Island Escape Reviews

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Wll, Where do I begin. Having had a week's stay in a Hotel, our first contact about the Island Escape was from people disembarking and "Staying" their second week. This was to inform us that we should "Not eat the Curry as everybody got food poisoning". Good start---NOT. On the night before joining the ship, the Company left a letter stating that boarding the next day would not be available until after 4pm as the whole ship was to have "a full sterilisation" as there had been an outbreak of "Gastroenteritis" to a few passengers (we later found out 250 people infected). Another not so good start. However, we reached Port and were very quickly processed and allowed to board. This was almost the pinnacle of the Cruise. Normally on other Cruises we have been escorted to our cabin and our luggage delivered within an hour. Not this time! We were left to find our own way to the cabin via a very small lift (the larger one was "Out of order" and stayed this way till we disembarked). This problem of lifts meant long waits, jammed packed lifts and dotty people trying to go the wrong way on the lift. We reached our Cabin on Deck 9 at rear of Ship with Balcony. This was indeed the highlight as the cabin was indeed quite deluxe. Plenty of room, double bed, enough wardrope space for hanging clothes, a recess with two seater couch and coffee table with complimentary basket of fruit and adequate Balcony with table and two chairs. This pleasure was as long as the ship remained docked (more of this later).We met our Cabin staff at this point, who explained as they had only been allowed back on ship, he had not been able to completely arrange the cabin. He suggested we go for a drink till he finished and our luggage arrived. it was at this point we started to encounter what service we would receive for the rest of the cruise. We made our way to the "Sailaway Bar" and being All-Inclusive tried to order our drinks. Firstly, the Bar Staff pointedly ignored us and when we did succeed in ordering drinks, was met a sullen and rude reply from the Staff demanding "One Card for each drink" (On other ships only one was needed to order). On taking the order the Barman!!! quite sharply stated that the drink we had ordered was "Not Inclusive" This was a Lager and a whiskey(not premium). So our "All-Inclusive" Package was hardly worth the additional costs as any known brand of spirits was at extra cost. Therefore, unless you can get the early Free Upgrade, the All Inclusive is worthless. And so we returned to our Cabin about an hor or so later. Still no Luggage had been delivered. We asked our Cabin Staff about it, only to be told that they were busy. After three hours and more enquiries one Case arrived and then again after more "demands" did our second case arrive four and a half hours after boarding. We heard later that other passengers who arrived after 6pm received theirs within an hour. Not a relaxing start before sailing. So still in travelling clothes we turned thoughts to dinner. Not wanting to go to the more formal restaurant, we visited the "Beachcomber", an informal eating place. What a shambles. There seemed to be no organisation and people were wandering around all over the place carrying plates of food. The Buffet area had a long queue waiting for plates and cutlery. At the Buffet hatched Staff were arranged to serve from individual food trays. I believe this was a hygiene procedure and knowing some other passengers' habits. I could not be critical of this practice.It did cause problems however in that the order the food was presented seemed to be back to front, meaning people were going to the end of the Buffet line and doubling back. Chaos!!!!. One other problem we discovered at this point was on being served you only received what the Serving Staff wanted to give. If you preferred more of one food than another and requested some more, it seemed you were "Oliver" and was greeted with frowns and looks of incredulity. Once you had received your "Meal" you then had to find a table and this became a "Zoo" as people jostled and snarled if you came near their table. Thus by the time you reached a table the food, tepid at best on serving, was COLD. We only visited the "Cafe" when necessary. We joined in with the party mood before departure and again seemed to turn invisible to Bar Staff. On other Thomson Cruises we were "befriended" by a Waiter/tress, who within one meeting knew our names and favourite tipple. Not this time!!! The Waters and Waitresses, what few there were, were more interested in "Selling Cigarettes" and talking to others. The entertainment at this point was the normal "Sailing Party Band" and suited at this time. Having had a long day we went to bed around midnight expecting to have a good night sleep in preparation for the week's Cruise. Again how wrong we were. As our Cabin was at the rear of the ship it was directly over the propellors. The Ship having been a Car Ferry, it had no curved stern only straight drop. This meant that the full vibration when sailing went up through the rear cabins and shook the whole place. Bleary eyed we rose in the morning and following our experience, decided to breakfast in the main restaurant. Here you were shown to a table, along with 6 other people whether you liked it or not. Coffee/Tea was served by a Waiter but the Self Service Buffet was set out in the same strange order as the "Cafe" and you received the same questioning on asking for more of something. However, the food here was hot and enjoyable. Dinner in this restaurant had the same procedures. Breakfast over, the fist day being one "at Sea" we made our way to the Pool area only to find the the "Selfish British" were here too. Towels were draped over sun-beds with no one near and would not be used, others seemed to be for storing bags, clothes and other items. Making the best of it we played them at their own game and made space for ourselves and basked in the sunshine. The Entertainment was what we expected on this cruise both day and night, though the band "Rock The Boat" (was that the groups real name) was more suited to "Club" music and their music/songs suited only a minority of passengers. Perhaps we didn't enhance ourselves to others as we a "Quiz Buffs" and won most of the quizzes and the "Millionaire" Game. The visiting British "Comedian" was nothing more than poor and thinking his late night show might be better, were completely disappointed in that it was worse. For the other days of the cruise we visited Ajaccio in Corsica, La Spezia in Italy, Villefranche and Toulon in France and Barcelona in Spain before returning to Palma. We did not take any of the Tours (too expensive and already been to places visited) but did our own thing by going ashore and touring the towns on our own. This was much more profitable in that we visited places we wanted to see and in our own time and speed. Back to the boat. On retiring for the second night we thought that either we had become accustomed to the vibration or the boat was sailing better. Oh Dear, wrong again. Around 6am we were awoken by an awful noise and shaking of the cabin as if an earthquake had happened. the whole cabin was shaking and things threatened to fall from their places, what was happening, had there been some accident. NO, THE SHIP WAS JUST DOCKING. The noise and vibration continued for about an hour and a half before the ship was tied up and the for another half hour till the engines powered down. Then sublime peace and quiet, but by this time sleep had passed. This happened every morning thereafter, so early morning rises watching the sun come up from the balcony was the order for the week. Luckily it did. By making our own way during the day, we were on board more than we have done in the past. As previously mentioned, staff on other cruises knew you addressed you as politely with your first name and had your drink almost waiting for you. Not on this Cruise. Not once was I recognised though your name is on the Ship's Card and perhaps because I Didn't "Tip", I seemed to become invisible and trying to order a drink became almost impossible. At times it took 15 to 20 minutes to get attention. Even then the order was seldom correct, having to be sent back many times. The Bar staff and Waiting staff looked as if they couldn't care. All in All the cruise was not a good experience and not one we have come across in other Thomson Ships and have certainly have made our feelings known to Thomson. However, If you don't mind the rudeness of Staff, the hastle of being served, the blandness and tepid food, the selfishness of other cruisers, the noise throughout the boat whilst at sea combined with sleeplessness, the people who believe that the "Booze" is the cruise and are most unhygienic probably causing the illness of others. then don't hesitate to book an " Island Escape" Cruise. I CERTAINLY WILL NOT.

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We embarked on this cruise with a bit of trepidation after reading some of the reviews for this ship. On first seeing this ship we thought that it could do with a bit of a face lift, which has been mentioned before. We went to our cabin which was on deck 4, and although small it had everything that was needed, a shower, with hot water, a flushing toilet and sink. We asked our cabin steward if the 2 single beds could be pushed together, this was done and made a big double bed. In the cabin we had 2 wardrobes, 4 drawers, a chair and a lovely big mirror. There is a safe in the room which costs ??15.00 for a week, which is what you would pay in a hotel. We went to the "Beachcomber" for a quick lunchtime snack, yes it was busy but there were plenty of places to sit. The waiters were always around asking of you need a drink from the bar. For our evening meal we ate at the "Island Restaurant", which was lovely. The waiters couldn't do enough to help you, even carrying your food to the table if you let them. There was plenty of choice there and it was always hot. The drinks throughout the ship are very reasonably priced, about what you would pay at home. There was a problem with sickness on board and if you contracted this you were confined to your quarters. There ware plenty of sanitisers around the ship to be used. It would help if people took notice of these. You are encouraged to wash your hands all the time but some people have a problem doing this, I even saw 2 women take their drinks in to the toilets with them! The entertainment was excellent, Ross and the team work really hard to put on wonderful shows. The British guest acts that were on board as well were first class. This was our first cruise and I don't think that it will be our last. If you are looking for a glamorous cruise maybe this isn't for you, but is you want a cruise that is value for money then try it, you might be as pleasantly surprised as us!

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We booked the IE for our honeymoon leaving Manchester on the 17th April. Left Manchester on time at 6.00am no problems with flight, took ages for the bags to come off the carousel, we then left arrivals and joined another queue to get on the coaches to the port which took about 20mins once you were on the coach. The embarkation process was quick, off the bus collect your cabin envelope then queue for registration, skipped past the man with the camera who was taking photographs of passengers. They also take a photo at the desk which is used to identify you as you get on and off the ship, then went to identify luggage in the hall before boarding the ship. Once identified your bags are taken on board and they appear sometime later outside your cabin. Note there is no priority boarding for passengers who pay for higher cost cabins on the IE presume this is only on the Thomson ships despite the fact that this is advertised on their website. In the end it wasn't a problem because we were one of the last buses away from the airport so lots of those ahead of us had already passed through the embarkation process. Cabin (Suite 8528). Cabin was BIG.... Two toilets one with a shower (which proved very useful later in the cruise.... more on that later!) King size bed although we think it was bigger, the lounge area was separated from the bedroom by a large wardrobe/cabinet across the middle of the cabin, there was a fridge and a hairdryer provided along with shampoo, conditioner body lotion and a container in the shower with soap in it. Pool towels were also provided. The settee made up into a bed .... on inspection (just out of curiosity!) it looked a bit grotty don't think we would have liked to sleep on it! Dining Three restaurants, beachcomber which we used a lot of the time especially after the Rome and Florence /Pisa excursions which were all day so was convenient to drop in have tea and then go down to the show in the Ocean Theatre. Food seemed the same in both Beachcomber and Island Restaurant only difference was that you were taken to a table with 8 other diners and then you helped yourself to food, waiters served drinks, tea, coffee and water etc. We only had tea there one night and breakfast once mainly because you had no choice who you sat with there were very few tables for two and sometimes you don't always want to make 'polite' conversation with fellow diners especially when you're on your honeymoon! Food was ok, not terribly inspiring, they had themed nights, Chinese, Indian, Italian but to be honest it always tasted the same, the Indian curry was supposed to be vindaloo but was very mild tasted little of curry and wasn't really very nice the meat was grisly and very dry. Only food that was always really hot was the soup. Excursions We did Corsica wine tasting/essential oils and nougat factories. They were ok the nougat was very nice but very expensive 15 euros for 2 bars! Next up was Rome, we had booked on the Classic tour but were informed that there was a protest planned for the day and that we may not get into the places on the tour which at ??82 each was expensive. We cancelled this and did Rome on your own instead. Coach into Rome dropped us off near the basilica saw everything we wanted back to the coach pick up point. We were given a map on board the bus by the guide but you really do need to be confident with map reading we got into a maze of smaller streets and it took us a while to figure out where we were, its also approx 4/5 miles to walk to see the coliseum, pantheon, trevi fountain, Spanish steps etc but they are all highlighted on the map and normally there is an underground and various buses but these weren't running because of the strike. Next up Florence/Pisa, guided tour round Florence, the guide was brilliant was local from Florence so had loads of knowledge about the area history etc. Had two hours free time which we thought some would have been better spent going earlier to Pisa as we only had about 1 ? 1/2 hours there. Pisa was beautiful... sun was shining and all that white marble... stunning. Loads of market stalls in front of the pickup point and all along the right hand side where all the monuments were. Loads of people taking photos, you paid separate to go inside but we didn't bother because there wasn't much time, the leaning tower is open for people to go up to the top but you have to book a slot as they only allow so many up at a time and this wasn't feasible because we were on the cruise and time was too limited. Toulon next we had booked for Cassis but cancelled... we were shattered from the previous two days so had a wander round the port , there is a market selling clothes etc and fruit and vegetable etc. Toulon wasn't very inspiring and we spent the rest of the day chilling on board. Barcelona -- the Nu Camp tour was cancelled at the last minute because they were preparing for the cup match on Tuesday. We still went independently map in hand took a taxi there which cost 12 euros and then wandered back by foot using the map. The tours at the stadium were still going ahead you couldn't visit the visitors changing room or the press room but other than that it seemed like everything else was open. Entertainment We went every night to the Ocean Theatre to the first show. Great entertainment they've got some wonderful singers and dancers especially the guy and gal who do the opera sets... brilliant. We didn't really bother with anything else we did see the two singers in the bar just outside the theatre, one young chap singing and playing guitar and an older guy playing keyboard doing more jazz type music which we also enjoyed. They also did a cruise factor set in the Bounty Lounge which was the same as the X factor show with fellow passengers doing the singing and four judges playing the part of the Loui and the rest of the judges. A winner was duly chosen by the rest of the passengers. We tended to be back in our cabin by 11pm because we were doing tours some of which were very early starts if you wanted to catch breakfast before you left the ship. Rome./Florence and Pisa you had to be shore side before 8am to get on the coaches and no announcements were made. You could book an early morning call through guest relations. Disembarkation You have to be out of your cabin by 8am which kind of spoils the last evening on board if you want to see any of the later shows. If you want to keep a cabin you have to pay ??35 and you may or may not be able to keep the cabin you've used for the cruise. That's it for the good stuff now the not so good....... On the final evening of the cruise I became very ill with vomiting, severe stomach cramps and diarrhea. Another passenger was sick in the Ocean Theatre that evening and the show was delayed because they had to clean up where they had been sick. By 9.15pm we were back in our cabin and by 10.30 I started being violently sick, followed by diarrhea and severe stomach cramps. After waiting for over an hour I was eventually seen by the ships nurse in the cabin and was given injections and medication to stop the stomach cramps and sickness and diarrhea. We were then confined to our cabin. At 11.45 the following morning I was transferred by taxi along with another passenger who was suffering from the same symptoms to the hospital in Palma where I had to see the doctor to get a certificate of fitness to fly home at a cost of 123 euros which was the excess on our insurance policy. There were more passengers at the hospital when we got there and several more arrived from the ship while we were waiting in the outpatients department. We did make our flight in the end but we were the fortunate ones others who were at the hospital at the same time as us weren't so fortunate one couple had a morning flight which they missed. A passenger on the flight was also sick at the front of the aircraft, they had put paper towels on the floor so that you didn't have to walk through it when getting off the aircraft. . When we got home we went on the internet to find out more information about the illness and found Irwin Mitchell who have a lot of experience in this area. If anyone else who was affected by this illness whilst on board the Island Escape is reading this post you can contact Clare Pearson from Irwin Mitchell on by calling 0870 1500 100 or by emailing Clare on :clare.pearson@irwinmitchell.com to get any advice or help you may need.

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First impressions were that the vessel was a bit tired and definitely not luxurious, but that wasn't a problem, we knew it was at the budget end of the market. We sailed late on the evening of embarkation and it was then when we realised we had made a horrible mistake. The sea was not rough - maybe a maximum 1.5m swell with the occasional top coming off, on any other ship you would never have noticed it. The motion on this thing was ridiculous, the forward end of the ship being subjected to a deafening crash every time it hit a swell, reverberating round the cabin making sleep impossible. Customer relations just shrugged and said there were no spare cabins - which was a lie, as a visit to the bridge revealed that the ship was only 75% capacity. Several of us spent nights trying to sleep in one of the deserted lounges, or sat on the seats on deck 5 outside the Oasis resturant, just to escape the nerve jangling crashing and banging. However, the staff were great, waiters excellent, food was fine and the Oasis restaurant in particular first class. Entertainment wasn't as good as other Thomson ships, but for all that it was OK. Only complaint, and its a big one, was the total unsuitability of the forward cabins in the slight seas we encountered. It would have been nice to find a quiet lounge where you could have a conversation, but thats a rather subjective and minor niggle. There was a lot of sickness, but it was possibly down to motion sickness rather than the dreaded novovirus. Be warned, if you are thinking of using this old converted ferry - it will be fine if the seas are totally flat. Just be sure that you get a cabin no higher than deck 6 and towards the rear of the ship. The sound of the engines rattling away is far better than the banging at the front.

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We've just returned from a highly enjoyable week on the Island Escape. To put this review in context we are a family of 3, me, my husband (both in our forties) and my 4 year old boy. We've cruised 4 times previously on Ocean Village twice and Royal Caribbean twice (most recently the Oasis of the Seas). This trip was a very last minute bargain holiday (paid just over ??200 each with flights from Ryan Air for ??30 return!) and the purpose was really to see my Mum & step Dad so my little boy could see his Nana & Granddad (who live in Palma). My Mum has travelled on the Island Escape around 20 times, often picking up a last minute bargain so she tipped us off about this one. She was a little concerned about what I was expecting and kept stressing it wasn't RCI! Thankfully I'd read all the reviews so was going with an open mind (and the thought that for ??200 what could I expect!) Anyway we arrive in Palma, the embarkation was really smooth and we were on top deck with a drink in hand by 11.30am! First impressions and I was very pleasantly surprised, the ship had clearly had a makeover while in dry dock, their were new (and quite stylish) carpets throughout, yes it was an old ship but it did look like everything had had an overhaul, lovely new varnish on all wood and fresh paint everywhere. After a drink we headed to the cabin, we'd booked an inside / lowest grade to keep the trip cheap and again I was pleasantly surprised. I'd read about tired cabins but ours seemed very cozy, the lighting is very clever / subtle and hides the dated decor well. Personally I was happy with the curtains over the wardrobes, again these seemed new, the bedding was clean, the towel new and the bathroom bigger than I expected. Loads & loads of storage was a bonus too! I was delighted to see a reasonably priced in room mini bar (??3 for a quarter bottle of wine / ??2 for a bottle of water) the RCI ones only have soft drinks and I love a nightcap when back in the room. We didn't try and take any drinks onboard but I know a few people who did in their cases with no problems... We didn't go all inclusive as it was going to cost another ??400 to do so and we weren't sure if we'd drink that much (I think we saved about ??10 by not going all inclusive in the end but at least we could choose to have a bottle of wine with dinner rather than drink by the glass which is nice). I thought the food was very good, we ate well for the whole week, mainly in the Island Restaurant, we did have two dinners in the paid for Oasis restaurant which was gorgeous and well worth the money, we did the ??34.95 wine & dine package which includes a bottle of wine (usually ??14 on its own) so you are dining for ??10 a head. The food in here was incredible, lots of choice and I highly recommend the Fillet Mignon steak and the bread and butter pudding - delicious. The staff and service was superb. The other two restaurants (The Island & the top deck) serve almost the same food as each other, both buffet style, lots of choice, I often had to go back for seconds as there was so much I wanted to try! They do a kids menu as well, so if your little one doesn't want to eat of the buffet they'll bring a hot dog or burger etc, which was great, again the service is superb, staff bringing you water, topping up your wine etc. In the Island restaurant the tables are mostly for 8 so you do get to sit with some fellow diners although I really don't mind that as it is nice to meet new people, if you prefer to sit alone (as my parents do) then you may be better with the upstairs restaurant, there is a lovely outdoor seating area at the back of the upstairs restaurant if the weather is good. The full English breakfast was lovely and there is an omelet chef too. The only complaint was the desert selection wasn't that great but if I'm honest that is probably a good thing as I didn't put on too much weight! The afternoon tea is lovely and the sausage rolls fantastic. There are a couple of theme nights (Chinese, Italian, Indian) which were good although not the largest selection of dishes. The kids club is Palmy's and my little boy loved it, infact the problem was getting him out of there. The staff Sophie, Nadia and Kylie were absolutely fantastic and Finn adored them! It was very basic in comparison to the RCI kids club however it didn't seem to matter to Finn! They did a great thing called breakfast club where the staff come to your cabin at 8.30am to collect your kids and take them to breakfast while Mum & dad have a lie in - absolute heaven! I thought the entertainment was good, we loved Rock the Boat in the Bounty Lounge, who did a fab live music set each night, we enjoyed the entertainment team shows, quizzes etc. There seemed to be something on almost all the day and Ross Cruise Director was funny and entertaining. The ports of call were great, our only disappointment was Civitavecchia where we had planned to go to Rome but there was a strike by transport workers, which meant the trains weren't running, and many of roads in Rome may be closed for protests so we decided not to risk it. Luckily we are back in July on the Carnival Breeze so we can do this then. We loved Corsica (although it rained) and Toulon was lovely, took the little train to the beach and drank wine on the waterfront and played in the park / beach. Barcelona we just strolled the Ramblas then shopped and lunched. The daily planner and maps from reception were helpful, we didn't do any 'official' trips but they did look very reasonably priced in comparison to RCI anyway. The drinks prices were brilliant (again in comparison to RCI) and it was a lovely change not to be charged a 15% service charge on everything! There are a number of bars including the Sundowner bar, a sail away bar, The pub, the pool bar, I think we tried them all! Bar service was great with very attentive staff who quickly learnt your favourite tipple. Despite the lack of tipping / service charge the staff were great, very helpful and as a result of that we tipped anyway which was well appreciated. I was impressed by the customer service standards, I experienced a problem where I had booked a 2 hour wifi package, a bargain at ??18, I was using this on my iphone and there wasn't an option to log off so I actually used this package within the first 2 hours without realizing, I then unwittingly continued to use wifi (thinking I was still on my package) when I wasn't so when we got the first copy of our bill half way through the holiday I had run up over ??60 of internet charges. I went to reception who were very helpful and raised it with the IT manager who they said would contact me, a few days later I popped back and they offered to waive all fees if I bought another package at ??18 which I did. This was very good of them as really it was my fault for not logging out properly and they really didn't need to I suppose. I was pleased but be aware if you use wifi. In all I was delighted with our bargain break, no it wasn't RCI but do you know I think we had just as good a time as our previous holiday and at a 10th of the price!!! My advice if you are thinking about it and worrying about some of the less than positive reviews, don't, if you see a good price just book it, go with an open mind and you'll enjoy.

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