Was it an off week???

First I would like to start by saying we did enjoy our holiday and have now converted my parents to cruising,:) and if you have your first cruise coming along you will love it, However if you have cruised with Thomson before, you may notice some differences and there are a few elements that have left me feeling unsettled upon return. This cruise did not have quite the same feel as the other two we have taken. So forgive me if I am a little more serious than usual :(.

The main things that we noticed was that the staff were not as engaging as previous years, they simply did not have the time as they were rushing around non-stop to keep up. This was particularly apparent around the lido area on Sea day and throughout the week; you could wait quite a while to get served and then quite a while for your drink to arrive in fact the theme was familiar through the bars. The waiters in the MDR tried their best but again you could see that they were pushed to the limit, but they were more engaging than the bar staff. Cabin steward fantastic as always, we also made time to say hello each day and a thank you, but only one towel animal over the course of the week ( a little thing I know but I like my towel animals:D)

There are enough threads on here at the moment about entertainment, and I was a little disappointed, with what was presented to us not the quality (which was fantastic) as although the shows were very good the ‘west end’ style of old was absent our week. There also seemed to be a lot of demonstrations listed as entertainment, designed to part you with your money, I know all cruise lines do this but they have never been that obvious in the past or perhaps I have never noticed, for example on sea day all of the following were really sales demonstrations, Fab Abs, How to increase your metabolism, Spa show, Just for men (how to shave), Bar Parade, Power of seaweed, how to lose 8 Inches, foot care seminar, fashion show. Yes, 9 :eek: items listed on the sea day entertainment were actually sales based

The quality of the drinks, shocking! The cocktails were very difficult to differentiate, light on alcohol content :eek:and pre-mixed, I did not see a cocktail shaker all week. We had taken a reduced price AI package; if I had to pay for these drinks they would have gone back, particularly the G & T’s flat tonic is not acceptable:(. I will say though that the House wine was drinkable and there was no need for an upgrade on that front. Soft drinks, a glass topped with ice then part of a can poured in, if you are lucky it’s a fresh one, but generally you get what is left. On one occasion I had part of an old can and part of a new can. This is cost cutting to the extreme.

All little things in the grand scope of things, when taken into consideration but it was not the Thomson that I know, you turn a blind eye to most things because the staff and entertainment are fantastic, but this time they were just good.

Anyone who has never cruised on Thomson before will probably think I am mad and a right old moaner, I am not it was a good holiday but not the same as before, and I liked before far better, so if these are the Platinum changes, its obviously a move down from what was Rhodium (just checked that is the most precious metal at the moment) product before.

I will say it again we had a fantastic time but there was something I could not put my finger on that made it feel so different. I am hoping that it was just an off week (we are all allowed to have those).

Not a moaner at all topsey.Unsure what ship you were on but your review virtually mirrors my experience on the Dream

Not a moaner at all topsey.Unsure what ship you were on but your review virtually mirrors my experience on the Dream

It was the Celebration Jim, we were on the Dream last year and it was a completely different experience.

Cheers Topsey

It was the Dream we were on last year also but completely different experience on the Dream this year

Thanks for that topsey - a reflective and very balanced review. :) I agree with you though that it is important we air these things. As you say new cruisers will not spot the difference but regulars know what is has been like in the past - and what they are hoping for in booking their next Thomson cruise.

Yes, we have to accept I suppose that there has to be an eye kept on profit margins and with increasing fuel costs (and everything else I expect), over-capacity and competition Thomson like all other operators are into looking for savings. But certain 'cuts' can change the nature of your on-board experience significantly and it's the Thomson 'product' which needs to be protected - because that's what draws us back. Staff under pressure is not going to maintain the happy ambience which is a real worry.

It seems as though we're really 'having a go' but as far as I'm concerned debating these issues helps us all to be kept abreast of the current situation on board which is important when you are parting with a great deal of money when you book a cruise. you want it to be as good as what you have enjoyed in the past. Hopefully too Thomson will realise what kind of areas matter to us - the paying public.

I'm aware of people discussing cost-cutting measures with other cruise-lines e.g shortened port stops with P&O is a hot topic currently on their Forum.

With port intensive itineraries and usually full days in port I must say Thomson stand out for me in that respect and that's something I would wish them to preserve. I guess we must accept some economies somewhere along the line - or pay more for our cruises. Perhaps that's why some of their prices look higher than we might expect compared with competitors with newer ships. The concern is where the economies are made - and that's a whole new discussion! :rolleyes:

Hi Topsey

No, it wasn't an off week. Everything you have said is quite true as we had similar experiences 3-17 June as well as some other problems. I think Scarey Mary will also confirm this as she was on our cruise.

I don't drink alcohol of any type and was presented after 20 minutes with what I believe was Vodka and Diet Coke. After waiting so long and attracting the waiter's attention to the fact the two lonely glasses on his tray at the other side of the Lido could be our drinks, I proceeded to take a large mouthful of what I thought was Diet Coke while hubby signed the slip only to bring it straight back up.

I also had flat drinks in dirty glasses and ice and a splash of Diet Coke which I had no hesitation in returning.:eek:

Standards in most departments have definitely dropped on the Thomson run ships, i.e. Dream/Celebration, but I look forward to returning to the Spirit/Majesty which are operated by Louis Lines as well as Island Escape in preference to D/C.

Definitely looking forward to our 27 night crossing on the Dream next April with trepidation.:eek:

Thomson have happy staff and like to keep them that way.

My daughter worked for a very short while in the shops in the RC Independence of the Seas ship**. Because of the size of the ship they had to leave ports early on in the day. Her days off were when the ship was in port then back on again once the ship left for sea. Because of these short port days and many sea days, she really had limited free time.

Thomson having smaller ships, are able to leave later on in the day giving more free time to certain crew members making them altogether a happier bunch. Lets hope it stays that way.

** lasted 6 weeks, hard work, long hours, some very rude passengers, homesickness and sea life was not for her!!!

Hi Topsey

Many thanks for your review and I agree wholeheartedly with what you say. We were on the Dream for 2 weeks in June, our 1st time on the Dream but our 5th cruise with Thomson. We had a fabulous holiday but not the same standard as previous cruises. We had free AI but like you we often had flat soft drinks and the alcohol in cocktails or B & C seemed not existent.

We found the waiters in MDR to be as good as ever but a long wait in all of the other bars to get a drink due to shortage of staff which meant in turn we were unable to get to know them as in our previous cruises.

Lets hope things improve quickly back to the Thomson brand we all love and expect otherwise we will certainly look elsewhere in future.

That's not the first time I have heard of a shortage of alcohol in the cocktails. If on all in, and having a cocktail vodka based for example, could you also get a measure of vodka and add it yourself? Not normally a cocktail drinker so not sure how this would work.

Hi Topsey, I know exactly what you mean. I did say when I came back from the Dream in May that there was not the same atmosphere on the Dream that we had last year in the Caribbean. Nothing to do with noro. I said to DH after a couple of days that there was something not quite right on the ship :(

After having such a good time on the Majesty in February, it was very disappointing :(

hi there just off the celebration the day as well had a great time as but cost cutting is there :rolleyes:

on the majesty last july you were able to get two drinks at once with each card not now one drink one card ,if you wanted vodka and coke they left you the can not now ,and as topsey said pouring out of half empty cans ,staff were fantastic ,but under so much presure. it did take a while most times to get a drink ordered then delivered .cocktails are nice but would never get you drunk no matter how hard you tried :D

travelled with my wife and two teenage girls who made lots of friends at the teen meet and hardly seen them,only problem they encounterd was that were in broadway with there friends sitting waiting for a show to start when some old biddie told them they could not take up that many seats ,i mean one seat each is too much for a paying teenager am glad they never moved:eek: :D.cabin was good ,cabin staff fantastic as per usual (they put in some shift).

shows were good in the broadway lounge ,phill doyle the comic was great both nights ,the lock in was superb (how lewis never passed out i will never know)also fraser ellacott version of the proclaimers 800 miles was awfull as well as he knew it but was game for a laugh :D

paid £15 to keep our cabin till 12pm so we could get a long lie and a shower and keep our hand luggage in when they announce at 10am no water in the cabins due to cleaning ,went to reception and hopefully they are refunding it :mad:

sunbeds were a nightmare on the sea day and good to see the staff enforce the 45min rule .

good to see the crew have a party on one night felt sorry for the ones who were still working .hopefully they get prority for the next one.

thomsons still get my vote but stop penny pinching

Looks like there have been a few "off weeks"! Topsey, your second paragraph could have been written about the Dream the week of 25th May! It did improve a little our second week.

Can't say I noticed a problem with the quality of the drinks although the service was very slow especially in the Medusa.

However, like you we still had a great holiday.

I remarked last May that I thought the cocktails and most measures of spirits were very weak. If I had consumed similar quantities at home I would have been hospitalised!! That was on the Majesty.

The staff on the Majesty last year were fantastic, providing the best service we have ever had. They did tell us that their hours had been increased drastically and they were working 7 days a week for 9 months. This is unacceptable in anyone's language. Time off was part of days. I did similar work, albeit in a hotel abroad, when I was a student and it is desperately tiring and as time wore on definitely affected your ability to perform your duties. If this is something that has changed across the fleet, it would explain a lot about the comments of poor service and lack of towel art etc.

It would be interesting to hear if people could find out what the current situation is regarding the crew's working conditions.

Hi all

Topsey130 on your comment on towel animals I was on the Majesty in March and did not have one towel animal but our cabin mail was doing the demostration on deck one afternoon which I found very funny! Then just come off the ship in July. 4 cabins (same deck) different towel animals every night in all 4 cabins really not consistent but my mother in law and parents loved coming back to the cabin to see what animal was next! Great touch.

Hi all

Topsey130 on your comment on towel animals I was on the Majesty in March and did not have one towel animal but our cabin mail was doing the demostration on deck one afternoon which I found very funny! Then just come off the ship in July. 4 cabins (same deck) different towel animals every night in all 4 cabins really not consistent but my mother in law and parents loved coming back to the cabin to see what animal was next! Great touch.

We only had towel display in our cabin once in a fortnight last year on the Celebration; that was a beautiful display on the evening of our Blessing and it was left there for quite some time - we never had any more in the whole 2 weeks.

Yes, we have to accept I suppose that there has to be an eye kept on profit margins and with increasing fuel costs (and everything else I expect), over-capacity and competition Thomson like all other operators are into looking for savings.

Maybe the case Kruz but profit margins,fuel increases etc are being compensated by an increase on our holidays/cruises

We had one towel animal in 2 weeks on Dream in January. Our first cruise so I didn't know there could have been others. Same with chocolates on pillows, believe we had 2 or 3 only. We never served ourselves in the Lido either and so I thought that was normal. Had our first taste of cocktails so can't really comment on alcohol; strength, but different bars served the same cocktails differently. We accepted everything as normal and had a fantastic time anyway.

we were on the dream same time as jim in May then have just had a week on the Majesty 5th July.

comparisons - The platinum upgrade was not as expected (almost the same as last year)

Dream - one towel animal all week (never met our steward)

Majesty- one animal every day (stewards Chris and Nataly were there in corridor

or thereabouts almost everytime we went to room, and he stopped to speak to everyone.

sunbeds in dream were impossible to find, majesty if no sunbeds there was plenty of seats around

the itininery in the dream was so-so but pearls of the agaen was excellent

food was much the same but we served ourselves in majesty

Entertainment in dream was very good but majesty was excellent very talented group,but the comedian was same as last year on dream (same jokes and stories)

i did notice that the dream is more hand sanitising concious than Majesty but no sign of norovirus on Majesty

The crew on Majesty seems to be a mixture of different nationalities (ukraine and the like and phillipino

I think i preferred the Majesty but its close hubby preferred the dream.

anything else you can ask me but dont mention shopping in Kusadasi!!!!!!!;)

Hi Topsey, Hi Jan

Yes I agree with everything you say. It was exactly like that on the 3rd - 17th June.

It was def. not the Thomson product we know and love.:(

Mary

Hi Topsey, Hi Jan

 

Yes I agree with everything you say. It was exactly like that on the 3rd - 17th June.

It was def. not the Thomson product we know and love.:(

 

Mary

Hi Mary

Geo's report sounds as if some things have got better, and Jules is due soon, so hopefully normality will resume.:) And you have The Spirit to look forward too, interesting that Majesty and Spirit are getting glowing reports.

It was very odd, doubtful if you would notice it if you had nor been before but a definite atmosphere, it almost felt like the staff (apart from being manically busy) were walking on egg-shells. Perhaps something had happened in the back ground, but concerning that the same 'feeling' was noted on the Dream??

The drinks were another thing, and same as you little nell, if i had even if i had the same quantities back home , Mr T would be putting me over his shoulder and tucking me up for the night (followed by a large glass of resolve the next morning) I did not once wake up feeling as if i had had too much, in fact for the first time ever i was up early!!! I had one to many the first nigh last year on the Dream and i certainly knew about it the next day.

Don't get me wrong, its not about, the alcohol, its the principle, ignore AI (we are all paying full price for it really either by higher Cruise entry price, or reduced rates cruise and supplement) The bar menu is the same for drink package guests as it is for those not on the package, we don't get separate bar menus (barring the supplements for cans and cranberry etc) so if I order a cocktail i expect it to be worth the price on the menu and as described. What we were served bore no resemblance, and i would have to say they were overpriced fruit juice, it is my understanding that unless there are 3 or more spirits in a cocktail each must be a full measure ( if there are two for example - need to measure either 25ml or 35ml each) but i suppose UK standards don't apply. there is nothing on the menu to indicate that small measure will be used. Just don't start me on flat G & T!!!:eek:

I would have probably not noticed this if it was not for the fact i have just come back from a P & O Short Cruise, which highlighted many differences which has made me rather annoyed with Thomson.

It is wrong to compare some elements (chalk with cheese) but some are comparable, the crew on the P & O were as friendly as the crew on celebration, the food was of a better standard, the entertainment was as good, and the drinks far better and the same price, all freshly made (cocktail shaker evident) and fresh tonic in my G & T.

I have booked for next year with Thomson (needed to do it before 13 July so as not to loose my deposit as it was moving one i had booked for this year) i have paid over the odds for it and looking around i can get something similar for a lot less on a different lines, and get a far better product in the terms of food, drink and the actual 'hardware' itself. The jurys out as to whether we cut our losses and lose deposit and go elsewhere, so will be keeping a close eye on how things pan out.

My feeling now is you are paying premium prices for a budget product, insulting to those who have shown them loyalty, they have relied on there staff too much and just cut back a little too far. :mad:

I really do hope that i am proved wrong

I really hope you are right and things are improving but for us we will not be going on the Celebration again, which is a pity as it used to be our favourite.

I agree with what you say about the atmosphere especially in the MDR and it got worse the second week everything just seemed flat. Also we have never heard as many staff talking in their own language in front of passengers. Not that I'm complaining but it is something we have never noticed before.

The drinks issue was the same for us the amount I had some nights I should have been under the table a lot of the cocktails just tasted like pop but then some drinks were very strong and I had to order an extra glass of coke to weaken it down.

Interesting to hear what you have said about P+O because if the Spirit has changed for the worse next year we will be looking for another line. As you say though the Spirit reviews are good so fingers crossed it doesn't change. We were on her 3 times and enjoyed every one.

the staff are definitely stretched....cabin stewards work incredibly hard.....no time for towel animals....we didnt get a turndown service on the first night so had to go looking for towels in the morning (again!) same happened on dream....is this normal for 1st night now?

do the gangway security guards ever crack a smile?? most never even said good morning when we greeted them?

waiters in mdr did seem a little subdued? no singing/hi jinks but freindly as always....service was very slow a couple of nights? baked alaska parade was a bit half hearted (compared to previous cruises) and food was a bit lack lustre

it was difficult to gauge staff morale as there was a big switch over half way thru the cruise with quite a few from the dream arriving and some new ones but there is definitely a better vibe from the crew on celebration than on dream and that did give us not much to not like

agree drinks are hit n miss depending on the bar you are in?.....sometimes watery....sometimes just plain horrible.....sometimes perfect

daytime entertainment did look very much sales driven (cocktails/mistrals/spa treatments) and i was totally fed up with the 'and dont forget to pass by this evening to buy a citizen watch/book the spa/get your photos/duty frees etc' attached to every announcement

would agree its definitely a budget product now.....we kinda knew what to expect really and so enjoyed the itinerary for what it was.....but fares are relentlessly going up....there was no big wow for us...it was what it was

Doesn't sound as if things have improved that much since we were on.

the staff are definitely stretched....cabin stewards work incredibly hard.....no time for towel animals....we didnt get a turndown service on the first night so had to go looking for towels in the morning (again!) same happened on dream....is this normal for 1st night now?

We must have been lucky with this we did actually get the turn down service first night.

do the gangway security guards ever crack a smile?? most never even said good morning when we greeted them?

We noticed this too most were grumpy but one was lovely we had just returned from Marmaris on a very hot day when I was def flagging because of the heat, when we got on board the security guard got hold of me(wondered what was happening) placed me under the air con unit and turned it up full and was very concerned. When we got in the lift discovered why my face was like a tomato.:) Thought he was very nice.

it was difficult to gauge staff morale as there was a big switch over half way thru the cruise with quite a few from the dream arriving and some new ones but there is definitely a better vibe from the crew on celebration than on dream and that did give us not much to not like

This is strange as we had lots of new crew members when we were on wonder if they didn't make the grade then and had to be replaced. A few we saw just did not seem to get the hang of things. I had a problem in the MDR at breakfast my Egg Benedict was raw. The white was no where near cooked and the waiter tried to tell me it was water. I had to insist twice he change it.

daytime entertainment did look very much sales driven (cocktails/mistrals/spa treatments) and i was totally fed up with the 'and dont forget to pass by this evening to buy a citizen watch/book the spa/get your photos/duty frees etc' attached to every announcement

Same for us and don't forget all the seminars how to eat healthily, how to shave, how to get risd of your toxins ect. I'm on holiday I don't want lectures and seems a bit silly healthy lifestyle lectures on a cruise:rolleyes:

I am very surprised at some of the recent comments re on board service this year compared with on previous Thomson cruises as many things sound very similar to what we experienced on our first cruise - on the Dream - last May; obviously, with that being our first cruise we had nothing to compare it with.

Last may, virtually all the theatre shows we saw were just singing and dancing rather than the production numbers described on here (very enjoyable all the same), we never had a full can of soft drink, Cocktails were weak but that meant I could try more varieties each evening and we only had one towel animal all week which pleased me as I personally think they are horrific!

Thanks for your comparison with P&O, Topsey.

There is no doubt that I and many others on here would agree that Thomson are heading towards a budget product with all of their cutbacks and the less than impressive Dream refurb and long term failure to modernise the fleet.

Our cruise on the Dream next year may very well be our last with them.

The Dream reviews are most disappointing, I think, out of all of them (except for the glitch during your week, Topsey).

Almost every day I hear something that makes me think about cancelling, but the one area where Thomson score with the Transatlantic cruise is itinerary. The itinerary knocks spots off P&O and any others I have checked out. However, my expectations apart from that are very low.

I think Thomson could be heading for a crisis if they don't address these issues tout de suite.