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Never been on Thompson Spirit but if you use the casual restaurant tea , coffee, lemonade and water are usually available from the machines. Most of the ports visited can be accessed easily Amsterdam and waremunde centres are a 5 minute walk and the rest apart from St Petersburg just a short coach ride (cost about 6-8euros). We did this cruise on the Celebrity Constellation in May. For St Petersburg we booked our excursions and ballet evening through Denrus.com far cheaper than the ship. We saved about 2/3 of the price. Red October.com are also good.

I have jsut got back from two weeks on the Thomspon Spirit and you can get fee iced water, tea and coffee and any time in the self service restaurant. Look carefully at you tous though I have dome this cruise and fiound that many of the places visited with the exception of St Petersburg it is very easy to get to places yourself saving considerably money. As aveteran of 16+ crusies many with Thomson I can only say I am sure you will enjoy it and maybe become hooked like so many of us do.

Honestly L I am sure you will love thomson Spirit. Try the nightly entertainment. I can guarantee you will still be raving about it weeks later. To answer your question, you have to pay for drinks and bottles of water, but thomson line has then least expensive drinks. One year we paid for an allinclusive pakage each (£140 each) and when I added up the receipts, we actually had spent less than we'd paid, and I like my wine!! So you'll probably have a bill of about £150 as long as you don't push the boat out. But there's no extra tips or extra expenses on Thomson, so it's a very worthwhile cruise. Hope this helps. Sue

yOU WILL HAVE TO PAY WHATEVER CRUISE LINE YOU ARE ON BUT IF YOU WANT ICE WATER IT IS ALWAYS AVAILABLE AT ANY BAR IF YOU SPECIFY TAP WATER NOT BOTTLED BUT WOULD ADVISE AGAINST THOMAS SHIPS GO BIG P&O OR ROYAL CARIBBEAN

We did our first cruise on the Thomson Destiny 3 years ago and immediately became hooked. As Chris says Thomson is a good choice for your first cruise. We had to be talked into going by my sister in law who has done many cruises and now we wouldn't take any other type of holiday. Take the plunge and book as soon as possible you won't regret it.

Thomson is a great line for a first cruise, Spirit has a very very happy, friendly & willing crew of all ranks, rather "homely" little ship with a great atmosphere. ..........Tips are included in your ticket, anything you choose to give waiters/cabin attendant at the end is a bonus. .......Good food - each time, you choose when to eat & whether Compass Rose restaurant or Lido buffet(I suggest restaurant for brekkie if time allows & for dinner, buffet for (rather poor) quickie brekkie, and lunch if you're aboard, & snacks when you come back from shore, super mix of people in both. Tea, coffee, ship's water 24hrs, incl jugs at dinner table. ...........But, as others have said, you pay for ALL soft/alcoholic drinks. But forget all the grief on these pages about rip-off drinks prices for many cruise lines - Thomson's are about UK pub money. Perhaps £100 to £130 per adult pw without stinting too much & without being greedy. And currency is sterling so no exchange-rate grief. Bottle of wine from £12, beers from about £2.30, super cocktails under a fiver. ....................most shore days, most people return 30 to 90 mins before back-on-board deadline, which is normally 1/2 hr before sailaway ............Baltic gets rave reviews, never been on a cruise there & I'm envious. .......St Petersburg you need to go on an official tour (Alla, Denrus & others are recommended private tour operators, not cheap but excellent value, better & cheaper than most cruiseline tours). Other ports you can DIY. Type the ports as keyword in the search box. Cheaper & usually more fun than ship's excursions. Have a great time, Chris

THe buffet mainly supplies free tea and coffee so you will generally have to pay for soft drinks. All cruises cost more that the 'fare' but then so do most things in life! Thomson offer a good 'solid' cruise experience on older ships. The food and entertainment is very good for the fare paid. The Baltic is a facinating destination. Go for it!