The first clue was the transport bus from airport to ship. A scruffy tatty bus. The ship was very tired and in need of a complete refit. The toilet in our cabin overflowed and stank the place out. The food and the crew were very good, but trips were overpriced and could be done much cheaper once ashore.

The evening entertainment was poor. The only redeeming feature were the places we visited, they were truly amazing, but that is not due to the said company. The plane we went home on was tatty and they ran out of chicken, so passengers at
the back of the plane only got flavored rice. A very badly run firm.

When we aproached the ship in Mombasa we thought...Oh God, what have we done. But, from the moment we steped aboard and were shown our cabin, any doubts faded. the interior is clean and full of polished brass with Teak decking. The service staff were the vey best we have had on any cruise, and we have been on many. The food was excellent. The head waiter was amazing in his memory of everyones names. I was Mr. David and my lovely wife was Lady Davina. It was simply the most delightful little ship we have been on. Before or since. Plus the itinerary was also stunning.

Best holiday ever! We have sailed on larger posher ships but this was fantastic! We had planned to do at least one cruise a year with them but sadly no more and there is nothing like it on the market.
The service and food was top notch, the boat and cabins were a little antiquated but well we had a ball! Wish someone else would do something similar!

One of the best cruises we ever did and I loved this little ship. However the "Cruise Director" if you could call him that was rude and arragont, so far up himself that his head stuck out of his backside. He was the only thing that spoilt it for me. He was an over weight ignorant character who should never be alowed to work on a cruise ship ever again.

Ship was old and tried, had broken down on previous trip so we were delayed. We broke down too meaning even more time missed. Our A/C didnt work, neither did our toilet, our friends toilet came off the floor when used! The staff "oversold" trips clearly after comission. If you took the time when ashore you could do the same itinary or better at a much better price. The entertainment was very poor! The restaurant crew were amazingly attentive,,,, untill that is we gave them their tips and then,, strangely they forgot all about us and had their minds on the next lot to come their way!
This cruise would be a good one to use as a benchmark of how it should not be done,, cruises only have one way to go from here and that is up.
Incidently we complained there and upon arrival home, the attitude from them was "we have had you money now clear off" Someone even offered to act on our behalf, but the company told him they could not accept a complaint off him for other people. Thier customer service and attention to problems basically sucks! Do not go with this company, unless you are used to not even second best,,, more like the bottom of the barrel.

I have seen this ship described as a small ship that has cells for its cabins, frankly I don’t think I could have put it better myself. Anyone travelling on the MS Royal Star should really have done a good few cruises first as this is not for the faint hearted traveller who wants a nice peaceful cruise experience.

I thought the ship must have been sailing with only half the capacity for the first 2 days of the voyage, however as it turned out most travellers were sea sick in their cabins and trust me if I had been stuck in my so called cabin feeling sick I would have got off and flown home at the next port of call. The overstated bathroom in the cabin was about 4 feet square had yellow water coming out of the taps, either that or none at all, to make the claim of hot & cold running water was with out any doubt misguided, the truth be told their was hot water sometimes but not too much of it and I certainly would not recommend taking a shower in it. Has no one on-board heard of legionnaire's disease?

The on-board entertainment was abysmal at best, as an entertainment agent I was ashamed that one of my colleges had auditioned the band “Hot News” and considered them as good enough to entertain a ship full of passengers. The sauna & spa were out of action the whole voyage, the Piano Bar was missing its Pianist so had become a disco with a dance floor of 6 feet in radius. There was a casino on-board, 2 fruit machines a blackjack table and a roulette wheel, so any casino fans are not going to be happy here. The library had about 6 books in it when I looked and you could sit there and enjoy a good read if you had a book of your own and could stand to be confined in a room half the size of your cabin. In fact it is fair to say that the ONLY entertainment on the ship was the crew who put on a show of their own at the end of the voyage it was just a shame the cruise director decided to play at being a compare when he should stick to selling the tickets to tours.

The Cruise Director I found annoying at best attempting to sell tours you will begin to fall asleep as he starts to tell you the history and politics of each country your visiting. If you manage to stay awake long enough to listen to all the tours on offer then I should advise you not to take many of them everything on offer is available at a fraction of the cost if you book it privately yourself with the locals at your ports of call. Whilst ACS will discourage this practice by telling how dangerous this practice is I have to tell you I learned more from the locals and was treated better.

The Service Staff really are the only great thing about this ship Allan; the Restaurant Manager not only knew everyone's name on the ship but also their tastes too by the end of the first 2 days, Ricky The head waiter who would always find time for anyone. Turn up an hour late for lunch and Ricky will still not only ensure your fed but make sure you are happy too, even though he must have been cursing me after I left.

If you are use to the comforts of a large ocean liner then this is not for you.

The cabin was smaller than the bathroom in my house.
The length of the cell, oops sorry cabin was the length of a single bed plus a small wardrobe.
Width was 2 single beds with a small chest of drawers inbetween.
Bathroom approx 4ft square. Hot water was a yellow colour. Needless to say we did not spend too much time in the cell, oops agan cabin i meant.

With it not being a large ship you felt every movement of the waves. One lady told me she had got up in the middle of night and got her life jacket ready, 2 days at sea continually rolling was not pleasant.

On the plus side the staff were wonderful, except for the Captain who never smilled once, and the cruise director who was up himself.
All the waiters and bar staff were wonderful, could not do enough for you. Oh if any body does venture please say hello to Chad, Yonno and Richard form Darren, Margaret (GET STUFFED) Margaret and Geoff from Wales.
The resteraunt manager was amazing after the 1st night he knew everybody by their first name.
It was not that he was checking the place settings, he knew everybody at any time on the ship.

Food was lovely, loads of choice, i have a copy of the menus if you need any further info.

We went on the secrets of the Seychelles, all the ports were wonderful.

No I would not go on this ship again, I prefer the larger vessels. The only good part about only 200 guests is that it is a lot more friendly. But I feel there are more cons than pros on the MS Royal Star.

Please let me know if you need any further information
evansd0@yahoo.com.

I travelled with my friend on the ship in may 2006. What a trip. I can honestly say I had a holiday I shall never forget...... fantastic.

To visit places such as Madagascar and La Reunion was a dream come true. Never thought I would ever see such sights truly magical. Started out at Shanzu Beach, couldn't wait to get out.

Flight to Mauritius and that darling little ship, not posh but so welcoming, more than that hospitality at its best. Food superb staff could get a job in any 5 star hotel, they were outstanding. The Royal Star is a one of a kind....Not an American Floating Gin Palace but a proper little charmer. Would I go again....Can't wait. The BBC should make a documentary on her . But please no Shanzu I'd rather lose 2 days holiday.

See you all soon xxxxxxxxxxxxx

A great holiday, fantastic places visited, ships company great. Flight good, two days in Kenya at the start of the holiday priceless. The only problem on ship,there was too many German people who had no manners or graces what so ever. But saying that the crew said that the privious two weeks there were mainly English on board and there was no problems....

The ship is small and friendly and the excellant staff cannot do enough for you. The meals are very good and despite being 6 courses each evening, are not overfacing. We had a problem with a blocked sink, but it was fixed within 5 mins of reporting it!
If you don't suffer from seasickness, then you will have a wonderful trip.