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Cruise Reviews

Island Cruises

Island Escape

Sad To See Such A Drop In Standards

Sad to see such a drop in standards

Reviewed By: Ballanyne, Wishaw on 7th Mar 2010
Cruise Line: Island Cruises	Times cruised before: 6-10
Cruise Ship: Island Escape	Sailed: February, 2010
Destination: Canaries	Age: 56-65
Cabin: Outside

We just returned from a week on the Island Escape and although we had an enjoyable cruise I was really disappointed to see such a drop in standards. Having cruised with Island Escape on previous occasions I think the three main factors that made this ship so popular in the past was the high standard of food, the entertainment and the excellent staff. The commitment and enthusiasm of the staff which was always in evidence with all staff in the past is now only shown by some members. The content of the shows had changed very little since our last cruise and were in most cases just a repeat of what was offered in the past and the standard has taken such a down turn as to be a mere shadow of what was offered only last year. Lastly the quality and selection of food although pleasing was not of the level that was available on previous cruises, I have never heard so many people saying “well you can always find something to eat” I do not travel on a cruise ship to entere the resturant at meal times to “find something to eat”. The ship is kept to a very high standard of cleanliness but really has a very tired look to it. I’m sure that anyone travelling with Island Escape will have a pleasant cruise but it will be sometime before we venture on this ship again.
Quality of Food
Very repetitive with a run of the mill choice.
Entertainment
Shows were enjoyable but we missed out on a few because of the average standard of performances
Shore Excursions	n/a
Did not take part in any of the overpriced ship’s excursions but made our own arrangements.
Staff
Cabin staff were excellent as usual, but I did notice that a number of bar staff and restaurant waiters seemed a bit unhappy with their lot and seldom smiled, some also appeared not to be as enthusiastic as they perhaps should have been, not being served with a drink without a lengthily wait and having to ask for coffee at the end of our meal are perhaps a bit petty but does illustrate how much these small things help to make a cruise. This is the first time in the ten years we have been cruising that I did not tip either restaurant or bar staff.
Children's Facilities	n/a

Onboard Activities
I was astonished to find that in a seven day cruise they repeated the same activities down to using the same dialog.
Cabins
Cabins were kept to the highest level of cleanliness that the age of the fittings allowed, very dated look to the cabins.
Overall Rating

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Opinion: Agree Comment by cooper, willenhall (08 Mar 10 22:47) about this REVIEW

My wife and I cruised on the IE when Stuart Homes and John Mcniel were the ships Captains and what a ship it was, superb from start of Cruise to the end ,we did 6 cruises in 2 years with them,then it all went to pot when Captain Stuart left to do more office work and captain John took charge of the Island Star , we did one more Cruise on the IE and noticed within 6 months the Major drop in standards,I stated on this site 4 weeks ago that it is now a (Chav ship for Chav people) and after reading the reviews I stick by what I say , i am sorry to offend anybody but people should read reviews on Cruise Ships before they Book .

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Comment by mcguire, dunfermline fife (09 Mar 10 21:57) about a COMMENT by cooper (08 Mar 10 22:47)

hiya i totally agree they were first class at there job my husband got his photo taken with john mcneil when he had his kilt on when he was on the island star when first came to sea in 2006 .even when captian stuart horn done the blues night it was great as you say ship went down hill since they 2 left we first done i.e.in 2003 then every year till 2006 on star then back on i.e. our worst was 2007 standears drop then on i.e. will not be the same,its a shame i remember the year we done the charm that was good inteaniery that year think it was 2005 we dont that it was good year

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Comment by North, Huddersfield (07 Mar 10 11:14) about this REVIEW

Agree that some cruises are leaning towards " find something to eat " and the entertainment on Thomson whilst excellent does need some upgrade - I have written to them in Luton in this respect

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Comment by Ballanyne, Wishaw (08 Mar 10 09:03) about a COMMENT by North (07 Mar 10 11:14)

Thanks for your comment Mr North, another factor in the decline in the quality of food is that in 2008 Ocean Village I & II reduced the daily food allowance for each customer to under £5 a day. However this drop in food standards is not only apparent on cruise ships but in hotels in Spain, suppose it is a sign of the times when companies want bigger profits. We have a cruise booked on the Thomson Celebration in June of this year will be interesting to see what is happen on the Thomson ships.

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