Cheap Cruise Holidays & Latest Cruises Deals

Thursday 9th Feb 2012

www.cruise.co.uk - Cruise Deals, Cruises & Cruise Holidays

0800 408 6200

Cruise Reviews
120,929 Opinions Cruise Answers
182,413 Q&As Cruise Photos
14,133 Real Photos Cruise Videos
1,448 Real Videos Shore Excursions Our Cruise
Consultants Cruise Info
Guides Cruise Forum Get a Quote Special Offers Last Minute Cruises Luxury Cruises Tailor Made Cruise River Cruises Family Cruises Free Brochures Make a Payment

Cruise Reviews

Island Cruises

Island Escape

IEscape The Island Escape

IEscape the Island Escape

Reviewed By: Mugridge, Exeter on 14th Feb 2010
Cruise Line: Island Cruises	Times cruised before: 10+
Cruise Ship: Island Escape	Sailed: February, 2010
Destination: Canaries	Age: 56-65
Cabin: Inside

Thomson should hang their heads in shame, this ship is an absolute disgrace. We have sailed on The Spirit several times and also on The Celebration and found both to be excellent so we expected the Island Escape to be of a similar standard but couldn't have been more wrong. Even the many cross channel ferries we have been on have been far, far superior to this awful old rust bucket. The Cabin The cabin, whilst quite spacious, was in a very poor condition. The carpet was badly worn and stained, as was the chair, and the sheets, whilst clean, had old stains on them. There was little storage space, just 2 small wardrobes and 4 small drawers plus one small bedside table. We managed with this for a week but any longer would have been a problem. The tiny bathroom had a plastic washbasin with brown stains and the grout in the shower cubicle was black. Even the shampoo dispenser wouldn't dispense. When the aircon failed the heat became unbearable. Dining The Beachcomber Restaurant was awful. We ate there on our first day but never again. The food was particularly poor and I must single out the bacon for a special mention. I have never seen anything like it - grey, rubbery fat with just a few tiny bits of lean, yuk. The tables and chairs were extremely tatty and the few tablecloths that were in use (outside the children's playroom) were so badly faded that they must have been years old. The restaurant was OK for a cup of tea or coffee but even the mugs were plastic. The Island Restaurant was very much better, with decent tablecloths and crockery and extremely nice waiters. However, this was the first time we had experienced 'serve yourself' on a cruise and we won't be doing it again as we missed the presentation, and the free-for-all made it difficult to get near the food, which was sometimes cold by the time you fought your way back to your table. The food itself was nowhere near the quality we have experienced on any of our previous cruises, everything seemed to be done on the cheap. For example, the desserts usually consisted of a hot pudding (they all tasted the same), mousse (which also all tasted the same), fruit salad (with very little variety of fruit) and jelly with a few pieces of tinned fruit sprinked on top. Occasionally there were meringues but even a simple thing like icecream was rarely available as an alternative. Public areas Again, all public areas were extremely scruffy and in places the smell was extremely unpleasant. The lifts were sometimes out of action as were the toilets. One I used had the toilet seat hanging off and when I went back again several hours later it was still in the same state. Toilets should be checked regularly by crew and things like this immediately corrected. 'Under maintenance' signs could frequently be seen throughout the boat as there was always something not working properly and buckets were placed around to catch water which frequently dripped from the ceilings. The water in the pool never looked clean and the 'library' was a joke - just a few paperbacks in a cupboard. We found The Lookout Bar to be the best area of the ship and used this little oasis of calm for a late-night drink most evenings, having wrapped up warm first as it was always extremely cold. Entertainment The Ocean Theatre. Ah, a ray of light! We found the show team to be excellent, their dancing and singing was always first class. Although the 'Elvis' was so-so, the soul singer and the comedian were both very good. I felt sorry for them, having to perform in such a tatty 'theatre'. The Bounty Lounge. We only went in here once as we found the 'entertainment' to be excruciatingly amateurish. To sum up. This ship is way beyond refurbishment and should be scrapped. I can't understand why Thomson bought it as it can only tarnish their reputation. We have only recently come back from 2 weeks on P and O's wonderful 'Oceana' and could not find a single thing to complain about. All I can say is, do not book a holiday on this dreadful old tub.
Quality of Food

Entertainment
Show team were consistely excellent.
Shore Excursions

Staff	n/a
Island Restaurant waiters
Children's Facilities	n/a

Onboard Activities	n/a

Cabins

Overall Rating

Was this review informative to you?

Report this review

1 2 Next»

Opinion: Agree Comment by falls, glasgow (20 Feb 10 14:20) about this REVIEW

i think mr mugridge is being kind,four of us where on this tug boat in january and all caught the nova virus,i would hate to see the living conditions of the people who thought this was in any way up to resonable standard.mr falls.glasgow.

Report this comment

Opinion: Agree Comment by ellis, fareham (15 Feb 10 17:42) about this REVIEW

Imagine spending Xmas and New Year on that rust bucket - if you have any doubt about how dreadful the conditions were go to http://cruisefromhell.webs.com/ THE ISLAND ESCAPE ACTION GROUP where pictures never lie....

Report this comment

Opinion: Disagree Comment by Waters, Aberystwyth (15 Feb 10 12:13) about this REVIEW

We travelled on this ship fairly recently and had a really good time.Yes the ship is tatty and tired but the staff and childrens reps were fantastic.The food was excellent most of the time,Much hotter than p&o ships.Good variety and choice even for vegetarians like 2 of us.The shows were o.k not as good as P & O but the staff did their best.

Report this comment

Opinion: Disagree Comment by Waters, Aberystwyth (15 Feb 10 12:13) about this REVIEW

Report this comment

Opinion: Disagree Comment by Thompson, Redditch (14 Feb 10 21:56) about this REVIEW

We travelled on this ship recently, and whilst I agree it is tired and in need of an update, we had a fantastic holiday... the food was great and always hot (you must walk slow), also we found the variety to be excellent....... sometimes you can look for problems or just get on with it. 99% of the people we met onboard were having a great time.

Report this comment

Opinion: Disagree Comment by Thompson, Redditch (14 Feb 10 21:55) about this REVIEW

Report this comment

Comment by ferguson, gillingham (14 Feb 10 12:53) about this REVIEW

I must say in Thomsons defence that they did not buy the Escape, it was given to/forced on them by their parent company TUI who own the ship and are probably reluctant to sell it as they can make more profit than from a chartered vessel. I wonder how long it will be before the bean counters realise the bad publicity is hurting the company?

Report this comment

Comment by plows, wallsend (14 Feb 10 19:05) about a COMMENT by ferguson (14 Feb 10 12:53)

i think everyone who has had a bad experience on this ship and there are many, should write to TUI at their head german office and see if they can get a response from them rather than going via thomsons. its a disgrace that people pay for such disgusting conditions

Report this comment

Comment by welch, wimborne (15 Feb 10 12:51) about a COMMENT by plows (14 Feb 10 19:05)

As someone who recently cruised on IS & it was my 2nd time on board, Ive gone back thro the reviews & the positive comments out number the negative ones by nearly 3 to 1. The majority of negatives seem to come from those people who cruised on the xmas carousel, which I understand had very bad weather conditionsl. My personal view is, yes it could do with a face lift, but it is a budget cruise ship & appears to meet the needs of those of us looking for such a cruise.

Report this comment

Comment by Brown, Sidcup (15 Feb 10 15:19) about a COMMENT by welch (15 Feb 10 12:51)

What you all seem to be missing about the terrible cruise we had at Xmas was the fact that IT WAS NOT a budget holiday. It was not priced as such and was not sold as such. I would have not given up my hard earned money and precious annual leave to go on a BUDGET! holiday at such a special time of the year. It was not just the weather (which did not help), but all the other things combined, including Norovirus which made this a holiday never to forget for all the wrong reasons.

Report this comment

1 2 Next»