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Golden Sun Cruises

MV Aegean Spirit

Your Rating:
Reviewed by: I. Price
# previous cruises: 2
Date of Trip: September 22, 2000
Itinerary: Mediterranean

This was my first cruise, taken at my wife's urging (previous cruiser), as part of our honeymoon trip to the Greek Isles. We thought that this would be a great way to get a feel for the Islands from the comfortable home base of a cruise ship. We were sadly mistaken and very disappointed! We did not realize that this was a budget vessel, and it didn't measure up in any way to her previous cruise experiences. We do not recommend this ship at all, even to the price conscious. There are far better ways to see this beautiful part of the world.

The public areas were tired and dingy. The casino was small and lifeless. The shopping on board was almost non-existent. The pools looked murky and unfit for use, but that didn't matter because they closed the pool area to re-varnish the deck (much needed) half way through the cruise!

Contrary to all I have ever read about cruises, food was difficult to come by on this ship. One had to memorize the daily schedules because the dining times varied so much.

There was a buffet...sometimes (my preference due to its informality). It had outdoor seating only (inadequate). The buffet was served up reminiscent of a prison chow line, but the food was actually quite good.

Our one meal in the dining room came after a failed attempt at ordering room service. I was interrogated as to why I didn't eat in the dining room with everybody else. Unbelievable! Too tired or dismayed to argue, I gave in. Very inconsiderately, they seated us at a table at which no one else spoke our language, making for a very long and uncomfortable meal. The servers, who all appeared to work 18hrs a day, were mostly excellent.

The Officers (all Greek, I think) were mostly gruff and unfriendly... their legendary Greek hospitality was non-existent.

The cabin was adequate in size, as was the shower. Unfortunately, there was a foul odour that we couldn't identify...engine room smell? The bed sheets were old and stained and the itchy woolen army surplus blankets had holes and burn marks! Our bathroom electrical outlet was broken (bad hair for the entire cruise) as was the radio/announcement speaker.

We didn't take in any on board entertainment.

There were shore excursions available for every stop. They (the excursion staff) did not appear to be very organized, so we did our own thing and had a great time in the Greek and Turkish ports. We took to eating on shore to avoid the food fiasco and found the local eateries to be quaint and friendly.

This ship is patronized by all kinds, but mostly people in their forties to sixties, I would guess. There were some children. We encountered people from much of Europe, Eastern Europe, U.S.A. and Canada. We didn't meet many people as the activities offered were few and unappealing.

It appears that the ship contracts with many travel companies, providing the cruise portion of their itineraries. Beware, this causes much commotion, with many different groups trying to organize all at once. Constant announcements on the public address system were an annoyance. The ship also boards and disembarks passengers at every port of call, adding to the mayhem.