Cruise Reviews Centre

I went on a cruise from Barcelona with friends in January 2012. I was a bit worried by poor reviews on other sites, but we had a wonderful time. Excellent value for money. Spotless ship with staff cleaning handrails etc at all hours. The buffet was more limited than on some other ships but there was always something for me. The afternoon tea was also limited but who needs it after the ample portions at other meal times. A lot of the ports were only half days so we spent quite a lot of time on the ship and there were numerous comfortable lounges to sit in. Smoking is allowed in a lot of areas but the only place we would not sit was the Aft lounge, due to the smoky atmosphere. Numerous courses were served in the dining room and we enjoyed almost everything. Water is not served in the dining room unless you buy bottles. We found that the house wine served in a carafe was adequate for us and a very reasonable price, so did not run up large bills. The shows were excellent. All in all a really good ship for the money if you can get a promotional offer, and singles at some times with no supplement.

The ship is lovely with high quality furnishings and spotlessly clean. We got the cruise ( Venice-Bari-Rhodes-Haifa-Athens-Venice ) for quite a good price through Iglu. However we did not like the liberal smoking policy which meant some bars and the casino were no go areas for us - also we could smell it in the corridors because you could smoke in the cabins. YUK. Meal times in the buffet were nearly always chaotic and we struggled to find any free tables at times. Food was okay but seemed bland to us and also mostly not very hot. In the buffet the coffee and tea were served in plastic blue mugs ... not nice . The coffee was so bitter it was undrinkable and so we resorted to having to buy it at the bars. Wine , beer , spirits , cocktails and soft drinks were expensive . Some of the entertainment was fantastic especially the acrobatic displays.

done 13 cruises now different ships ,thought brilliance was a lovely clean ship crew helpful and plenty of good food. wasnt happy at the gratuities stopped me drinking to much. my biggest gripe was life boat drill we didnt need our life jackets how stupid, a lot of people were 1st timers and really needed to know how they were worn.

Firstly let me say that this was a bargain cruise and given the same deal we would do it all over again! The ship is a bit quirky with corridors leading nowhere or through main bars and designer restaurants, not good if you have paid a supplement to dine. Our cabin was small but well equipped with touches like tea and coffee making facilities and a walk in wardrobe. If you're a tidy person then you will have no problems! Our cabin steward Rowena was excellent. The entertainment was outstanding, whether it was a Broadway type show, a tribute act or a quiz or ballroom dancing there was plenty of choice all day long. The ports of call always in the Caribbean were beautiful and you could spend your days on the local beach or take a trip. If you do not want to pay the cruise ship prices, there are usually authorised taxis by the port that you can use. The only place we felt any uncertainty was St Lucia where you were bombarded by the local taxi drivers. We scuttled back to the ship that day and stayed around the pool. We would definitely do a ships tour next time there! We had flexible dining which worked really well for us as we could plan our evenings as we liked. However, we found the food poor and the silver service waiters lacking in interpersonal skills. Upstairs in the buffet restaurant the food was themed and much better. But, hey, you don't go on a cruise to serve yourself every night, do you?

Travelled on 16/12/2011 The Costa Favalosa cruise Jewels of the Emirates to Dubai, Muscat, Fujairah, Abu Dhabi, Khasab, Dubai. I have had several cruises with different cruise liners, so here is the informed information you may require if you are thinking of going on the Favalosa. This is a brand new ship Italian by name and Italian by nature, this ship has excellent cabin space and as you would expect all the fixtures and fittings are brand new. The ships crew are very friendly and helpful as are the rest of the ships team. The entertainment was reasonable but very European based mainly on dancing shows. Cost: On your cabin TV you can keep up to date with your account, do so as you may find that there may be mistakes made. Check your drinks packages as to what you can and cannot have as mistakes may be costly. The food in the day time restaurants as we expected was Italian based but of poor quality and variety. The evening Al a carte menu on paper looks excellent until it arrives when you find that if you expected to put on weight, don’t worry you wont, you can count the slices of meat on two fingers and the vegetables on four fingers you will be lucky if you have more than one potato sliced. We found out the staff who deliver the meals are extremely embarrassed as the head chef should be. The ports visited: (Dubai and Abu Dhabi) were jaw dropping and (Muscat) was also pleasant, (Fujairah) is apparently a good place to visit with the best duty free shop, but your not going there as we found out to our cost we went to another port with no explanation, were there was nothing to see and nothing to do.( Khasab), if you thought Fujairah was bad then it just got worse, no words can describe how cheated we feel about these last two destinations. We established from crew members that the English and Chinese more or less subsidise the Italians who pay around a third less for the same cruise. Getting around the ship was not easy and very few signs posted, you have to try to remember the names of the decks, no signage in or out side of the lifts, trying to get to the evening meal restaurant was a major trek up and down the floors as there is no direct route. On the day of Muster station practise (Boat Drill) we obtained from our cabins the life jackets noted on the cabin door where we should go, the staff on our deck told us to go the opposite way which took us twice as long to get to the muster station. Summary: If you wish to use the ship to get to your destinations only, then this is a nice ship. The dress code for the formal evenings is more casual than formal. They need to change some of their destinations and they need to think about their non Italian customers.

The Ship was excellent. Clean and very accommodating. What was amiss was the rip off I suffered by paying in advance Staff Gratuities on the pretext it advantaged my dining rerquiremnts. Firstly the dining in the dining room was a failure and we spent most of our time dining in the Windjammer restaurant which was excellent. Good service pleasant location. When it came to leave the ship we were presented In our cabin with vouchers to give out as gratuities to staff we considered were worth it. Sadly none of the staff in the Windjammer received a penny of our contribution. Received a penny as it all went to the staff in the dining room which we only attended once at great expense. A glass of wine 15$ a bottle of wine over 22$ beer 7$ etc.

we went on the island escape last year round the med, we enjoyed it so much we have just been on thomson celebration on the red sea which was also fab. we were so pleased we are just looking at booking on the island escape again in may. it is a fairly old ship and is alittle tatty and dated in places but is spotlessly clean and tidy. the food is lovely with loads of choice, in both self service restaurants. the entertainment was really good and different every night. the crew are so friendly and helpful all the time, nothing is too much trouble. its a very easy going and relaxed atmosphere on board. if you want a friendly relaxed ship this is it, its not posh and stuffy, hence the reasonable price.

just back from twelve day cruise on the Indie, round the med in hunt of some winter sunshine. Our first time on the Indie, and it proved to be a great chance to enjoy this amazing ship. When I first saw it I was gob smacked by its size, but the fears I had about too many people were soon sorted, as even though there were four thousand holiday makers aboard the only time you saw them was when it was a at sea day, even then there were places to get away and find space .We had a stateroom with balcony right at the back of the ship, which was very nice and we were well looked after by our room steward. Who surprised us in the evenings with delightful creatures created from small hand towels. The food was so amazing and the onboard ritual of all of us taking care with personal hygiene and hand washing, saved us all from bad tummies. The on board entertainment was excellent, and a wide variety to please all types of needs. then there was the more physical activities. water sports, climbing, sun bathing for those not so enthused. In all a brilliant experience to be enjoyed and refreshing. Thank you to all the people who worked very hard to make it so special.

I loved my last hol on Indy and I am going again, but must say my family who like a drink or two will not be going because of the drinks prices and because there will be 32 of them. Another cruise ship it will be, but Indy I love you.