just back from celebration/ancient wonders

just back from celebration/ancient wonders......a first for us, havnt been on celebration before

I dont know what the ship was like before (I am assuming much like spirit) so I have to say that celebration does seem to have benefited from the platinum upgrade a little better than dream did

the lido area is pleasant....some nice tables and chairs outside under the canopy....some wicker seating same as dream

looks to be new marbley bar and grill pretty much same as dream, nice big pool and a further adults only (smaller) pool above with a jacuzzi and a 'cosy' sunbathing area

also very cosy on the sunbathing wings at the sides of the sundeck with some very 'very' tatty sunbeds (I assume this is because of the soot from the funnel problem? same as the dream suffers)

they did seem to be enforcing the 45 minute rule on the sea day and i did see a few tickets go on a couple of beds

early sailings on this itinerary means a sunbed shortage most afternoons tho....people reserving sunbeds in the mornings before going ashore and returning about 3pm....saw this happen a few times!....no sunbed policy in force on port days!?:(

top men on lido deck daytimes but then swapped half way thru to 2 intense duo on deck daytimes

lido buffet is a huge room but nicely partitioned so some quiet corners with some nice views out to sea (unlike dream which overlooks the promenade deck)

2 lines at the buffet and what a difference that makes

spent most of my time loafing about in horizons and liberties....what can I say...horizons a very congenial place to enjoy a drink on an evening with 2 intense entertaining (such a pity dream has nothing like it) liberties too....nicely laid out with a good atmosphere with top men playing in evenings?

the shows

broadway showlounge, lots of red velvet and gold, a little like aunty wainwrights emporium but comfy and well laid out imo and a very pleasant mezzanine with a bar also a flat screen tv in the corner so if you happen to be at the bar or behind a pillar you can still see the show.... no evidence of reserved vip seating anywhere? but there are some red velvet (what can only be described as) thrones? that have got 'suitable candidate' written all over them

explorers bar for afternoon tea....very quiet and refined ....so quiet you could hear a mouse drop....someone really should start a conga in there;)

main dining room...pleasant as always on thoms ships...big swap of waiters half way thru the cruise with quite a few new waiters (old friends) appearing from the dream

didnt have my barcardi confiscated this time and ms magot was happily slamming away with her favourite lurid coloured 100% blue agave tequila with no bitter consequences:)

ai packages available on the first day (£225 per adult, £97.95 under 18's)

wine packages available in the restaurant 5 bottles (sorry cant remember the price?) we didn’t take it up as they had run out of most of the popular wines (pinot grigio, cabernet sauvignon) no other drinks packages available

no evidence of norovirus that I could see....we were serving ourselves at the buffet throughout and no little mats outside cabins that i could see nor any reports of anyone being unwell

cabins have been refurbished with soft furnishings much the same a dream and bathrooms also look to have been replaced, ours looked new...no flaky grout or sealant, no mosaic, shower good and powerful, new sink and tap

we had a standard inside, plenty of storage, new carpet

overall a good cruise (not amazing) but not too much not to like, I would book again and enjoyed the itinerary....more on the itinerary later

Nice report, Geo - thank you; due to sail soon & have been getting a little concerned over recent reports but feel a little happier having read yours ;). We have sailed twice on Celebration now & love the ship - apart from the lack of sunbeds! Have never tried Explorers for afternoon tea - might have to try it & start the conga; don't think they had it in there last time we were on, only the Lido; did they not have a duo or music playing during that period?

so itinerary was:

marmaris

sea day

istanbul

mytiline

piraeus

mikonos

kusadasi

didnt see much of maramaris just settled into the ship....v long airport transfer (over the mountains) 1.5 hours (drinks available to purchase on coach 1 euro)

istanbul, easily walkable for most to the bazzar/shops, local busses and trams around the port area, we took the hoho bus (22 euros each) which took in most of the main sights

good commentary back on the ship during the beautiful sailout

missed mytilene (to windy to dock) so sailed on to dikili in turkey instead, arrived about midday then tendered ashore (a bit chaotic) but a pleasant and quite pretty resort town, not much english spoken, lots of shops (very cheap) and a nice black sand beach nearby, nice for a stroll or coffee....not much else there really

piraeus for athens, made our own way into athens where there is a hoho bus tour, 19 euros (I think) we took the little train.....ok its a petit train, very slow and a bit bumpy but only 5 euros each for 50 minutes....bargain....just flag them down the route takes you to all the main sights, plaka, acropolis, parliament/tomb of the unknown soldier etc etc

parthenon....absolutely heaving with throngs of tour groups, we couldn’t get near it so gave that a miss and watched the changing of the guard at the parliament building instead (on the hour)....which really appealed to ms magots sense of humour:rolleyes:

mykonos, very pleasant resort town, shuttle busses provided by the port

kusadasi, we didnt do ephesus and stayed on the ship to recharge after a couple of days of heavy walking in istanbul and athens....ship was deserted and a very hot day 36 degrees

a good itinerary imo would book it again and hopefully do ephesus……..shame to have missed it really….regret that a bit

just a side note.....this weeks cruise egypt & holy land itinerary has been changed bacause of the troubles in egypt and will now overnight in ashdod and stops at aghios nikolaos.....no reports of any refunds this time for those we spoke to yesterday who were staying on

some other observations:

steak under the stars on lido (3 courses) started at £9.95 then went up to £13.95 during the course of the cruise

fun casino....was £3 now £5

iced water available free from the bars (but you often get a dirty look)

food got a bit samey (even in mdr) it was good but not amazing....I guess its ok if you like quiche....steak diane in mdr one night only

cold brussells sprouts salad in mayo on buffet.......ok I like sprouts?.....but in mayonaise? with the odd cold carrot thrown in for colour.....looked like a rehash of left overs to me?

lack of fruit choice again?....just melon and maybe some apples....common thoms?....why no decent fruit?? (your sailing in the land of fruit)

drinks seemed a bit watered down especially on pool deck (get your drinks in hemmingway’s...stronger)

bar waiters were going around the decks with trays of cocktails for sale during the cocktail demonstrations/fruit carving etc....nice marketing! they sold a lot!

Good bar service overall….plenty of waiters about:cool:

Not stalking you Geo; honestly - now we have 2 days free in Istanbul, we are considering the hoho bus on our 2nd week - where did you catch it from & does is drop back to anywhere near the port? Would you recommend it for an easy way to see a bit more from the bus? Thought it would just get us a bit further than by foot & we have done one before & just enjoyed the ride & the views! Was it the red bus you got? Thanks ;)

I would recommend hoho bus jules

bus was called bosphorus sightseeing

they pick up from just outside the port by the galata bridge in the morning when the ships get in....its not a stop but they will fill up the bus and take you to the blue mosque which is the start....you can hop off here or do the blue mosque later

at the end of the tour we walked back to the ship from the bazzar

there is a stop somewhere near to where the ship was docked…..but it does depend on where the ship docks? I am sure there must be a stop somewhere near wherever the ship docks?

some interesting stops, all the main sights (58 all together) and the tour goes over the bosphorus suspension bridge to the asian side....v v windy on the bridge dont saty on the open top deck for the crossing, enjoy the panoramic views from the lower deck

can recommend the dolmabahce palace and taskim square...well worth a stop

the bazzar is walkable from the ship, theres a subway to get across the road.....luvved the bazzar...its reasonably clean, not to much hassle, its big but laid out in a grid easy to navigate and you can see the ship most of the time....I was expecting a lot of vendors/begging but in fact athens was worse for that

Welcome back, glad you had a good time and the surprised went as planned.;):);)

Nice to hear that there are now plenty of bar - waiters about again :D we had a bit of an 'odd' week but from your comments sounds like things are back on track staff wise.

My Parents did afternoon tea in Explorers, loved the tea but said Explorers is for the old people :D

Steak under the star was £13.95 all week when we went.

Slightly off topic but i think you have been to Sharm, any tips for surviving the airport hear its a nightmare :eek:

yep tops....sharm airport is one of the worst in my experience

not so bad flying in....tip dont take a holdall, mine was ripped to shreds on the baggage conveyor (there are some sharp edges somewhere?)

...there are some duty free shops on arrival

there are horrendous queues at immigration and several checks made, people...mainly russians seem to get fast tracked? its down to baksheesh? (tipping of the officials) we tried this one once...it worked!

officials keep on (relentlessly) trying to sell you a visa but you need to explain (several times) you are on a cruise (ie in transit)

you have to make your own way out to thru arrivals (just follow the exit signs) to the awaiting coaches outside, thoms staff are not allowed inside

but all of that is easy compared to the departure!

there is security to enter the airport all luggage is scanned and there are several queues to join before you even get to checkin....all the thoms flights leave at about the same time so horrendous queues at checkin (as always everywhere I guess) not much information, there are screens if they are working? announcements are garbled

once thru checkin/passport control/security (more queues, more scanning/pat downs)

sharm airport is really just a huge cavernous space....not much information displayed, hard to find your boarding gate and most are so small they all merge into one anyway, people smoke in the terminal and the food/bar outlets usually consist of a counter where you join the queue to order, another queue to wait for your order then yet another queue for the cashier..... officials trawl the queues looking for tips (even when they havnt done anything for you?) usually they are happy with pens/tobacco/hard currency

toilets are filthy (and then the attendant will want a tip)

cafe tables are filthy (take some wipes)

usual bedlam boarding the aircraft but (if your lucky) the cabin crew will come round with drinks and snacks quite quickly after departure.........basically its murder!!

Luv sharm tho

Thanks Geo

Booked a week in Sharm to replace our cruise that we have moved to next year, flying in with Monarch and have to arrange some transfers. Don't need a visa (so we have been told) as not moving from Sharm or my lounger for a week :D First time in Sharm

May resort to a little tipping (USD or GBP ???)

Coming back i will eat before hand, not drink then don't need the loo or their restaurants, and perhaps take a tranquilliser :D

Thank your for your review Geo. We are considering a cruise on the Celebration just as a change from the Dream. This all sounds very positive. What were the shows liek?

May resort to a little tipping (USD or GBP ???

usd...gbp....euro.......cigarettes.....anything as long as its not egypt pounds

sharm is nice tops....really a very typical (westernised) mediterranean resort, no viza required if you are staying within sharm

there are some nice little islands too (not popular with the russians) and easy/cheap to book a day boat trip

we were there last year, we would have liked to have visited st catherines monastery but all travel into sinai was off limits back then....probably still same now....cairo/alex trips definitely off limits.....security was up quite a bit last year, its always pretty high but probably even more so now

have a great time

a few more observations.......

the captains cocktail reception....what a let down...you queue in hemmingway’s for half an hour....ok you get a free drink, but then you sit there for an hour listening to the band then troop down the stairs to queue for dinner....the captain didnt even turn up (dont blame him)

the cabaret act...now, I like phil doyle, i have seen his act before but he keeps it current and is very entertaining....but the singalong?...loch lomond...ok so there is a scottish audience but there were irish/english/brummies/me/mancehester/yorkshire/essex etc and phil...you're welsh!...it was a bit surreal (bring back sweet caroline)

the guy in hemmingway’s....good voice...very good voice, shame about the same five songs everynight (there is a limit to how many times I can listen to simon & garfunkel)

I noticed daytime quizzes are becoming chestnuts again (same questions from the other ships/previous week) you can always spot a regular thoms cruiser....they always have a thoms canvas bag and a parker pen

game shows seemed a bit staged? like they were just going thru the motions.....try to improvise a bit more guys.....you have to....we have had the same games for years

liked the sailin/out commentaries...nicely done....more of them please

destination services, very organised, no fuss, got everyone where they wanted to be with minimum faffing about, good selection of trips, fair price, no silly complicated 2 for 1 offers and a good port showcase, very knowledgeable on the ports of call, very helpful….well done to them

sorry langtoncouple....only watched the man in the mirror show ...a michael jackson tribute, we enjoyed it, it was well done

most of the other shows (we just caught a glimpse of while walking thru?) seemed to be just the showteam singing and stepping from side to side whilst dressed up to my eyes? others on here may be able to advise

So glad you enjoyed your cruise and thanks for the interesting review and observations, Geo.

Sound like the Celebration is doing nicely.

Incidentally, Geo, Runrig's version of Loch Lomond is very popular in Scotland for providing a rather riotous end to weddings and other functions. We saw Phil Doyle end his show last year with this and while the Scots enjoyed it, it fell rather flat as people need to be on their feet in a circle to get the best experience. Perhaps he has seen it and liked it, but it didn't really work on the Majesty either.

So glad you enjoyed your cruise and thanks for the interesting review and observations, Geo.

 

Sound like the Celebration is doing nicely.

 

Not operating as nicely as the Louise run ships (Spirit & Majesty).

 

Incidentally, Geo, Runrig's version of Loch Lomond is very popular in Scotland for providing a rather riotous end to weddings and other functions. We saw Phil Doyle end his show last year with this and while the Scots enjoyed it, it fell rather flat as people need to be on their feet in a circle to get the best experience. Perhaps he has seen it and liked it, but it didn't really work on the Majesty either.

 

We were outnumbered in the Show Lounge by all other nationalities and initially wary about standing up and declaring we were Scots but everyone was participating as they had managed to master the words by the finale.:D

Welcome back Geo, glad you enjoyed it.

Topsey when you are comming home go straight through to the departure lounge, as often your flight isn't announced until it's actually boarding and it takes ages to get through.:eek:

Hey Geo,,,did you by any chance meet a bald headed funeral director??

Hey Geo,,,did you by any chance meet a bald headed funeral director??

not sure cappers?......we did make quite a few friends on this cruise and met a few we had cruised with before :cool: (how common is that?.....we have met people we have cruised with before on thoms on the last 3/4 cruises)

has this happened to anyone else on here?

I sometimes leave a little note stuck to the back of a drawer in the cabin....magot was here:p;)

anyone ever found one???

not sure cappers?......we did make quite a few friends on this cruise and met a few we had cruised with before :cool: (how common is that?.....we have met people we have cruised with before on thoms on the last 3/4 cruises)

 

has this happened to anyone else on here?

 

I sometimes leave a little note stuck to the back of a drawer in the cabin....magot was here:p;)

 

anyone ever found one???

On the first day of our second only cruise we met a couple from our first cruise who also stayed in the same hotel as us after the cruise.

Oh, and have met Anne ***** on Majesty twice and will just miss her in Sept as I get off as she gets on.

On each of 2 cruises we have met people who we knew beforehand from home.

I'll be checking for notes in drawers in future. :D

I do miss this ship and it sounds like they have made some lovely changes

I thought they would have modernised the main show bar more, have they changed the seating at all or moved those big low chunks of wood on the sides that made it difficult to see from the side areas

Have they done anything with the cabins? We were last on in 2010 and spirit 2012.

I do miss this ship and it sounds like they have made some lovely changes

 

I thought they would have modernised the main show bar more, have they changed the seating at all or moved those big low chunks of wood on the sides that made it difficult to see from the side areas

 

Have they done anything with the cabins? We were last on in 2010 and spirit 2012.

cant really help as I didnt see what celebration was like before?

there are pillars in the showlounge but I guess you would get that on any ship, seating is good, comfy and well laid out apart from the mezzanine where there are sofas at the back that you cant see the stage from but they do have flat screen tvs there

our cabin had a new carpet, new soft furnishings and a refurbished bathroom: new tiles, new sink & tap, new shower curtain, some old fittings like the wire soap dish/shelf thing? that everything you put on it fell through to the floor

loads of mirrors in cabin including a huge one piece mirror that covered the whole of one wall....so you could see yourself from every angle into infinity:eek: (did create a sense of space tho)

and a myriad of different lamps/lighting that we never worked out the switches for?:o

cant really help as I didnt see what celebration was like before?

Hi Geo, we are booked on Celebration for Ancient Wonders/Egypt and Holy Land next June. Can you clear up a bit of confusion for me please? Do we need visas in Turkey when we are joining a cruise and therefore not staying there?

no turkish viza required for cruisers (technically you are in transit) you still need to fill out a landing card on the aircraft....on arrival just join the queue for the cruise passengers immigration desk .....its well signposted

you only need a viza if you are doing cruise and stay

not sure cappers?......we did make quite a few friends on this cruise and met a few we had cruised with before :cool: (how common is that?.....we have met people we have cruised with before on thoms on the last 3/4 cruises)

 

has this happened to anyone else on here?

 

I sometimes leave a little note stuck to the back of a drawer in the cabin....magot was here:p;)

 

anyone ever found one???

Never found your note Geo, but on our cruise we had our friend from work (we both work in a College) the Plumbing Tutor, his Wife, and Daugther. One of our Students and her Grandma, and to cap it all we bumped into the Marketing manager who was holidaying in Dubrovnik.

We have also met people who we have seen on previous cruises, I think a lot stick to the same weeks and same cruise lines.

Joe.

cant really help as I didnt see what celebration was like before?

Hi Geo, we are booked on Celebration for Ancient Wonders/Egypt and Holy Land next June. Can you clear up a bit of confusion for me please? Do we need visas in Turkey when we are joining a cruise and therefore not staying there?

 

Thanks Geo

We're just back from 2 weeks on he Celebration doing a back to back cruise starting on the 22nd July, we did get £50 inboard credit each for the change of itinerary, we were so looking forward to Egypt as that is why we booked this cruise but it is better to be safe than sorry, just annoyed at Thomsons lack of communication in spite of me emailing them to ask for details of changes they didn't tell us until we were on board. We like the first day at sea after a day of travelling but the ship docked at Rhodes, then proceeded to Ashod in Israel where it stayed for 2 nights, wish they had picked a nicer port to stay in. We love the ship and this is our second cruise on board, not much changes since last year, the Lido deck had new tables and chairs, new curtains etc in the cabins, we had cabin 008 on the 9th deck and I was very spacious, lots of storage space, bath, and the making facilities no which pleased m husband. The staff are wonderful especially the waiters in the Horizon bar who gel so nicely together, unfortunately on our last night they were to,d they are all being split up and moved to other bars in the ship, can't understand Thomsons when they have such. Good team,and I'm sure that it why the bar was so popular. Went to Istanbul and loved it also Mykonos which is vastly different but is one of he most prettiest places I've been to. We are thinking of doing the Black Sea cruise next year. can't wait. Apparently h ship is going into dry dock in November and balconies are being fitted to the cabins which we were in on deck 9.