Cruise Ship Reviews : Variety Cruises Reviews
Wschiller saw things this way:
Excellent destinations and variety of islands, August 16, 2014
Reviewer: Wschiller
Pros: The crew and destinations are outstanding
Cons: Older, smaller ship with some comfort issues
Departure port: Piraeus
Region visited: Mediterranean
Cabin category: Outside
Cabin number: 1
Good for children: No
Good for teenagers: Yes
Variety Cruises, M/S Galileo An enjoyable cruise around the Greek Aegean Sea. The ship is smaller and showing its age in some ways, the passenger numbers are small (max. 50), the crew are great, the tours that we did were well presented and organized. The itinerary was very well planned and due to the size of the boat we were able to go places that the larger ships simply cannot go. If you need the comforts of a newer or bigger boat consider other alternatives, otherwise this is a very good option. This is a smaller and older boat. It is not a modern large cruise ship with stabilizers and multiple restaurants and entertainment areas. It rocks with the waves because it has no stabilizers but sea sickness tablets are free on board. There is one dining room and two bar areas. It was refurbished a few years ago and has been reasonably well kept, sun exposed seating is starting to weather in places, the sun deck lounges are limited and some people will try and keep them for their own personal use. As a suggestion to the cruise company, maybe additional beanbags on the sun deck would allow more people to enjoy the area. There are usually enough places in the sun or in the shade to sit if you are happy sitting in a regular chair. If you have checked out the internet then some Google images show a spa on the sun deck but this no longer exists and the swimming is off the boat at a swim stop or at an island beach. The boat has good steps for off boat swimming which allow easy access. Kayaks and snorkeling gear are readily available. Safety - excellent and continuing focus by all the ships crew members. Being on a boat in the Mediterranean Sea obviously requires a certain level of safety. There was an initial briefing where everybody tried on their life jackets which was fun and useful. In most things that happen on the ship it is obvious that safety is their prime concern - this is excellent to see. Food and Drinks - Food is plentiful and of good quality. The drinks are on a tab system that you pay for at the end. Every day there is a buffet breakfast with an omelette chef plus one other meal which varies between lunch and dinner. There is a Captain's dinner on the last night of the cruise and a Greek theme night one of the other nights complete with Greek dancers. There is a cocktail of the day special, plus coffee and biscuits that are available 24 hours. With all this, one meal does need to be purchased from a cafe or restaurant at the port that is being visited which is not a hassle and gets you out and about in the town. Cabins - reasonably well designed and thought out. We had problems with the cleaning which was not so good, the air conditioning does not work efficiently at all, some cabins are near the engine room so are noisy, total blackout darkness can be difficult to achieve, but the bed is fine and the bathroom spacious. The cabin is, however, reasonably sized. A little thing, but the shampoo and body wash are the same stuff and there is no conditioner provided. I would recommend that you unpack into the drawers and cupboards then stow your suitcase under the bed which fits small sizes only. There are two levels of cabins. Upstairs and downstairs, all have a single porthole to look through. The downstairs cabins are accessed through the saloon area via straight stairs and are just above the water line so waves will splash against them regularly. Upstairs cabins (and the sun deck) are accessed via spiral stairs that are only designed for an average sized person - taller, wider or reduced mobility people may have a little difficulty. Tours - extremely very well organized and a reasonable value. Marita does a fantastic job organizing the tours and doing absolutely everything for people. I doubt there is much she cannot organize for the passengers of the cruise and their expectations seem to be incredibly varied. We only did two of the four offered tours and we enjoyed them. They were informative, scenic, and provided us with enough information about what we were looking at. Itinerary - Planned itinerary is weather dependant. We were supposed to travel to Poros, Folegandros, Santorini, Paros, Mykonos, Syros, and Pireaus. Due to windy weather we went to Milos for one night instead which was a great alternative and certainly worth a visit and possible inclusion in future itineraries. Swim stops happen in protected places and are suitable for all ages and abilities. Passengers - A wide cross section. On our cruise we had passengers from Australia, New Zealand, USA, France, Spain, Singapore, Switzerland, England, and Greece. Families, couples and a single. Age ranges between mid 20's to 60+. English was the usual common language, but the staff is multilingual. Costs - Overall, a reasonably priced cruise. Do shop around for the actual cruise. We saved around 500 per person by checking the prices with a few travel agents. On board there is nothing to spend other than your drinks which are reasonably priced. Daily cocktail special 4.5, bottles of wine start around 20, soft drinks 2.5, beer 3.5, spirits 5, and regular cocktails 7. Tours on shore vary in price between about 30 and 70 pp. Our daily off ship meal and drinks cost between 5 and 50 pp depending what we ate and where we dined. On board Wi-Fi is slow and a little expensive 20 for 500mb. We used a Greek SIM card and had signal most of the time. Although not always 3G it did work. Tip expectation is paid at the end of the cruise and between 60 - 80 is suggested.
M/S Galileo reviews
Average customer rating:
3.83 / 5
3.83 / 5
Average Rating based on 1 Review:
Value For Money
Cabin Design
Entertainment
Food Quality
Ship Maintenance
Staff and Service
Cabin Design
Entertainment
Food Quality
Ship Maintenance
Staff and Service
3.00
4.00
4.00
4.00
4.00
4.00
4.00
4.00
4.00
4.00
4.00
Wschiller saw things this way:
Value For Money
Cabin Design
Entertainment
Food Quality
Ship Maintenance
Staff and Service
Cabin Design
Entertainment
Food Quality
Ship Maintenance
Staff and Service
3
4
4
4
4
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4
Excellent destinations and variety of islands, August 16, 2014
Reviewer: Wschiller
Pros: The crew and destinations are outstanding
Cons: Older, smaller ship with some comfort issues
Departure port: Piraeus
Region visited: Mediterranean
Cabin category: Outside
Cabin number: 1
Good for children: No
Good for teenagers: Yes
Variety Cruises, M/S Galileo An enjoyable cruise around the Greek Aegean Sea. The ship is smaller and showing its age in some ways, the passenger numbers are small (max. 50), the crew are great, the tours that we did were well presented and organized. The itinerary was very well planned and due to the size of the boat we were able to go places that the larger ships simply cannot go. If you need the comforts of a newer or bigger boat consider other alternatives, otherwise this is a very good option. This is a smaller and older boat. It is not a modern large cruise ship with stabilizers and multiple restaurants and entertainment areas. It rocks with the waves because it has no stabilizers but sea sickness tablets are free on board. There is one dining room and two bar areas. It was refurbished a few years ago and has been reasonably well kept, sun exposed seating is starting to weather in places, the sun deck lounges are limited and some people will try and keep them for their own personal use. As a suggestion to the cruise company, maybe additional beanbags on the sun deck would allow more people to enjoy the area. There are usually enough places in the sun or in the shade to sit if you are happy sitting in a regular chair. If you have checked out the internet then some Google images show a spa on the sun deck but this no longer exists and the swimming is off the boat at a swim stop or at an island beach. The boat has good steps for off boat swimming which allow easy access. Kayaks and snorkeling gear are readily available. Safety - excellent and continuing focus by all the ships crew members. Being on a boat in the Mediterranean Sea obviously requires a certain level of safety. There was an initial briefing where everybody tried on their life jackets which was fun and useful. In most things that happen on the ship it is obvious that safety is their prime concern - this is excellent to see. Food and Drinks - Food is plentiful and of good quality. The drinks are on a tab system that you pay for at the end. Every day there is a buffet breakfast with an omelette chef plus one other meal which varies between lunch and dinner. There is a Captain's dinner on the last night of the cruise and a Greek theme night one of the other nights complete with Greek dancers. There is a cocktail of the day special, plus coffee and biscuits that are available 24 hours. With all this, one meal does need to be purchased from a cafe or restaurant at the port that is being visited which is not a hassle and gets you out and about in the town. Cabins - reasonably well designed and thought out. We had problems with the cleaning which was not so good, the air conditioning does not work efficiently at all, some cabins are near the engine room so are noisy, total blackout darkness can be difficult to achieve, but the bed is fine and the bathroom spacious. The cabin is, however, reasonably sized. A little thing, but the shampoo and body wash are the same stuff and there is no conditioner provided. I would recommend that you unpack into the drawers and cupboards then stow your suitcase under the bed which fits small sizes only. There are two levels of cabins. Upstairs and downstairs, all have a single porthole to look through. The downstairs cabins are accessed through the saloon area via straight stairs and are just above the water line so waves will splash against them regularly. Upstairs cabins (and the sun deck) are accessed via spiral stairs that are only designed for an average sized person - taller, wider or reduced mobility people may have a little difficulty. Tours - extremely very well organized and a reasonable value. Marita does a fantastic job organizing the tours and doing absolutely everything for people. I doubt there is much she cannot organize for the passengers of the cruise and their expectations seem to be incredibly varied. We only did two of the four offered tours and we enjoyed them. They were informative, scenic, and provided us with enough information about what we were looking at. Itinerary - Planned itinerary is weather dependant. We were supposed to travel to Poros, Folegandros, Santorini, Paros, Mykonos, Syros, and Pireaus. Due to windy weather we went to Milos for one night instead which was a great alternative and certainly worth a visit and possible inclusion in future itineraries. Swim stops happen in protected places and are suitable for all ages and abilities. Passengers - A wide cross section. On our cruise we had passengers from Australia, New Zealand, USA, France, Spain, Singapore, Switzerland, England, and Greece. Families, couples and a single. Age ranges between mid 20's to 60+. English was the usual common language, but the staff is multilingual. Costs - Overall, a reasonably priced cruise. Do shop around for the actual cruise. We saved around 500 per person by checking the prices with a few travel agents. On board there is nothing to spend other than your drinks which are reasonably priced. Daily cocktail special 4.5, bottles of wine start around 20, soft drinks 2.5, beer 3.5, spirits 5, and regular cocktails 7. Tours on shore vary in price between about 30 and 70 pp. Our daily off ship meal and drinks cost between 5 and 50 pp depending what we ate and where we dined. On board Wi-Fi is slow and a little expensive 20 for 500mb. We used a Greek SIM card and had signal most of the time. Although not always 3G it did work. Tip expectation is paid at the end of the cruise and between 60 - 80 is suggested.