Well you asked for a review - are you stting comfortably?

FIRE AND ICE (sort of!!)

THE SHIP

Our journey down to Harwich was not too good, torrential rain most of the way, but when we got there we parked the car and were taken by coach to the booking-in hall, where we were quickly processed and onto the ship. We were taken to our cabin, then went off in search of lunch and a beer. Our cases arrived quite quickly, so we unpacked and then did the boat drill. We were really impressed with the cabin, a good size and plenty of storage. There were two double wardrobes and 11 drawers. We had a proper double bed, a TV, kettle and hairdryer. There is a switch connecting the kettle and hairdryer, which works one or the other but not both at the same time, for safety, I presume. I was glad of WCM’s tip about the sockets. I took a 3 way plug and found it useful as my camera charger would not have fitted the socket as it was too close to the dressing table. There is one American socket and one European one. The hairdryer was not very powerful and I wish I had taken my own.

The shower room was a good size too. The shower was very powerful, although the temperature varied, I suppose, according to how many people were using the water at the same time. We found it very hot in the evening, but had to have the lever full on in the mornings and sometimes, then, it was only lukewarm. There was shower gel and shampoo provided, but I only used them on the last morning as I always take my own. There was also a soap dispenser, tissues and a good size cabinet. Sadly, Kruzseeka, they still have the little pink tiles!!

THE ENTERTAINMENT TEAM

The shows for the first few days didn’t seem as good as usual, but the last three were great – “West End Wonders”, “Dance, Dance, Dance” and “Songs that made the Movies” There were some very good singers and dancers in the group. We had the comedian, Fogwell Flax on Thursday evening and again on a late show on Friday. He was brilliant. We had seen him before, I think it was on Ocean Village. On Monday night we had another comedian, Stan Johns who was also very funny. There was a comedy writer on board who gave 4 or 5 lectures which were very good. There were also two plays on the scheduled afternoons at sea – “2nd Friday of the Month” and “Educating Rita” I thought the latter was better. The CD is Richard Grey and we thought he was lovely. ACD was Brett (sorry can't remember his other name) also very nice.

THE ITINERARY

Well, as you probably know we missed two ports! The first one was Stornoway, which I was looking forward to. We anchored OK, but then the captain came on and told us it was too rough to tender. It didn’t look too bad, but then we were told someone had to be taken off for medical reasons, and suddenly saw the Stornoway lifeboat bobbing about outside our porthole and we could then see how rough the sea was! So, this meant we had three days at sea before we reached Iceland. We docked OK in Reykyavik and got off and caught the hoho bus at the port. We did one complete circuit then got off and started to walk around the town. It was lovely and sunny when we left the ship, but luckily we had taken umbrellas, as it started to rain. We decided to make for the cathedral, but after trekking up the hill, we found there was a wedding on and it was closed! We made our way back down to the seafront and as the hoho bus only runs hourly, asked if we could go back on the shuttle bus. We were told we had to buy the tickets in the glass building, so went in and bought them and caught the next bus. This is something we were not told about on the ship. We were told you could buy return tickets in the cruise terminal, but not that you can buy single tickets in the town if you just want to go one way.

The next day we should have docked in Isafjord. We had pre-booked a trip, so got up early and had breakfast, to then be told it was too windy to dock. We sat in the lounge until noon and then were told we would go straight on to Akureyri – so another day at sea! I am still waiting for the money to be paid back into my bank account by the way (8th September)

On Monday we docked in Akureyi and went on a trip to Goddafoss Falls and then a tour of Akureyri and finished at the botanical gardens. A very good trip and nice to see something of Iceland. (to be continued.......)

continued.................

Tuesday was a day at sea (how unusual) and the sea was rough, but thanks to whoever recommended ginger capsules, I was fine.

Wednesday we arrived in Lerwick, an hour late, but stayed until 6 O’clock instead of 5. The tendering worked very well, for a change :rolleyes: We were able to get off and have a look round the town. We really liked it. I recommend the museum, it is free and has a nice café. We also had some fish and chips at one of the cafés by the harbour – delicious. There is also a fort and town hall, but we didn’t have time to see them.

On Thursday we went to Bergen and bought tickets for the funicular. What a fabulous view. We had a coffee and beer in one of the cafés at the top - £14!! Very nice though. We were invited for a bridge tour that day, as our loyalty bonus :rolleyes: which was very interesting

On Friday we visited Eidfjord. We got off and went on the Troll train, which takes you to the Viking graves and then to the old and new churches. We walked back from the church and bought a fridge magnet in one of the shops and had another beer and coffee (€15)

Saturday was another day at sea to bring us back to Harwich. By this time I had had enough of days at sea and realized I am not cut out for a TA :(

On the whole a nice trip, but a few niggles. Firstly, the waiters in the Compass Rose restaurant want you to sit at their table every night, which defeats the object of having anytime dining. We sometimes used the buffet, so we only used the restaurant on the two formal night, plus two other evenings. We actually quite like the buffet as we found the portions too big for us in the dining room, but wish they would put table cloths on at night in the Lido and lower the lights, which would make it a nicer experience. They do this on Princess and Fred.

Secondly, more penny pinching from Thomson. They only produce a few daily newspapers, which you have to read and return to the Explorer’s Lounge. I think this is a bit of a health hazard and was discouraged on the Dream last year.

Thirdly – I’m not sure if it was the extra days at sea or the bad weather, but the passengers did not seem as friendly and keen to chat to each other as on other cruises we have done. The staff of course were brilliant, with the exception of one, who was from Ukraine and since coming home and seeing the news, I think he was probably worried about the situation at home.

If you are still reading this – well done – sorry to witter on. Yes we enjoyed the cruise, but not the unscheduled sea days. Iceland was a bit disappointing to me, but perhaps that is a harsh judgement, as we didn’t see much of it and the weather was bad. But I have to say I much prefer Norway and would go back there any time.

You beat me to it!

Great review Linda.

thanks for this linda, a great review:cool: always interesting for me to read of the spirit as we havnt been on her for several years now

so the weather was a little disappointing, what a shame for you...we should have been on that cruise, it took me weeks to convince ms magot that the weather would be fine:cool: and then in the event she was deployed abroad for several months (i'm sure she arranged for that to happen?) just as well she is away working because i would be left having to explain all the weather issues....why oh why are they always right and i am always wrong:p

a bridge tour by way of a loyalty bonus!...no expense spared eh? :rolleyes: I guess that would be interesting tho (my 2 dd's would love something like that...they would have loved to see the stornoway lifeboat too)

glad you made the most of it....thinks i will stick with my beloved caribbean:cool:

brett surname is paddock, he has done cd on the dream covering for steven john guy, one of the best acds thomson have

Thanks Michelle. Yes, we like Stephen Guy too. He was our first CD. What a great voice he has? He was on the Dream last year and did his first public performance since his throat op.

I have to say that Richard Grey was very good too. He had to rearrange the entertainment etc on the two days we couldn't get ashore. :)

Thanks Michelle. Yes, we like Stephen Guy too. He was our first CD. What a great voice he has? He was on the Dream last year and did his first public performance since his throat op.

 

I have to say that Richard Grey was very good too. He had to rearrange the entertainment etc on the two days we couldn't get ashore. :)

Richard is really good been the cd since our first cruise on the spirit in 2011 he does all the season too, he is quick at rearrange entertainment, done it on 2 cruises we have been on when we have had bad weather in the ports

Lovely to read your review Linda. I have never done a review before, but have added a few words on holiday ahoy's review with some of my thoughts. My problem with cruises is I tend to get up between 5 and 6 to go up top and see sunrise / have a cuppa / pop in the gym / wander round the deck a few times / watch arrival at port, and arrange to meet Ray in the Lido around 7. I enjoy my early mornings, but it plays havoc with wanting to do evening things. I would have liked to have gone to High Spirits but never had the energy. Another is the lack of a dedicated quiet lounge. We felt every time we found a quiet place something started up there and we moved on. Not really a problem if you want to be entertained 24/7 but it is not always the case.

We did love our first Spirit experience though, and really do want to go back to Norway in particular.

Thanks for a very interesting and comprehensive review Linda. :) What a pity about the weather though - it certainly colours the impression you get of anywhere when it's poor - to say nothing of failure to tender off and not getting into port at all. We missed Mykonos on our last trip. I don't know whether having been before softened the blow (at least we had seen what was there) or made it worse because we knew what we were missing! :rolleyes: Disappointing however you look at it. :( But pleased to hear you took some positives from your trip too. Hopefully you will be blessed with some better weather if you go back to Norway sometime.

Lovely to read your review Linda. I have never done a review before, but have added a few words on holiday ahoy's review with some of my thoughts. My problem with cruises is I tend to get up between 5 and 6 to go up top and see sunrise / have a cuppa / pop in the gym / wander round the deck a few times / watch arrival at port, and arrange to meet Ray in the Lido around 7. I enjoy my early mornings, but it plays havoc with wanting to do evening things. I would have liked to have gone to High Spirits but never had the energy. Another is the lack of a dedicated quiet lounge. We felt every time we found a quiet place something started up there and we moved on. Not really a problem if you want to be entertained 24/7 but it is not always the case.

We did love our first Spirit experience though, and really do want to go back to Norway in particular.

Wow Gill, you are an early bird. I had plans every morning to get up early and see the sun rise, but never made it once.

I too absolutely love Norway, it's so fantastically clean, beautiful and scenic. I could happily go back tomorrow. If you do decide to go back, make sure you see Geiranger.

Thanks for the review Linda and glad you had a good time despite the weather and the rough sea's ..

(You now qualify as a trawler-mans mate ;))

That is the only fault with the Spirits size ..when the weathers nasty the ship does seem cramped with everyone indoors .

This would not be as bad on a ship like the Crown Princess I think .

What a great idea I too wish they would put table cloths on at night in the Lido and lower the lights, which would make it a nicer experience and as you say they do this on Princess and Fred and it did look good .

They used to put the table cloths out and peg them down in the Lido on the Destiny at night time and put out those battery operated tea lights . It looked great but that was a right wind tunnel and cool :eek:

I also qualify as a blue nose (according to Richard Grey) as we went into the Arctic Circle for about 40 minutes last week :D

You were lucky to get a loyalty recognition Linda.

Been on Spirit at least once a year (twice this year and last year) and not a thing :mad:

Hey ho!

Thanks for the very interesting review, Linda. I did a reply earlier and pressed backspace and lost it :(

We too were very unlucky with the weather on our recent trip to Norway. We had rain at some point every day for 10 days and for 4 of them it rained for most of the day. I felt the movement in the ship quite badly because the seas were rough. I wasn't unwell but my balance was bad, like I had had one too many! We didn't allow it to spoil our holiday but it definitely affects what you can do and what you see. We missed the port of Olden and had a tour booked to the Briksdal Glacier which we were excited about seeing but I suppose when you travel North you can expect things like that to happen. We were very fortunate that in Geiranger and Flam the weather was much improved.

I will never forget the majesty of Norway despite the weather.

You were lucky to get a loyalty recognition Linda.

 

Been on Spirit at least once a year (twice this year and last year) and not a thing :mad:

 

Hey ho!

Hope you are feeling better Eleanor :)

Hope you are feeling better Eleanor :)

Just feeling better today, Linda, thanks.

Did I say I had been unwell?

Just feeling better today, Linda, thanks.

 

Did I say I had been unwell?

Think you did on facebook ;)

I admire your memory, Linda :)

I think you may be right but I can't remember :confused:

I took the flu 2 days before we left the ship. It was an eventful holiday :rolleyes:

Great review Linda as expected :D

Fogwell Flax,saw him on the Dream,brilliant in fact the only good comedian we have seen on our cruises on the Dream and the Maj

Thanks Linda. Very interesting review and a good idea to write it as you go along.

We had those "last three shows" on the Amsterdam mini cruise, and I agree they were excellent. I first saw Margot, the dancer from New Caledonia, on Majesty and have some video of her dancing in the Abba show. She's a lovely girl and so talented. And Jai Ho from the Slum Dog Millionaire was brilliant but the tune got in my head for ages! I hope I get to see the Dream versions of these.

Spirit is old and cosy, but it must have seemed cramped when everyone was inside due to the bad weather.

We didn't sit on the same table twice in the MDR. We (2 ladies and 2 children) had excellent service on the first night on a table for four but weren't 'allowed' to sit there again. Perhaps someone else had 'reserved' it. The next two nights the service was slow and very poor. I thought the food was good but the kids menu food was not and the waiters insisted on giving them the menu even though we had asked them not to. Rock hard fish fingers or chicken goujons are not good!

I think Iceland, and the journey there, are way down my 'to do' list, but the fiords are up near the top.

We didn't know the song Jai Ho as we are not really film buffs :o but "Do you hear the people sing?" from Les Mis was going round my head for days!

Jai Ho was brilliant though, very energetic!

Was there a tall girl in the group when you were on? I think her name was something like Cassie. She suddenly disappeared on the last two nights and nothing was mentioned about where she was. Strange!

We didn't know the song Jai Ho as we are not really film buffs :o but "Do you hear the people sing?" from Les Mis was going round my head for days!

 

Jai Ho was brilliant though, very energetic!

 

Was there a tall girl in the group when you were on? I think her name was something like Cassie. She suddenly disappeared on the last two nights and nothing was mentioned about where she was. Strange!

All the girls were on but on the last night one of the boys was missing as he had strained something in his leg. He was helping out in the kid's club at night and told me this. Really nice young man but cannot remember his name....

Les Mis was fantastic too. Loved it. Just read either on here or FB that Les Mis wasn't performed on Dream over 2 weeks. :-(

I can't remember the boy's name, but he appeared about half way through the cruise and Richard Grey said he had been off with an injury. He was a fantastic dancer, along with the tall fair haired guy. Sorry, hopeless with names.

The group in Horizons were good too. New Dimensions.

I can't remember the boy's name, but he appeared about half way through the cruise and Richard Grey said he had been off with an injury. He was a fantastic dancer, along with the tall fair haired guy. Sorry, hopeless with names.

 

The group in Horizons were good too. New Dimensions.

I actually thought all the entertainment team were good. Certainly much better than Dream's in the Caribbean who were very young. The ACD was very funny when doing the game shows.