All Aboard the Seawing (Sun Cruises Line)

Member Name: carolinesite

Product:	Sun Cruises Line
Date:	28/03/01 (2699 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Good value for money, an experience of a lifetime

Disadvantages: Older people, queues for food

In 1995, we decided to take a 2 centre stay holiday. That means that we had a one week holiday at one place and another weeks holiday elsewhere.
It was a package deal via Airtours, costing £650 per adult. Children went for half price if accompanied by 2 full paying adults. There was a discount for any other children below a certain age.
We decided to have a week on land in Majorca and the other week we would spend on a cruise around the Mediterranean.

When our first week was up on land, a coach took us to the Marina in Palma, where we would board our cruise ship, the MS Seawing. We did not board on a gang plank, we boarded the ship on an enclosed walkway, similar to what you would board a plane on.
We were met by the ships Stewards and shown our cabins.
Our luggage had gone on before us, and was already there waiting for us.

We had an outside cabin, which cost an extra £50 incidentally, but if you are going cruising then you want a port hole, right? The cabin was very small. And we got a shock to learn that we were all to sleep in single bunks. The cabin had to house 2 adults and 2 children. My daughter had a cabin of her own down the corridor. There was a small bedside table between the 2 bunks, and further past one of the bunks there was a small dressing table with a mirror. A small cupboard was situated at the end of the other bunk which was covered by a curtain.
There was an en suite bathroom, or should I say shower room. It contained a shower, a toilet and a sink.
Under the bunks we found life jackets - TITANIC!

Food was free as part of the deal, but we had to pay for all drinks. There was no exchange of cash on board. You had to sign a slip for everything purchased which you would settle with the ships Purser before you left, so we had to spend the week checking our copies to make sure we had enough money left to pay it. I didn’t fancy scraping barnacles from the hull!

The
ship itself was very nice looking. The interior was very plush with wall to wall carpeting. There were 2 lifts and stairs to take you to the floor you wanted.
The dining room was elegant. Tables laid with beautiful cloths and gold chandeliers for lighting. We had a never ending supply of waiters. One waiter for drinks, another for the food, and then the busboys, that would collect the dirty dishes.

Food was excellent. Like a 1st class hotel. Well, I guess it was, except that it was floating. Most dinners were 4 course with a choice from a menu. I had never seen so many knives and forks for different things! Our cruise included breakfast, lunch, afternoon snacks, and dinner. A bar-b-que was held on deck at midnight.

Entertainment. Well, the main theatre, although just as beautiful and wondrous as the dining room, was a bit fuddy duddy, if you know what I mean. There were cabarets and singers, but it wasn’t our scene, so we sat at one of the upper bars and made friends with the Jamaican barman. At night, there was a karaoke and disco in the Crows Nest. No, not that little look out, but a room at the top of the ship. It was fairly empty most nights, but I guess the ship was mainly full of older people.

If gambling is your game, the ship had it’s own casino. You could play the roulette wheel, or try your hand at black jack. Fruit machines paid out a £100 jackpot, and one of our party did actually win it.

On deck there was an open air swimming pool. Not very big, but good enough to be able to cool down. Plenty of sun loungers were spread around the decks, and there were games you could play on deck too, like Shuffleboard and Clay Pigeon shooting.
A keep fit instructor was on hand to get you up and exercising, but if you wanted to do that at your own leisure, there was a gymnasium with all the usual exercise equipment.

One of the nights was called the ‘Captain’s Dinner’
;, where a special meal was laid on and you dressed up in your best glad-rags. We were given the opportunity prior to the dinner to go and photograph the food. Photograph the food? That’s what I thought until I saw it. I was absolutely dumbstruck. Swans had been carved from ice, and the food had been made into creatures. It was fantastic, and a shame to have to eat it.
Photographs were taken of everybody before they entered the dining room, which you could buy from the photographer later in the cruise, at a cost of £10 for a 10 x 8.

There were some things for children, although not many. There was a kids club for the older ones and a child minding service for the toddlers.

The ship had it’s own shopping mall, selling clothes, cigarettes, perfumes, toiletries and was only open during cruising time.

One day there was a loud bell ringing. It was a drill. Everyone had to put on their life jackets and meet up at their assigned meeting place. Guess who was last? I was mildly told off for taking my time, and was told that if the ship was going down I would have drowned. TITANIC!
Seriously though, this drill is for your own safety so don’t take it as lightly as I did.

So what was our itinerary?

Saturday: Board ship, set sail.
Sunday: Full day at sea.
Monday: Tangier, Morocco.
Tuesday: Porto, Portugal.
Wednesday: Gibraltar
Thursday: Malaga, Spain.
Friday: Ibiza
Saturday: Leave ship.

All the places we stopped at were fantastic. We even went back to Portugal for a holiday at a later date.

We enjoyed the cruise, but felt that it had too many older people aboard. They insisted on sticking to timings, we felt it was because of them that there were queues. What I mean is, meal times were between certain times, but the older people had to arrive right on the dot, know what I mean?

Summary: