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Mediterranean Shipping Cruises

SS Monterey

Your Rating:
Reviewed by:Brenda Constantinou
# previous cruises: 5
Date of Trip: October 5, 2003
Itinerary: Mediterranean

Long slow queues for embarkation. Cruise generally good, but lots of vibration in a lot of the ship particularly aft which was rather uncomfortable. Nice mix of European nationalities, but can be noisy as there were a lot of pre-teens and children. Lots of noisy announcements in 4 or 5 languages. Fresh fruit in cabin after the first day. Good atmosphere.

No complete walk round promenade, but nice seating and plenty of sun beds. Lounges ok. Dining room non-smoking and L shaped which meant you missed out a bit on the Captain's night when the staff were introduced if you were in the side bit of the L as we were. Pool looked nice if rather small and 2 jacuzzis well used (not by me). Casino was tiny and there were a few gaming machines which we did quite well on, incidentally).

Food was good and lots of it. Service was good and very friendly staff. Wine was quite expensive.

Our cabin (384) on Maile deck was one of the smallest outside cabins. As wide as door with single bed either side and just room for a chest of drawers, soft chair and small table. Two wardrobes and good sized shower area. The vibration and rattling were at times exceedingly bad. The beds rocked even when it was calm and everything rattled even the wall panels.

Viewing the entertainment in the lounge was difficult if you were seated more than halfway back, but there were TV screens showing the action. Didn't see all the shows but they seemed to be more like cabaret acts. The staff and entertainers seemed very enthusiastic.

Plenty of things to do aboard if you wanted. Stopped at Naples, Santorini, Antalya, Limassol, Port Said, Hreaklion, Catania, Naples (should have been Capri but the weather was bad). All good stops with trips at Naples, Antalya, Limassol, and Port Said, which was excellent if rather long, seeing the Pyramids etc. All trips were good and well organised.

I'm British and there were about twenty or so others. The rest were Italians, Germans, French, a few Spanish and Swiss and a couple of Americans and Australians. We tended to stick to the English speaking as it was easier for conversation. Did try the odd word of French etc and got some response but some were very standoffish. Was interesting but didn't really make friends with anyone other than our table companions, who were theee British ladies all very nice. Have the number of one of them but nobody else. Lots of people aboard seemed to have made friends though and there was a lot of address swapping as we waited to leave. Quite a lot of school age children (odd for October) and young adults which is quite unusual for cruises out of season. Most of ours have consisted of 50+.