Island Star Review - Caribbean Dec 18th-Jan 2nd

[Dartsteve]

We are just back off the Xmas & New Year cruise around the Caribben(Dec 18th - Jan 2nd) on the Island Star.

 

Before I go on to the nitty gritty, I will let you know how we thought the whole experience went. We had a very enjoyable time, yes, there are small things that could have been better (ie some places looking a bit worn) but there was no point in moaning about it, we just got on with enjoying ourselves. I heard a couple of people saying that this was their 1st cruise and they wouldn’t be doing anymore because we had some rain!

We were disappointed with Christmas on the ship as it really felt like another day, we did have turkey on Christmas Eve but not a lot else. We found out later that they did do a Christmas Lunch on Christmas Day but as most people were off the boat in St Lucia then I don’t suppose many people saw that. The Pantomime they put on was very good for both kids and adults as I don’t think the kids will have understood the adult humour in it.

 

For New Year they did a party in the Pub at 8pm to join in with the UK celebrations and then had parties going on in 3 areas of the ship for our New Year in the Caribbean. I don’t know what it was like in the Bounty Club or Harbour Café but where we were in the Pub, it went very well with plenty of fun to be had by all.

 

We didn’t do the beach in Barbados either end of the trip as it was raining off and on, but we had a look around the town. We did go to a few beaches, Antigua was fantastic. St Lucia, we went on the Volcano, mud bath, & waterfall tour which was great fun on Christmas Day. St Kitts, it was a partly cloudy day and we went on the Scenic Railway which again was good fun – well the Rum punch went down very well! Dominica, another waterfall and beach visit which was enjoyable. All 3 trips went right into the islands so we saw a lot. The other trip we did was in Trinidad when we sailed down a swamp in a bird/wildlife sanctuary - a few sightings of caymans, snakes & various birds but not as much as I had hoped. We enjoyed most of the evening entertainment and I managed to have a cocktail or two so I was happy. I also managed to get a nice tan so there was a fair bit of sun as well as rain. It was still the rainy season (June to December) in the Caribbean so we did have to expect some rain and to be honest it didn’t really affect us too much except for the 1st day at sea.

 

Now for more details:

Check in at Gatwick: When we were standing in the check-in queue we were given labels to put on our hold luggage which shows your cabin number. Once checked in, that was the last time you saw your luggage until it was delivered to your cabin in Barbados.

 

If you are doing this trip soon a piece of advice before you get off the plane in Barbados – go to the toilets at least 30 mins before arrival (seat belt signs will go on about 20 mins from landing) as that will be your last chance before boarding the ship! When you get off the plane you get onto coaches/buses/mini-buses which take you straight to the ship (ie you don’t go into the terminal). Journey to port took about 40 minutes.

 

Port arrival: You have to fill in a "How you are paying form" & "Medical form" in the “shed” before joining the queue to check-in to the ship. It would have been better if they gave us the forms to fill out on the coaches as it got to be a bit of a scrum getting the forms and trying to fill them out! You have to register a credit card. Anyway, the whole process went fairly quick. I think we landed at the airport at about 5:45pm and we were in our cabin by 6:50pm. Our luggage arrived at 9pm. I did hear someone moan that their luggage wasn’t in the cabin when they arrived!! I do think some people are just happy to moan.

 

Cabin: We had a double bed which was 2 singles put together – plenty of room. There were 2 wardrobes and there were approx 14 hangers altogether (not quite enough for us but adequate). Plenty of drawers – 2 in bed side cabinet, 6 in dressing table, 10 in one of the wardrobes. TV has BBC World News & EuroNews, other channels mainly to do with the ship, and 2 film channels (I wasn’t sad enough to watch any!) Again, I heard someone moan that there wasn’t enough on the TV – do people honestly go to the Caribbean on holiday to stay in their cabin to watch TV?

There was plenty of room in the cabin (Diamond deck – 6072) for the 2 of us. Bathroom was clean and tidy, there was a hairdryer in there but according to my wife it’s not much use as there isn’t much power. There is soap and shower gel if you need them. Towels, not very good and not very white. You also get a yellow towel for pool/beach. All can be changed as often as you like.

 

There was a safe in one wardrobe which costs £25 to use.

 

In the unlikely event you want to phone from your cabin it costs £2.50 per minute.

 

You get a daily newsletter - Island Chat, delivered to your cabin each evening which shows what is happening the following day. If you want to add a message to your other half in the newsletter that will cost you £10.

Food: On the whole it was okay, nothing special but you would have to be very fussy not to eat. Yes, it does get to be a bit “samey” in the 2nd week but usually there were subtle changes to the way things were cooked or what sauces were added. The fruit is very good, my wife loved the pineapple and couldn’t get enough of it!

 

We generally ate our breakfast (all the usual fry up stuff although bacon wasn’t good most of the time (just streaky fat), fruit, croissants etc) and evening meals in the Island Restaurant, buffet service but it has tablecloths and it is waiter service for any drinks you wanted. You wait to be seated in this restaurant and we very rarely waited more than a couple of minutes.

 

The Beachcomber on the pool deck serves the same food as the Island Restaurant but has the feeling of a roadside café (well, not that bad – it was fine), with plastic beakers/glasses. We generally ate there for any snacks during the day. It does do cakes and biscuits from 3pm. The Grill is at the back of the Beachcomber but outside and serves burgers/steaks/chicken breasts and chips and was very popular.

 

There are 2 “Speciality” Restaurants, the “Oasis” and the “Steakhouse” and the food in both was very good – seems small portions but they are filling. My favourite was the Steakhouse as you get a good selection of food from a buffet for the starter and I loved the Mixed Grill for main course. There were quite a few choices but it is the same menu for the whole cruise in both restaurants. There is a charge to use these restaurants, £14.95 each in the Oasis and £16.95 in the Steakhouse. They usually have a wine & dine deal in each (ie £41.90 in the Steakhouse for 2 people, £37.90 in the Oasis).

 

Bars: Plenty to keep you going if you want to go on a crawl ? Prices are fairly reasonable, I’ll list a few to give you an idea – Lager £2.80 a pint, Boddingtons £2.60 a pint, Fosters/Stella £2.65, Non-Alc beer £2.40, Vodka £2.70/£2.80, Whisky £2.60-£3.95, Gin £2.70/£2.80, Frozen Daiquiris £3.10, Cocktails £2.99, Liqueurs £3.10 – please note all spirits are 50ml measures (double UK measures). Most bars are waiter service so you can just sit and relax and have your drinks brought to you.

 

They always have Special’s of the Day for Cocktails (shown in the Island Chat) which cost £2.75 – I managed to try most of them. Most days they also had “Happy Hours” which meant for certain drinks (usually cocktails) you got 2 for 1 or half-price on cider.

 

Entertainment: There is an entertainment team who do the games/quizzes etc, mostly on the pool deck – as I’ve seen in a couple of reviews they call it “Butlins” type. Never been to Butlins but it was all just a bit of fun, if you weren’t interested in joining in you didn’t have to do anything but keep on sunbathing. Plenty of people enjoyed participating/watching, and the way I looked at it, what else could they do? They couldn’t please all of the people all of the time! Some things going on “at sea” days – Line Dancing class, Aerobics, Shufflboard, Ballroom dance class, Table Tennis, Darts, singing lessons, pottery painting, and a number of seminar type things – ie Botox, anti-aging hand care, bad hair days etc etc etc. We did participate in some of the dance classes and after trying to dance on the Theatre stage, we can really appreciate the work the Show Team do when they do their evening shows because it can be quite hard to keep in step. There was also a woman giving lectures about the Caribbean wildlife, people & customs, Didn’t go to the lectures but met her one day in the Beachcomber and she was 71 years old and extremely intelligent and I had a good long chat with her.

 

There is also a show team, made up of 4 singers and 6 dancers who do the main evening shows (mostly musical songs etc) on most of the nights. These shows are usually at 8pm and 10:30pm each evening and last 45mins to an hour. I think they are quite good, but it was all mostly the same as we had seen previously in the Med. We also had 2 visiting cabaret acts, a soul singer – Steve Simone (again he was in the Med) but we didn’t mind seeing his 2 shows again as he was very good. The other act was a comedian(???) (Barry Cheese), if you see him then I’ll let you form your own opinion!!

 

There also 4 resident band/singers on board: The Dream Makers (5 piece band) were mostly in the Bounty Lounge – all I’ll say is that the Lounge usually started filling up when their stint was coming to an end. The resident duo (Starlites) were okay and they had 2 solo artistes (Jedi Joseph , Hugh Mett) who again weren’t too bad but I suppose it does depend on your taste - – these are usually on in the Pub.

 

The Pub: There is a small dance area for you to show your moves if you so wish – I did on New Years Eve! Other than the singers the only other thing that happens in there is the nightly bingo.

 

The Bounty Club: A few things happen in there on a “At Sea” day like cocktail demonstrations, dance lessons, etc. In the evening it’s the Dream Makers plus a game show each evening (ie Mr & Mrs, Generation Game, Name that Tune, etc). There is a dance floor there but very rarely used when Dream Makers were on.

 

Other areas on ship:

Pool Area: 2 swimming pools – 1 for adults and one for the little kids. The pool is salt water, and it was nice to get in there from time to time to cool down but during the School holidays it does get busy with the kids in there. Plenty of sunbeds on deck 11 & 12, we thought there could be could be a problem on “at sea” days but we were on deck by about 9am and there were always plenty – may have been a struggle by 10am. The area around the pool is a bit worn but nothing too much too worry about – they were never going to redecorate before selling were they? Ladies are only allowed to go topless (if they so wish!) on Deck 12 behind the Sailaway Bar. There are also 2 Jacuzzis next to the pools, again very popular with children! Note to Parents – it does say not to be used by children under 12 and older children only if accompanied by an adult.

 

Gym: Can’t comment as I didn’t actually get in there, but seemed plenty in there.

 

Spa: They do all sorts of massages/pedicures/facials/hair cuts etc. I had a Fire & Ice massage (75mins for £66) which was okay, but they do try the hard sell for doing other treatments which will benefit you. A Ladies shampoo/set was £20, Manicure £22, Pedicure £33.

 

Captain’s Lounge: Small lounge with a bar and very comfy leather chairs to laze in and chill out.

 

Library: Has plenty of books to read if you so wish & a few games to keep the young ones occupied.

 

Shops:

 

General Store (Crisps, chocolates, sweets etc and other basic’s – toothpaste, suncream etc)

Other Shop: Sells all types of clothes and souvenirs.

Watch Shop

Jewellery Shop

Perfume Shop

Photo Shop: Will show all the photo’s taken of you through your cruise and available for you to buy –usually £4.99 or £9.99, and frames/folders/cameras.

 

Each evening after sailing there are a few stalls of merchandise from the various shops in the Harbour Walk area.

 

Casino: fairly small and didn’t really use – played the slots for 15mins one day without success.

 

Future Cruise Desk: Gives you the opportunity to buy Thomson Cruises at a discount.

 

Exchange Desk: This is cash only, credit cards are not accepted.

 

Excursions: We did 4 and although 3 could be classed as expensive (but all cruise lines excursions are expensive aren't they?) we enjoyed all of them and were value for money. A few of the Islands you had to take a photo ID with you (I wish I knew that before hand as I only had my passport), they say take anything with your name and photo on it – ie work pass, bus pass etc – better to lose them than your passport?

 

Trips we did ourselves: Tobago – We (2 of us) took a taxi to Pigeon Point which took about 20mins for US$20 each way. Entrance cost US$3 and a sunbed US$2 each. Plenty of food/drink/shelter there and there was toilets & showers.

St Vincent – Taxi to Villa Beach (approx 15mins) going there cost us US$20 and US$15 on the return. Didn’t use the sunbeds as they were asking US$10 each. Again there was food/drinks/toilets available but not too much shade. Don’t go to India Bay Beach (where the ship tour took you) as it did not have anything there.

Antigua – Taxi (6 of us) to Runaway Beach (approx 10mins) costing US$3 each. Sunbeds US$6 and Umbrellas US$6. Lovely beach with plenty of food/drinks/shelter etc. A few vendors but they didn’t bother us much. On our Dominica Excursion we spent a couple of hours at Mero Beach which was approx 30mins away from the port. Black sand but it was a lovely beach and again plenty of facilities, don’t know how much beds/umbrellas cost as ours were included in the cost of the tour. Grenada and Martinique we just spent time in the port. St George (Grenada) was a lovely little town but Fort de France (Martinique) wasn’t so nice and not just because of the rain showers. We didn’t find the people there as friendly as on other islands.

 

On the last night, you had to put your suitcases outside your cabin by 3am (it is usually 2am but our night was New Year’s Eve!) and that was the last we saw of them till we got back to Gatwick. Immigration/passport control is done in the Ocean theatre from 7am on your last day and is done by one flight at a time – it was a quick and smooth process – I think from when our flight was called till we had finished took about 20mins.

 

Also, by 2am on that last night you will have your invoice delivered under your cabin door if you are paying by credit card. If you are paying your bill by cash that has to be paid the night before you leave.

 

All in all, a very enjoyable cruise and both of us came back relaxed and tanned. To the people who are going on the Island Star soon, just go there with an open mind but more importantly go there to enjoy yourselves. It isn’t all perfection (what is?), just don’t let the little things spoil your holiday. The main thing that could have spoilt my holiday were the people who continually moaned about the rain, food, entertainment – but I soon learnt to ignore these people and thankfully there were a majority who were there to have a good time, so I ENJOYED myself. Have FUN. :D

[UK.Girl]

Hi Steve!

 

Thank you very much for your very comprehensive report - amazing you took so much in on your honeymoon lol. Def the best report I have seen so far on this site!

 

We are quite seasoned travellers and have been to quite varying resorts but never spoilt our holiday yet - so a bit of tired furniture certainly won't ! Think it is definitely what you make of it - hate whingers !

 

So back to work for you and 24 sleeps for us ! heehee

 

Thanks again and look forward to publishing our report ! but dont want our time to go by too quickly !

 

Take care

anj x

[jdcruising]

Hi Steve

 

I wish we'd met up with you on the cruise! We too got fed up with people moaning about Island Cruises and how they would never sail with them again because their 'Thos Cook' or 'Monarch' flight was delayed, it rained a few times or they'd started with a bad cold!!! Yes, the germs spread like wildfire, but then they have in our office and with our friends and family back home while we have been away too! My advice is to take some Beechams powders and throat lozenges with you at this time of year.

 

I agree with the vast majority of what you have said. I missed the Christmas lunch too which was probably the only thing I was upset about on the cruise - we had a fab time otherwise! Again, I agree with what you say about the entertainment and daytime activities - they're not to everyones' taste, but there are so many things going on that there is bound to be something for everyone. I went to all of Zanna's lectures about the Caribbean, from wildlife photography, to whales and dolphins and also Pirates. A very interesting lady! I don't like the game show type entertainment, but spent very enjoyable evenings in either the casino or the Captains Club bar, or both (and I didn't lose much either!). The shows and the musicians are OK, but I agree with you Steve, that the comedian was weak! We have sailed with Island several times before and have had some excellant comedians in the past, so let's hope they have booked someone else for the next few cruises! On the days at sea, we found very quiet spots to sunbathe at the back of the ship below the Beachcomber Restaurant, away from the razamataz around the pool.

 

Oh, one tip for anyone still to go - we didn't bother filling our slip in for the safe in the cabin, which we used right through the cruise and no-one asked us about it.

 

One thing you didn't mention Steve - the crew! They are brilliant! From the bar staff, to the restaurant staff, the cabin stewards and stewardesses, the Guest Relations staff, everyone in fact - they are so polite (even when passengers aren't polite to them!). Nothing is too much trouble. As an example, the girl who runs the shore excursions desk (Alina) always had a smile on her face even when she was run off her feet or when people were complaining because it had rained during their day out.

 

All in all, a great time was had by us! We made some great new friends and were sorry when it was time to return home!!!

[bgd]

Steve,

Forget the free Berlitz guide, you will get the Pulitzer Prize for the review :D

 

JD,

Any other money saving tips, being a scotsman always on the lookout for this type of info ;)

[Dartsteve]

Hi JD,

 

My god, how did I forget mentioning the crew!! Yes, they were great, always had a smile on their faces and always willing to help even, as you say, when people were rude to them. My special mention goes to "I'm from Brazil" Priscilla who we first met in the Steakhouse - she was so good and always made timer to speak to us when we saw her around the ship.

 

Steve

[jdcruising]

Our favourite crew members were Jeff and Hilda who were usually in the Captains Club in the evening and in various other parts during the day (they work such long hours!!). Always a smile and a chat despite the fact that we had managed to give them the flu virus too!!!!

 

To bgd - another money saving tip - if you intend to use the internet, book a package that is far longer than you think you will need. The internet on the ship is very slow as the system is shared with the main workings of the ship and obviously they take priority! It works out a lot cheaper in the long run than paying by the minute. We wanted to keep in touch with family by email quite a bit with it being over Christmas, plus we did quite a bit of research onboard about places to go and things to do in our destinations, to decide whether to book the trips with the ship, or do them ourselves. My husband even had a quick read of his daily paper online some days! We bought a 4 hr package for £18 which was more than enough. If you take your own laptop, there are wireless hotspots in several places around the ship (still part of your internet package purchased), plus you can sometimes get free connection to hotspots in some of the ports.

 

If you think of anything else you want to know, just ask. I'm sure that between us, we'll be able to come up with the answers!!!

[Dartsteve]

Hi all,

 

Just remembered another thing I missed off from the review regarding the Gatwick check-in. Don't know if it was just Gatwick & Thomas Cook but they were very strict in regards to the 20kg for your hold luggage. If it was just over they took into account the size & weight of your carry on luggage, but I did hear of quite a few people having to pay excess.

 

With the procedure coming home, it would appear weight limits are of no concern.

[UK.Girl]

thats bad news - will have to shove it all in hubbys case then !

[jdcruising]

We actually had a bit of a dispute with Island before we left about this, because we had booked to go into premium, mainly so that we would have extra baggage allowance. Anyway, it was not to be because everyone was given 20kg. Having said that, when we checked in at Manchester we were 3kg over, but the check-in girl told me that it was in their brief to waive the £10 (!!!)per kg within reason, if people were in Premium. 20kg is not sufficient for a 2 week cruise! As Steve says, the return journey is not a problem because you are checked in on the ship not at the airport and cases aren't weighed. Whilst on the way home though, a lady from NI (Belfast) told us that they had been given the option to pay £45 for increased baggage, so she was annoyed that they'd paid it but that they didn't need to as no-one paid for the excess on the return!

[whatsthatshopcalled]

Hi there :-) Can I ask what currency we should take with us and also what are the exchange rates like on the ship? Thank you in advance :-)

[UK.Girl]

you will only need US dollars - all the islands take them - beware though - you can only use cash on board to buy curency - the will not accept debit or credit cards. We decided to take about 300 with us - I think the exchange rate last week was about 1.43 - not good at the moment.

 

Everything else onboard is paid on a card or sterling I believe.

 

Our TA was offering to match the bank rate of exchange last week !

[REDTILEY]

Hi, our 1st ever cruise is on the Island Star 29/01/2009 to celebrate my wife's 50th and I was really getting concerned after reading very poor reviews for Xmas 2008 (other sites). Found this review very interesting and helpful and after reading it and other comments I am sure we will enjoy ourselves.

My wife is concerned re hairdryer / straighteners, wants to take a travel kettle (likes a cuppa 1st thing) plus a bottle in her case.

My main concern is drinking water in the room (I need to drink plenty of water)

Thanks

Les

[UK.Girl]

chances of straiteners working are not good ! there is a hairdryer in the room - not powerful tho ! why not take some braun gas tongs?

 

we are gonna take a kettle if it fits in - dont know if it will work well enough though.

 

Drinks in luggage not really allowed - just buy on board!

 

I believe you can get anything brought to your room though (in case kettle doesnt work !)

 

As for reviews - you will always see grumpy reviews - some people just love to whine ! Just go and enjoy it - I know I will !

[jdcruising]

You're not supposed to use a kettle in the cabins at all! There's actually a sign up warning you and it's in the ships' directory. I suppose it's in case of accidents, so there's no comeback? Also the voltage is a lot lower that UK, so UK appliances wouldn't work anyway. Whichever cabin you're in though, you're never more than a couple of minutes from the Beachcomber whereyou can just help yourself to tea and coffee 24 hrs a day. My advice would be to save luggage space (and weight) and not bother taking one!

As for water, the water in the taps in the bathroom is drinkable, but does have a slight taste - I'm used to using a water filter though even at home. Again, filtered water is available by the glass full in the Beachcomber. They also sell bottled, but it's quite expensive. They don't like you refilling bottles from the water stations for hygiene reasons, but there's nothing stopping you getting a few glasses full and pouring it into your bottle (that's what we did every day).

[UK.Girl]

oops - looks like i will have space for another pair of shoes then ! :D will just have to get hubby to go and get the coffee lol

[jdcruising]

That's what I did!!! Had a cup of tea in bed every morning!!! (Husbands do have their uses sometimes!!!);)

[bgd]

Yes, we do have our uses, not just teamaking, carrying cases, booking trips, paying for wardrobe, earbashing, the list is endless but we wouldn't be without you.

The man always has the last word "Yes Dear"

 

I got permission to write this :D

 

Wullie

[whatsthatshopcalled]

Thanks for that :-) I think we had better take a mixture of dollars and stirling then. My Daughters will be upset that their straighteners might not work, is it worth taking them at all? (The straighteners not our Daughters!!)

[Dartsteve]

Hi,

 

The only time you will need Sterling on the ship will be after 2am on your last day. Your account is closed at that time and your credit card will be debited then. If you want to buy any drinks on board on your last day you will have to use cash (sterling), but obviously you can still get your food "free".

 

Re, comment earlier about buying bottles of drink onboard. If you do buy any duty free alcohol in the shop, please bear in mind you will not be able to take it with you. It will stored until the last day.

 

All you lucky people going next week....enjoy.....don't worry about me slaving away at work :-(

 

Cheers......Steve

[UK.Girl]

personally I wont bother taking my straigheners - not much cance of them working!

 

How old are your daughters?

[bgd]

Ange, their bikinis won't fit you :p

[whatsthatshopcalled]

personally I wont bother taking my straigheners - not much cance of them working!

 

How old are your daughters?

Our Daughter are 14 and 16 :-)

[UK.Girl]

oh so are they n half term break from school already - the schools here don't break until 13th feb ......

 

 

I have tried finding out about the straighteners - gonna take mine - just in case the work - sure i saw something that the work on quite a different voltage range - so ya never know !

 

I wish there was a laundry on board - seems like you have to take so much for a couple of weeks .

[whatsthatshopcalled]

No they will not have broken up from college and school, they also break up on the 13th. We believe that as long as children are doing well at school, holidays are far more important. Time out as a family is a must, we are also renewing our wedding vows and wouldn`t expect our girls not to be there when we do. The eldest will be taking some of her books with her to keep up with the revision, she is taking law at college so needs to keep up so she will do better in her exams. We have read that ghd`s work worldwide, it is a good job as my Sister said she wasn`t going if her starighteners didn`t work!!! I am sure I have read somewhere that there is a laundry service on the Island Star. Failing that we will just have to buy more clothed if we run out :-)

[UK.Girl]

Absolutely ! have to confess that we took the kids out of school every now and then - sometimes impossible to get a holiday all together otherwise - when my daughter was at uni last year her holidays were totally different from my sons ! and the last few years we were always exam dodging as well. They will have a fantastic time - travel is a great education I believe.

 

Have just sorted my suitcase - hmmm wonder if hubby will let me have his weight allowance as well !

 

Getting excited now !

 

Looks like your daughter will have some fun reading material !

 

ange