Our party of four travelled on the Med Isles Cruise from Palma, Majorca on Saturday 6th May. - Silicy, Rome, Corsica, Sardinia, Menorca, Palma.
This was our first cruise so we had no pre-conceptions on what to expect.
We did however check some previous reviews on this page and were worried that we were going to have a horrible time.
However, this could NOT be further from the truth.
Our cabin on Golden deck 9 was spacious and spotless - our Stewardess 'Ada' was wonderful . . . nothing was too much trouble.
The public areas were superb, no smell of smoke as previously mentioned (which believe me, this would have annoyed me!).
The pool deck was cleaned every evening and ready for the clients from 7am onwards as was the whole ship - everywhere you went someone was cleaning something.
The Ocean Theatre was brilliant, always plenty of room and the shows were very good - not cheesy at all - but beware of 'Helios' the resident magician - the act is slightly dated - how often have you seen a lady dissappear in a black box!!!! - you'll see it again on this cruise.
The resident dancers from Brazil were very professional and the Cruise Director was Mr Cool ...... very good.... the ships entertainment staff were very accommodating and friendly.
Both the Casino, Pub and other drinking areas could not be faulted, entertainment and service - excellent . . . and the food....
Anyone who has the slightest grumble about the quality and variety of what was provided must lead very pampered lives.... there was everything one could wish for, and a couple of nights there were speciality dishes - Italian and Indian food which tasted really good also. By Thursday you really do get fed up of eating!
Try 'The Grill' for that extra special treat - it does have a cover charge, but includes wine and if you're lucky, like we were, you will be serenaded by the waiters, head waiter and a little guy on the guitar who in actual fact is the 'dishwasher' who just likes to entertain during his time off.
Trips.... we did not take any of the organised trips ourselves, as we found them very expensive, and you could actually organise a very similar trip yourself once you were in port for a 'fraction' of the organised trip. If going to Rome, get the train from the port for only 9 Euros.
The staff and crew were a really friendly bunch - nothing was too much trouble and everything was done with a smile and at double speed. . . . don't understand previous comments on this page?
If you like your cocktails.... remember that every day on the pool deck they offer 2 for 1 about 4pm.... did not quite manage to work our way from the array of cocktails on offer... but we tried.!
24-hour dining? I tried this at 4.45am - and yes, if you want it, its there.
What was good about the holiday?
The start, the middle and the end - and everything else in-between.
Book it, you will not be dissapointed....
Thanks Island Star for a brilliant holiday.
G. Ledger

The choice of ports of call was good, the ship was clean, the food good, most of the entertainment was good, and the whole staff friendly.

The biggest problem for us was the ignorance of some of the smokers on board. Despite having large "no smoking area" notices on the walls and on the tables, they were disregarded and ignorant smokers just sat puffing away. There was no enforcement of the rules.

There were only 6 non-smoking tables in the near stage section of the Bounty Lounge out of 23.

The no smoking areas on the pool deck were a joke.

I would not sail on this ship again unless there was an enforced non-smoking policy.

My wife and I sailed on the 13th.May 06 Reviera cruise.
This was our first cruise and was to celebrate our Ruby wedding anniversary. We took an initial upgrade and the "Anniversary package" at time of booking.
Our cabin was on Bronze deck, No.4170 overlooking the stern. The cabin was very clean and spacious and our cabin maid was Lucinda who couldn't do enough for us. This included tying ballons up on our anniversary day and a lovely display of ornamental towels each evening.
The ships crew were always smiling, greeting us, very polite and obliging. I have read the previous comments and agree with most, bearing in mind a different time of cruise and itinary, along with each individuals perception and expectations. In respect of the ship ratings :- Cleanliness - 1st.class. Tables in dining areas , bars etc. cleared continuously. As one became available, it was cleaned immediatly for the next recipient. Food :- Again 1st.class, over each of the different venues, of which we tried every one. The Steak Restaurant was our special day and we had the Philipino version of Elvis giving us a table serenade. Not to forget the one candle cake because we had the real one delivered to our cabin earlier. Must add that in our package we had a flower arrangement in our cabin, which again was nicely presented and lasted the whole week. Yes, we had to queue for the island restaurant, but not for long. The beachcomber 24hr. restaurant was used every day by ourselves for breakfast and midday meal. There was very little queuing and again the variety of food was bewildering at times. I wish my stomach were as big as my eyes. Even the static display food was mouthwatering !!! I will agree with an earlier comment that the food was not always "hot" but with any buffet, this will apply depending on how long food is left in the Bain Marie.
Ships staff :- Full marks for everyone, as stated earlier. Surely they stop smiling when they are off duty. If you have a problem, you must tell someone and I'm sure something will be done.
On Board entertainment would of been 5 but, we were not too sure about the Irish singer / comedian. Personal taste obviously, not biased, but we were unable to understand him and his jokes were a little off the mark considering the "family" label of his audience.
The other acts and shows were superb. We've never been to so much entertainment in a week.
As for shore excursions, there was a variety on offer at each port and we chose carefully to reflect cost and our liking. Ie. Winetasting, countryside ride and historical interest. Full or half day. I must admit that the cost seemed expensive, but at least we had a guide and if there were any delays, being on an organised trip, at least the ship wouldn't of sailed if we were late back. ( 4 minutes on one occasion ).
Some people made their own way on local transport such as busses and trains, but I advise only the experienced traveller should attempt this, considering the time constraint ashore.
We were not sure about currency onboard as it was our first time cruising, so all our money was in Euros. Then we discovered that all transactions onboard were via card, so be aware. The final bill was submitted on the last night and paid via the allocated debit card automaticly. Keep an eye on things and the copy slips, so that you are not too surprised at the end. Drinks are reasonable though and larger measures.
There are one or two comments on noise and vibration.
In harbour our cabin was perfect, at sea cruising, wasn't too bad, but at speed it wasn't so good. The vibration and noise were quite substantial in our cabin. The more you can afford, the better, go a deck higher is our advice. But at the end of the day, there is enough going on to keep you busy that you only need the cabin as a retreat to sleep and get away from lots of human beings, which can seem very crowded at times.
Overall value for money was good, more comfortable and spacious than when I was on Royal Navy ships, but even R.N ships shake and roll at times, so I wasn't too surprised.
We would definatly sail on the ship again.

After reading other reports we where very apprhensive about going on the Island Star.
On arriving at Palma the tranfer to the ship was excellent. On boarding the ship there was an air of friendliness. Our cases arrived within 15minutes of boarding.
Our outside cabin on Diamond deck was quite big, the shower room was one of the biggest we have ever had, the beds were also very comfortable, duvets instead of blankets, which you usually get. The cabin was always kept spotless by the cabin steward & there was no shortage of clean towels.
We found the food adequate with a very good choice. We tried the steakhouse & that was superb.We found that you sometimes had to wait for a table in the Island Restaurant.
The Island entertainment team where very good, but some of the acts brought in were poor. The deck party, was rather noisy but the Captain & senior officers did a cabaret & that was really good.
The Captain John Brockenhurst & the Cruise Director Rob Boyd were superb & so friendly, as were all the staff.
Being a smoker myself I found it very hard to find a place to smoke. only cruise I have been on that you are not allowed to smoke in your cabin, but perhaps that is a good thing.
We have done over 15 cruises & this was one of the friendliest & the best value for money. Having said the best value do shop around.

This was our first cruise and we were very aprhensive after rading the negative reports on this site - some people must take a lot of pleasing.
There was no que snaking roud the carpark of the airport, we were on the coach straight away and going through security within an hour of leaving the terminal.
The food was excellent and the choice out of this world. The staff could not be more helpful and freindly and always happy. We were amused to see the tug of war that went on between the little old ladies and the waiters as the waiters tried to carry their food to their table.
Our cabin was on Bronze deck (4) and was cleaned at least twice a day.
The entertainment was brilliant the dancers and the singers were of a very high quality, and one of the singers then did a spot in (The Pub) after doing two shows anight on stage.
We are all none smokers and we were not bothered at all by the smell of smoke as had been suggested by on person, in fact there were not that many smokers on board and the no smoking signs were adhered to in the main, but if they were smoking in the wrong place it was soon pointed out and they were asked to move to a smoking area.
There is only one critism that we have, and that is there is a need for more sun loungers and some of the one there had seen better days and needed replacing. People were asked not to do the German reserving loungers by placing towels on them but some morons took no notice and I did see someone very annoyed because her possessions had been removed by the staff because she had been away from her sun lounger for longer than 20 mins, I found this very applaudable.
We did find the excursions very expensive, and at the beginning of our holiday thee appeared to be a lot of pressure to buy drinks at approx £2.90 per drink, however once you find the deal on offer then the price can go down - recommend the 2 for one offers on the beers in the pool bars.
We would go on the ship again but probably not during a school holiday, there were some out of control kids that were playing with the lifts - pressing all of the buttons etc.which was very annoying, this is not a reflection on the ship but on the parents who allow their offspring to run out of control.

the ships cleanliness was fantastic,wherever you went someone was cleaning something!!and no sooner had you finished eating the waiters were clearing your dirty plates away.food however not so good,all the food seemed cold and i'm not just talking about the salads!!!although there was steam coming off the hot food it was only just luke warm,the puddings were delicious yum yum,but a little repetative.We ate in the steak house once which you have to pay extra for but well worth the money.
All staff were friendly and couldn't do enough to help especially our cabin cleaner Romano.Entertainment was ok if you like sixties type caberatt singing,the dancers in the ocean theatre were amazing,but the comedians weren't.if you want modern type music to dance to in the night club forget it their idea of modern is the seventies!!!not great if you are young like us!!!

I am not a travel agent nor have I any connection with the travel industry, so this review is completely unbiased.
This was my eighth cruise, the previous cruises being.

Mistral with Festival Greek Isles
Serenade “ Thomson Nile cruise
Sunbird “ Sun Cruise Canaries
Costa Atlantica “ Costa Greek Isles
Island Escape “ Island Med
Island Escape “ Island Med
Spirit “ Thomson Red Sea

None of these cruises was expensive so I am not comparing the Island Star with any 5/6 star cruise ships.

My first impression of the ship was very good and I had no reason to change this during my cruise. £23 million dollars had been spent on its refit and this could be clearly seen. Cabins as big as any I had been in before, extremely clean and comfortable. Most of this cleanliness was due to our cabin attendant who was one of the best we have experienced.

Captain John McNeil is a very approachable person and is always around the ship talking to passengers and listening to their comments, he is a real asset to the Island Cruise Company.

Now for the negative issues the main one being the Island Restaurant. This is complete chaos; it is shaped like a V with the self service counters being in the centre of the two arms. People are coming from both directions and queuing from both sides only to meet in the middle and then it is total confusion and heated facial expressions. On several occasions I was asked by another passenger, which side do we queue, I just shrugged my shoulders. Because it is free sitting and you can go for dinner any time when the restaurant is open, my party of five arrived on the first night at 8pm expecting to be taken to a table but had to wait and wait for 30 minutes before we could get a table. We ordered a bottle of wine and that arrived when we was eating our sweet. The following night was a little better as we only had to wait 10 minutes for a table but because this time we wanted our wine with our main course we sat there for 20 minutes waiting for the wine waiter and then we had to go searching for him. The third night we was told to wait 5 minutes as a table was being made ready for us, only to find that my wine glass had lipstick on and the remains of the last person’s drink. In my opinion the restaurant is not big enough for the amount of people using it and that seems to go for the whole ship.

I believe when the ship went in for a refit 70 extra cabins were fitted which inevitably puts pressure on the ship’s facilities, so much so that in the evening when the show has finished in the Ocean Theatre there is not enough seats for everyone in the other public rooms, so you either stand or go to bed which I’m told many people did. The smoking policy of Island Cruises is topsy tervy to the rest of the civilised world where smoking is in designated areas, but the Island Star has designated areas for none smokers and believe me they are very small. As you get out of the lift on deck 8 which has most of the bars, the smell of smoke hits you and it sticks. I was on the ship for 3 days before I managed to find an empty none smoking seat hidden away behind the casino, these seats are like gold dust. I did mention this to Captain McNeil; and he says the smoking policy will be changing next year.

I’ve sailed on the Island Escape twice before and consider it a far more organised ship than the Island Star. We was told by the Hotel Director who is responsible for over 400 of the crew including the waiters that half of them came over from the Island Escape and I did recognise some faces but the rest looked as if they were in a dream with no sense of urgency. We were also told that the menu is the same as the Island Escape, I beg to differ. On every cruise I’ve been on I’ve always put on at least half a stone, on this cruise I actually lost weight. The food is the worst I have had on any ship with the exception of the breakfast, they were like the Island Escape, a full English with lean bacon not the streaky stuff you usually get abroad..

I would definitely sail on the Island Escape again but not the Island Star, I was deeply disappointed. If you are a smoker and don’t mind a bum fight in the restaurant then the Island Star is for you

We were really looking forward to our holiday on the Island Star as we have been on the Island Escape a 3* ship four times and had super holidays. The Island Star was classed as a 4* ship so we were expecting a better cruise than the Island Escape
HOW WRONG COULD WE BE
We have been on 15 cruises with different companies so we consider ourselves well versed on the cruise scene and well qualified to offer an opinion and we can say without hesitation that this is the worst cruise we have been on.
From landing at Palma Airport where the queue for the coach to take us to the docks stretched from the coach park and zig zagged right back well into the terminal building. This queuing seemed to set the scene for the rest of the cruise because all we ever did was queue, queue for breakfast, queue for dinner. The waiters in the Island restaurant were really slow, all we wanted to do was to wind them up like toy clockwork soldiers, it was so frustrating.
The ship has had a refit with cabins added but they have forgotten to increase the seating in the public rooms. We spent most of the time looking for somewhere to sit.
Needless to say the Island Star is definitely off our ship list.

Hi we have previously sailed on the escape. The cleanliness on boad the star was excellent. The food well that was terrible. Always luke warm and not enough variety. I mean who want to eat liver and onions with a jacket potato, and may I add a jacket potato that was hard and cold. Lots of people talking aboutthe food. The majority of the waiters etc where very very slow and not many smiled. Had a problem with our room which was not sorted we had a terrible smell of sewarage,still waiting to hear from them over this.

the ship has just had a refit & public areas are stunning much better than previous thomson & airtours cruises which have been on. had an outside cabin in diamond deck which was very spacious plenty of storage space for clothes & to store cases for the week. window was a good size. cabin attendant was very good, can't remember name. food was very good & plentiful, wide selection every day to choose from. a la carte restaurants well worth the cover charge, but need to book early to aviod any disappointment. resaurant staff were very helpful & polite at all times, however can be busy but then you can't choose what times fellow cruisers will choose to dine, especially on days when you have been ashore on an excursion. the pool area is spacious with lots of seats & sunbeds & never seemed a problem to find anywhere to sit or lay. prices of drinks very good & different offers on a daily basis of cocktails.night club great with a good range of music to suit all & bars were also goof too, sometimes a wait for drinks but generally not too bad, only maybe after dinner & before shows start. shows were very good & a mixture for all tastes, large theatre with ample seats, but can be busy with people reserving seats, but this is not fault of island cruises only fellow guests & people who choose to stay for 2nd showing & not letting other guests see the show. would recommend the island star & would def cruise again on this ship.