Island Cruises, Island Escape Review

Overall Rating

I lost 3lbs in weight during the week without even trying as I did find the food the worse we had even had on a Cruise.
The plumbing wasn't working in our toilet one day so we had to report this and it was sorted out very quickly.
The cabin steward, was very friendly and our cabin had fresh towels at all times.
The only good thing I can say about this cruise is that we met some nice people, and it was the first time that I was not seasick because the sea was so calm.

Island Escape cruise that we were on from the 5th May 2009 to the 12th May 2009.
I know it has taken me so long to write this review but I needed to calm down from this nightmare. We have done a Thomson cruise every year since 2004, but this will be the last one which is a real shame as we had been enjoying them.
We were placed on deck 5. Our neighbours were extremely noisy. We must have complained six times to the Guest Relations and all they did was send the security man 3 times to our knowledge to tell them to be quiet. If we went for a lay down in the afternoon they would start, and if it was at night they would come in about 3.30am and start singing to the music or radio channel. Their television would also be on very loud and we would be able to hear it through the wall. One night we had to get up and go to the Beachcomber Restaurant at 3am because the noise was so bad. We feel that the Guest Relations did not do enough to help, which was especially disappointing on the last day I needed sleep because I was going to have a 90 mile drive home.
We always ate at the Beachcomber Restaurant, but most days the hot food would be served up on cold plates and cold food was dished up on hot plates. We also found that food was always recycled the next day; for example chicken one day and on the next day it would be chicken soup, then on another day it could be pork then the following day it would be a pork curry, sometimes I would go for a hot pudding with custard but the pudding was always cold but the custard would make up for it except one day when even the custard was stone cold. Another day I went for soup but the bread was so hard - I don ' t know how long it must have been there to get as bad as that, as most times we were one of the first there. The butter and margarine was always kept in ice so that you could never spread it. Surely it would have been better if the ice was in one dish and you had another dish sat on it with the butter in it. I found that the afternoon meals were better for me because the bread cobs were already made up so I did not have to try and spread the butter myself.
The first night I wanted to take a can of cola to the cabin for the next morning to take my tablets but I was charged £1.50. The next day I asked why was I charged for the can of Cola but I was told that this was right as the cans were not on the all inclusive. I find that strange as I could have a glass of cola on the all inclusive to take to the cabin for the next morning. But obviously that meant that the glass of cola would have been flat by morning. We have been on your cruises since 2004 and cans have always been on the all inclusive. I was also told that I was able to get a glass of cola at the Mirage Bar but that did not open till 10am, and I needed to take the tablets before then. You could only get a coffee on the all inclusive from the beachcomber on other Thomson cruise you can get a coffee from any of the bars. Any of the other places you go to get a coffee would charge you.
The ship had several problems. First the air conditioner was on all times, even when it did not need to be as we did not even have that much sunshine. I had to wear a cardigan most of the time because it was so cold, and I suffer with hot sweats so this must have been really bad for me to be cold most of the time.
The ship is in need of urgent decoration. Our cabin was in much need of a face lift, the shower glass did not meet at the bottom of the shower, so every time you showered the water was always on the bathroom floor. This also meant that the towels were getting quite wet. When you lay in bed at night and looked at the ceiling it did not look very nice, it was discoloured and looked as if it might fall down on you. We also noticed that the crew were having to dry the carpets out with driers, they must have had a leak and this was not from the rain as we did not have a great amount during that week.
Talking to other passengers they were also having trouble with their
toilets we also noticed some of the public toilets were also blocked and overflowing.
We were also disappointed that we only received a chocolate on our pillow one night, when on other Thomson ' s cruises this would happen every night, and the towels would be made up as a cruise ship towel animal, this does make you feel that bit more special the finishing touches do count.
Ports of call were very poor, even though we knew where the ports off call were. But as always the trips booked from the ship were very expensive and several were very long and so were not suitable for people who have trouble with walking. Also, when we were at Cannes in France we could not dock at the harbour, so we had to have a tender boat which is not suitable for less mobile guests. This meant that we had to stay on the ship all day. This was a shame as Cannes was one of the places where we had not been to before and so we were looking forward to that stop.
The ship was also lacking in entertainment. When we were on the pool deck nothing was going on except for the music. Several times while we were sat at the pool deck we noticed that some of the music playing was Christmas songs, we were on the Cruise in the month of May not December. The size of the pool was a laugh as it was no bigger then my bedroom at home and in that week we only saw three people in it and that was just the one time. We also had a job to find a waiter at the pool side. I know it is relaxed and laid back but this is silly.
We could have just stopped at home then it would have saved us in the region £1300 to £1400 and we would have ate and slept better at home.
I had come on holiday for a break as I was being treated for depression, and I was also recently told that I am anaemic. The doctor told me to go and enjoy myself but this cruise did not help me in the least.
I need another holiday now to get over this one after stopping at this hellhole, our neighbours ruined our holiday. What a pity that Guest Relations did not sort things out better.