Well, where do we start ? We honestly wished we'd checked this so called cruise ship out a bit better before we booked it..THIS IS NOT A CRUISE SHIP.... ITS A CONVERTED FERRY!!! We honestly went on board with and open mind, having booked a balcony room as it was our 30th Anniversary whilst away ,

The feeling of dread set in as we arived in Palma port to join our cruise. as you look up the ship its obvious that it is at the lower end of the cruise market.Shabby,tatty and looks like what it is,, a ferry in disgiuse.

Check in was fairly smooth.. photos taken for passes, credit card registered for payment etc. Then we were shown to our cabin...

What a disappointment,, small, pokey,, dirty,, and and as for the balcoony,,, well forget it,,one small filthy table and two flithy chairs,, we couldnt sit on the chairs unless we used the grey towels out the bathroom,I nearly cried ,

No duvet covers on the bed,, just duvets , it was so run down we thought this was normal, althought the duvet covers appeared next night!!Stained bed linen, metal beds, no where near enough storage,,and looking round the hutch,, cant call it a cabin,, there was a lot of tissue paper sticking out from behind the picture frames,, light fittings,, bathroom cabinet etc,,,do not make the mistake of removing this tissue,,, it has been put there by previous mugs in a vain attempt to stop the constant rattling when at sea !!!

This cruise was the Mediterranean Discovery,, starting in Palma,, we were several hours late setting off,, actually leaving port at 5am ,, the engines starting up woke us at 4am,,This was the the start of the constant chugging and swaying motion that comes with a ferry,, we ve had smoother channel crossings.

First day spent at sea,, exploring the ship,, didnt take long,, no promenade deck,,, its impossible to walk right round the ship without steps,, going thru bars etc and pass the pool area,, oh dont get us started on that,,, seen bigger ponds .

We ate most times on the upper deck,,, casual dining 24hours aday almost, To be honest,, couldnt fault the food,, plenty of choice,, always hot , although some people though the plastic plates were a bit cheap n nasty,, but as most people ate outside at some point , from a safety point of view we didnt have a problem with this.

we had paid for the All Inclusive package and in our case was well worth it,, coffee was a bit evil,, stuck to juice in the mornings. beer was stella,, although we suspect the spirits were watered down,, as usual,, didnt manage to get the slightest bit tipsy all week ??

SARDINIA
Booked trip to the emerald coast.. 30 euros . full day trip,, well worth the money,, nothing much to do in port and saw quite a bit of the island,very pretty.

CIVITAVECCHIA
For Rome approx 60 euros
booked all day trip,, Rome and Monuments,, very tiring day,, we docked a long way from Rome,, 90min drive,, and then picked up local guide,Rome is manic,, most guides carried something unusual,, i,e,, fishing rod with a butterfly on it,, big sunflower,,cane with scarf tied to it,,, so you can keep track of them?? Ours ?? he held his book over his head !!! We nearly lost him a couple times.. and we werent the only ones,,Started off in the colleseum,,very impressive,, stunning.. he talked in the heat for 40mins,, people were wilting,, walking away and sitting in the shade,, then he gave us just 10mins to take photos then off we set,,,no head count ,,it was up to us to make sure we were all there ??
Roman baths,, more talk ,, not enough time to take pics,, onto the Trevi fountain .very crowded,, couldnt get near enough to take pic without anyone else peering into your lens.
stopped here for 2 hour lunch break,,again,, after meeting up ,, no head count and off we set.. must have 40mins later someone realised we were 4 people short ?? The guide from the bus had to go back for them.. by this time we were heading for the coach.. they were lucky that she found them in time,
Long day,, but very worthwhile,, been there, got the t shirt!!

LIVORNO
We did the Taste of Tuscanny trip ,, approx30 euros,, half day trip
very nice easy trip . driving thru fields of sunflowers and very pretty countryside ..to a vinyard owned by a local family,, learnt about wine making,, then samlped some together with some local meats cheese and bread ,, lovely day out,, chance to re charge the batteries after Rome

VILLEFRANCHE
At last,, a pretty harbour as apposed to a port ??
we did Monaco and Montecarlo approx 30 euros half day
best trip of the cruise,,, saw the monaco grand prix street circuit,, , walked round alot,, Japanese garden was alovely retreat from the heat,,casinos etc , stunning ships in the harbour

MENORCA
Having been there before we knew we didnt want to book a trip ,, wanted to do our own thing,, ship pulls in right along side the harbour, although there are a lot of steps upto the town,,
Trips out were memories of menorca,, 28euros and Son bou beach 16 euros

They dont let you forget its last day,, settle your account,, suitcases out by midnight,, out your hutch by 8am etc

Last day in Palma,, couldnt stand to be on board any longer as we had a late flight home.. we grabbed a taxi to Palma catherdral,, not too expensive . As it was our anniversary we had a couple of drinks in Palma main square to cellebrate,,

Finally,,, we usually book with Thomson Gold as we dont do hols with kids? There were a quite a few children on board at the start of the cruise and to be honest very well behaved,, last day was the first day of school hols and a lot of children joined the ship the day we were leaving,,so glad we were going,,, these little treasures were running round the pool area unttended,, playing in the lifts and generally making a nuisance of themselves whilst their parents were drinking in the bars!!It didnt take long for complaints to start and as we were ready to get off we were near reception when a couple of guests complained to customer relations about these children.In the twenty five mins we sat there,, the member of
staff did nothing a bout the complaints,, maybe the children could have been rounded up into reception and their parents asked to tear themselves away from the bar and collect them, on the understanding that if they caused a nuisaince again that the All Inclusive would be removed ?

To be honest,, we were glad to get off in Palma,, if we d booked 2 weeks, we would have been getting off anyway,,couldnt stand the constant rocking and rolling of the ship when at sea,, it was impossible to sleep at night,, the last 2 days we went back to the hutch in the afternoon to get some sleep , the whole thing sways from side to side,, food was being dropped on the floor in the restauants and everyone walked like they were drunk when of course they couldnt be? This is a tacky , dirty ship,, I can only assumed Thomsons have bought it to sink it !!I only wished that we have checked out properly before booking,,, we certainly wouldnt have booked an ex ferry , we paid one hell of a lot of money for this and to say we were disappointed is the understatement of the year !! Never ever again !!!

Please,, please ,, if you have booked this excuse for a cruise ship for Gods sake cancel it !! I honestly wished that we had checked this rust bucket out properly before we booked it,, its very difficult to find pics on line,,, now we know why !!!

We booked the Island Escape for our 30th anniversary,, and paid an arm and a leg for a balcony room,, wished we hadnt bothered ,
We arrived at Palma with some reversations having now read some of the reviews on line,, we did consider cancelling,, its blinding obvious that the ship is from the lower end of the cruise market,,ie,, the bottom,, It is what it is,,, a CONVERTED FERRY ,,compared to some of the ships in port it looked dirty,, shabby and no ammount of white paint can make it look any better.

we were checked in quite quickly and shown to our hutch,, I cant call it cabin,,, small ?? dont make me laugh? it was impossible to have both of us upright at the same time,theres just no room ?? Two single beds.. dirty linen,, no duvet covers - they turned up next day but it was so shabby we didnt think we would get any? Burns in the sheets,,, pillows that well just smelt,,, bathroom that you had to reverse out of,,, dirty shower,, horrible yellow stain in the sink ,, and " they " say you can drink the water? No way !!
I did say it was a balcony room,,,well the so called balcony was bolted on to the outside of the ship,,, two filth chairs and a table that ought to have been thrown over board . We had to use the towels provided to sit on the chairs,,,, they were a delicate shade of grey , so it didnt matter
one bit ,

On looking round the room we spotted little bits of tissue behind things,,, the shelves,, the light fittings,, the mirror,,, the drawers its been put there for a reason,, to stop the non stop rattling when the ship is at sea,,, we didnt get a decent night sleep all week,,, we were shattered by the end of the week ,

Now for the rest of the ship,,, as it is a converted ferry it has a very small pool... I ve seen bigger garden ponds,, not enough sun loungers in pool area ,, nothing short of bedlam trying to get some space round there,, we simply didnt bother ,

The ship hasnt got a promenade deck,,, you can't walk round without cutting back in thru the bars or the pool area,,

First night,, having decided to make the best of a very poor job and having up graded to all inclusive when we booked it we were almost shaken out of our bunks when the ships engines started at 4am ,, this set the pattern for the rest of the week,, us trying to drink enough watered down booze to try and sleep at least some of the night,, we never got tipsy once,, and we did try ,, believe me, the whole ship rattles and shakes,, we ve had better channel crossings

I could go on and on,,, but most people say the same thing,,, if youve booked it ,CANCEL IT !! Im suprised Thomsons are associated Island escape,, they ought to do the decent thing and sink it . Never ever again,,,

I have been on the island star before this cruise and was impressed with the service and staff so much I decided to book another cruise with the same company.

I thought the island star was a basic cruise ship from fellow holiday makers on that ship who had been on ocean village and thomson cruises before but was really happy with that standard.

The Island escape is not a 3 star ship its dirty and run down, which is daft really as its all due to poor maintance, broken picture frames, rust holes, scummy pool etc the engine also appears to be broken as it was shaking the boat that much cups fell off the shelves etc would not have liked a cabin near there.

This is a basis cheap cruise where all the staff try to get you to buy anything and everything. The excurssions are a total rip off you can do the same things the same way if you can organise yourselve for 75% less than they charge.

Also the bargin early deal bookings are not cheap at all we got the holiday for £300 less each through internet booking but the rep was taking advantage of the happy spirits of the older people on the cruise without the knownledge making it seem like an offer too good to miss,for thomsons maybe!!!

I will never go on a thomsons/island cruise again as a result of this what I would say is if you can afford an extra 100-200 pounds each for the holiday book a 4 star ship the quality difference is amazing for the little extra.

For those in the UK reading this, think 1980s TV series "Hi-De-Hi" and you get the general idea of what this "cruise ship" is like. If you like "Mr & Mrs", "Play your Cards Right" and Bingo type of entertainment Maplins-on-the-Sea is for you!!

Landing in Palma, there were no reps to direct us. Luckily, another tour operator's guide knew where the Island Cruise people were meeting and directed us.

First impressions of the ship were not good and indeed turned out to be confirmed. The ship is dirty and mouldy with some of the ceiling panels buckled and dropping away. Wall coverings, in places, are peeling from the walls, and the brass trim is tarnished. There is a smell of fumes on some of the decks, but what this ship needs most of all is the administrations of Kim and Aggie from "How Clean is Your House".

Toilets frequently back up in cabins and public areas. If you report it, you have to keep reporting it because nothing happens, except you are told not to flush. So...no flush equals do not use...nice!!

lighting is a bit dingy...very good for disguising how yuk this ship is!! In one toilet on Deck 8, the lighting appears to be no more than a 20w bulb. Duck tape covers joins in the carpets where they have come apart, and generally the carpets are worn threadbare in places, so you need to be aware of this when climbing or descending the stairways.

The faux marble veneer on lift doors etc is peeling off or missing, rather giving the game away - yes this really IS an ex-ferry trying to be a cruise ship.

Cabins are typical of a ferry - small because the idea is you do not stay in them very long...and indeed we did not. To spend a week in them is torture, two weeks, would be a nightmare and pity, dear traveller, anyone on honeymoon.

When the ship broke down, we fully expected the crew to issue oars to the guests on the lowest two decks so that we could make port (...and yes the old joke of can you please row faster - the captain wants to go waterski-ing does come to mind).

We were lucky, our air conditioning worked OK. Other people found that the air conditioning was stuck on the coldest setting. The crew's answer was to give them a second duvet. When the engine noise was too loud to bear for some passengers, they issued ear plugs.

Our cabin was dirty with dust ingrained on surfaces, dirty grouting in the shower, sticky and clammy shower curtain, the toilet mechanism hanging off the wall, a broken extractor fan in the shower room and the carpet was faded, worn and badly fitted in the doorway. Cabin units were chipped, bedding darned where damaged and the towels issued were also worn and grimy. You can apparently drink the water from the cabin taps, but you would not want to if you saw the state of our taps and basin. So you buy bottles of water, or go to the Deck 10 restaurant to get glasses of water from there (cannot fill waterbottles - unhygenic). When we reported these issues, the attutude was - "La, la, la, la - I can't hear you".

The cabin steward was surly, the guest facilities staff and excursion booking staff feined politeness, but were inept at sorting any issues, except taking money off you for the safe, hair dryers and anything else they felt they could reasonably charge you for.

The reputation of the ship is that it is the friendliest in the Med., and on the surface it is. You can strike up friendly banter with specific waiting staff you meet regularly and they certainly make you feel welcome, but some are dead eyed with blank expressions. We started to feel a little creeped out because when you greet staff and say "Hi, how are you?" to them you ALWAYS get the same answer: "Excellent, ma-daam". There is a faint feeling of a delusional, detached world where everything has to be "happy, happy, happy" if something happens that breaks this mantra, it is simply ignored; it does not exist.

The entertainment team seem to make the best of a bad situation, so all credit to them. However, on this cruise they canvassed the guests to see what format the excursion-selling presentation should take as they were thinking of changing it. (Presumably they did not make enough money from the current format). And given the quality of it (it was also piped into cabins over the TV system), I am not surprised!! They asked us whether we thought it would be a good idea if they did this presentation based on the "Bottom" TV series (Rik Mayall, Adrian Edmondson etc.) Given that the average age of guests is tending towards the more senior end of the market (even though they claim clientelle are young with an average age of 45) most of the guests had not even heard of "Bottom", to be honest, to come on board a cruise ship and be presented with something that could cause offence on the first evening, I think needs a little bit of replanning. You get the general idea...

There are no complimentary items in the cabins except for a bar of olive oil soap and a shower cap (whoo-hoo, such luxury) - you have to go to guest facilities even if you need some note paper to write on. They issue ice buckets and ice cubes, but there is no fridge. The mini bar consists of products and the price list dumped on a coffee table. So if you get the ice cubes in the morning, you have an ice bucket of warm water by lunchtime.

You are charged for EVERYTHING, and beware - if you get/are sold a drinks package which is billed as "all-incusive", it isn't - you will still be charged, additionally, for some drinks.

The attitude seems to be get as much money out of the guests as you can.

Some of the excursions are a rip off, but that is because the ship allows them to be. Again, they are not really bothered if excursions are good or bad. They have had the money for them. For example, there was a history and shopping excursion in one port that existed of the guide telling us repeatedly about the extent of the bombing in WWII, and delivering us to one street of shops (mainly cafes, one department store and one pharmacy) 15 minutes before they closed for the siesta. We were not allowed to leave the coach and walk back to the ship even though the coach was 50 yards away from the ship. However, we were expected to walk to the meeting point for the coach, which was further away from the ship than the coach was. The coach driver then refused to come to the meeting point, which meant we had to walk back the way we came, to the coach (50 yards away from the ship), get on the coach, drive 50 yards, then get off the coach and go to the ship - crazy!!!


If you like having your photo taken, then this is the ship for you. They film and photograph everything. The photographers leap out at you at every port when you go ashore, grinning insanely, being "happy, happy, happy" so that you can go and purchase your photo, DVD, video, or whatever. They are also stationed on Deck 6 where you have to negotiate various items of equipment at the top of the stairwell. Do not feel obliged to sit on white sheets of paper to have your photo taken all of the time. You are NOT a bad person if you do not want your photo taken.

So what about the food? Well...

The Beachcomber restaurant on Deck 10 is the mainstay of the ship. Breakfast has good variety: full english, continental, cereal, porridge; all the usual suspects. Lunch has less choice as does the evening meal, although they so have some specials: Italian night, Indian night, Chinese night etc..

The ship boasts three restaurants...hmmm, well there are three places to eat. What they do not tell you is that the Beachcomber and the Island restaurants serve identical food. They are both buffet based, both self service. The only difference is that you have to queue to get into the Island restaurant, and when in there, (after climbing over the photograpahers to get in!!) if you are not "all-inclusive", you get a surly waiter huffily slopping water into a drinking glass.

I think the food in Beachcomber/Island can be best summed up as being about the same standard and style as motorway services. If you want more, you have to pay extra (surprise - I bet you didnt guess that, did you, fellow travellers!!) for the a la carte Oasis restaurant. We did just that and had THE best food and exceptional service. It was the one good thing to look forward to at the end of each day.

The on-board shops are an amusing diversion...if you want to purchase overpriced tat and Murano glass jewellery. They set out the goods on stalls like a market to maximise takings in the corridor where the shops are located, which is convenient, because with a bit of judicious planning you can navigate your way around this obstruction and get to the lounge(dimly lit, scruffy and freezing cold) without ever having to see the shops again...hoorah!!

One highlight of the day was the Captain's announcements. He has a dry sence of humour and frequently takes the mickey out of events that happen in port - absolutely brilliant!! And he is a good sport joining in with some of the activities with the guests.

We are pretty laid back people most of the time and had a good giggle over the lunacy of it all, but lots of other passengers felt angry and let down. Many were disappointed, to say the least, with the poor quality.

Thompson claim it is an award-winning cruise. Well I will give it my award for the grottiest tub on the sea. I have not been on a ship that bad since I was at school; and that was some time ago. Other vendors claim it is a budget cruise, so you get what you pay for. Well, we paid through the nose to be upgraded to an outside cabin and looking at prices, you can get an Ocean Village cruise for the same price as this.

I know where I will be putting my hard-earned money next time.

See me walking away, waving and smiling...happy, happy happy!!

My wife, my son & I just returned from a wonderful cruise of the Med with Island Escape. We have cruised with Thomsons many time in the last 5 or 6 years and always enjoyed their cruises. The only tiny complaint (as many past passengers have noted) is the cost of the day trips organized by the ship's staff. This adds so much additional costs to the price of our holiday.

For our 'fellow cruisers' we would like to pass on some information that we found very helpful in saving some money (who doesnt like that in this economy?)

We became members of the website
'save on cruise tours.com'. This website is set up spacifically for cruising the MED ports. It tells you how you can do these 'day trips' independently of the ship's organizers and do the trip / excursions for reletively very little money. Membership for this website is only 12 pound for six months. Not a bad deal at all. Aside from the high costs of the ship's tours, we have have always enjoyed our cruises with Thomsons and hopefully will continue to do so in the future. Happy Cruising everyone!!

Yes the ship could do with a new image the cabins are not the best and the dresser we had in our room should have been put on the bonfire but apart from that they are clean and rooms are tidied/cleaned twice a day
The cabin staff are extremely helpful and always smiling nothing is to much bother for them

The food was good plenty varities to please everyone and that fact that its stippulated everywhere to use the tongs and clean plates always meant nothing had been touched by unwashed hands There are touchless hand sanitisers when exiting/ boarding ship and entering food areas
Entertainment was fine if you want to sit in a hot theatre I suspect its a bit like a holiday camp

Drinks are very reasonably priced think I lost out by buying a drinks package

Ports of call are excellent but be warned you can travel independently far cheaper

Train to Rome cost 9 euros return and that includes travel on metro buses etc while in city centre
Would I go back on the cruise again NO simply because I have found out that I will never make becoming a sailor
The ship is so friendly so its ideal for virgin cruisers (beware of the cruise snobs oh darling weve been on 10 11 etc cruises)
Message for Thomsons get the cabins decorated asap

Our experience of the Island Escape was overall a pleasant one. First impressions were that it did look like what it was originaly built for.. a ferry. As has been said before it is dated and weary looking but clean, cabin cleaned daily with clean sheets and towels daily.

Food was good in the main restaurant but the 24 hr buffet although edible was of a lesser standard.

Staff were fantastic William our cabin steward was really helpful and very polite as were all the crew I had conversation with.

Onboard entertainment was a bit of a let down for my 10 year old, she loves swimming and the pool is filled with sea water and very cold. Night time shows were very good and ok for children to go to. Excursions were in my eyes a rip off, we went to Sorrento and Amalfi, had 1 hour in Sorrento and 1.5 hours in Amalfi. Total trip was 7 hours.

I would sail on this ship again if it was at a good price but anyone going on this ship would have a good time.

Just don't sail on board the Island Escape, it's like easy jet of the seas, got the idea???, bad service, bad food, bad customer service, if you dare to complain and are adamant to see a manager they will start threatening you with security.(they will refuse refuse refuse over and over to let you talk to one)
Incidentally there is a very aggressive underlying attidude onboard the ship and several there were several incidents on the ship including one where in most peoples opinion the security staff were way to aggressive and about six of them jumped the poor guy at the pool party......sounds nice and relaxing holiday doesn't it? ( not)

Going for a massage they look for really personal details I refused to give them bar the basics needed for there health and safety reasons, anything else is none of their business. When I refused to fill out all the form they said I couldn't get the massage and thretened to charge me a £50 cancellation fee. I fought this and they backed down but not after none stop attempts to talk to a manager.

Arrival...no one met us at the airport(togh luck for us to try and find the buses for Island escape amongst the 60 to 70 or so buses at Palma Airport.....bags were 3.5 hours late to our cabin....we were roasting as it was cold leaving Ireland.

Complained no one listened. Waiter in restaurant was shouting at passengers and very rude ( for the most part the crew were friendly but again as other people have said full of bs stories of loved ones etc new born babies they had not seen etc...asked for pictures not one had a photo so a big scam to get tips.
Tour buses late everywhere...prices a rip off...very little time to enjoy the destinations maybe 20 to 40 mins free time...tour bus guides and drivers hassling and basically asking straight out for tips......

late into ports all the time....tender boats broke down...we watched one German ship in Cannes as there tenders did five trips to Islands one...they paid a small fee for dropping their passengers at a private dock...Island being a low budget joke were trying to drop their passengers at a private dock so what should have taken ten mins took an average of an hour to do the short trip and thats after being in a q for up to 1.5 hours to even get on a tender.

Captain always had an excuse and found him very rude and dis courteous about other ships captains of other cruise ships etc...it was always someone elses fault.
Food was a joke..think reheated army food or prison food..although they might get fed better in prison???

Cabins filthy and out dated...whole ship pretty bad...what can you expect from a very very old converted ferry...I found this out only as well on board.

Considering the ship has passengers from Ireland ,England,Scotland, Wales etc surprised the comedian rattled off a string of offensive Irish jokes...
Ocean theatre one of the songs sung by women in Ligerie was entitled Lolita, I'm in love with Daddy, it also was full of sexual hints etc and for a ship full of kids I doubt it's appropiate.

You are harrased a full 28 hours before your final docking in Palma about money....pay your bill....get out of your cabin....pay your bill....oh by the way did we forget get out of your cabin by 8am....pay your bill...pay your bill. Try relaxing on the last day before!!!!!

Also one of the best things is you are forced to leave your bags outside the cabin at the very latest 2 o clock in the morning...met people at the airport htat (surprise surpise) had had stuff stolen out of their bags...I guess some of the less well off passengers or crew decided to go shopping during the night??

One of the final insults was Island Escape were promoting a free tour of Palma the last day...as long as you go to visit a blanket factory...rep claimed he had never done it and didn't know it was a scam...you will get driven into the countryside and get the hard sell for over 4 hours at a blanket /mattress place selling £1500 beds etc and then jewellery etc....had to end up just laughing about it as it kept in line with the complete scummy experience that the ship was.

Interesting seeing good reports here on Island Escape...YEAH I SUPPOSE IF YOU ARE HALF BRAIN DEAD>>>USED TO PRISON FOOD>>>GETTING PUSHED AROUND AND THREATENED>>>AND YOUR IDEA OF A THREE CORSE MEAL IS A SANDWHICH FROM TESCO A CURRY AT THE INDIAN FOLLOWED BY A CORNETO AT THE CORNER SHOP ON THE WAY HOME THEN THIS IS DEFINETLY FOR YOU..

*****If you are normal like most people and expect to get a good holiday for the sort of money you do spend and to be listened to when something goes wrong then do not sail with them...they are a complete disaster!!!!!

Yes the ship is dated and as we have nothing to compare it to (this being our first cruise) we found it a truly wonderful experience.

Rooms are small and I would book an outside cabin next time.

Cleanliness was excellent with staff always around cleaning and at times I felt that Brian (our housekeeper) cleaned the room every time we left it!

Food was free flowing - 24/7 food available with excellent choice of food and you could dine in style or comfort. Drinks service was brilliant with a much better choice that the usual all inclusives we have been on.

Staff were extremely friendly and helpful.

Entertainment was really good but we personally didn't rate the Pink Panther group but you can't like everything in life.

Cruising is new to us and we found it very different. Although we did find the noisy engine disturbing our sleep in the first few nights you do get used to it and although we didn't actually have travel sickness we did have a few moments of feeling drunk as the ship was swaying that much!

You didn't have to dress up for the evening but you could if you wanted to.

FABULOUS holiday and we would certainly recommend you try it...

This ship stands out from the rest as friendly, informal and happy. It was our second time on it and our seventh cruise overall. Having returned to it after being on larger and "posher" boats we prefer the type of passenger which this smaller and older boat seems to attract It is probably the best holiday we have ever had. The average age of the 4 of us was 60. There were only a handful of children on board as we were just out of the school holiday period. It is not possible to fault it without being "picky" so there is no point in my doing so. The linen was changed daily with at least 2 visits from the maid every day. The drinks waiters are on frequent patrol to save you having to get up and go to the bar.
The boat uses a cashless system so no tipping is needed . The concept is brilliant . This is the boat. for people who have never cruised before.