Island Escape Cruise

Hey guys sorry if i have posted this in the wrong forum i'm new to the site and forums in general

I am heading on my first cruise on the 26th of may for one week and the cruise we are going on is Island Escape Cruise "best of the west" traveling to elba,Livorno,(italy),cannes,sete(France) and barcelona spain.

the reason why im posting this thread is to ask has any body been on these ships and do they have some idea of the drinks /food menu?

we are all inclusive and im keen to know what is on offer ?

thanks in advance for looking any info at all about these cruises would be much appreciated :)

Hi there. Why not post this question on the island cruises forum on this site or better still, ask on the Facebook site. Hope you have a great holiday

Hi there

Quite a few people who post on here have been on the Island Escape and really like the ship.

No doubt some will be along soon to give you more information.

But you will get the best response if you post on Island Cruises.

hi we went on the island escape many years ago around the caribbien and totally loved this ship. it is getting old now and proberly only stays around Europe. too look at it reminds me of a old war ship lol but inside was good and the staff was out of this world.

its nothing like most cruise ships it has such a relaxed atmosphere to the point where one man we saw used to wear his slippers around all day and night.

the food was a1 and drinks all inclusive were of good quality.you have to pay supplement for top brands like JW whiskey or champagne etc.

I would not hesitate to return to this ship you will love it.

it has such a relaxed atmosphere to the point where one man we saw used to wear his slippers around all day and night.

Did you find this unusual ?

I think he was a tad "Mad" to be doing this.

On RCCL, often saw people wearing robes around the place.

white trailer trash.

Just to add, that when i was younger, we often had fun with folks who lived in these trailers. they were lots of memories and upon reflection, it was a time in my life where I learned so much about myself. It was where I learned what fun life had to offer

Oh the memories.....

pass the vino.

.

i wish they would give us robes on thoms...i'd live in mine....fluffy slippers too....ohhhh luxury:cool::p;)

we did think this a little strange slippers in the evening bars lol but it was just so chilled out on this ship I think you could have done anything.

this ship reminded me of a ordinary workingman's cruise and not a upper class toff cruise.

each to their own I believe and it comes down to what you want and feel comfortable with.:)

each to their own I believe and it comes down to what you want and feel comfortable with.:)

I agree with you 100%.

But still wouldnt wear slippers in public .

.

i wish they would give us robes on thoms...i'd live in mine....fluffy slippers too....ohhhh luxury:cool::p;)

Ah you're back Geo, hope you had a great Christmas and A Happy New Year to you and Mrs Geo :)

PS - just seen your other post ;)

Hey guys sorry if i have posted this in the wrong forum i'm new to the site and forums in general

 

I am heading on my first cruise on the 26th of may for one week and the cruise we are going on is Island Escape Cruise "best of the west" traveling to elba,Livorno,(italy),cannes,sete(France) and barcelona spain.

 

the reason why im posting this thread is to ask has any body been on these ships and do they have some idea of the drinks /food menu?

 

we are all inclusive and im keen to know what is on offer ?

 

thanks in advance for looking any info at all about these cruises would be much appreciated :)

I was on the IE last June and the draught lager was OK.. No Idea what it was but it came in Stella glasses, & the wife just kept to the non alcoholic cocktails, which tasted vastly different depending on what bar you were at.

Here is a link to RR's copy of the important part of the 2013 bar list but by 2014 you could put another 20-30p on to the premium prices...http://boards.cruisecritic.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=286444&d=1379144562

Island Escape buffet food is good old English fare, so loads of rice & curries... I have found them to have about the widest buffet choice of any cruise I have been on. & for puddings they have everything from ice cream to spotted dick & custard.

What's wrong with slippers??? I will have you know I have a pair of slippers kept especially for cruising. OK they're up market M&S navy suede slippers, but they are really comfy & I wouldn't be without them for those sea days in the casino :D

Me and my hubby are going on a back to back cruise on Island Escape on 19th May. It's our first cruise and not sure whether to "do our own thing" or book excursions. Any advice anybody?

Me and my hubby are going on a back to back cruise on Island Escape on 19th May. It's our first cruise and not sure whether to "do our own thing" or book excursions. Any advice anybody?

My advice would be a bit of both. I pick the big "must see" places that I wouldn't be confident visiting on my own and book excursions, or sometimes there's a tour that I really like the sound of.

In smaller ports (and now I've plenty of cruises under my belt some of the bigger ones) I enjoy getting off the ship and exploring by myself.

On my first cruise (which was also IE & I loved it - definitely caught the cruise bug!!) I tried to do everything and it wasn't very relaxing. Now I do half day trips unless it's somewhere you really have to go all day for.

Hope you have a great time!

we did think this a little strange slippers in the evening bars lol but it was just so chilled out on this ship I think you could have done anything.

this ship reminded me of a ordinary workingman's cruise and not a upper class toff cruise.

each to their own I believe and it comes down to what you want and feel comfortable with.:)

Perhaps the fella had sore feet, hence the slippers ?

I wear my crocs onboard during leisure time, they are comfortable and practical.

As for robes (aka dressing gowns) during the day, why not ?

Some people still cling on to long outdated Victorian and Edwardian dress etiquette.

Me and my hubby are going on a back to back cruise on Island Escape on 19th May. It's our first cruise and not sure whether to "do our own thing" or book excursions. Any advice anybody?

Go with Gary-T's advice.

It varies from port to port.

Why not list your itinerary so that experienced punters around here can offer specific advice.

If you go with the ship's excursions regularly the cost can soon mount up.

For example only, Cartegena (Spain) is a walk off port of call and it's a delightful place which can easily be seen by foot.

Hi Granny Mussy....my advice would be to go to the port talks which are usually on the sea day of the cruise, where someone from the excursions team will give advice about each port....they will talk about the ships trips but also how you can do things yourself. Reception will also have good town maps if you are going ashore independently. The only trips we have ever done off Island Escape were in Tangiers....at every other port we have done our own thing. We have done three cruises on IE and really enjoyed every one of them. :)

Me and my hubby are going on a back to back cruise on Island Escape on 19th May. It's our first cruise and not sure whether to "do our own thing" or book excursions. Any advice anybody?

Welcome to the forum - and to cruising. :) I'm sure you'll have a great time and once you have checked in the organisation is excellent and everything will quickly fall into place.

What are your ports? As others have said organised trips or DiY depends on your preferences of how to go about sight-seeing and how practical it is at each port, whether you like to walk or prefer a tour. Some ports are very attractive and very easy to just walk off from the ship. Others, it may be an idea to get a hoho bus tour if available. If you especially want to visit a particular place it may be easy to use public transport which is generally very cheap or if a more distant place it may be best to go with a Thomson trip and an organised trip gives you the benefit of a guide too. Somewhere like Granada for example is one excursion best done with Thomson but as WCM said, somewhere like Cartegena is lovely and very suited to a DiY approach.

Perhaps the fella had sore feet, hence the slippers ?

 

I wear my crocs onboard during leisure time, they are comfortable and practical.

 

As for robes (aka dressing gowns) during the day, why not ?

 

Some people still cling on to long outdated Victorian and Edwardian dress etiquetteh.

We have friends who did a world cruise on the QM and are very decent folk and quite refined too. He wore bootee slippers for the whole cruise, even had a black pair for formal nights and wore them everywhere including a visit to the Great Wall of China as for medical reasons he is unable to wear normal shoes. It became a talking point amongst many passengers and at a reception when they chatted to the Captain it became clear he'd heard about the 'gentleman with the slippers' and was quite amused and was charming to them and had a photo taken with them too! So I wouldn't be too quick to judge -perhaps there's a good reason for the slippers and even the Capt of the QM found it acceptable!

Thanks for the advice GaryT. Very much appreciated. I'm getting quite excited now!

Wow! We're going thru the itinerary and making final decisions now. However no doubt this will change in the first few hours on board. Looking forward to making new friends and no doubt this will have an effect on our plans.

Oops I forgot to add our itnerary: Olbia (Sardinia), Naples- we fancy Amalfi Coast and Sorrento, Rome - we're happy to do our own thing on the train as we're pretty familiar with Rome, Calvi (Corsica), Mahon (Menorca), Palma - we'll do our own thing as we know Majorca very well,Elba, Livorno - we'd like to see Florence and/or Pisa, Cannes - we want to do Nice, Monaco and Monte Carlo, Sete, Barcelona - considering doing the Barcelona Explorer trip! Don't mind moderate walking - (I can walk forever but hubby is a "moderate" walker).

:)

WCM and Kruzeeka, totally agree re slippers, comfort over style when needed.

Grannymussy.

Have a look at:

http://www.tomsportguides.com/

The best resource for DIY trips.

If you have a smartphone or tablet the trip advisor apps for cities are good too, they work offline once you have them downloaded. The Barcelona one is good but it seems to be getting increasingly biased towards the excursion firms that are obviously paying trip advisor. It wasn't that obvious last year.....

Another good tip is to put the port name into the search box on this forum, and the ports forum on here is a good resource too.

Florence and Pisa in one trip would be difficult unless you do the ships trip. To be honest I would do Florence on it's own rather than cramming both in.

Barcelona is good to DIY use the HOHO buses, or the metro which is cheap and easy to use, like any big city just watch for pickpockets.

As there is a good chance that we will return to the ports (most med cruises cover the same ground year after year) we tend too not try and cram to much in now and concentrate on what is in the local vicinity rather than travelling from one corner of a City to another just to see one particular sight. We don't rush around trying to see it all like we used to when we first started cruising;)

"So I wouldn't be too quick to judge........"

Exactly Kruzseeka.

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Island Escape ?

No thanks, I know somebody who goes on their cruises and only wears a clean vest on formal nights.

We enjoyed Island Escape as much as any other Thomson's cruise ship we have been on.

We are taking more HoHo bus trips round ports these days as we worry whether my husband would cope with walking on some of the Thomson trips. The port showcase is good and you can chat with the destination services team afterwards about the trips offered.

Have fun.

Oops I forgot to add our itnerary: Olbia (Sardinia), Naples- we fancy Amalfi Coast and Sorrento, Rome - we're happy to do our own thing on the train as we're pretty familiar with Rome, Calvi (Corsica), Mahon (Menorca), Palma - we'll do our own thing as we know Majorca very well,Elba, Livorno - we'd like to see Florence and/or Pisa, Cannes - we want to do Nice, Monaco and Monte Carlo, Sete, Barcelona - considering doing the Barcelona Explorer trip! Don't mind moderate walking - (I can walk forever but hubby is a "moderate" walker).

:)

Calvi is absolutely lovely - I wouldn't do anything other than enjoy this pretty town. There is a great beach too. One of my favourite Med ports of call.

Oops I forgot to add our itnerary: Olbia (Sardinia), Naples- we fancy Amalfi Coast and Sorrento, Rome - we're happy to do our own thing on the train as we're pretty familiar with Rome, Calvi (Corsica), Mahon (Menorca), Palma - we'll do our own thing as we know Majorca very well,Elba, Livorno - we'd like to see Florence and/or Pisa, Cannes - we want to do Nice, Monaco and Monte Carlo, Sete, Barcelona - considering doing the Barcelona Explorer trip! Don't mind moderate walking - (I can walk forever but hubby is a "moderate" walker).

 

:)

I agree Calvi is very nice, and Sete is also quite small and nice to wander around too. I did the combined Florence/Pisa trip from the ship - Pisa was almost an add on on the way back to the ship, but I'm glad I saw it. I also agree that Barcelona is a great city to see on the HOHO bus.