Airtours Cruises, Carousel

Well here we are again, another Airtours Sun Cruise aboard the MS Carousel, we booked with this ship because of the flights from Manchester, they only had availability for this one left. We would have liked to had sailed on another liner like the Sunbird, which we have been on before. Anyway, the cruise itinerary took us from Palma, on to Cadiz in Spain. That night up on deck was incredible, the air was so still as was the sea. It was so quiet as we passed through the Gibraltar Straits. The sky was full of a million stars and a few shooting stars to boot, I stayed up till 1 o'clock as it was just so incredible.

Cadiz was a very nice place, the harbour is a short walk into town but there are some open topped bus tours for 10 Euros, which are worth it as you can get on and off all day long. Apart from the shops and a lovely beach, that is about all there is here but it is very nice.

Next day and onto Casablanca in Morocco, what a dirty smelly dump this is, as we came into the harbour at 6am it was completely shrouded in fog. It was very eerie indeed and took two hours until it lifted to reveal a big noisy dirty city, we were advised not to make our own way in because it can be dangerous. So we booked the excursion off the ship for 14 Pounds, they took you into the city and left you for 3 hours to look around. What a mistake, it stunk, we were pestered all the time by people trying to sell fake watches and the like. It was very intimidating, some sellers were so persistent you had to be rude to make them go away. There is an excursion to Marrakesh from the ship but is an 8 hour round trip and we didn't fancy all day on a coach but some people who went on it said it was very good. There is a Mosque in Casablanca, which is the biggest in the World and it is truly breathtaking but that is about all I enjoyed about this place. Avoid it like the plague!

On to Gibraltar, as you will know, it is British and was my favorite place of all. It is about a 10 minute walk to the town from the harbour but there are taxis at the dock and some even do tours of the island for about 7 Euros. I would recommend you do this as they include everything. It is too big to walk around everything in the time that you are there. We walked into town, got the cable car to the top of the rock and saw the apes, which was fantastic. Don't take food though, you cannot feed or touch them, however sometimes they will steal food off you though, which was great fun. The view from the top is unbelievable; it is so beautiful from up there. In the town, there are plenty of places to eat and drink and they all talk English too, the duty free is also very cheap. Gibraltar was my favorite place as it is clean and the people are very friendly.

Next is Almeria in Spain, a nice typical Spanish town, it is a 5 minute walk into the town from the harbour. There is not a lot to see though, there is a castle up on the left of the town, which has some beautiful gardens at the top but is quite a climb to get there. It is over 1000 years old as well, which interests me a lot but my wife was not impressed as the climb nearly put her lights out. There are a lot of places to eat out but there is not much English spoken here, as it is not on the tourist map, so communicating is a problem.

Finally on to Ibiza, the ship parks virtually in the town centre so walking is not a problem. This town is very nice and was very hot, it is a typical Spanish tourist resort but a bit up market from the usual. There are lots of places to eat, drink and buy souvenirs and it is a lovely walk around the harbour.

This itinerary was not as good as the mainland itinerary which we went on last year. We just didn't seem to see many interesting places, I like to visit famous big cities and historical landmarks but there you go that is my opinion. I still love the MS Carousel but noticed the standards of food had fallen slightly. The breakfast outside was a little basic and overcooked but I still ate it, the food in the restaurant was, as per usual, fantastic and the service was second to none. Some of the staff really go a long way to make sure you enjoy yourself. All in all, another excellent cruise from My Travel I would certainly go again with them as it good value for money. The ships are a bit dated but are immaculately clean and the staff are so good, the evenings entertainment was also excellent. The cruise staff do a fantastic job, to say that they are not professionals. Look out for Carmen from Romania, one of the drinks stewards, she looks like Celine Dionne and is a real pleasure to know. She is a bit dippy with the drinks but her personality outshines everything, say hello from us. If there are any questions that you want to know about any aspect of this cruise please email me and I will be glad to answer it as best I can.

Airtours Cruises, Carousel - The Carousel is the best boat you could ever go on. It is miles better than any of those fancy boats likes P&O because this boat is all about having fun but at the same time being treated like royalty!!! Throughout the evenings there's first class entertainment and when in the restaurant the hard working staff sing old favourites and make the most fascinating things from tablecloths!!

I have seen reports of the Carousel ship being sick since before Christmas 2004. More than half of our travellers suffered sickness and the runs. Some suffered twice in the week and others were confined to the cabin for days. Some could not fly home because of illness

Carousel:

Waiter & steward service excellent. Second day into cruise, however, third day brought extreme stomach upset to two of the party of four, fourth day brought same to 12 year old. Extremely upsetting, bad enough with sickness & diarrohea on land but much worse on a ship! Doctor confirmed cause as being a 'stomach bug'. Only two meals together as a family in a whole week!

what a holiday! Never again!!!

Afer speaking to other passengers, realised we were not the only ones!

The Carousel is Small and friendly

The crew couldnt do enough to help, there are a good range of excursions. It ended too soon, looking forward to the next one in Feb 2005. I cried when I saw it sail out of Palma in the summer while I was onboard the Sunbird, which we booked while on the Carousel.

If you have not yet tried cruising, please try it, other holidays will never be the same.

Living in Tenerife it seemed just the ticket for us, along with some friends, to join the Carousel in Santa Cruz. We looked forward to a hard earned rest. Unfortunately spent most of our time in the cabin, lying on the bed or sitting on the toilet!!

Was very disturbed that no measures were taken to curb the spread of the virus and life just seemed to go on regardless.

For the above reasons my star ratings have been lowered.

Please do not tell anybody about this as I want this to be our little secret. Our Canary Island Cruise on the Carousel was fantastic, the food was 4 star. The staff 5 star. Everyone was so friendly and nothing was too much trouble. It was so good that we are going next year. I know that the ship is a little bit old, but it makes up with so much character. Its also good for all ages not just for old fogeys. why have AIRTOURS sold it????

I would recommend the Atlantic Island Cruise Airtours Cruises on the Carousel to people of all ages, plenty to do day and night, childrens activities were well organised and the entertainment and food were top class