Island Escape

A joint venture between Royal Caribbean International and British tour operator First Choice, the one-ship Island Cruises was launched in 2002 to compete with the British "tour operator cruise lines" Thomson Cruises and the now-defunct Airtours Sun Cruises. You may be familiar with Island Escape -- it's Royal Caribbean's former Viking Serenade.

The well-maintained Island Escape attracts travelers at the budget end of the market and offers decent-quality traditional cruising with a few modern twists like an alternative restaurant. It has proved highly successful in tempting takers of "bucket and spade" (package holidays) trips to try cruising for the first time; 50 percent of its passengers are "cruise virgins," while 30 percent are veterans of budget cruising, having sampled one of the Thomson cruise ships or P&O's low-price-cruise subsidiary Ocean Village.

With seven-night flycruises priced from 599 GBP , and child prices from 199 GBP , Island Escape is a good option for people who want to "do the Med" without breaking the bank, and will provide a relaxed, comfortable, fun cruise.

The highlight of each sailing (weather permitting) is a deck party, during which the ship's very jolly Captain and his officers perform a dance modeled on the finale of the film "The Full Monty" -- though without disrobing, naturally!

Island Escape's success inspired Island Cruises to add a second ship to its fleet. It acquired Celebrity Cruises' 46,811-ton, 1,660-passenger Horizon, which was expanded to accommodate 1,875 passengers. The refurbishment also resulted in the redesign of several decks and the addition of two new bars and a steakhouse. Island Star debuted in March 2006.