Majesty or Spirit - Which Would You Get Rid of?

You wanted a poll happy v, your wish is my command! :D

As we know, both of these ships leases are running out next year, and it would seem at least one won't be staying, but what would you prefer?

Vote in the poll. :)

Voted to get rid of both. I like Spirit, but I think its now showing its age, and at least we've still got its sister in the fleet.

I still think Majesty doesn't really fit in the fleet. Those standard cabins are too small.

Two newer, better ships I think are needed.

Have voted to save Spirit - but think that should go too in the not too distant future perhaps hanging on to it during an interim period whilst we wait for this new(er) ship or whatever modernisation plans Fraser has up his sleeve. With the complication of the Red Sea itineraries it's not just which ship - but where they are going to be located too which is in the melting pot I reckon. :confused:

I like the Majesty but as you say the ship is let down by cabin size but I did like the ship .

The Spirit I really took to it and like this ship a lot and for its age it does look modern compared to the Dream and

if the latter ship had been in the vote I would have opted for that ship to go .

Get rid of Majesty , I still have flash backs to just how bad that cruise was :(

I like the Majesty but as you say the ship is let down by cabin size but I did like the ship .

The Spirit I really took to it and like this ship a lot and for its age it does look modern compared to the Dream and

if the latter ship had been in the vote I would have opted for that ship to go .

it would seem daft to get rid of Spirit ,probably the best run most popular ship in the fleet. the annual summer charter works well with no problem of having to find and fill a winter itinary. if thomson think the Celebration has got plenty life left in it why not the Spirit, its less than a year older and has probably less miles on the clock, Louis have done a good job keeping it in good order and by spending a fraction of the money thrown at Celebration it could turn a pound for a good while yet.

Get rid of Spirit, naff single cabins. They can get rid of Celebration and Dream as well as far as i am concerned. Destiny was the best. Choose any cabin you like, just like a real cruise line ;)

hi sailaway nice to read your comment,s glad to see you back,well let,s get started i voted both but to be honest i have only sailed dream x4 majesty x1 as for new ship,s i would like see mein shiff or statdam family has just got back cruise from port canaveral on carnival ecstasy not a bad cruiser food very good agrade up from thomson,s and went all the way in a stern balcony, how about sending majesty out to winter in florida cruise and stay regard,s howard

Never been on the Majesty but feel that the Spirit is now past it's sell by date. Last year we noticed the vibration getting worse and in one of the cabins it was impossible to sleep at night. Cannot fault the crew and would love to have them on a good modern ship.

I haven't been on the Majesty so it was probably not fair to say get rid of it. But if one has to go, I hope it's not the Spirit- I love that ship! And I've only been on it twice so was hoping for a few more trips. The cabins are so much nicer than most others I've been on, the theatre and entertainment lounges work well, the bars are attractive and comfortable, the promenade deck goes right round the ship, and it's a perfect size.

kate

Edit- and the buffet restaurant is far superior to any others I've experienced.

It was wise to get rid of Destiny as it was beyond renovation. Spirit and Majesty both have their strengths and weaknesses but I feel this is the wrong question to be asking.

MSC have built up a modern purpose built fleet in a short space of time. It can be done but I would suggest that Thomson could do even better than MSC. What Thomson need is a purpose built fleet that has modern pleasant cabins and facilities on a ship of more traditional layout with a promenade deck on a ship that looks like a ship and not like a floating highrise block on its side. They could take the best features of their existing ships and some from their rivals and combine them into a design for a fleet of superb vessels.

If Thomson could combine this whilst retaining the edge they have over other lines in terms of the friendliness of the staff, the quality of their entertainment and their great itineraries they could be the best cruise line afloat. To do this they need capital investment. If MSC accomplished that investment then Thomson might be able to do it too. I know it this is easy for me to say whilst typing away on my couch when there is nothing worth watching on TV and much harder to do when you are in the boardroom with the company accounts in front of you but I believe that is the direction of travel Thomson needs to go in and they need to set themselves that sort of target.

It was wise to get rid of Destiny as it was beyond renovation. Spirit and Majesty both have their strengths and weaknesses but I feel this is the wrong question to be asking.

 

MSC have built up a modern purpose built fleet in a short space of time. It can be done but I would suggest that Thomson could do even better than MSC. What Thomson need is a purpose built fleet that has modern pleasant cabins and facilities on a ship of more traditional layout with a promenade deck on a ship that looks like a ship and not like a floating highrise block on its side. They could take the best features of their existing ships and some from their rivals and combine them into a design for a fleet of superb vessels.

 

If Thomson could combine this whilst retaining the edge they have over other lines in terms of the friendliness of the staff, the quality of their entertainment and their great itineraries they could be the best cruise line afloat. To do this they need capital investment. If MSC accomplished that investment then Thomson might be able to do it too. I know it this is easy for me to say whilst typing away on my couch when there is nothing worth watching on TV and much harder to do when you are in the boardroom with the company accounts in front of you but I believe that is the direction of travel Thomson needs to go in and they need to set themselves that sort of target.

I completely agree. Modern cabins and public spaces, a wrap around promenade deck and ships that are below 70,000 GT. That on a brand new build would be perfect. The traditional aspects of ships that we love, but on a modern, new ship. Maybe this is what they have in mind with the Senastori Cruises?

I do wonder whether the only way to achieve this is to be 50% owned by a larger cruise line like RCL or Carnival. It's done TUI's German cruise line TUI Cruises a lot of good.

If the choice is between Spirit or Majesty - so easy - give me the Spirit anytime.

The Majesty is a very poor layout with inferior cabins.

Fully agree Thomson could do with investing in new ships, but we all know this will not happen, although we moan, the ships are always full.

I knew I could rely on you Sailaway.;)

Voted to keep Spirit. I know she's old, but after just having a perfect cruise with no problems whatsoever, better the devil you know.:eek:

I don't really believe there will be a new ship, just newer, but if there are TWO of them let us hope they choose wisely this time and take note of the descriptions above...........in fact I'm sure you could find a couple of ships for us no bother Sailaway.:rolleyes::D:D

Although the spirit is smaller, the majesty is so poorly laid out, there never seems to be any space. I used to feel ambivalent towards the celebration and the spirit but the majesty was so disappointing I'm looking forward to my next sprit cruise (3 weeks!)

I cant vote as I haven’t been on majesty

I thinks they should keep them all and have a new (er) ship...maybe something a bit smaller and do something different....like expedition style cruises, or city break style short cruises...I reckon there's an (untapped) demand for this out there........cruising is growing in popularity

have thoms ever had more than 4 ships in the fleet?

If there ever is a new ship it would be almost certain that it would follow the TUI newbuilds design, 99000 tons and 2500 passengers. The economies of operating a larger ship cannot be ignored. Any 'small' newbuild would mean more expensive fares and require a shift in the target market.

the TUI newbuilds are still packing passengers in but their passenger space ratios are better than the existing Thomson ships.

A 2 ship operation with two 2500 passenger ships makes better sense economically. Of course you would have to solve the 'Corfu' problem so you could base one ship in Majorca and on in the eastern med/adriatic

I cant vote as I haven’t been on majesty

 

I thinks they should keep them all and have a new (er) ship...maybe something a bit smaller and do something different....like expedition style cruises, or city break style short cruises...I reckon there's an (untapped) demand for this out there........cruising is growing in popularity

 

have thoms ever had more than 4 ships in the fleet?

They were definitely considering the Louis Crystal but heard they have decided against it as it is too small

Although the spirit is smaller, the majesty is so poorly laid out, there never seems to be any space. I used to feel ambivalent towards the celebration and the spirit but the majesty was so disappointing I'm looking forward to my next sprit cruise (3 weeks!)

Those tiny cabins on the Majesty should be given over to singles then there would be a bit more room to move on the decks. Far too congested in most areas of the ship.

I cant vote as I haven’t been on majesty

 

I thinks they should keep them all and have a new (er) ship...maybe something a bit smaller and do something different....like expedition style cruises, or city break style short cruises...I reckon there's an (untapped) demand for this out there........cruising is growing in popularity

 

have thoms ever had more than 4 ships in the fleet?

They did used to have five ships when they had the smaller The Emerald and The Calypso in the fleet. Whether they'd consider bringing back an adults-only vessel, as I think this was quite popular.

They were definitely considering the Louis Crystal but heard they have decided against it as it is too small

Noticed Louis have taken Cristal off their itinerary programme for next summer. I'm glad Thomson decided not to go for this ship as I don't think it is the modernisation that customers desire. Something better is needed.

Its an absolute no-brainer. If one has to go it should be Majesty. Spirit is well suited to ex UK runs during the Summer, which ties in perfectly with the current terms of the lease. Furthermore, Spirit is consistently the highest rated ship in the fleet, despite having no Platinum makeover. A lot of this is due to Dicky Grey in fairness, as well as the Louis employed staff.

Majesty on the other hand is something of a Marmite ship, with more seeming to dislike it than like it. I will categorically state that there is no way I would ever go on Majesty, no matter how good the itinerary, she just doesn't seem to fit in with the rest of the fleet.

One thing I will say however is that if Thomson are going to keep a ship on beyond 2014 I would imagine that it would be Majesty - Fraser seems to be under the impression that newer is better no matter what.

They were definitely considering the Louis Crystal but heard they have decided against it as it is too small

I researched this ship as I was considering booking it for a cuba cruise

this ship suffered a serious fire and was rebuilt from a cinder

one of the public areas caught fire during maintenance...the sprinkler system was switched off and the temporary fire water supply also was disconnected, the fire hydrants were dry and the fire watchman had left for lunch

due to gas bottles exploding....the fire brigade fought the fire from outside....the ship burned for 3 days:eek:

I booked the dream instead;)

Have you got any ships/theories at the moment Sailaway about modernisation? Given perhaps the new-build scenario may be a step too far at the moment have you spotted any likely candidates for up-grading?