help!!!!! dream alert x

[jamesy]

have been reading 'the other site ' its still saying NOT to go on the dream, we are booked to go 9th of july but beginning to worry now if its worth losing our deposit and cancelling x

[snave]

Hi Jamesy
If you just change your holiday with Thomson to another cruise ship or package holiday before the balance of your cruise is due you will only have to pay an admin fee.( think its £30 per person)The only time you will lose your deposit is if you cancel completly.Hope this helps you , my wife and i are booked on Dream in April if reviws keep on being negative will look at other options.

[Jim The Scot]

have been reading 'the other site ' its still saying NOT to go on the dream, we are booked to go 9th of july but beginning to worry now if its worth losing our deposit and cancelling x

jamesy,we were hearing some horror stories pre our cruise last June.We went and had a great time so much so were booked for June this year

If you just change your holiday with Thomson to another cruise ship or package holiday before the balance of your cruise is due you will only have to pay an admin fee.( think its £30 per person)The only time you will lose your deposit is if you cancel completly.Hope this helps you , my wife and i are booked on Dream in April if reviws keep on being negative will look at other options

If you want to change any details of your booking Thomson will do their best but any major changes eg those that would lower the basic price of the holiday or that would otherwise result in the holiday ceasing to be a package holiday or a thomson cruise is treated as a different holiday and changes to the hotel or flight within 56 days of departure will be treated as a different holiday.They charge an amendement fee for each detail of the booking which they allow to change without a cancellation.

If you make an allowed change more than 56 days before departure the charge is £35 per change per person within 56 days od departure its £50 per change per person.Also the price of of any new travel arrangements are based on prices that apply on the day yoy make any change and may not be same as when first booked

Thomsons T&C

[snave]

jamesy,we were hearing some horror stories pre our cruise last June.We went and had a great time so much so were booked for June this year



If you want to change any details of your booking Thomson will do their best but any major changes eg those that would lower the basic price of the holiday or that would otherwise result in the holiday ceasing to be a package holiday or a thomson cruise is treated as a different holiday and changes to the hotel or flight within 56 days of departure will be treated as a different holiday.They charge an amendement fee for each detail of the booking which they allow to change without a cancellation.

If you make an allowed change more than 56 days before departure the charge is £35 per change per person within 56 days od departure its £50 per change per person.Also the price of of any new travel arrangements are based on prices that apply on the day yoy make any change and may not be same as when first booked

Thomsons T&C
Thanks jim good to know what options we have

[Jim The Scot]

Your welcome snave

[Dysongs]

have been reading 'the other site ' its still saying NOT to go on the dream, we are booked to go 9th of july but beginning to worry now if its worth losing our deposit and cancelling x

Hi Jamesy,

We had Caribbean Crossing booked on the Dream. Yes, we had an open mind and thought that many things would be resolved after the work done on her in dry dock in Hamburg, especially as the reviews had suddenly got better throughout September and October

We watched the reviews and this and other forums carefully and 3 weeks ago following reports of engine failure, a fire, a story about possible abandoning of ship, consistant reports of air condition failing, floods, reserved cabin cockups (happened to us), sewerage leaks and smells, passengers jumping ship and coming home among other things we didn't like, we marched into Thomson Travel on the day we were about to pay our balance and told them we were not happy at spending all that money to risk a ruined holiday. After all you would not put up with any of this in your own home (admittedly engine failure and ship abandonment, jumping ship and then coming home to find someone else living in your house would be extremely rare at chez nous but yer never know! ;))

So we spent 3 hours at the travel agents and swapped our cruise to the Destiny (Coral Islands and Caribbean Gems cruises back to back) after reading much her better reports and also finding out that it departed on a similar cruise but a few days earlier.

See http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QFbqDg1TMpU (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QFbqDg1TMpU) very good Destiny video on YouTube

It cost us just a little more - £35 admin fee per cabin, but we decided to go for upgraded seats on the plane and these made the final bill very similar to that of the original cruise.

You see, one of our party is not a keen flyer and did not like the thought of that 2nd 9 hour flight back to England and would have preferred the 2 hour trip back from Majorca after the Atlantic crossing, but the seat upgrade sold it to her in the end and she finally agreed.

The cruise is a couple of days shorter but I for one now feel a great relief. I guess its not just experiencing the problems of a duff ship when we are actually there that is the bone of contention, but also the stress and uncertainty in the lead up to a cruise that for us is probably once in a lifetime and costing over nine grand for the 5 of us

I really do hope that the reviews get better and that all those who have booked the Dream - and go have the most fabulous time, and if that in the end includes you then I wish you the very best of luck.

Kev

[Jim The Scot]

Kev,

Was the cost of your cruise on the Destiny cheaper than your original cruise booked on the Dream?

On a change of cruise on like for like price or a lesser price is £35,more expensive is the price differential plus £35 depending your outwith 56 days of departure

[jamesy]

we booked our cruise on thomson website as shop wouldnt match price even though it was thomson ta ! it was 400 pound cheaper on line , so will have to give them a ring and discuss our options i think. we went on celebration last yr and loved it even though was worried about tyhe ash cloud then. dont fancy worrying all the way upto our hols when its something we should be looking forward to x

[Dysongs]

Kev,

Was the cost of your cruise on the Destiny cheaper than your original cruise booked on the Dream?

On a change of cruise on like for like price or a lesser price is £35,more expensive is the price differential plus £35 depending your outwith 56 days of departure


Yes the cost of the cruise on the Destiny was cheaper by roughly £150 each

Gillie (my wife) and I got our cabin on the Destiny for £45 more and that included the £35 admin for change over and 2 premium seats on the plane.
This also applied to Martin and Gill, but Keith had an extra £300 or so to find as he will be the sole occupier of a double cabin. I don't think there are any single cabins on the Destiny.

We all retained the discount we were given at the Thomson presentation night that Gill and Martin attended in May last year when they put down a small holding deposit for all of us.

As our cabins we booked on the Dream, had suddenly and mysteriously been double booked, we had our Dream cabin reservations refunded on the understanding we were still going on the Dream, but as we then booked cabins with double beds on the Destiny, they took our £39 reservation refund back again.

We went to see Thomson Travel on the saturday and the final due date for payment of balance would have been I think on the Tuesday, so we were very close to time-out. We paid Thomson there and then, and also divided the extra Keith had to pay (less his £35 admin) so that it was fair to everyone in the team.

I note that on the Thomson's Destiny page for these cruises on our sailing date said that there was only 1 cabin left, so we managed it by the skin of our teeth.

Kev

[Dysongs]

dont fancy worrying all the way upto our hols when its something we should be looking forward to x

Exactly! and that is why we've dumped the Dream!

We are fairly happy with our deal as the trip is very very important to us, but as you say Trav Agent handling is at a premium.

Kev

[billmul]

we booked our cruise on thomson website as shop wouldnt match price even though it was thomson ta ! it was 400 pound cheaper on line , so will have to give them a ring and discuss our options i think. we went on celebration last yr and loved it even though was worried about tyhe ash cloud then. dont fancy worrying all the way upto our hols when its something we should be looking forward to x


Hi Jamesy. We kind of mirror your thoughts, and also booked online, as it was a cheaper price than the Thomson TA gave us. 4 of us are due to sail on the dream in September, so time for things to improve. But so far, the build up to this cruise is worrying to say the least. Keep us posted on your dealings with Thomsons online, if you do decide to change your plans, as if no improvements materialise soon, it's something we will have to consider.

Regards,
Bill.

[jamesy]

have just spoke to thomson (10p a minute) and she said prob were due to the pipes being frozen in the winter (how did it get to the carribean ) and it should all be sorted in july ????? unfortunately we have to pick another hol from first choice or thomson or lose our deposit, and tyhe hol we have seen (not a cruise :() is with thomas cook mmmm big thinking ahead, we have til 13th of may to change or cancel its 35 quid each to change x

[Jim The Scot]

Yes the cost of the cruise on the Destiny was cheaper by roughly £150 each

Gillie (my wife) and I got our cabin on the Destiny for £45 more and that included the £35 admin for change over and 2 premium seats on the plane.
This also applied to Martin and Gill, but Keith had an extra £300 or so to find as he will be the sole occupier of a double cabin. I don't think there are any single cabins on the Destiny.

We all retained the discount we were given at the Thomson presentation night that Gill and Martin attended in May last year when they put down a small holding deposit for all of us.

As our cabins we booked on the Dream, had suddenly and mysteriously been double booked, we had our Dream cabin reservations refunded on the understanding we were still going on the Dream, but as we then booked cabins with double beds on the Destiny, they took our £39 reservation refund back again.

We went to see Thomson Travel on the saturday and the final due date for payment of balance would have been I think on the Tuesday, so we were very close to time-out. We paid Thomson there and then, and also divided the extra Keith had to pay (less his £35 admin) so that it was fair to everyone in the team.

I note that on the Thomson's Destiny page for these cruises on our sailing date said that there was only 1 cabin left, so we managed it by the skin of our teeth.

Kev

Cheers Kev

I`m not thinking of changing was just curious as we changed from IE to the Dream last year.We paid the admin charge but were not charge for our cabin booking..However there was a fair difference in price of the Dream holiday in comparison to IE

have just spoke to thomson (10p a minute) and she said prob were due to the pipes being frozen in the winter (how did it get to the carribean ) and it should all be sorted in july ????? unfortunately we have to pick another hol from first choice or thomson or lose our deposit, and tyhe hol we have seen (not a cruise :() is with thomas cook mmmm big thinking ahead, we have til 13th of may to change or cancel its 35 quid each to change x

jamesy..you sure that shouldn`t say "sorted by July"?:D

[cumberlander]

We were on the Christmas and New Year Caribbean cruise and I would definitely travel again on the Dream. We stayed in cabin 7106 and had NO problems at all. I have previously travelled on the Destiny and cabin size, you can't even begin to compare. Dream are huge whereas Destiny small. The Dream has a nice layout, all entertainment, library, card room etc., on deck 8. Nothing put us off. Go, have a great time. You wont regret it.

[NorthWalesCouple]

We were on the Christmas and New Year Caribbean cruise and I would definitely travel again on the Dream. We stayed in cabin 7106 and had NO problems at all. I have previously travelled on the Destiny and cabin size, you can't even begin to compare. Dream are huge whereas Destiny small. The Dream has a nice layout, all entertainment, library, card room etc., on deck 8. Nothing put us off. Go, have a great time. You wont regret it.

Currently on the Dream we lost an Engine during the night and are slowly on our way to Cayman Islands, A/C has been fixed and all is well except for Engine. But people are turning up on the Dream with Notepads at the ready which is so annoying we are having the most fantastic time but it is in danger of being spoiled by our fellow passengers moaning. Example the bread for the Toast is not the correct size and the glasses for the Orange juice etc are too small for god sake get a life all and enjoy the Dream. The Entertainment is also a Dream. will write for Review on our return.:)

[Jim The Scot]

Example the bread for the Toast is not the correct size and the glasses for the Orange juice etc are too small for god sake get a life all and enjoy the Dream.

That better be rectified before I go in June or Thomson will hear from me

Look forward to your review NWC.Enjoy the rest of your cruise

[hols4us]

on this ship xmas and new year... i would change ships asap...thomson have lied to alot of people telling them the ship was ok...i can tell u it was not ok........untill people stop going then they won't change anything

[Jim The Scot]

http://janeheller.mlblogs.com/broken-record.jpg



Its obviously improved then since you were on it as NSW who is on the dream at the moment has posted directly from the ship

If it was so bad why have you not conntacted the newspapers?

[snave]

Currently on the Dream we lost an Engine during the night and are slowly on our way to Cayman Islands, A/C has been fixed and all is well except for Engine. But people are turning up on the Dream with Notepads at the ready which is so annoying we are having the most fantastic time but it is in danger of being spoiled by our fellow passengers moaning. Example the bread for the Toast is not the correct size and the glasses for the Orange juice etc are too small for god sake get a life all and enjoy the Dream. The Entertainment is also a Dream. will write for Review on our return.:)
Hi
Nice to have a review from someone on the dream at this time,glad A/C been sorted.Engine seems to be a big problem tho,how about the so called smells are they still a problem? would appreciate your reply ,sailing on Dream in April

[finngriff]

Toast and orange juice are somewhat minor. Toilets, A/C, stinking decks, terrible pool hygiene, engine failure and panic amongst crew are serious H+S issues. PLEASE do take a notebook, video and stiil photos and expose the truth. This is in the interest of every poor person who might have to endure such shocking standards. Why are some people defending Thomson?

[nicp]

Hi folks,

Firstly, I appreciate anyone who did have a problem on Dream - I think it is still a lottery with the cabins in terms of air con, flushing toilets etc. I'm sure it must have been awful to have no air con or no flushing toilets - I really sympathize. However, my friend and I had a fantastic time - travelled out 6 Jan, returned 20 Jan. We had cabin on deck 9 (cabin 9038) - right near 24 hour buffet, we could stock up 24/7 on water, ice, tea. I will do a full review of the ship and holiday. But I want to say right now - I love the Dream. My friend and I had a fabulous time. The food was amazing, especially in Orion. The crew were fabulous. And when we hugged said goodbye to our crew friends, we genuinely meant it when we said 'see you again soon'. Yes, there may be some 'techincal' problems on the ship but they're sorting it. I've never seen so many 'men in boiler suits' - they really are going around the ship getting it fixed.

Any questions about Dream, be my guest.

Nicola.

[montytania]

Toast and orange juice are somewhat minor. Toilets, A/C, stinking decks, terrible pool hygiene, engine failure and panic amongst crew are serious H+S issues. PLEASE do take a notebook, video and stiil photos and expose the truth. This is in the interest of every poor person who might have to endure such shocking standards. Why are some people defending Thomson?

I agree that some people have had a terrible holiday and yes it shouldn't have happened but some have enjoyed it. A lot of the reviews coming back now are quite good.
One of the ways to not enjoy it is to go about with a note book and camera. That would certainly spoil my holiday and also all the others that have booked and have paid for it in full.
As Jim the Scot says if it was that bad why haven't you contacted the newspapers and the television.
No one is defending Thomson but moaning about toast and glasses well !!

[vwgolf]

. Why are some people defending Thomson?

Because they had good holidays? Why is it so difficult for some people to understand that just because they had a miserable time (for understandable reasons) it doesn't mean that everybody else on the cruise did as well?