Thomson Cruises Reviews
Thursday 9th Feb 2012
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Red Sea Magic Was Magical
Red Sea Magic was magical |
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Reviewed By: Ogle, Prestwich, Gtr Manchester on 6th Mar 2010
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| Cruise Line: Thomson Cruises |
Times cruised before: 10+ |
| Cruise Ship: Thomson Celebration |
Sailed:
February,
2010 |
| Destination:
Red Sea
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Age: 65+ |
| Cabin: Outside |
Occasion: Wedding anniversary |
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My wife and are celebrating our 40th Wedding Anniversary this year (2010) and we decided to take our family on a cruise to celebrate. We chose the Red Sea Magic cruise with Thomson Cruises sailing on the ship MV Thomson Celebration. Unlike us, our family have not cruised before and we were unsure if they would enjoy it, as it turned out they thought it was wonderful. Nine of us went, Mum and Dad, two sons and their wives and three grandsons (Aged 8, 8 & 7).
We flew to Sharm El Sheikh and sailed to Aqaba, in Jordan, and booked a trip to Petra. Unfortunately there had been a landslide in the mountains and morning fog and the local Tourist Police stopped us en route and prevented the tour from proceeding on safety grounds. Thomson arranged alternative excursions for those who still wanted a day out and full refunds of course. We stayed on the ship and took advantage of the FREE shuttle bus into the town.
We then sailed to Port Sokhna, in Egypt, to get to Cairo. Six of us took the Classic Egypt tour including the Cairo Museum, the Pyramids and the Sphinx; a great experience. One downside was that the Tour Guide talked more about the things she could arrange to sell us than about Egyptology, although she claimed she had a degree in the subject. The other was that the sound from the ‘Whisper’ headsets she gave us at the Cairo Museum was distorted and difficult to hear. Both items were reported to the tour desk afterwards and we were given a discount to compensate, even though we did not ask for one; well done Thomson Cruises. Apart from that the museum, which was busy, was good (the boys thought the mummies were great), they had studied some Egyptology recently in school. The Pyramids and Sphinx, as expected, were stunning and we made the trip to the burial chamber of one pyramid, which was worth the six pounds fee. Be aware though that you will be pestered by hawkers trying to sell things and locals wanting money if they take a photograph of you with your own camera.
Three of our party took the Pyramids, Memphis and Tombs of Cairo tour and thought it was great with little problems from the Tour Guide trying to sell things. As a rider to the warning about hawkers, etc., they witnessed one couple who allowed one of the locals to take a photograph of them with their own camera. After taking the picture the local claimed that the camera was given to him as a gift and was refusing to return it. We are not sure of the outcome but the couple may well have had to pay to get the camera back. BE WARNED!!!
The ship then sailed to Safaga, in Egypt, where we had an overnight stay. From Safaga trips are arranged to Luxor, Karnak and the Valley of the Kings. We chose not to take this as the day trip is 15 hours long and was too much for the children. Thomson does an overnight trip to Luxor including a hotel stay at £135 per adult and £95 per child (An extra £1095 for 9 of us). Instead some of us went on a shopping trip to Hurghada City on the first day, about an hours coach ride away, and enjoyed it; three stops at different places, one with fixed prices for those who don't like haggling. The second day we all went snorkelling on the Sol Y Mar Reef. What an experience!!! We snorkelled on the Great Barrier Reef last year but this was much, much better. Not just wonderful coral but thousands of fish of all colours and sizes. Don't miss this if you go to the Red Sea.
The ship then sailed back to Sharm El Sheikh. We took advantage of the late flight home and went Quad Biking. Children under sixteen are not allowed on the bikes so we left Grandma by the pool with the children. The quad biking was good, we went out into the Sinai desert on them and had two stops. The first for water and then for a cup of sweet tea at a 'Bedouin Camp'. We saw little vegetation but lots of Monarch Butterflies that had presumably made the flight back from Britain. We enjoyed the trip but the younger adults (Aged in their 20s and 30s) would have preferred to be able to 'freestyle' a little. As it was we went in caravan style, one after the other, with overtaking prohibited. The feeling was that Health and Safety had taken the fun out of it. Never the less even I, at 63, managed to get all four wheels of my bike off the ground at once without turning it over.
As far as the ship is concerned, my wife and I have been on the Thomson Celebration before so we knew what to expect. When we arrived we met crew we had met on our previous cruises and we were greeted like old friends by Jo Jo and Alec, the Head Waiters, Victor in the excursions team, Dave on the Reception Desk and Rodi, our last Cabin Steward. The atmosphere on the ship is great, the food is good with lots of choice and the service is friendly and helpful and nothing is too much trouble. John John, our Wine Waiter, was always smiling and one of the waiters made paper animals to amuse the children. The children really enjoyed their time in Kidzone and couldn't wait until the next session; many thanks to Louise and Debra for making the holiday special for them. We had a special treat provided by Lorna from the Celebrations Desk. To help make it a special holiday she arranged a personal visit to the bridge for us during our departure from the Port of Safaga. Captain John, as he is known, took time out, at this busy time, to give us his personal congratulations. What we like about the ship, which does show its' age a little, is that it is like a floating hotel and not the impersonal juggernauts that are being built today for 4000 plus passengers. You can find your way about easily and, since there are only about 1200 passengers, you can again meet people whom you have just met the day before.
One final point to note, nothing to do with Thomson I hasten to add, is the chaos at Sharm El Sheikh airport. Hold luggage and hand baggage is X Rayed before you go to the check in desk. Then long queues at security, where the hold baggage is X Rayed again and long queues at Passport Control. Once you are through all that it’s like winning the lottery getting a seat in the Departure Lounge. After that there are extortionate prices at the Refreshment Kiosks, e.g. 27 Euro for six small cans of soft drinks and two small bottles of water. Finally don’t rely on the flight display screens; check which Gate you depart from when checking in. The one good thing is that Thomson has a good number of check in desks and so the queues were short. I felt sorry for the Monarch passengers.
At the end of the holiday the vote was unanimous, we had all had a wonderful time and the Grandchildren want to do it again.
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| Quality of Food |  |
| Meridian Restaurant for breakfast and dinner. Lido Restaurant and Lido Grill for lunch. | | Entertainment |  |
| We have seen the shows before and know they are good. | | Shore Excursions | |
| The best is a toss up between the pyramids and the snorkelling. | | Staff | |
| Lorna on the Celebrations Desk. Bridge visit when leaving port. | | Children's Facilities | |
| The activity times didn't seem to clash with our other activities. The children seem to enjoy everything, except that the seven year old didn't like the autograph hunt. One of the boys did some break dancing to win a cocktail for his Mum. | | Onboard Activities | |
| Plenty to do all day and night long. | | Cabins | |
| The cabins were good and all three together. Our family said they were much bigger than they expected. | | Overall Rating | |
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