just arrived back yesterday.first things first the waiters,bar staff and cabin stewards are the ships biggest assets.they are brilliant. However there are many negatives!the ship is very old and dated and urgently needs a proper refit not the 2 weeks its getting in oct/nov the pool is the smallest ive ever seen,in the brochure most of the photos are from the island star, pool etc The ship is clean but some carpets are stained,the bathrooms are poor. The food in both restaurants is good,but in the beachcomber you have to wait in a dinner queue plate in hand .the tea is ok but the COFFEE.is a disgrace.on a normal cruise ship you get sachets of coffee in this ship to save money the coffee is in a boiler and tastes horrible... a tip take your own coffee....THE shows and guest artists are good but the day hosts are very poor apart from the big welsh lad and the lad from reading who tried their best the others were very poor the excursions are mega expensive but most cruise ships are.... you are harrassed by the ships photographer...It is easy to see why thomsons, who control island cruises, will not bring the ship under the thomson cruise umbrella as you would expect,because "you cant make a silk purse out of a pigs ear" I would expect the island cruises to be quietly dropped in the next few years. please note when booking the cruise it is not with thomsons but sunshine cruises..... overall we still enjoyed ourselves the casual way is great... but the ship is in a very old it was built as a baltic ferry nearly 30 years ago but is safe..... but it needs a major refurb.if they got rid of the escape and brought back the island star it would be great as the star was built as a cruise ship.....we shall see!and believe me if you enjoy the escape you are hooked on cruising as every other thomson ship is better