 |
Contact Information:
Island Cruises
Diamond House
Peel Cross Road, Salford
Manchester, M5 2AN
0870-850-3927
|
Why Island Cruises?
 Casual line with budget prices
The two ships sail from Mallorca in the summer
Great for first-timers
New Caribbean itineraries for winter 2008-2009
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
About Island Cruises
Editor's Note: In October 2008, Royal Caribbean sold its stake in Island Cruises to Thomson Cruises' parent company, TUI Travel. This will mean that Island Star will be leaving the fleet in March 2009 to join Royal Caribbean's Spanish brand, Pullmantur, while Island Escape will join the Thomson fleet.
U.K.-based Island Cruises, offers casual cruises for budget-minded travelers. Launched in 2002, Island Cruises was created to compete with the British "tour operator cruise lines" such as Thomson Cruises and the now-defunct Airtours Sun Cruises -- not to mention Carnival UK's low-cost, youth-oriented brand Ocean Village.
The well-maintained Island Escape and Island Star attract travelers at the budget end of the market and offer decent-quality traditional cruising with a few modern twists like casual buffet dining, a choice of alternative restaurants and lessons in stand-up comedy. Island Cruises has proved highly successful in tempting takers of "bucket and spade" package holidaymakers to try cruising for the first time; 50 percent of its passengers are "cruise virgins" while 30 percent are veterans of budget cruising, having sampled one of the Thomson cruise ships or Ocean Village.
Passenger satisfaction questionnaires suggest they like what they find; an overview of responses in 2004 show that 96 percent rated their overall cruise "good" or "excellent"; 97 percent gave the ship itself the same rating; 95 percent put the food in the top approval category and a whopping 99 percent gave the ultimate thumbs-up rating to the friendliness of the multinational crew, who are indeed charming, friendly and very helpful.
With seven-night fly-cruises priced from £599 (just over $1,000) and child prices from £199 (just over $350), Island Escape is a good option for people who want to "do the Med" without breaking the bank, and will provide a relaxed, comfortable, fun cruise.
Read the complete Island Cruises Review
|
|
|
|
|
Read More About Island Cruises Ships:
Island Star
| |
|
|
|
)
)
)
)
