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Airtours

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Reviewed by:  David Winfrow
# previous cruises: 2
Date of Trip: August 3, 2002
Itinerary: Mediterranean

This ship offers excellent value for your money. It is an older ship that is reasonably well maintained - though showing its age in a few areas. The ship was comfortable, though not opulent. We travelled through some stormy weather and the ship sailed quite well considering the state of the sea.

The public areas of the ship could be crowded, especially around the pool, however, there were always deck chairs available somewhere nearby. You can choose from "active" areas or quiet areas. The only day that seemed crowded was the first day which is spent at sea. Once people started to go ashore, there was more than enough room for everyone.

The food was excellent. Maybe not 5 star quality, but certainly better than I have had at many restaurants. I would recommend the breakfast buffet, particularly for those going on a shore trip. There is a wide variety of food available and you can quickly serve yourself and be off on your trip. Of special interest are the dining room waiters. They are a very energetic and fun group of people. The head waiter, Leroy, seems to have more fun than anyone! At the end of dinner, they frequently serenaded the diners with two or three songs - I wondered how they had the energy after a very long day of work.

Cabins are small but adequate. As reported in other reviews, the walls are thin and the shower is indeed very tiny. This wasn't a problem for us because you spend such a small part of your time in the cabin.

The entertainment was geard to the British traveller (we are Canadian). They had some marvellous musicians ( such as John Courtney) and comedians. Some of the jokes went right over my head because they were British based, but I laughed until I hurt for most of the show..

There is constant activity while on board the ship, however, most days we were off seeing the sights and did not participate in many day time events. I would suggest that the shore excursions are very expensive. It was much cheaper (and very easy) to take the train from Civitivecchia to Rome (6.80 Euros return which also allows access to Rome's Metro and buses). The ships tour cost 33 GBP each. Similarly, there is a train from Livorno that goes to Florence and from Villafranche, it is VERY easy to get to the train station where it is only 20 minutes to Monaco (4.40 euros return). I liked the freedom of going where I wanted, when I wanted at my own pace. There were enough trains availabe that it was never a concern about getting back to the ship on time.

Most of the passengers were British with a scattering of Scandinavians and a sizeable contingent of Canadians.The Demographics was quite diverse. Everything from young families to octogenarians. All seemed to get along very well. It seemed to me that many friendships were made. I felt like I was in a British holiday Camp that floated. A marvellous and fun atmosphere.