We were having our Bathroom renovated and needed to get away for a week at short notice. We didn’t want to spen a fortune as we have already had our main holiday this year. After some searching and discussion we decided on a Mediterranean Cruise. For just over £700 per person we had the choice of Island Cruises, a TUI Company or NCL. Both were going to similar destinations so we chose the Island Cruises option as although neither of us drink a lot they were “all inclusive” which would mean no extra costs at the end.

It all started well. The flight from Doncaster was on time and transfers from the airport to the port in Palma smooth and efficient. It was only after we got on-board that things started to deteriorate rapidly. The corridors were narrow and low ceilinged giving a claustrophobic feel and the wall panels were streaked with water stains. The cabin was no better. Cabin 9500 facing forward. We expected small, but this made our cabin on the Norwegian Coastal Ferry (Hurtigruten) earlier in the year look like a Palace. There were two single beds, even though we had requested they be made into a double, a request we rescinded once we saw how narrow they were as trying to sleep side by side in two such narrow beds would have been impossible. This turned out to be a good idea as not only were they tiny they were also hard as a board. The cabin also had an air-conditioning vent which we were informed by the Steward could not be turned off consequently we were either too hot or too cold with a strong draught. In fairness the cabin steward was very helpful and did his best to keep the cabin clean which is quite difficult when there is blackened grout in the bathroom and a failed and misty double glazing unit.

We then decided to have a drink. I usually drink Bacardi Silver, so not a Premium drink at all. However the house white Run was Kamal (Google it if you dare) it was a slight upgrade to lighter fuel. My partners Vodka was the same so we decided to upgrade to the Premium drinks package. Who knew that Bacardi Silver and Smirnoff Red are “Premium” drinks? Having paid to upgrade our drinks package we then were told, two days later, that they had run out of Skyy Vodka, day 3 on a 7 day cruise and they run out! Read more