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Island Cruises

MS Island Escape

Your Rating:
Reviewed by: Beverly and Peter Ward
# previous cruises: 1
Date of Trip: September 10, 2002
Itinerary: Mediterranean

My wife and I were on our Honeymoon, we had welcome fruit and wine in our cabin (a nice touch).Ship was immaculate, service was first class in all areas.Everybody we met throughout the cruise were friendly and courteous.The weather was fantastic throughout and we thoroughly enjoyed the whole experience.Cannot wait to do it again.

Pool was small but rarely used anyway,so you could take a dip at any time.Casino was intimate and well run. All five bars were well maintained and well staffed. The Lookout bar and Sundowner Lounge bar both had very good atmospheres.

Three restaurants on board. The Beachcomber (24 hour service) buffet style, many variations on offer, hot and cold foods, all staff were polite and extremely efficient, food was excellent at all times. Island Restaurant served the same dishes in a more formal way. Did not use the Oasis Restaurant (formal and a la carte) so cannot comment on that.

We had a Premier Outside cabin. 2 wardrobe areas plenty of drawer space. Bathroom was adequate, shower was big enough for two!!! We did not experience any noise even though our cabin was on the same deck as the Bounty lounge (cabaret room) and the on-board shops. In-cabin TV showed 4 different movies every day plus there were information channels about excursions, safety etc..Beds were comfortable too!!

We did not see any of the shows whilst on board so cannot comment. The entertainment staff were quite young and inexperienced we felt, and this showed during their presentations in the Bounty Lounge.But overall there were plenty of things to do.

Daytime activities ranged from quizzes to dance classes, (a daily newsletter was delivered to your cabin), gym on board for the more energetic,pool area was busy but there were other areas on board for sunbathing (I do wish that people would not leave their towels on the sun beds if they are not in use !!!). Took an excursion most days (Tunis, Rome, Santa Margherita (Genoa), Villefranche (Monaco and Monte Carlo) and Barcelona). One criticism would be that we did not have enough free time whilst on our excursions in order to do some independent exploring.

We would say that the majority of guests on board were in the 35 to 65 years old age bracket (us included!!). The people were affable and were having a very enjoyable time in our view, we did not encounter any whingers on board.