By P Luke on 23rd Jun 2007
P Luke's Ratings| Date of Cruise | December 2006 |
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| Nights on board | 7 |
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| Itinerary Name | Clourful Coasts |
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| Cabin Type | Inside |
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| Group description | Family |
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| Food - quality & variety | 9/10  |
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| Entertainment on board | 8/10 |
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| Value for money | 8/10 |
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| Overall value | 9/10 |
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 P Luke's recommendation |
Good Points
This was our first time cruise & were not disappointed. Staff friendly & helpful. We met with some very nice people & the children aged 16 & 12 loved it. Places: particularly Funchal with its Christmas lights was the highlight. Entertainment was good especially 'Juice' with their Jazz Funk sessions & the resident band in the clipper bar were excellent musicians & full marks for effort to the team. The food was very good & service was excellent. Special thanks to Thomson for getting the flight off at Bristol without any excessive delay due to the heavy fog just before Christmas which blighted so many holiday breaks.
As this was my 50th birthday trip & the first Christmas away, due to my mother & the last grandparent passing away earlier in the year, this really was a change to what could have been a difficult time for the children. The previous complaints about toilets not working was not a problem.
The drinks package is worth the money if you consume a lot & have children who get through soft drinks.
If you are on a lot of trips or visiting several ports you may not find enough time to consume a break even amount, but as we were on the ship for more than normal it was worth it as it was very hassle free & we hardly spent anything except for the Captains night photo which was a good evening to dress up.
The ship was clean but is old in cruising terms, but a friendly ship with many return passengers.
Bad Points
The weather, although not wet, was overcast & windy. This prevented docking at Lanzarote, which was not a disappointment as we stayed at the island in July, but did not allow us to experience the sun decks & the whole deck experience. The swell was excessive & the ships roll made the wife feel ill for the time at sea, it did not affect the rest of us, but it is the Atlantic in December, & if you do not travel well, expect the worst at that time of year.
Inside cabins are very small, but adequate, & you will need to change in shifts for dinner. Artificial light can be difficult to get used too, but as we had the four berth, it had to be an inside cabin.
The staff were very helpful with the exception of one Eastern European bar man, but as most passengers were inside for the majority of the cruise they were very busy.
The trips were expensive & Morocco was a place I would never want to go again. We went on the half day 'Fantasia & Soouk' visit which was never worth the bother or money. You are taken to the guides mates in the Soouk to buy cheap tat & then rushed onto the bus before you can return it. The watch my daughter bought stopped working before we got to the bus.
Because it was Christmas most places were closed, but that in part was to be expected.
General Comments
I read several reviews which stated the Christmas cruise was below standard, & I heard some regular cruisers complaining about the decorations not being elaborate enough,& the Christmas crackers were not up to standard. In my opinion those are very minor things to complain about.
We thoroughly enjoyed it & so did the people we became friends with. Thomson offered everyone £75 off another cruise & with that & a free drinks package as an incentive. We have booked a weeks stay in Majorca with the second week on the Jewels of the Med cruise for the start of July. Children are half price up to seventeen which is another plus.
We are all looking forward to it.
