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island escape WELL, WELL!!!


liamjake

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Well well ... just back from canaries (18.4.11) from a week on IE, before we went i made the mistake of taking some of the comments on this site serious, regarding the poor state of this ship

Me and my wife sailed on this ship about 4 years ago and all was satifactory during that (med) cruise, as for this ship now .... these are simple facts about its current state .....

This ship is tired - but very clean and tidy (some of the stairs carpet is worn - so what)

The cabins (deck 7) are very clean (but again tired) and a bit creeky at night (so what)

The staff are very helpful and cannot do enough for you in ensuring that you enjoy your holiday

The food is excellent

The weather wasn't spectacular, but warm and pleasant (20c plus) with a bit of rain (2 days).

We had a bit of a problem in Morocco on a market with a local who was hassling us aggresively (this can happen in any country were people live hand to mouth) i told him firmly to move away,which he did once he know he couldn't intimidate me.

The entertainment is good but not as good a quality as their other ships

 

My advice to anyone sailing on this ship for the 1st time is - dont expect 5 star or the ship to be as steady as land

It is not as good as other thomson ships in many respects but does have its own better points

 

Some times i'm ashamed to be british ..... on the 1st day 2 ladies got in the lift and were ranting that the ship was rubbish because it wasn't like the other ships they'd been on .......... how pathetic, this is like saying an hotel is rubbish because its not like the last one you stayed in (when its a totally different hotel)

 

Enjoy this ship and make the most of it as you would any holiday!!:D:D

 

We enjoyed this holiday along with our son and his girlfriend (who was a 1st time cruiser););):D:D

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Very entertaining review, I can only disagree with one point and that is that we thought the entertainment was much better when we were on compared to the Celebration. Then again, it's probably difficult to compare as all the ships change things around throughout the season. We had an excellent comedian whose name escapes me (no pun intended).:D:D Thanks.:):)

 

Jan

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Thanks for the review - this will be my 2nd time on the ship and looking forward to it, big time, doing things I wasn't able to do last trip ( not ship's fault)

 

Last time didn't do much as death in the family and spent some time on phone with travel Ins (long story) . This time mine and hubby's mobile phone will be turned off as soon as I arrive in Palma

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This time mine and hubby's mobile phone will be turned off as soon as I arrive in Palma

 

Good Idea!! My phone goes on once a day for a few seconds. If anyone wants us they can text and only then in an emergency.

 

Jan

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My mate just got back on Tuesday from his 1st trip aboard the good ship IE and he throughly enjoyed it :) forgot he went from Madeira :o

 

Although he was in the bargain buckets (deck 3) said it was the best holiday he had done in ages.said entertainment was brilliant food brilliant..everything was 1st class even though I told him not to expect to much!!

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It'll be our first time on IE and I don't expect it to be a top notch ship simply because of how old it is but I think the reason it must get all the bad reviews is the price people are paying?

 

We've just booked up on a Royal Caribbean ship (independence of the seas) we wanted to try another company and altho we don't have a/i drinks on there it's costing almost as much (including paying the £202 for pre paid tips :eek: - rip off) as it's cost us for booking the IE with upgrading to an outside cabin. As it's only a 3 or 4 year old ship we ARE expecting 5* luxury.

 

As long as IE is clean and tidy and the staff are as lovely as they are on Destiny and Celebration we will be happy :cool:

 

Not looking forward to Morocco - think we'll give exploring there a miss :(

 

Haydrew

:)

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We were on IE a week ago followed by a stay in Tenerife - got back at 3am this morning so I am very tired! Anyway we didn't expect much based on the reviews but totally loved it - the entertainment was fab too and I complimented Dan France and Ollie Collins directly regarding this as we were departing. Chris Williams the cruise director was hilarious and unlike any other cruise directors we have seen! :D

 

If anyone has any questions on recent experiences or excursions please let me know and I will be happy to assist :) :)

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Chris was fab - his Michael Flatley impersonation nearly had me on the floor with laughter - he is also very funny as Freddie Mercury :)

 

Not sure which excursion to recommend from Agadir - we did Taurodant and were very disappointed and even scared at some points although I am awaiting a further response about this from the after sales team so cannot discuss this more at the moment but beware :eek:

 

We did the Botanical Beauty tour in Madeira and the Timanfaya trip in Lanzarote which were both great though with very professional guides :cool:

 

Enjoy! :)

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We went to most of the game shows in the Bounty Lounge and he did a fab Keith Lemon/Rufus Hound style impersonation of Michael Flately in rather revealing ripped tights which was so funny. He's just crazy bouncing around the ship all the time like some sort of psychedelic zebedee! He also did a fab Freddie Mercury during Stars in Their Eyes on the pool deck one night. He was very camp too during one pool activity afternoon where there was a entertainment team vs passengers competition and he supposedly took a liking to one poor soul who he called a "Silver Fox" - hilarious! :D

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