Thomson Majesty - The Cruise frim Hell |
72 of 89 people found this review informative
|
| Reviewed By: COULTER, Glasgow on 14th May 2012 | |
| Cruise Line: Thomson Cruises | Times cruised before: 10+ |
| Cruise Ship: Thomson Destiny | Sailed: May, 2012 |
| Destination: Mediterranean | Age: 65+ |
| Cabin: Inside | Occasion: Birthday |
|
I have just returned from Thomson Majesty's first cruise 4-11/5/2012.
Thomson do not seem to have learned anything from the debacle of the first sailing of 'Dream'. All the problems of Dream were there. Approaching the ship she looked quite good, but going up the gangway you could see that a quick paint job over the peeling paint. Public areas and cabin well carpeted, and decor was in toning colours. My twin cabin for sole use looked very clean with nice bed linen. Wardrope space limited with a cupboard and 2 drawers within the wardrobe structure but only one drawer would open, same with the four drawer unit between the 2 beds, and a small dressing table with only one drawer opening. The top of the dressing table had many cans of soft drinks and bottle of water, an ice bucket with no ice and this took uo 75% of available space. As I was travelling alone for only 1 week this didn't cause me to many problems but would have been neat for two people. The bathroom very small but clean. As I am only 5'1" and weigh 8 1/2 stone not too much of a problem but had to dry myself after showering in the main cabin tht is when I had hot water. Shudder to think how larger passengers were coping. First thing I do when on a cruise is check where the muster station is in relation to my cabin and plan a route in case of emergency. I knew I was muster station 2 lifeboat no.1. I asked 2 crew members where muster A was but they did not know. Asked an Officer and told she did not know but she knew a man who did, but he didn't and informed me he had only been aboard less than 1 hour. After that he produced a scrap of paper from his office and asked me to locate it myself. In view of all the recent publicity I found this a bit worrying but 10 minutes before the 6.p.m. muster instructions were given as to where these muster stations were located. At the muster itself,I can only describe it as farcical, circa 400 passengers in a very small lounge bar with maybe 6 crew members shouting over each other the cabib numbers and it was difficult to follow what was what. At no time were we shown where our alloted life boat was and on checking the lifeboats on deck 7 couldn't fathom out their numbering system i.e. lifeboat 10 was next to lifeboat 6 and so on. Apparently those arriving at the ship after 6p.m. were given the safety drill on the coach from airport to ship. The Destiny was berthed about 4 berths away and some of the crew were still boarding in the afternoon so none of the crew from the Destiny had any idea of the ship layout. As most passengers arrived luchtime to early afternoon we had all been up early for the early morning flights and were tired, needed a shower to get dressed for dinner which was a Freestyle arrangement and by 7.30pm the queues were halfway down the length of the ship trying to get a table. After queing for almost 2 hours I was shown to a table at the back of the dining room with the previous diners dirty dishes still on the table. That whole section of the dining room had no wine waiters so it was dinner without wine. The menu had a reasonable choice but all food at our table arrived thoroughly dried out and cold. I left the dining room around 10.30pm and the queues were still pretty long, many giving up and going to bed. On the second day which was a sea day and Captains night and this had been a 2 sitting affair which was marginally better and I was on 2nd sitting, ordered the Tornedos Diane for main course as did 2others at the table but it was totally inedible, even a 'Rottie' would have found the meat tough but apparently 1st sitting was ok. Day 3 decided to choose the vegitarian option Spinich Quiche but this arrived deep fried. From then on I diined on Soup and Bread Rolls. Now the Buffet Resaurant opened on to the pool deck but this had an odd arrangement. The Hot food sections was in the middle of the line with cold plates and hot plates for salad. It was so badly laid out that you needed a Sat Nav to negotiate round to get all the elements for breakfast and no trays were provided to get the food to the tables via the pool. The pool bar dispensed drinks in plastic glasses which was acceptable during the day with folks jumping in and out of the pool but not in the evening. This for me was cruise number 38 and never before have I gone to bed hungrybut hey ho I had lost 4lbs by the time I got home. The pool deck music was 5 decibels more than my ears could tolerate and this was piped throughout the whole ship sometimes till midnight, the solution I was given was to turn up the air conditioning because it was noisy and would drown out the music. The incabin and public spaces TV's were not tuned until day 6 and no internet connection. There was a wrap around deck on deck 7 but no seats and sections were closed off while the crew painted the deck (this was the deck that the lifeboats would be launched from). This ship was by no means ready for fare paying passengers and non of the lessons from the Dream,s first sailing had been learned. The atmosphere aboard was non existent as 1400+ cruisers were unhappy and disgrunteld and the problems aboard were the only topic of conversation. We were all pressganged onto this ship. No one got what they had booked and paid for. The only other good thing was the weather was kind to us cause no-one from Thomsons was. Hadn't even cleaned the windows which were absolutely filthy. Feel I have been robbed blind, this was my first and last Thomson cruise, |
|
| Quality of Food |  |
| Soup and Bread | |
| Entertainment | |
| None, Queueing for dinner at time of performances | |
| Shore Excursions | n/a |
| None | |
| Staff |  |
| Cabin Stewards only crew who knew what they were doing | |
| Children's Facilities | n/a |
| Onboard Activities | |
| No | |
| Cabins |  |
| Size yes, facilities No | |
| Overall Rating | |
72 of 89 people found this review informative
Was this review informative to you?
Like this review on Facebook
Comment
by , Keith (24 Oct 12 20:14)
about
this REVIEW
Im due to sail on the Majesty next May'13 and we are on deck 7. This will be our first cruise and its to celebrate a special birthday & anniversary but after reading the comments i am now worried. Apart from one good the rest dont seem to be. Has anyone travelled closer to now and can let me know how it was please.
Comment
by , Shipley (21 May 12 23:18)
about
this REVIEW
I also sailed on the Majesty 11-18 May 12, with a cabin on deck 3. The main problems included the lack of hot water, a very cramped bathroom with rather grubby towels and a rather embarasing formal evening. Despite the cafe royale advertised in the ship's news and elsewhere as the alternative for those who did not want to participate in the formal evening, the formal dress code was not enforced at the captain's dinner. Most men were in dinner jackets and ladies in their finery but there was a significant minority of very casually dressed people which only created a lot of simmering discontent and embarrassment around the tables, especially amongst the elegantly dressed ladies. This spoilt the sense of occasion for a lot of people. The positives were entertainment which improved during the week as the jubilee lounge shows began to integrate dancers, singers and musicians in one performance rather than having them perform separately. Excellent food in the Cafe Royale which was much better than the restaurants. Very good resident pianist, Mark, although when he played in the Rendezvous his quiet and sensitive music was often drowned by the rowdy quiz type entertainment in the neighbouring Fireworks. Quality guest singer Rachael Russell was also a star performance.
Comment
by , Middlesbrough (19 May 12 16:37)
about
this REVIEW
I sailed on the majesty(11 may 12 ) DECK 7.Thomsons have got rid of one old tired ship for another
slightly younger tired old ship. The shower tiles are filthy, mouldy grouting,cold water sometimes warm. Entertainment average,food good,staff as usual brilliant.If only thomson could spend more time on refurbishing their cabins instead of painting the outside of the ship in every port i would change my opinion also the windows very dirty as well as many of the sunbeds
Comment
by , wigan (18 May 12 18:37)
about
this REVIEW
I have just returned from a week on this ship. The ship is tatty and tired. We had either no hot water or no cold. There was trouble with the air con, the toilet blocked and leaked. There was supposed to be a DVD player in our room but wasn't. Despite being assured we had an unrestricted view, there was a lifeboat outside our window, it didn't matter though because the windows were so dirty we couldn't see through them. We had been told there shouldn't be a problem with noise from the lifts although we were close to them, but we were kept awake with this and with trolleys trundling over is the restaurant above us. Food and service were fine, this was our 4th Thomson cruise but what a let down.
Question
by , Loughborough (18 May 12 20:38)
about
a COMMENT by baines (18 May 12 18:37)
can i ask what cabin you were in please? we are booked on deck 4 where I didnt want to be but had no choice
Comment
by , Lytham St. Annes (18 May 12 10:53)
about
this REVIEW
Started our cruise on 11 may and have to report that the above comments are complete rubbish. We've had a great cruise with great food and the usual high level of Thomson service. The above report was clearly put on by a competitor or someone with an axe to grind.
Even if there were problems on the first week ( and what reasonable person would not expect a few teething problems on what is effectively a maiden voyage) they have all been sorted now.
COULTER should get a life! It is very obvious why he or she has to cruise alone.
Comment
by , Bathgate (20 May 12 00:05)
about
a COMMENT by Ruddick (18 May 12 10:53)
I think it is unfair to say people are talking rubbish about dirty showers. Recent pictures from Louis Majesty show exactly that and there has been no refurbishment of the ship prior to Thomson taking over. Other pictures showed much better cabins so I think it is just your luck. Time will tell.
Comment
by , Bridgend (19 May 12 11:49)
about
a COMMENT by Ruddick (18 May 12 10:53)
We have just returned from a cruise on this ship, and found all areas clean and tidy not tatty at all a few meals were cold or not cooked properly but restaurant staff were a great laugh. we didnt have the room we booked and cabin was quite cramped especially the shower room. we did complain about our cabin but with no success as people that had booked for 2 weeks from 4th may had not been registered, they do need to get their entertainment sorted out as this was very poor.
Comment
by , Loughborough (18 May 12 15:39)
about
a COMMENT by Ruddick (18 May 12 10:53)
Im sure she didnt pay for or expect the "teething troubles" as everyone keeps writing about .You should get the cruise you have paid hard earned money for . Im sure the crew did their best but Thomson should not have sailed if their usual standards could not be met , I for one would not have been happy to except those "teething troubles" for the price I have paid. I sail soon and if Majesty is not up to standard I will complain and if it is fantastic then I will compliment .
Comment
by , London (17 May 12 12:06)
about
this REVIEW
wow!! while I understand its good to write a review, maybe instead of your notebook attached to your hip, enjoy yourself.
Write a Cruise Review
Get a FREE
More Cruise Reviews
Previous Cruise Reviews
