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Airtours

MV Sunbird

Your Rating:
Reviewed by: William Wong
# previous cruises: 2
Date of Trip: April 22, 2002
Itinerary: Transatlantic

When I booked this cruise, I didn't expect much. After all, Sun Cruise advertises their products as "affordable cruising" and what I paid for this 12 days cruise is equivalent to what someone would pay for a 7 day cruise.

At the end of the cruise, I would say this cruise provides values for money, in the sense that "What you paid for is what you get." So Don't expect a breath taking atrium, glass elevators, broadway style theatre with balconies, food served in a 5 star restaurant, lobsters, caviar, etc. If you expect those things you're going to be disappointed. What you'll get is friendly service, great entertainment, and a very friendly atmosphere.

The ship is clean and well maintains. However, it is beginning to shows its age with worn carpets at various location, cracked leathers on the lounge chairs as well as bubbles on the artificial turf up on the sun deck and rust in the swimming pool.

Sun cruise was able to fill this cruise to its capacity. With over 1500 guest abroad, the ship does not fill crowded when it is warm outside or when there are other activities happening in the Sun Deck. However, when the temperature is lower and no one is up on deck sun bathing, the ship does feel a bit crowded. You can especially feel it when you attends the evening shows at the Can Can Lounge. If you want a GOOD seat, you have to be there 45 minutes before the show starts. A seat behind the post, you have to be there 20 minutes before the show starts. A place to stand, better be there 10 minutes before the show starts.

Staffs on board always have a smile on their face and service is great, on par with the more mainstream cruise lines.

When I filled out my comment cards, I was only able to filled out Fair on the food that was serve on board and I was being generous. We have tried both breakfast and lunch at the dining room as well as the out door Lido cafi but dinner in the dining room only. The quality are pretty much the same for breakfast at both location. Lunch at the Lido Cafi is cafeteria quality, and food served in the dining room is a mixed bag or hits and misses. Main course during diner is the most disappointing. There were several nights that nothing appeals to me on the diner menu. Furthermore, the ingredient that they used is sub-par to other cruise line. They serve lamp chops instead of rack of lambs, Sirloin steaks instead of Fillet Mignon and lobster tails are not even on the menu. I.m willing to forgive them when they serve a roast duck that my tablemate called it burnt. The medium rare roast beef that turns out to be "Very" well done plus the amount of meat given is less than the amount of roast beef that you'll get in a Subway sandwich. But when they substitute Veal with Pork, and prey that no one can tell the difference, that was the last straw that broke the camel's back. If anyone is going on a cruise because of the food, this is not a cruise for you.

Our Cabin is an outside cabin located on A deck near the bow, so noise is not a problem. The Cabin is exactly the way that they showed on the brochure, clean and comfortable. Storage in the Cabin is adequate for even a 2 weeks cruise. However, the bathroom is very small, and the decor is a little bit dated. Other than that I have no complaint. The Cabin steward does a very good job in trying to keep it tidy and clean. Hats off to them.

Entertainment is better than my previous experiences with RCCL and Carnival. The singers and the dancers really work hard to provide the guest with a wonderful experience. The entertainers that they brought in were very entertaining indeed. The Orchestra was great. Unfortunately, being a Canadian, I can only understand 10-20% of the British joke that was told. My only complain is the venue for the shows. The Lounge is VERY CROWDED and does not have sufficient space for people to sit. And the Bar staff is a little bit annoying when they ask you whether you want a drink in the middle of the show.

There were plenty of activities to do during the day. Dance classes, napkin folding classes, lectures, cruises talk, etc. A lot of things to keep you busy.

Being a repositioning cruise, we embarked in Barbados made stops in Antigua, Madeira, Malaga, before disembarking in Palma. We were able to do a walking city tour in Barbados, but does not have sufficient time to do the Cave because we didn't get there until 1pm. One word of advice, Sun Cruises makes a steep profit on the tours. Eg. In Antigua, they charge 17 pounds per person to bring you to Millers Beach. But we hired a taxi and it only cost us $20 USD return for the 2 of us. That is a markup of close to 100% by the cruise line.

I would say 80% of the passengers on this cruise are retired. And there were about 300 Canadian and 1200 British. Most of the people on this cruise are very friendly. However, like the real world there were some rude and unreasonable people on board. Someone actually yelled out on a deck chair sunbathing, 15 feet away from the rail telling people that she had saved a particular spot on the railing during a sail away. Some people.