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Airtours

MV Sundream

Your Rating:
Reviewed by: Tracy Roberts
# previous cruises: 1
Date of Trip: April 22, 2001
Itinerary: Mediterranean

It was excellent value for money, even though the ship is now over thirty years old, it is very comfortable and has been recently refurbished. The standard of the food and service onboard is excellent. I felt spoilt the whole time, it was so nice to be waited on hand and foot for two weeks. I would recommend it to anyone. Any doubts we may have had beforehand were soon put to rest. It certainly exceeded our expectations and can't wait for the next one.

Even though the pool area is quite crowded during the day, as most of the time we were out sightseeing/on trips it didn't bother us and for the days at sea we would split our time between being out on deck and a couple of hours of quiet relaxation and reading in the Midnight Sun Lounge (piano bar) one end of which looked out 180 degrees over the sea (very calming !!!). The other lounges were also of a good size - the only problem being that by the time we had finished our meal at about 10.00 pm, all the seats in the South Pacific lounge were already taken. We didn't mind standing at the back too much but a couple of nights, we made sure we left the restaurant a little earlier and on these occasions managed to find great seats. The casino was quite small but as we didn't use it, this didn't bother us in the slightest ! The promenade deck was great for a gentle stroll around the ship. We also enjoyed walking around the other upper decks also and could often be found above the bridge deck just gazing out to see or watching the captain bringing us in and out of various ports ! We were also very impressed with the cabin steward service and were amazed when our clothes were regularly folded for us if left strewn across the bed. Everything was always left so clean and spotless for us and on retiring to the cabin in the evening I would be amazed to see my nightie carefully folded into a fan like arrangement across my pillow (so impressed I almost took a photo of it !)

The food was excellent !!! The menus were varied and you just had to try everything because it was all so good. We tended to have breakfast and lunch up on deck on most days as it was more convenient for us. This food was also delicious with plenty to choose from (healthy fruit and salad to chips, pasta, fish and tasty desserts !). There was more than enough available for breakfast and lunch on the Lido deck. The standard of service was excellent too ! The waiters were all very friendly and made you feel very special - our wine waiter used our names from Day 1 and we didn't even tell him what we were called ! They were very attentive and never too far away if you needed them for anything. One thing I noticed in particular which really impressed me was the speed at which the waiters would clear up your empty plates/trays etc... on finishing your meal. They seemed to appear out of nowhere and clear your table almost immediately.

We were upgraded to an outside cabin which was a pleasant surprise on boarding but in saying that we were pleased with the size of the cabin. My husband and I had been expecting a much smaller room with very limited wardrobe space but we found it to be more than adequate and could have brought more clothes with us in hindsight. The beds were very comfortable and converted into great sofas during the day ! At no time did we feel claustrophobic and I don't think we would have missed the window had we not been upgraded. We found the bathroom to be a good size also and thought the power shower was great (and always hot !) There was also plenty of shelving for our toiletries, sun lotion etc... and with all the extra draws and space on the dressing table you certainly had plenty of room for everything.

The shows on the whole were of a good standard. We thought the entertainment crew's own cabaret shows were very good and more professional than expected. We had a very good comedian and singer during the first week which I must say we enjoyed more than the entertainment during the second week (but that is due to personal taste !). The entertainment is very British but being from England ourselves this suited us ! However I am sure other nationalities would also be entertained.

We tended to either make our own way round the different ports and/or book half days trips. We booked half days trips to Lanzarote, Agadir, Lisbon and Nerja and found these to be more than enough. I think the full days would have been too expensive and tiring and booking half day tours gave us more time to relax (either in the morning before the trip or be back in time for some late lunch in the afternoon !) We walked around Funchal, Madeira on our own and got a bus to the top of the mountain (spectacular views!) and a toboggan ride down (a great experience !). We could have booked a trip to do the same and paid twice as much !!! Nerja (one hour coach ride from Malaga) is a beautiful town and well worth a visit - the caves are spectacular ! Cadiz is also very pretty but quite small so not much point in booking a trip. After Agadir we didn't see the point in stopping at Tangier also so stayed on the ship that day. We didn't really join in the ship's activities, such as carpet bowls, deck quiz, darts etc... when not exploring the ports but we did enjoy the odd game of cards and much preferred to find a nice warm spot up on the sun deck and read our books for the afternoon.

Most people were probably over fifty, I would say we were one of the youngest couples on board (29 and 30 year olds) but everyone was so friendly, it didn't matter. We got to know our fellow diners in the evening quite well and got chatting to quite a number of people on trips and eating lunch etc... It was so nice to see familiar faces, even just to say hello to !!! I would definitely have some of them over to dinner ! and I hope we bump into them again on any future cruises we may have.