Hi
I went on the island escape last October
Our Cabin was Extremley niceand very very tidy
Our stewardess was Carmen:)
Has anyone else had the same Stewardess?
The entertainment was awsome and there was even a show performed by tiny children
The captain was very nice (JOhn)
He updated you on weather location and entertainment hourly
Kids entertainmentwas brilliant they went on till early hours of the morning
Theswimming pool was very clean and tidy
ONe entertainer Robin wasvery kind and chatty hewas also cracking jokes all night long
Overall the Whole trip was something that will stay in my mind for a long time it was an unbelievably goood Trip
Hope u have all enjoyed urs as much as i have
BTW
If you had carmen as ur stewardess please Tell

enjoyed the ship wasnt alot for my 12 year old daughter to do she was boared, my 8 year old went to the kids club and they were great with her.
the cabin was good well cleaned twice a day we had a girl called andrea and she made a monkey out of the towels,we even got pool towels and as soon as they were wet they changed them briliant.
the only complaint i had was you had to buy kids drinks at £1. 40 A CAN OF COKE other wise it was milk ,water,or tea or coffee.
went on trips which were quite expensive.
couldnt get a sun bed as always too many towels on them so be early if you want one,pool is salt water.
food is briliant.
overhall we had good weather, stuart horne the captain and allthe staff couldnt do enough for you and kept you well informed too.

I went on the Island Escape for my 18th and at first didnt like the idea, but after the first night it was fantastic, loads to do and pleanty of entertainment. I took the Bridge tour 3 times, and Captain Stuart Horne and deputy Piotr Dudziak made my visit great everytime and always had a friendly smile and kind word to say. All the staff were fantastic and friendly couldnt fault them what so ever. They always had a friendly face and always happy to help!!
The entertainment was great shows were of a top quality and couldnt fault the crew's efforts. The sailway show in the bounty Lounge was great you got to meet all your crew and learned alot more about the Island Escape.
I will definatly sail on the ship again, i have even considered a career on the Island Escape.

We went on this cruise in September 03 for a week and then again in Seotember 04 for 2 weeks. This was the best 2 weeks of my life. The relaxed atmosphere on board is wonderful you can do as much or as little as you like. The staff are helpful, friendly and polite they want to have a laugh as much as you do and ccan not do enough for you. The food is fantastic great variety at all times. I am a really fussy eater and found somehing to suit whenever i was hungry. The entertainment is 1st class, and everyone gets involved. We went in the Bounty lounge most nights to watch the game show and the band (the Pink Panthers - someone posted earlier that they are eastern european they are Slovakian - just for info) and they are also very good. The game shows did seem to involve us most nights but hey we went for a laugh and we had one.
The tours are well organised although they do start to add up. I'd probably reccommend the half day ones. Never went in the pool but spent quite a bit of time round it never had a problem finding a sunbed although it is probably best to get there early.
I can't recommend this cruise highly enough and if you have any doubts here is a thought for you - we have already booked both our holidays for 2005. A week on the Island Escape in May and 2 weeks in September and i can't wait!

We have just returned from a fantastic time on this ship, I could not fault any aspect of this cruise, all the staff were excellent including the captain whom you saw around all the time chating to passengers. The food so many choices, entertainment cabret every night very profesional, cleanliness of cabins decks and restaurants was second to none.This is the second cruise my wife and I have been on previously on carousel which does not hold a candle to this ship or crew. On the ship during our week was brave little Kirsty the little girl born with her heart back to front,who in 1999 was given just 6 weeks to live.Island Cruises are sponsoring her for a year to collect money for her appeal,the staff and crew were wonderful with her and spoilt her only as she deserved.I could go on for ages praising this ship, it is certainly our intention to go on it again hopefully in 2006 again on the Med on the Mediterranean Charm cruise.

The Island Escape is a great ship. It is a little different to the usual 'cruise liner', in the fact that it is a giant converted ferry. This is the only difference you will find. From the moment you step aboard, you will find friendship, fun and informality everywhere.

There are 13 decks on this ship (9 being mainly accomodation). Our cabin was situated on bronze deck (2nd on from the bottom). It was compact but there was enough room for everything we took with us. Our cabin stewardess was pleasant and chatty and was always busy. The usual 'animal shapes from towels' ensued and the duster and vacumm were in constant use. I popped to the loo in the middle of the night and she had been in and had remade my bed when I came out!

Food is 24/7 (oh, I do hate that phrase). Plenty of it and good quality. Meat eaters and fruit nuts will be in their element. Vegetarians will be pleasantly surprised, Sweet toothers will need to diet BEFORE they embark!!!

3 restaurants to choose from:
1, Beachcomber. Situated on deck 10 (sundeck). Ideal for snacking and late night beanos. Everything from salad to steak, pizza to pasta, melon to meringue. This is open 24 hours a day. You can eat inside or out on deck, although it is a little difficult to get a table outside when everyone has returned from their days activities.

2, Island restaurant. Situated on deck 6 (golden).
This is the main restaurant. Plenty of choice in every department. Breakfast is super. Buffet service with all the favourites, plus a few extras that you don't usually find elsewhere.(The blackpudding is terrific). There are opening times but no sitting routines. You sit where you like and eat what time you like. The team of headwaiters and waiters are superb.Their organisation is second to none, and their friendliness is genuine and sincere.

3, The Oasis restaurant. Situated on deck 5 (flamingo) The 'alacarte' place. Many of the dishes in here are to be found in the Island restaurant, but carry surcharges. This is dining in the way of the old liners, with waiters and fine bone china. We did not try the Oasis as we were reluctant to part with extra money for what was really the same food as in the Island restaurant.

TOURS. Pricey, but plenty of choice. We did many of them DIY and thus saved good money by doing so. For instance; "Rome on your own", with the coach was £35 each, compared to the train (10 mins away from the ship) which was 9 euros return. We are not particularly adventurous, but managed perfectly well.

Tours are half day or full day and range between £20-£40 and £35-£70. A lot of money at the end of the cruise if you do a few.

ENTERTAINMENT. This is the IE's forte. The shows are twice nightly and very professional. The usual array of singers, dancers and entertainers work very hard. There is always something going on. Karl Morgan has an amazing voice for a young chap and must be seen in cabaret. The usual favourites like 'visit to Broadway', 'swing time' and 'Latin nights' are all found in the Ocean Theatre or the Bounty Lounge. Karaoke a plenty and quiz/competitions are on around the clock.

ACCOMMODATION. Cabins get better the higher up the ship you are. There are suites and balcony cabins as well as the usual twin inside/outside.

On the whole then, the IE is an ideal ship if you don't want formality. You will not find any snobbery aboard, no midnight buffets with giant ice displays carved to represent the Last Supper, nor will you find any petty rules. What you will find is friendliness, relaxed atnosphere and informality. The crew are mainly Phillipino, the waiters Rumanian and the officers British. They go out of their way to make sure you are happy. The captain frequently sits and talks to passengers and waves you off when you go off the ship for a trip. Communication over the tannoy, from the bridge, is always of interest but never intrusive.

A great cruise that takes in the traditional sites of the Med and leaves you wanting to do it all over again.
Thanks for reading this. Kevin.

Totally a fabulous holiday cannot fault the food and staff.
Cabins were clean, take a nap in the afternoon and the beds were remade for the evening,ready to come back after some fab evening show or a drink at one of the bars.
Some research on the internet before you go.
The ship stops in the Harbour's so you don't have to take all the trips they have on offer, just please yourself and catch a bus or walk and sightsee yourself.

**** New for summer 2005 your drinks tab included so it turns into an all inclusive holiday....wow ***

BOOKED FOR 2005 and will for the next few years totally converted to cruising on the Island Escape.
Try it yourself...

Our fisrt cruise and we loved it the ship is not fancy but it clean and tidy the cabins for a family of 4 are a wee bit small but you used to it.We were on the 6 floor with a window and it was great the maid was very nice and so was any of the staff you meet. The food was lovely in all resturants and they did kids meals in the island resturant at night not enough entertainment at night for young kids as the kids club is on during the day when we were out at port. The shows at night were good the captain was very friendly and walk about the ship quite often you never had to get dressed up but if you wanted to you could i would for the oasis resturant. The kids loved the cruise I wish they was a little bit more for them at night. Now I have been on a cruise i will not do a beach holiday again if you don't like anything fancy that you get on some other cruise ship and you just want to relax this is the ship for you

GETTING THERE:
We were happy with the early 6:55 departure from gatwick. It is 70miles round the M25 so can be done in just over an hour missing traffic at 5:00am. We chose courtlands for parking at £45.36 and arrived at about 5:30 having left a bit later than expected. You get to the parking without going near the airport but the shuttle bus is only a short ride running every 20min so we were in the north terminal building by about 5:50 to be met by hoards of queues. On picking up the TOD. we were told the computers were down and to listen for flight anouncements. I ask one of the reps if they had called our flight and was put to the front of a queue so we checked in and headed to departure for a coffee IT took ages for the gate to appear on the screens and it came up as boarding so off we head to the gate. A bus ride later and we are on our way to Palma slighly late, BUT having left the UK in sunshine we were met by RAIN. We like Palma airport since we have always got through pretty quickly and it was the same this time it is a bit of treck to baggage claim so be warned if you are a bit frail.
There was a temporary crush getting through the exit with people trying to work out where to go next but once at the Island escape cruise desk a pack was handed to us and of we went to the transfer coach, 20mins later at the dock. The info pack already had our swipe cards so checkin was just a passport check and a picture for the secruity system and there we go onto the ship and into our cabin before 11:30( 6hrs door to door). Thats why we like the early flight you get to the ship for lunch and have plenty of time to find your way around. Bags were there by the time we had lunch.

and back.
As usual put the bags out the night before but late enough to pack the evening clothes even if you stayed up till 2.00am(If you are on a late flight they want £30 for a day cabin) we were sheduled for a 9:45 coach which gave us plenty of time for breakfast. left pretty much on time and the flights were quite spread out throughout the day so no stampeed or crush to get off the ship to collect the bags. Tuesdays seem to be pretty busy at palma airport but as usual there is plenty of time and no drama so departure was uneventfull. Landing at Gatwick we ended up at the furthest gate you could be from the baggage hall so by the time we got there the bags were on the carousel. Usual gatwick stuff and it took about 15mins for the Courtlands bus to turn up but once on board 10 mins to get the car and heading home(well to work actually) arriving at about 3pm which is not too bad again about 6hours even with a bit more traffic on the M25.

All in all this part of the operation was well executed so well done to First Choice and Island cruises.
The Ship, cabin and food
We all know this tub is an old ferry and doesn't have the sleek lines of the newer ships but the truth is you only have to look at the ship a couple of times a day it is the inside that matters.
Since you always get to your cabin before your checked bags(unless there is a bad queue to check in at the port) we now carry a change of clothes in the carry on. On the early flights you get time to change, check out the ship and go for lunch. You also get a chance to meet a few of the passengers that may be leaving that day or have been on a week already and get some inside information.
The cabin
Inside cabin rear section on golden deck. The cabin size was fine for a week. Parallel twin with small bedside table with ice bucket and 3 soft drink cans,pringles and a bottle of water with payment slip for signing if used, Drawer unit with TV on top, small robe, and a second double robe,with safe(extra charge £10perweek). Dressing table with light and power. (no hair dryer) Bathroom basic tiny bar of soap and dispencer with jell no other goodies so as the girl says take you own lotions and potions . The shower is a rectangle so you don't get the shower curtain problem common with a lot of ships.
TV had 3 film, 2 adult, 1 kids all changed daily repeated every 3 hours, news,navigation map, bridgecam and 4 channels dishing out information.
Info pack include, Island chat the daily and port info also delivered each evening(standard cruise stuff) for the following day, deck plan, and shore excursion info.
The cabins in this area are very noisy you will get woken up every morning by the thrusters shaking the cabin as the ship docks. This may be a general problem with all cabins on this ship. The cabins are above the bounty lounge which does have music on till at least 12:30 later some nights and you will hear it, not loud but it is there. The cabin is below the beachcomers and I am sure there was some noise from there but it was difficult to tell since even when strapped to land there were rattle and shakes all the time. You do get used to it and having been on lower decks on other ships where engine noise is much worse we were not too bothered after we got used to it.
moving on to the food
We alway read daily schedules very carefully and on the first day it is the first chance to find out really important things like what is on when and what time each of the bars and restaurants are open. There are three restaurants.
Oasis open 7pm-10pm Resevations required and you need to check the Island Chat when the booking times are for that day. We did not eat here but most reports were good. Allthough you can eat for free many items come with extra charge £2-£3 on a starter up to £10+ on a main(eg Fillet), if you like Steak shrimp etc you will have to eat here. some of the extra charge items were also available in the Island so check the menues very carefully.
Island open(typicaly) 7-10,12:30-14:30,18:30-21:30 having spotted that there was a limited Waiter service in this restaurant we headed there for lunch on day 1. Looking at the menus for the buffet and waiter service the waiter service had some extra items and this was true for the rest of the week and so we ate most of our meals here including some breakfasts and had great service from the regular wait staff in that area. You could always partake in the buffet in the island if there was something not included on the waiter menu so it was the best of both worlds often including the same items that were on the Oasis menu without the extra charge. The nice thing about the service is the food came with presentation something which you don't get making selections from a buffet. Please keep this secret since there were only seats for about 80 in this area and it will get too busy if everyone finds out.
The buffet area had hot station with plenty of choice, salad, cold station, soup, deserts, fruit, cheese. The fare was international/themed and there was always a what I would consider a good Veggy option. The beef was not good but the lamb was excellent and did feature quite a lot. We were never stuck for choice and when I could not make up my mind would have more than one item of the menu. The cold soups available on the waiter menu at lunch are worth looking out for and even if you are buffet ask if you can try them. Sushi and graflax featured some nights. One lunch on asking if there was any blue cheese was informed it was only available in the evening but they went and got me some anyway. I think by relegating the high cost items to the Oasis(at extra charge) they can make the food budget go further and in my opinion overall the food we had was better than that we have had on the sun cruises(mytravel/airtours). Just to finish of the Island the breakfast buffet was standard uk/continental selections with the benifit that the bacon was cooked properly something that suncruises and american ships cannot do.
Beachcombers open 24hours with inside and outside seating. Only had a bit of breakfast and the odd snack/coffee in this restaurant, the main meal choices seemed to overlap with the Island. I think there was a pasta station most nights, I think if we hadn't discovered the waiter service in the Island we would have eaten here a few times in the week. It was very popular with a steady stream of people whenever I checked in. The food did seem to be OK and dishes were getting changed if they started looking a bit tired. In addition to the main meals there was a open sandwich section with 5 or 6 choices throuout the afternoon.
One thing that was impresive was the speed at which used stuff was cleared away, I would walk through at 3 or 4 different times each day and never once remember seeing a table with plates or mugs and no people sitting at it.
In summary, apart from the beef, food was excellent, when we sail again we will probably try the oasis and if we had been on for 2 weeks we would have too move out of the Island some nights since the menu is on a weekly rotation not 2 weekly and we would have been looking for a change. Remember the primary eating arangements on this ship are buffet so if you are looking for full service you will need to use the Oasis or try the limited waiter service in the Island. We never had to wait for a table but some times a small queue would form for tables in the Island I didn't check times but probably a post show rush.

Next public areas and the entertainment.

Public areas
Everywhere is kept really clean, but we did notice the cleaners as much as we have on other ships, As I have said the eating table were kept clear and the bar staff were generaly on top of things too. It looks like "the pub" and the bar stools/elbow rests in the bounty are new so there is some ongoing refurb. Outside there are 2 bars one serving the pool area and the other the stern deck areas/outside eating for the Beachcomer. We are not great sunbed worshippers but there did seem to be plenty around the decks(topless allowed Fwd on a high deck) again the deck areas were always clean. The pool area is a little small so did get busy at peak times but does benifit from a cover should the weather turn(rain/wind). It had been raining quiet heavily prior to our arrival on the ship and the roof did show signs of leaking in a number of places. For the evening events around the pool seating replaces the sunbeds. If you dont need access to the oasis, island or reception then you can access every where using the aft stairs which starting at the top you have the lookout lounge(bar opens at 4) this is a great place for a quiet time and watching sailaway. The disco starts around 12.00am most nights. A couple of decks down and you have the beachcomer, kids club,internet cafe,gys,salon,pool and mirage(pool)bar. so if you are happy to eat in the beachcomer you could spend all day on the one deck and if the weather is good I think they keep the bars open in the evening. Two more decks down and you have the shopping area and the bounty lounge which has a small section known as the Cafe Brazil where you can BUY coffe and pastries this also houses the library/games. The pastries did look nice and were not that expensive but why BUY food on a ship. Down again and we have the show lounge, pub/sundowners and the casino, One more flight down the midships stairs and you are at the island or another flight and at the oasis. Overall passenger flow is pretty good. Pre/post dinner/show drinks in the sundowner and it is a short walk to dine or watch the show.

Entertainment
Daytime activities are made up of the traditional cruise mix of film,quiz,demos,dance classes,fitness classes, 45mins live music at lunch poolside,and the bingo late afternoon/early evening after sailing.
Music was provided by Pink panthers(band),Sp3(duo),Lazlo(piano),Marcos (guitar) they played at various times mainly in the sundowners,Bounty. I cannot comment on quality/variety since we never actually sat and listened to them not sure why because we normally do find the time I guess it could be the open sitting for dinner you never find yourself with half hour to kill. The rest of the evening was filled out with the shows and other fillers such as quiz,Karaoke,Spotlights where each of the team did a solo act, and game shows. Looking back through the Island chats(daily program) we missed loads of stuff because we chose to eat when some of it was on and due to some luck in the Casino I spent more time in there. Some evening entertainment overlaps so you will need to plan if you want to see as much as possible and eat. All the entertainment is contracted out to the same company and there is a professional touch from the young enthusiastic team. The shows were good given the limited stage space but I did find the scripted chat that the team used for some of the other events a little tacky. A couple of passengers thought some of the entertainers thought they were better than they really were but a bit of confidence is not all bad. The guest act on this trip was comedian Lee Wilson, classic standup who did 2 shows one late night which was still not that blue. The show times vary throughout the week so check every day. For the later show the lounge will get very full and they have a standing room only sign. One tip is to use the entrance on the casino side of the lounge there are usually more free seats that side. There are a number of pillers which gives a few seats bad sight lines.

For the children there is a daily program which ran from 10.00am(ish) thru till 9:30 some nights ages 3-6, 7-11 Don't do kids so that is all I can say.

The casino opens after sailing and there was a free session on the day at sea for the new commers to try out the games. The casino staff were very friendly and a number of people were winning with a few of us managing to pay for most of our cruise fares which is rather nice. They shut at 2.00am .The other late night activity is the disco but the couple of time we went up it was not that busy.

All the bar staff and waiters were friendly allthough a couple did need the prompt to get the smile during the day and some looked a bit tired sometimes. We though the service was very slow on the first day but we either got used to it or it got better. Drinks were a little more expensive than some ships looking at the bar slips, draft Bodingtons 2.40 draft lager Stella 2.55, cocktail of the day 2.60,can soda 1.40,glass wine2.10,bailies 2.50, bottle of wine 10.50+.

One thing they do is a trip called Navigate with the captain for £25 which is a little steep but you get to sail in or out of a port while on the bridge. I decided to spash out and picked leaving Barcelona. Absolutly facinating seeing the ship getting manouvered away from the dock and spun round 360 and out of the harbour. You also get champers and a framed picky sitting in the captains chair so not that bad for a one off.

Having another look throught the programs there was a chocolate Feast Sunday afternoon from 3:30-4:30 in the Island resaurant.

Overall
I will not cover the ports on this review since this is about Island Escape.
At the budget end of the market this is a great operation. I think we had great value for money for the trip at £359pp allthough you will always meet those that paid less. There is none of the glam and glitz what you get is good, basic food prepared well, all round entertainment something for everone, clean friendly environment and a chance to see 5 ports in the med. This will make a great first cruise and is very competative when put along side the airtours offerings and probably thomsons as well. What was a bit more expensive was the onboard bill for extras of £120 for 10 bottles of wine and £165 for other drinks this would be lower on other ships Airtours, Fred Olsen not sure about Thomsons. There are a number of other revenue generators which are anoying but can be avoided. First timers on any ship should avoid the bingo until the last day when the rollover gets paid, never buy the wipeout type cards it is a ripoff.
Having done the med a few times I think they may need to vary the itineries to keep the punters coming back we would sail again as a cheapy filler for a week but if there was an eastern med itinery we would put it on the list for one of our main weeks. There are some great deals out there at the moment so watch prices at £50 or less a day this is worth while but for a little more you can find better although as we move into the school holidays I fear prices will rise and the deals become more difficult to find. Given the shakey start this ship had with the TV program they have definately turned it around and if they can keep up the standards will get a band of regulars.

TO KEEP THINGS SHORT FANTASTIC !!!!!
CAPTAIN HORNE AND ALL HIS STAFF COULD NOT HAVE DONE ANY MORE TO MAKE THIS 40TH BIRTHDAY CRUISE FOR IAN ANY BETTER.DRESSING UP OR DRESSING DOWN DIDNT MAKE A DIFFERENCE WE WERE TREATED LIKE ROYALTY.KIDS CLUB REPS WERE BOTH CARING AND FAB!!
ONLY ONE PROBLEM OUR 8 YEAR OLD DIDNT SEE WHY ONCE AT HOME WE DIDNT CALL HER MISS ELIZABETH LIKE THE CREW DID.TRIPS WERE WELL WORTH THE MONEY EP[ECIALLY THE BRIDGE TOUR.HONESTLY NOT WORD NEGATIVE COMMENT TO MAKE.