Dirty and stressing. Forget about it if you have ever been to a top Royal Caribbean ship. Not worth the time to complain. Great for those used to 2-3 stars trip.

Hi just back from a truly fantastic holiday . from start to finish this holiday was made by the excellent service of the crew nothing was to much trouble guest relations stewards waiters waitress and the captain. The cruise was 7 days med isles cruise and each port of call was equally as interesting in its own way, so well put together by the company. I cannot understand those who give this cruise a bad rating the value for money is teriffic but I supose it depends what you want for your small payment (Hadleys) Will highly reccomend to anyone wishing to cruise and relax . Many thanks to all and Island Cruises

I have read conflicting reports about Island Escape you can't please every one we all have our own issues. Well Hadley from Pottar Bar said it all, along with Carol & Steve who added a lot more to which I agree with both.
In the past we have sailed on F.C. Bolero and said never again - so why did we book FC and Island Escape - when we normally have an excellent cruise on Ocean Village. Well It was Med Charm and the ports were easy access to just wonder around if you had done these port previously and tours as we had and so much enjoyed. Ibiza easy access to just ponder around the old town. Alicante - ship right in port easy access to old town and beach area - smart frontage and Malaga - again easy access and nice beach walking distance from the dock to town and Mijas is a wonderful place to visit - get a taxi from the ships side and haggle a good price we got it for 100 euros and asked him to stay 2 hours (yes pouring rain). Cadiz again easy access to walk to the old town and take a city bus tour. Gibraltar just a free shuttle ride from the port and great place to visit.
No one reported that in the Beachcomber restaurant we had to be served food on plastic plates and drink out of plastic beakers, which always seemed wet when you took one and discoloured, and no trays. How do you carry food and drink to a table not having access to a tray !!!! Bad point. Yes the food was always cold or luke warm - and by husband who normally enjoys a cooked breakfast whilst on holiday (a treat) actually forced himself to eat the one sausage one tomato and one piece of bacon and one hard fried egg dished up.!!! Would we travel with FC again or even on I.E. NO Way - it's as it's listed a converted car ferry tarted up. Roll on Ocean Village again in 07.at least you don't loose 3lbs in weight because of non eating cold meals.

First time we had cruised , but had wanted to do it for a while. Had read a few of the review before travelling so was abit apprehensive.However from check in to departure found the ship to be excellant. The cabin could have done with an upgrade but it was exceptionally clean.The staff went out of their way to make sure you were ok. My 11 year old son was safe throughout and loved the experience.Food was good the same as any mass produced hotel, certainly no worse. Beachcomber restaurant could do with more tables but otherwise good. Anyone who could not find something that they liked in the island restaurant was just being awkward. We didn't use the oasis restaurant as we found what we wanted in the other 2. It was my birthday while on board and they even put my cards in with the towel designs and i had a cake and serendade form the waiters in the island restaurant. Entertainment excellant they work so hard all night. Ports of call were all easy access but expensive if you did the tours(again same as a beach holiday).
Gibralter was excellant however and great guide was not rushed.Drinks- beer about the same price as at home , soft drinks were expensive so an upgrade to all inclusive would be good if you can get one. But we don't go on holiday to not spend any money.
Would i do island cruises again. YES DEFINATELY

This was a fantastic holiday. The ship was very clean and the cabin was cleaned twice daily. During the cruise ship personnel could be seen cleaning various areas of the ship. Everything was spotless.
The food was outstanding and really, the restauraunts on board were a credit to Island Cruises. The Beechcomber was open 24 hours and had various theme nights. The Island Restauraunt was tastefully furnished with an excellent choice of food. The Oasis retauraunt was a delight to eat in. The staff were brilliant, nothing was too much trouble for them. They were very well mannered and pleasant. Entertainment was of a very good standard and the comedian and the Horray for Hollywood shows were great . I would certainly cruise on this ship again, however, i don't know about my wife as we did have a couple of rough night at sea.

This ship is tatty old ferry with a cheap out of date overhaul (2002). The cabins are advertised as being of a 'contemporary design' with good quality fittings..TOTAL RUBBISH.

Our shower enclosure had layers of old mastic with attractive black mould and patched broken tiles, the result of patching up over a number of years,GOD KNOWS WHAT GERMS AND FUNGUS were breeding in this. I have photo's to back this up!! The cabin was very old and tired, narrow beds and very suspect pillows (I don't like to think too hard about them). I am in dispute with Island cruises regarding this matter.

We paid to up grade several decks expecting the cabins to be of a 4 star quality, total waste of money, all the cabins are of the same standard.

Pool always full of kids, very, very small you could not get in it even just to cool off!

Food bland and sometimes a bit odd!!

Staff generally very nice and helpful except at customer relations, they didnt want to know about anything and worked at snail pace.

I would not travel on this boat even if it was a free holiday....

Just back from a stay and cruise, wish we had done 2 weeks on the ship!!!!
Without doubt the best holiday my family and I have ever had, the ship was amazing, from booking in at lunchtime to leaving the ship after the week was up, it was the best experience ever.
The cleanliness was first class, we had a great steward,clive,who gave the personal touch, the food was without doubt the best quality we have experienced, beating a five star and also my Egyptian cruise, the ship staff, in particular the kids club staff were so good it was impossible to find any criticism. Entertainment top notch from the resident band "magic" to the comedians, pub sing-along, piano lounge player, light entertainment team, every one of them a star in their own right.
We booked an all inclusive option which meant only having to pay for our trips and sundries and the whole week cost us only £353 pounds extra, some people would have had bar bills alone of over £1000.
Our two kids aged 9&7 adored the whole week and were very upset at leaving the kids club gang at the end, and you normally cant get my son to go near kids clubs.
My wife was very apprehensive about sailing, but from the minute we left Palma, for Sicily, Naples, Livorno, Toulon and Barcelona to go back to Palma she never had any more worries, apart from the hum of the engine you would have thought you were in a hotel.
The trips were mostly fine,trumpy tours is the Italian tour company the ship uses, Pompeii should be seen by everyone, to remind us of the power of nature, Pisa was stunning,livorno itself was very drab.messina was a lovely walk. Toulon you can get a small tourist train from the dock which shows the whole town and is hop on hop off. Barcelona was the only dissapointment, the tour to the stadium, was great but rushed through, so much so that my son and I missed the return coach and had to get a taxi back to port. My wife and daughter went on the Barcelona sights and shopping trip and also were rushed about and given about 30 minutes shopping in a selected area that probably gave commission to the tour guide.
Now that is our only complaint, my wife said that the only gripe was that the time between different entertainment shows on board was so small that it was impossible to get to see most of it, but that’s a compliment to the team that there was so much on.
Anyone with complaints must have been on the wrong ship. The food in the beachcomber restaurant was so good that we didn’t bother with the so called posher island and oasis restaurants, in fact the funny thing was the amount of people who came from these two restaurants to finish off with a pudding or 2nd meal in the beachcomber.
Would I do it again,yes,yes,yes,i just got a price for two weeks on board in July 2007,all inclusive again, I would recommend it to everyone and in fact I have, we are trying to get a crowd together to go next year but we will def.be there.
Thanks Island cruises for the best weeks holiday ever

FANTASTIC!
I have been on a few cruises but this topped the lot!
Informal, fantastic staff. Even the senior officers and captain joined in!
Ports of call were fab. This was the first week of a cruise and stay. had a fantastic time and a good laugh with the staff.
I would definately go with this company again.

I travelled with my elderly parents on this cruise. They had never cruised before and were aprehensive. They need not have worried. The whole experience was marvelous and are even thinking of going again this year by themselves.I cruised last year on this ship with my son.(his graduation gift) He was 21 and he also was not sure if it was for him but he loved it and would certainly go again (this time with his girlfriend)
If you have never cruised before or are looking for a relaxing holiday where you do as much or as little as you please then this is the criuse for you

The Island Escape is very aptly named because that is just what I wanted to do within half an hour of setting eyes on the ship.Escape! After 30 hours of traveling to join the ship in Santos, Brazil,we were treated to a 3 hour wait in a hot,grubby and overcrowded shed on the quayside before we were allowed to get anywhere near the ship. The organisational skills of the staff dealing with the passenger embarkation were abysmal. No information was given out, there were few staff in evidence and those that were around were unhelpful to say the least. If there are problems it would have been quite a lot easier to bear if we had been told what was going on. When we finally did get on this oversized car ferry that masquerades as a cruise ship we did not see our luggage for another three or four hours, so could not shower and change to recover from our marathon trip and long hot and uncomfortable wait to get on the ship.
The Island Escape is a tired and quite frankly in places, worn out old lady in need of a bit of tlc and a major interior refurbishment.

Beds were narrow and uncomfortable. The cabin we had on deck 4 was adequate but not really welcoming. TV was battered with bits coming off. washbasin was chipped. toilet floor and shower floor were cracked and the air conditioning regulator was falling off the wall. The cover to the air conditioning vent in the ceiling was loose. Bedding was worn, some of the towels were not fit for dusters, having bald patches and holes in them, and were hard and rough and not nice to use.The shower curtain was in dire need of replacement. Shower was so small it was difficult to fit inside. Had we been large people it would have been impossible. The Beachcomer was in need of a dam good clean the tiles on the tabletops needed a SCRUB instead of being brushed off with a grubby brush or a bit of paper towel. The floor was covered in gaffer tape to hold down the strips of lifting parquet. this was done on a daily basis with the amount of tape growing at an alarming rate. The whole floor needs to be replaced, like the carpeting on the stairs and the grubby insipid looking seating in the Bounty Lounge and the Beachcomer.
FOOD. All I can say about the food on this ship is that there was plenty of it although in some cases you would think that the people serving the food had to pay for it out of their own pocket. You got one slice of meat, half a spoonful of whatever veg and half a spoonful of potatoes or pasta. everyone ALWAYS asked for more. It was a ship load of Oliver Twists. For breakfast, kippers were available once or twice but since when has a kipper been 1.5 inches by 2.5 inches and served one at a time? 2 bites and its gone.Ask for sausages and get 1 tinned hot dog sausage, either cold or lukewarm. Oliver Twist time again "Can I have some more please" It was always forthcoming, but you should not have needed to ask.
The quality was definately average. It was poorly cooked but well presented. The selection of cold salads and meats were faily varied but they stayed out in the open in a tropical climate for far too long. The hot meals were delivered to the counter with speed and eficiency. So why were they either lukewarm or cold by the time they got to the plate? For the whole of my 15 night criuse I never once had a meal that was piping hot. It is no wonder that there were many people suffering from tummy upsets. Tummy upsets that they didn't dare take to the ships nurse or doctor for the fear of being charged for medical treatment.

SHIPS CREW.

One word describes the crew on this ship. FABULOUS. They were friendly, helpful, nice, happy people who worked extremely hard to keep us all fed, watered, entertained and clean.

Entertaiment. average entertainent at Night with reasonable shows and cabaret.The pianist in the pub left a little to be desired but that was all. The Daytime entertainment was something else.pool quiz' pub quiz, bingo, carpet bowls, table tenis, keep fit, vegatable carving, cookery lesson, dance lesson, napkin folding demo, bit of music to sunburn by and that was it.
the shore trips were badly organised, with too long spent getting people off the ship and on to buses eating into the valuable shore time that cost far too much money and in the case of our particular trip around Salvador, felt unsafe and quite scary.

Would I sail on this ship again? I think not.Would I cruise again? doubtful.