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“We've just returned from a cruise aboard the Thomson...”

written by dbevan97 on 15/10/2006

Good Points
The itinerary is pretty comprehensive (with one exception). Six ports in seven days really does allow for a lot of land time. As I mentioned before, this was the primary motivation for taking this particular cruise. Pompeii is a highlight, subject to the concerns on personal security if you're travelling independently via Naples (see our comments below).

The dining options are extensive. We tried them all, and have no complaints for any of the venues. The food is pretty good generally, and exceptional in the Mistrals restaurant. I would qualify this. We've eaten in a number of top class places around the world over the years (including a number of Michelin starred places), and Mistrals is right up there with the best. It is easily worth the extra cash in terms of the food quality and the service if you enjoy fine dining. The chief waiter in Mistral's was a real gentleman. Whatever you're paying him Mr Thomson, it isn't enough!

The crew: How can people actually be this pleasant for so long? How do they learn your name and your favourite drink so quickly? These guys are a revelation if you're used to the usual level of service in a British hotel.

The cabin: We paid extra for a cabin high up. It was really nice, and the steward was top notch. Upon reflection I wouldn't have upgraded, as the ones we saw lower in the ship looked O.K. In hindsight, the only advantage for us was the big picture window and the very short walk to what became our favourite bar. Which leads nicely too...

The drinks prices: They're the same or less than the pub at home. Bear in mind Thomson do NOT add on a 15% service charge like a lot of other operators. As I mentioned earlier, the crew learn very quickly what you like as your tipple, and in most cases, a quick bit of eye contact on entry to the bar sees the drinks arriving as you sit down. The wine prices in the better restaurants are a bit steep, but consistent with those of a quality restaurant at home. If you're a smoker, 400 fags cost less than 20 quid from the shop. All this led to a slight intake of breath when I saw our shipboard account, we must have been enjoying ourselves more than we thought (Several gourmet dinners in Mistral's didn't help keep the account down, but they became addictive).

Thomson are very, very organised with embarkation and disembarkation at the start and end of the cruise. Getting 1200 people (and about 2000 pieces of luggage) from the airport to the cabin is a mammoth task. We were most impressed with the speed and efficiency of the operation. There are queues, especially if several coaches arrived together, but it's only a short wait to get 'processed', and we really liked the suggestion that we enjoyed some lunch while the stewards moved our cases to our cabin.

The unique 'Anti- theft' mechanism employed by Thomson to prevent you nicking the towelling robes from your cabin. They simply make them so big and fluffy that you can't actually get one inside your suitcase...Neat!

We were able to fly from our local airport. This made a huge difference over having to fight our way through the crowds at the London airports.

Bad Points
Tunisia is a poor choice of destination. There's a whole day and night at sea to get there, and then the ship only docks for four hours. As the port is a long way from town there's no real choice but to take an organised tour. Carthage is worth seeing, but it isn't worth the cost of the tour. Taxis however are unreliable, and are known to be less than honest.

The Celebration is beginning to look tired. It's spotlessly clean, but there are deeper issues. A breakdown at sea on the Friday evening left us drifting off the North African coast for over an hour without engines or power. This happened just at the climax of the Broadway show, which I reluctantly admit, I was actually enjoying.

Some couples really made it their business to make the lives of their fellow passengers and the crew hell. Why do people act like this? Thomson have a pretty honest attitude to what they offer, it's not as if Thomson are ripping anyone off. I guess we've all seen these sorts of people before, but in view of the relaxed atmosphere on-board, it was a disappointment to see this sort of behaviour on holiday.

The destination/port guides are pretty knowledgeable, but as you would expect, the emphasis is on taking the Thomson offered tours. Complaints about the lack of advice regarding personal security in Naples led to improved information at the Barcelona briefing, so it appears they do listen, but as this wasn't the first time the ship had visited Naples, one might have thought the information would have been forthcoming without prompting. Navigating the Naples traffic, railway station and buses isn't for the faint-hearted.

General Comments
We've just returned from a cruise aboard the Thomson Celebration. The cruise was called 'Jewels of the Mediterranean'. There were six ports of call over the period of a week. We had not cruised as a couple before, as we are hardened independent travellers (we are previous winners of the Daily Mail independent travel family of the year competition). Our expectation was not high, but we were attracted to the cruise because the itinerary looked viable for a nice autumn break. There were a number of places we wanted to visit that separately didn't justify a dedicated trip, but when put together under the umbrella of a weeks cruise became attractive.



The plan was to put up with the chips, burgers, bingo and Karaoke that we anticipated would form the heart of shipboard life, in favour of the ability to travel independently once ashore.



Clearly, we didn't read the brochure properly. Thomson, to our surprise and delight, has a real class act in operation. For sure, the chips and bingo stuff is present, but there's just so much more on offer on-board. There are other published reviews that deal with the detailed mechanics of cruising on the Celebration that reflect accurately the Thomson offering, so I've noted a few of the highlights and lowlights for us. Please bear in mind that we're probably looking at this from a different perspective to a lot of people. There were a whole lot more positives than we expected.



For a whole week at breakfast I resisted the blueberry pancakes with the fresh cream. Unfortunately, the increased waistline suggests the cakes served with afternoon tea may have taken their toll. I guess we'll call it a draw.



As a hardened independent traveller it pains me to say that we are already studying the Thomson cruise itineraries for 2007. Looks like Thomson win after all.



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