Thomson Cruises Reviews

Friday 25th May 2012

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Cruise Reviews

Thomson Cruises

Thomson Dream

Latin Gems And Caribbean Treasures

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Latin Gems and Caribbean Treasures	23 of 27 people found this review informative

Reviewed By: Gauld, Leyland on 31st Jan 2012
Cruise Line: Thomson Cruises	Times cruised before: 1-2
Cruise Ship: Thomson Dream	Sailed: January, 2012
Destination: Caribbean	Age: 56-65
Cabin: Outside	Occasion: Birthday

If you want expensive luxury you should sail with Cunard, and pay their prices. Having said that, our holiday was not cheap, two weeks on Dream with Premium seats on the plane, a pre-booked cabin and the drinks package worked out at almost £5000 for two. On-board expenses, mainly trips, added another £1000. All-inclusive and tips-free is a bit deceptive; you still spend a lot. Bottles of water are not included in the drinks package, and there are no tea-making facilities in the cabins. Good value for money? ...ish. We had a wonderful holiday; have never been to the Caribbean before, and really enjoyed ourselves. Our cabin was comfortable, our cabin steward excellent. The cocktail waiters are excellent, efficient and pleasant. Food was good in the Orion restaurant, and we liked the open dining arrangements. The menus were varied, food hot and nicely presented. Someone needs to remind the waiters that the ship is tip-free, tips were clearly expected at the end of our holiday, difficult when you have been served by so many. We did not care for the entertainment in the show lounge. Saw a couple of shows, did not like the content, although the young people did their best, then never went again. We liked the duo in the Argo lounge, however it was often too cold in there for us to stay for long. The air conditioning on the ship is not balanced; hot in some places, freezing in others. We did a trip most days, and found them as described, and enjoyed most of them. Loved swimming with dolphins, (great attention to the safety and well-being of both visitors and dolphins). Did not enjoy swimming with stingrays; around 60 people in the water, not many staff (about 5); did not feel safe, and was not well cared for by staff in the water after I had been bitten by one of the stingrays. Got to see the ship's hospital, though, which is excellent, and the doctor and his staff are lovely. The ship is a good size, but facilities are a bit stretched when everyone is on board. Sunbeds are very close together, (Thomsons could not cram any more on), but insufficient on At Sea days, and people will leave towels on them to reserve them, which makes the situation worse, since half are empty at any one time. The lifts are few, slow, and it's quicker to walk, okay if you have the lungs and the legs to climb up to deck 11, the pool deck. I guarantee you will be fitter at the end of your holiday; we were. The decor in the ship is tired; maintainance is ongoing; we had the painters working round us while we were sun-bathing on the pool deck. Staff work hard to keep the ship clean, but there is no denying that the Dream is ready for a re-fit. Staff are vigilant re hand-sanitising, and clearly work hard to keep norvovirus at bay; no problems during our holiday. The ship is quite stable, even in windy conditions, but there is some motion. We were not sea-sick, although we heard that some people were. Treatment is available, but it is a good idea to take something with you if you think you might succumb. Thomsons advertise this ship as 4 star; we have stayed on Destiny, (3 star when we were on her), and a more accurate description of Dream as she is now would be 3 star. Would we cruise in the Caribbean again? Yes, we can't wait to go again! Would we stay on Dream again? Not until she's had a refit.
Quality of Food
Orion restaurant
Entertainment
Liked the duo in the Argo lounge best. Did not like the shows in the Broadway show lounge.
Shore Excursions
Liked the Swim with dolphins best. Liked the Swim with stingrays least, because I was bitten.
Staff
Our cabin steward Jimmy really worked hard to make us comfortable. He always made sure our cabin was clean and our towels changed every time we went out. The cocktail waiters were all excellent. The waiters in the dining room clearly expected to be tipped, although this is a 'tip-free' ship.
Children's Facilities	n/a

Onboard Activities
I got a bit bored during the second week. I should have liked lectures about the geography, climate, and history of the islands we were visiting. Entertainment in the evenings was okay if all you want to do is drink and party.
Cabins
Good size, comfortable beds, nice bathroom. Pity about the useless cupboard; a few shelves in it would have given us all the space we needed to keep things. As it was, we struggled to reach the high shelves in the wardrobe. Storage not well thought out.
Overall Rating

23 of 27 people found this review informative

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Question by Boyden, Colchester (21 Feb 12 22:29) about this REVIEW

Do you think you managed to drink the cost of the drinks package as it appears that so many drinks like water/coffee are not included

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Comment by Edwards, bridgend (01 Feb 12 09:51) about this REVIEW

Your perception of cunard is totally wrong.We sailed on Q V in December 17 nights to the caribbean,Panama canal central America and LA cost for a balcony cabin £1300 plus £200 on board spend for sheer quality and luxury with none of the problems you endured.

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Comment by Russell, Bournemouth (05 Feb 12 10:52) about a COMMENT by Edwards (01 Feb 12 09:51)

Can I ask whether this was a cruise sailing out of Southampton or a fly-cruise? If the latter then it was good value compared with Thomson and for that price I would most certainly look to travelling with Cunard in the future. If it was sailing to and from Southampton though it wouldn't be for me as there would be too many sea days and too few Caribbean Islands to visit. One of the pluses for me with Thomson is only two sea days in a two week itinerary. Caribbean cruises from Southampton are considerably cheaper than a fly-cruise and it's important to be comparing like-for-like. We would also need to know the base price for cabins without up-grades to be able to make a fair comparison as the figures you quote may be for an inside cabin as compared with a Deluxe or Suite form the O.P. We haven't got a particularly good deal for our forthcoming Thomson trip for two weeks in the Caribbean (there are better deals available now) and haven't paid for Premium seats on the plane but even so have only paid approximately half that of the O.P.

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