Just returned from a 7 night trip on MV Athena departing Fremantle, WA. We visited Esperance, Albany and Bunbury.

I thought it was great value for money. Myself, my husband and 2 kids shared an inside quad cabin and couldn't fault it for size (it was big), cleanliness and overall presentation. There was loads of cupboard and hanging space. We didn't feel cramped at all, although we didn't spend much time in the cabin except to sleep. The cabin had its own ensuite with a shower over bath setup.

The ship is well maintained and the overall cleanliness of a high standard (I am really fussy about these things).

The food was excellent. I couldn't fault a thing about it. The only problem we had to do with food is more a complaint about the staff member who didn't want to let me take a couple of croissants/muffins back to my cabin as my kids had slept in and had missed breakfast. I really needed to give them something to eat because if you don't eat breakfast there's nothing available to eat until lunch at 12:30 pm. He condescendingly told me that I could order breakfast in advance (the night before) to be delivered to the cabin (fee of $5) but what he failed to take in to account is that I didn't know the night before that my kids would be that tired....too tired to get up for breakfast. In the end, he allowed me to take it.

Bar prices were excellent. My husband was in heaven buying pints for $5.75. Majority of cocktails were approx $7 and they don't skimp on the measures.

Wine was also reasonably priced - Australian Wines, Portugese and Italian. A glass (a big one) of Madfish Chardonay was $7.

We didn't participate in any of the activities as my kids just wanted to play in the pool so we just relaxed on deck and watched over them. They did have things to do like deck quoits, shuffleboard and excercise programs. Also, the usual things like quizes and bingo were available. There is no kids club as such but some of the staff arranged various games and things to do for the kids on a few occasions. The library is stocked with books and games to play if you get bored.

Other offerings were a show every night which I enjoyed a lot. Singing, dancing etc. Very professional. They had a few competitions in the evening which were a good laugh - ie. Miss Athena / Mr Athena / best couple etc.

The resident band "Oceans" was very good as was the latin duo "Los Paraguoys".

Overall staff are friendly. This ship is only small (approx 500 passengers) and I loved it because it created an intimate, casual, relaxed atmosphere. It was also easy to get from A to B in no time at all.

I would definitely cruise again with MV Athena.

We went for 3 night cruise for Australia Day on the Athena not really knowing what to expect as we have cruised before but on bigger ship.
We could not fault anything, it was very clean, the food was great, and the staff were very polite and helpfull in every way. Drinks were cheap ( what more could you want )
A little dissapointed that the casino could not open, but that saved me heaps of money.
Over all i was very pleased and would reccomend the Athena as a great cruise break.
I would like to thank all the staff and crew on the Athena for making it such a pleasant experience.
Thanks Linda.

My partner and I were looking forward to a two night 'taste of cruising' trip onboard the MV Athena departing 2 January 2010.
From the moment we arrived at the Port of Fremantle our fears about what we maybe about to encounter began.
The first thing we noticed were the groups of people who considered that flanellette shirts or grubby looking singlets coupled with 'stubbie' shorts and thongs was suitable attire for a cruise.
It soon became apparent that the choice of clothing suited the intelligence level of our fellow sailors.
Foul language and the complete disregard of adjusting the volume when using such expletives was not a consideration.
Once onboard the ship, feeding times in the Lotus Grill resembled a cattle market. Rude, greedy people attempting to balance as much food onto a plate before attempting to balance themselves back to a table that they then shared with a few decent people who also appeared to be wondering, 'what are we doing here?'
Combine this with the fact that the 'flannellette shirt' brigade (male and female) were intent on consuming as much alcohol as was possible in a two day period, whilst laying claim to the swimming pool area of the ship and you have a pretty clear and accurate picture of life aboard the Athena.
The fact that Swan Draught, Crown Lager and Corona were the only beers served may be proof enough of the Clientele being catered to.
The ship is still very unstable despite the addition of the 'ducktail' stabiliser at the rear of the vessel. A large number of passengers spent the weekend in their cabins as a result of severe sea-sickness.
The majority of the staff were extremely rude with the exception of the A la carte restaurant staff who were very polite, professional and at all times attentive. The food here was also magnificent. What let this experience down however was the fact that whilst the majority of patrons were dressed appropriately for such a 'fine dining' experience, passengers dressed as described earlier to include those in bathers (still wet) baseball caps and sunglasses were still permitted to join other diners in this restaurant. I truly do not know why we made such an effort because we were most certainly in the minority.
Other memorable events included the idiot who decided to beat his wife up and then spent the remainder of the weekend being 'counselled' by the ship's security officer in between drinking copious quantities of alcohol and staggering around the ship swearing and being a nuisance to other passengers and the final straw was the fact that passengers were requested to leave their luggage outside their cabins prior to 2am on the morning of disembarkation. Ample opportunity for things to 'go missing' we felt and so we did not oblige this request. Other passengers felt the same and knew of friends who had travelled on previous cruises on the Athena who had 'lost' items whilst participating in such a practice.
If you enjoy spending time in the company of people with low intelligence levels but can drink a lot, this is the ship for you. If not, take my advice and save your money!!!

On boarding the ship for the new years celebration we immediately found that the ship was understaffed and the crew were being run off their feet particulary at meal times.

This came to a head on new years eve when people who at lunch time were dining buffet were not able to obtain food as the buffet had almost run out. Some people then proceeded to the 'a la carte' dining room and were denied access as there was not enough staff to set tables so they could be seated.

We as a group of eight were also denied seating however we put an extra two seats around a six seat table but were denied cutlery. We offered to share cutlery that was on the table and were able to be served.

All went well until some milk was spilled on the table by one of us and the waiter boled over. He did apologise shortly after to his credit.

The ship was very clean, towels changed twice daily if required. Spotless cabins and public areas. Food very good and varied. Plenty of choice. Staff were excellent, always ready to assist. We didn't see much of the entertainment but there was plenty going on.
We would definitely sail again on this ship.

Re the Web-link on my previous posting unfortunately Beeplog now want money to host MV Athena photos! I don’t mind helping folks, but not if it’s goner cost me, so I have moved it to my private Web.

So for photos and some information on the MV Athena click on the following link:- http://homepage.ntlworld.com/richardsoffice/mv_athena.htm

Enjoy
Regards Richard

The ship was clean the food and service was very good and both the singer Robert Craig and comedian Hal Bayer were excellent. The staff were friendly and mostly very helpful. We were in a junior premium suite. Unfortunately we would not sail on the ship again as we found it too small the ship was constantly rocking and we all felt sick all the time and the Bay of Biscay was horrendous. We spoke to many other guests who felt exactly the same and, like us said it was their first and last cruise. We had to travel down to Falomouth by coach and this was a terrible journey as we had to leave home the night before to complete the 12 hour journey only to find the ship had been delayed due to bad weather! This should have been a warning to us.

MV Athena Cruise to Candada USA and Azores 10Sept 2006 booked with TRAVELSCOPE.We unfortunately encountered hurricanes on the outward journey and bad storms over 4/5 days on the return journey. We were not impressed with obvious lack of preparation for this eventuality which lead to many injuries (one fatal) and extended periods of stress for all the passengers. The ship failed to make half of the 7 of the scheduled ports of call, 2 of which were refusals by US immigration to allow the ship in. Food preparation/service failed to meet USA requirements and was temporarily changed but the other reasons have not been forthcoming to the passengers. The passengers do not think this itinerary was possible with this ship even in good conditions and most are in the process of claiming refund/compensation.

I was 11 when I went on this ship, I was with my mum dad n brother, and I must say that it was the best holiday I have ever been on. The staff was great and the snap was lovely. I was a little sick during the life boat drill!! lol. But for me and my mum I was great. Its a shame to hear that TRAVELSCOPE went bust beacause it was a wonderful holiday!!!

Hey come-on . . . someone should have some new photos of this ship by now, its cabins, entertainment, Etc. If you can afford the cost of a cruse you’ll also have a decent digital camera and obviously a PC to upload to. So come-on help others out as you would have wished to be helped.

If you have come here looking for information and subsequently travel on the MV Athena when you get back don’t be stingy post some snaps, or E’ them to me so I can post them on the MV Athena Blog Site, my E’ is on the site. . .

http://mv-athena.beeplog.com/

Regards Richard