Thomson Cruises : Well worth the money (Thomson Cruises in general)

Member Name: tor0908

Product:	Thomson Cruises in general
Date:	09/06/09 (490 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Good food, great value for money

Disadvantages: Some things on board were expensive

My first ever cruise experience was the Red Sea Magic itinerary on the Thomson Celebration in November/December 2007. I was travelling with a friend as a reward for completing a very demanding project at work and we picked the Red Sea Magic cruise as we both fancied seeing Egypt and the Pyramids.

We booked three weeks before departure and paid £489 each for an outside cabin on deck 1. The price included flights from East Midlands Airport, transfers, cabin and full board which I thought was an excellent deal for such short notice.

The flight was due to depart at 10.30am and after some minor traffic issues on the A50 we arrived at the airport just after check-in opened. There was a stand just before the check-in desk marked 'Thomson Cruises' where we were given a luggage tag with our cabin number on it, as well as security stickers for the cases and a sheet of paper with the cruises excursions and their prices on it. I liked the fact that we could have a look at what excursions were on offer and could decide which ones we wanted to book.

We flew to Sharm El Sheikh with Thomsonfly and the flight was just under five hours. The airport arrivals was a bit chaotic, but we were directed to a separate queue to have our passports stamped. Normally if you intend to leave the Sinai Penninsula while on holiday in Sharm El Sheikh you need to buy a tourist visa, but because we were cruising that is taken care of by Thomson and you don't need to worry about it. After some confusion with the luggage carousel we grabbed our bags and made our way to the buses outside for transfer to the ship. You are then taken to the port where there is a 'check-in' area of sorts, similar to if you check in to a hotel. We were offered a drink of juice while we waited, which was great because by this time I was tired and wanting to go and sit down.

It took around 30 minutes to 'check-in' where you have your photograph taken, your card registered for on-board purchases and get a receipt for your passport. We also received an envelope with our cabin keys and swipe card for making purchases on the ship.

At this stage your luggage has been taken off and delivered to your cabin, so it should be there when you arrive. We walked across to the ship and boarded after having our bags scanned and using the sanitising hand gel. We were shown to our cabin by one of the many stewards and I have to say I was very impressed.

We were on deck 1 which is the lowest deck on the ship and had been assigned cabin 813 which was near the front of the ship. The cabin itself was larger than I expected with the twin beds, a desk, chair, two wardrobes and porthole. It was a bit unusual in that it wasn't a traditional parallel or 'L' shaped configuration as shown in the pictures on the Thomson website. When I have looked at the deck plan in the brochure I'm sure this layout gave us much more space than the ordinary outside cabins. If you are going on the Thomson Celebration then I would say cabins 812, 813, 814, 816, 817 and 821 are the ones to try and get. The bathroom was small but that was to be expected and it was clean and tidy. We had a tv and 'minibar' which consisted of some cans of soft drink, a bottle of water and some pringles. You just took whatever you liked and signed for it on the supplied forms so your cabin steward could charge it to your onboard account. There aren't any in-room safes on the Celebration, except in the suites I believe, but you can buy a safety deposit box at reception for £12 for the week. We had quite a bit of cash with us so we decided to have one, and kept our valuables in there.

I liked that our cabin steward - Aditya - came and introduced himself and said that if there was anything we needed that he was available. The cabin was clean and tidy and they have a nightly turn down service where a chocolate appears on your pillow which I thought was a lovely touch. I suppose the cabins could probably do with some refurbishment but they were spotlessly clean and I didn't have any complaints. You are only really in the cabin to wash, get changed and sleep anyway.

Despite being on Deck 1 you could hardly tell the ship was moving at night, it was very well stabilised. We didn't experience any rough seas though so I'm not sure what it would be like in bad weather mind you!

We explored the ship for a bit and found out that it was indeed massive. There are three restaurants, I think four or five bars, swimming pool, sundeck, cinema, reading room and internet area, gym, beauty salon, saunas, whirlpool (although it wasn't working when we were there) and a health centre for if you were ill or seasick.

The excursions were reasonably priced, we paid £32 for a trip to the Pyramids and a shopping trip afterwards. We also did quad biking for £29 in the Sinai Desert and a beach day at a local hotel in Port Safaga for £16. There was also a free shuttle in Aqaba so you could go shopping for souvenirs or wander around the town. The Cairo trip was an early start but well worth it, we had a local guide for our trip to the Pyramids where we had around 15 minutes at the viewing station, around 45 minutes at the Pyramids themselves and some time at the Sphinx. Afterwards we spent some time at the Papyrus museum where you could buy some designs to take home and be framed. The coach we had for the day had it's own toilet, which was good in one sense as there are no facilities at the Pyramids, but after a while it was pretty ropey and no-one used it on the way back. The coaches aren't brand new, or even close to it, but they serve their purpose. I've read certain reviews where people have said they were rushed on the organised tours but I thought there was ample time given, besides with a two hour trip into Cairo and a two hour trip back to catch the ship before it leaves for the next destination, you can't spend too long wandering around.

We didn't need our passports with us when in Jordan, but whenever we left the ship in Egypt we had to carry them with us and show them whenever we boarded or left the ship. This was a bit of a pain as we had to surrender and pick up our passports a couple of times during the week.

We had one day at sea, and I have to admit that the sundeck did get a bit crowded in the morning and early afternoon. You aren't supposed to reserve sunbeds by putting your towel down but be warned, people do and can get very territorial about them. Usually by about mid afternoon it tends to quieten down, and despite there being around 1000 passengers on the ship during our day at sea it didn't feel too crowded. it's a big ship with plenty of space for everyone.

Drinks on board weren't too expensive but we only had soft drinks which were priced at £1.25 per can. Unlike some other cruise lines, Thomson allow you to bring your own duty free on to the ship, as well as buy it on board for consumption in your cabin. The duty free shop was open whenever the ship was at sea, and because we were out of the EU the prices were amazing. We paid £7.95 for a litre of rum, and the prices for the other spirits were comparable. When we worked out our drinks spend for the seven days we found that we had spent £20 each on drinks. Some people on board had the drinks package, but at £169 per person in the party it seemed quite expensive. Tea, Coffee and Water were freely available 24 hours a day, no charge. However if you wanted bottled water then there was a charge for it and you had to get it at the bar.

The food on board was excellent but I have to admit that we only ate in the Lido self service restaurant because we preferred the relaxed atmosphere. You could sit where you liked and had no set time, and just go on back for more whenever you liked.

Breakfast

You had the choice of a full English, toast, pastries, cold meats, cereal, fresh fruit, yoghurt, bread and fruit juice.

Lunch

There was a cooked lunch on offer, as well as burgers, fries, hot dogs, pizza, caesar salad, or pannini sandwiches. The chicken tikka one was delicious, as was the tuna mayonnaise I had on the last day. You could also have cheesecake, chocolate mousse, ice cream etc for dessert if you liked. There was a salad bar and cheese and biscuits as well as a selection of cooked meats, which was available in the evening as well.

Afternoon Tea

This was mainly tea and coffee with little mini cakes and biscuits.

Evening Meal

They had a few theme nights which included Italian, Indian and Chinese food. There was always an alternative such as steak, fish and chips or chicken with vegetables and rice. You always got a bread roll and could have ham and cheese with crackers and salad.

Late Meal

After 10pm you could have burgers, chips, hotdogs and pizza which was great if you had been to the bar and had a drink and fancied something to eat before going back to your cabin.

I have no idea what the food was like in the other restaurant as we felt the Lido was great and decided to eat there all week. There was a lot of choice and being self service you could eat as much as you liked.

Everyone was friendly and although there wasn't a huge number of young people on board (We were 28 & 35) everyone got on well. We kept on seeing the same couple we had sat next to on the plane and it seemed to be well known that we went for chips at 11.30pm! The gym is pretty well equipped, if you can be bothered to visit it when you are on your holidays. I went once, and there were treadmills, a cross trainer, bikes and a selection of weights.

The dress code is casual and you can dress up if you like, but it isn't compulsory. There is one formal dinner on a week long cruise where you can have your photo taken with the Captain if you like. We didn't bother with this though, as the photographs were quite expensive to buy and the dinner was just as good in the Lido self service buffet.

The entertainment is great, with nightly shows in the lounge as well as events in the 'nightclub' Liberties bar. If you want peace and quiet then it is possible to get it, in either the reading room or even Horizons bar at the top of the ship. Smoking isn't allowed in cabins, but there are smoking only tables outside the Lido restaurant and you are allowed to smoke on the promenade deck (or at least, you were when I cruised in November 2007). I'm not a smoker, but my friend is so I tended to stay where you were allowed to have a cigarette.

There is a cinema on board with recent films being shown twice a day with free popcorn outside. If you want to stay in touch with the outside world you can use the internet lounge but I found the connection to be really slow and expensive to use. Okay if you only need a quick check of email but not really for surfing the net for ages.

What I particularly liked as well, was that there was a safety drill on the first day where you go up to the muster stations wearing your life jacket (which is stored in your wardrobe), and on one day the crew actually launched the lifeboats and made sure they were in good condition. Some cross channel ferries I've been on have lifeboats that look less than sea-worthy so it was reassuring that if there was some kind of disaster then the lifeboats wouldn't let us down.

The transfers back to the airport went smoothly but Sharm airport itself is a bit chaotic. When we checked in they seemed to abandon using the luggage belts and just left tagged suitcases at the desk. We had to be scanned once when entering the airport, which took ages, and then had to be scanned again when making our way to departures. The television screens are next to useless at telling you of the status of your flight, as our flight had been brought forward an hour and the first we heard of it was when our flight was called over the tannoy and they announced that they were missing six passengers and otherwise ready to depart! I must admit I panicked a bit at that, but it seemed that there were lots of other passengers who were just as panicked as me. Whatever you do, don't rely on the TV screens at Sharm el Sheikh airport.

We also had to deal with the humour of the staff who delighted in telling us that we weren't about to board the East Midlands flight but the Newcastle one! Not funny to someone who has just run the length of the airport thinking I was going to be stranded in Egypt for another week.

I'd never thought of cruising before but it is a great way to see several different cities in one go and I feel that the Thomson cruises give the best value for money, especially with regards to the food. I was under no illusions that it would be of the QE2 standard - to be honest if you want that level of service then you need to holiday with Cunard or Royal Caribbean. If you can get an all inclusive package to include all the drinks it is a bonus but it isn't all that expensive if you don't. One of my dad's friends went cruising with another cruise line and ended up with an 18% cover charge on everything. With Thomsons it isn't anthing like that and I feel that their approach of not ripping you off for everything and getting repeat business is quite refreshing. I know a lot of younger people are put off cruising because they think it just for older people but it really isn't the case. Yes, there were a lot of older and retired people on this cruise but we had such a good time interacting with everyone. I think the main thing going for cruises like this is the value for money, and for just over £650 per person including flights, accomodation, transfers, food, drink and excursions and some duty free shopping I think I got what I paid for.

I've already booked for another cruise this year and would definitely recommend it.

Summary: Well worth the money, would recommend