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Island Cruises

MS Island Escape

Your Rating:
Reviewed by: Celia Mosedale
# previous cruises: 2
Date of Trip: September 30, 2004
Itinerary: Mediterranean

Relaxed friendly and informal just about hits the nail on the head, they do what they do very well we preferred the more casual approach but that doesn't mean they weren't efficient this captain runs a very tight ship. its just nice not to have to don a ball gown and tuxedo all the time.

The public areas are clean and comfortable and in good decorative order the pool is small and the area around it occupied by people who are afraid of wide open space so we avoided that area totally we usually found somewhere to sit down the side where its more peaceful only complaints are not enough ash trays anywhere and the lift is useless

We had cabin 9004 it was very quiet and always lovely and cool. Tanya looked after us for two weeks and kept it clean and tidy at all times she always had a smile for us whatever time of the day cabins are on the small side but have plenty of storage the beds are fine if like us you are not very big but I think larger people may find it a bit of a squeeze.

Ours was a 4 berth with an outside window on the coral deck. Two floor, two fold down 'bunks'. Bit tight but nothing to whine about. Small but perfectly good shower. Room service v. good.

If you want a cabin to entertain from or spend all day in then you're on the wrong cruise.

The shows and cabarets presented by the show team are performed by professionals and are nothing short of brilliant they are all individually talented people who when brought together are very slick I thought the shows were a good mix of something for everyone. The animation team bring on fun and games quizzes etc. the usual cheesy fun. My only complaint is because the standard of the shows is so high everyone wants to see them and its a real pain having get to the theatre so soon to get a decent seat. I think if they are going to continue to provide such good shows they should convert the seating in the theatre to proper theatre seating but I guess they would rather you were craning your neck and buying drinks. If they did this they would most certainly have less disgruntled customers who couldn't get in to see the show or had to sit right at the back. Believe me we went on the oceana last year paid three times the price and the entertainment wasn't a patch on this but they DID have a proper theatre

We visited all the ports on the essence and spirit itineraries the excursions are excellent with very good guides. Again much better than when we cruised with p&o to the caribbean and cheaper too there are so many great excursions to choose from you could keep going back to the same ports for years and see something different each time.

We went in september so there were a lot of couples and thankfully not many children( sorry all you mums and dads but we've been there and done that) every one was very polite must admit we went to visit our daughter who is a member of the show team and there were 6 in our group so we had a fab holiday talking to each so we didn't mix much all in all we had a holiday to remember the island escape is a lovely happy ship.......go on book up for 2005 and enjoy!