back so nothing for older kids to do.The ports were fantastic only Caracas looked dodgy so we stayed on the ship that day.

It used to be 60% british and 40% canadian but now its reversed.After reading the Sunquest website I realize why .Their children go for free except port charges and they get the best available cabin where the british have to pay extortionate upgrade prices