Tizzy

Hi Tjt87 & davecttr.

It is sorted at last ! We rang Tui again and isn't it typical the cabin we had booked was the wrong way round !!!

We have now rebooked a different cabin. Its an odd request I know but I have a slight disability which affects my right arm and my balance and I find it easier if I can get to the bathroom without trailing around the side of the bed. Many thanks for your help on here and thanks also to Ellie and the other nice young man who helped us at Customer Services this morning.

Hi Davecttr

Yes we checked all the emails. I hate when someone says they will get back to you and then never bother.

I think we are going to have to leave this to chance !

Hi Davecttr

I am getting really fed up. We have spoken to Customer Service and someone promised to get back to us but never did !!! My husband has rung several people who tell us emails have been sent etc etc but we are getting nowhere. In sheer frustration we have now just chosen cabin 9047 and just hope the bed is on the left hand side. I think I might put another message on here to see if anyone has stayed in this cabin. Thanks for your kind offer of help. It is much appreciated.

Thank you for your reply Davecttr.

I thought this would be quite easy to sort out but its proving to be a real problem.

We have contacted Tui and they have promised to find out for us.

I guess as the ship has been refurbished and is quite new to Tui not many people have sailed on it yet.

Perhaps I should have worded my question a different way and asked if anyone who had already sailed and stayed on the Port side of deck 9 could remember if their bathroom and bed were on the left hand side of the cabin.

Thanks Kamloops 50

I thought there would be an easy way of finding out but maybe not !

I need to find someone who has already sailed, or a Crew member who knows the ship well.

We are currently looking at Balcony Cabins on Deck 8 and 9 on the Marella Explorer.

Due to a disability we need the bed to be on the left hand side of the cabin as you walk in through the main door. We are looking at Cabins on the PORT side of the ship.

Can anyone recommend a cabin on these decks please? We are looking for a quiet location.

Thanks Tim. It is good to know this eating in the Buffet area isn't a regular thing. This is not what you want to do on a Cruise really. I will remember about the tablets ! I spent two days in bed on a recent cruise from Miami. Always prefer to be mid ship if possible.

Thank you again for your help which is very much appreciated.

The photograph was brilliant and at least we know what we are up against. This Cruise is a pre-wedding treat for our Daughter and I was hoping for better cabins as all the offers had finished and we paid a slightly higher price. Bit disappointed we werent offered a choice of cabins to be honest. I do not want to ask to change cabins as we could end up in a worse position. I dont really know much about the Fantastica or Bella experience to be honest. We have just moved house and I am only just getting back on the computer. I am a bit concerned to find people on the Bella experience might end up eating in the Buffet area. I need to do a bit more research in the future I think. We booked the cruise on a bit of a whim. I am sure we will enjoy the experience whatever cabin we are in. I think it was my mistake calling it an obstructed cabin Pete. It might be an obstructed 'view' when sitting down though. Hey ho. That's Life.

Hi Skier52 and 1 fifthavenue. Thank you both for your replies. I really don't know what to do about these cabins! I feel a bit disappointed as this is the 4th Cruise we have booked with MSC albeit we had to cancel one due to circumstances beyond our control ! I would have hoped to have been given better cabins or at least a choice of cabins. Cabin 9236 concerns me the most as I have a slight disability and spend a lot of time on the balcony. I like to have a good view of whats going on. Presumably when you are sitting down you can't see much. Our only request was to be midship and we end up with a cabin last but one to the back of the ship ! The thing is if I ask to change a cabin we could end up worse off. I would prefer not to have a completely obstructed cabin or one with a connecting door. We had a child constantly banging on the door on another cruise we did. All the excitement of choosing a cruise goes when you realise you haven't got a cabin you like. I am hoping the cabin next to the lift wont throw up too many problems. Might be a bit noisy I suppose. Would you ask to change at least one of the cabins, or stay put ?

We have sailed with MSC before but we are not familiar with MSC Splendida and would really like to know a little more about the cabins we have been allocated. We are travelling with other members of the family and had hoped to have cabins next to one another but we werent given a choice. We have been allocated Deck 9. Our cabins are 9212 and 9236. We have looked at the Deck plan and one is next to the lifts and the other is right towards the back of the ship. Neither cabins are ideal as I suffer with motion sickness quite badly. I usually prefer to be mid ship. However we are happy to be on the ship full stop as flights were an issue with this Cruise and we had to try several agents before we finally got flights. If anyone has stayed in these cabins we would be very grateful for any information. Good or Bad ! I am presuming these cabins are unobstructed ? Just a bit worried one might be noisy next to the lift and the other might be a bit bouncy at the back of the ship especially going through the dreaded Bay of Biscay.

Just got home today after our Cruise on the Gem.

I was quite worried about the tenders as I have a slight disability.

To be perfectly honest both tenders were a breeze. So easy to get on and off with lots of people to help. We found the Tender in St Thomas saved us a lot of time. No long queues to get transport to take us into the town. It was our very first Cruise with NCL and we were very impressed. There is a lot of building work going on in Tortola but it didn't spoil our day. Loved meeting people for the Huge Cruise Critic get together in the Bliss Lounge but sadly missed the Cabin crawl as I wasn't very well. If you have a Cruise booked for the Gem, you will love it.

Please read my post a little more thoroughly. No a lock will not stop a true thief! But the casual pilfered will be deterred. A baggage handler, no matter the location, would have very little time to break into a locked bag as compared to an unlocked one.

 

Also, who uses keyed luggage locks in this day and age. I personally have not seen any sold in years. Or is this just to create an argument?

 

Done, buh bye!

I think I caused confusion by talking about TSA locks. I have never seen the 'key' that opens them and I wasn't sure how many different types of TSA locks there are. It would be expensive to replace an entire lock I imagine and how would you manage for the rest of your journey? I am sure you wouldn't find it easy to get a replacement lock whilst on holiday.

Thanks everyone for taking the time to reply.

I have never travelled with an unlocked suitcase before so will probably purchase one with a TSA lock. I have never been lucky with straps on a suitcase. The suitcase usually reappears without the strap as they do get caught on things or the baggage handlers use the strap to lift the suitcase causing it to snap. Will have to think long and hard about what to do in New York as we get off the ship early in the morning and don't fly until night time back to the UK. Can't see us doing much sightseeing with bags etc. It does sound like the TSA people open a lot of suitcases. I presume all brands of suitcases can be opened with the same key. I have read that people have had the entire lock cut off even with a TSA lock.

Thanks everyone for taking the time to reply.

I have never travelled with an unlocked suitcase before so will probably purchase one with a TSA lock. I have never been lucky with straps on a suitcase. The suitcase usually reappears without the strap as they do get caught on things or the baggage handlers use the strap to lift the suitcase causing it to snap. Will have to think long and hard about what to do in New York as we get off the ship early in the morning and don't fly until night time back to the UK. Can't see us doing much sightseeing with bags etc. It does sound like the TSA people open a lot of suitcases. I presume all brands of suitcases can be opened with the same key. I have read that people have had the entire lock cut off even with a TSA lock. I can't understand why as you are then left with a useless suitcase and they are not cheap these days.

We are about to go on our first cruise with NCL on the Gem.

We are flying from the UK to New York and I understand we are not allowed to lock our suitcases but can use cases with TSA locks.

I have read all sorts of horror stories about locks being cut off and zipped suitcases being easily broken into. Has anyone had a bad experience?

Would you recommend purchasing a TSA suitcase? Is it worth spending the extra money or should I just use my normal case and leave it unlocked? If anyone has done this trip recently we would really appreciate any travel tips. We leave the ship early in the morning but have an evening flight. Should we book a hotel ? Were transfers to and from the ship easy to do?

Forgot to say Thank you to Kruzseeka for helping me write up my Cabin Review. Your suggestion made it much easier for me.:)

Cabin Number:9016 Deluxe Cabin.

Cruise Ship: DREAM

Date of Cruise:26 Jan 2014

Bed Formation: Double

Bath/Shower?: Bath with shower which was very powerful but we found it hard to operate. Swings round and soaks you if not careful.

Adjoining Cabin?: No

Balcony?: No

Comment on the Size of the Cabin : Very Big with a 2nd Inner Door. Large sofa. Bed directly under window. Lots of space around it. Comfortable cabin.

Comment on any Noise Issues : Extremely noisy when the Band is playing in the Medussa Lounge. The whole cabin vibrates and so do you !

Comment on Storage Space : Excellent, lots of drawer space.

Comment on the Bathroom :Clean but sink kept leaking

Any Other Comments? : Close to everything and handy for sunbathing on deck 9 if you could get a sun-bed. We could never find one! Large window overlooking the promenade deck. Essential you keep lights off as people can see in at night time.

Would You Recommend this Cabin? : Sadly NO ! Much too noisy and couldn't get used to seeing people in full view sunbathing outside the window. It felt like they were in the cabin with us

Link to any Images:

Score out of 10: 5

Help ! Would someone be kind enough to explain how to copy and paste to help me get my cabin details on the list. Many thanks. Apologies if it has been explained already and I have missed it somewhere along the line.

Hi mtt

I think we were just unlucky with our Deluxe cabin because we were right above the band. Now that we have had a chance to look at lots of cabins on the ship I think we would opt for the outside plus cabins if we sailed on the Dream again. I hated the big window in the cabin as we didn't see much of the sea at all, just lots of people sun-bathing and to us it felt like people were in the cabin with us. It just freaked me out a bit and everytime my husband came back into the cabin he immediately closed the curtains. On a positive side, they are lovely big cabins and we liked the inner door as we didn't hear any noise from the corridor. Mind you that might be because everything was blocked out by the Band playing !!! They are certainly very handy for everything but in all honesty I am sure Thomsons could do something to soundproof cabin 9016. All the staff knew how bad it was.

My son who used to work on Cruise Liners always used to say that he had heard a conversation about the type of luggage people took on a cruise.

Apparently the scruffier the luggage... The richer the people ! Makes you think doesn't it ! Naturally we have very 'scruffy' luggage. Only joking folks.

Hi Pressy

We sailed at the end of January.

Yes reviews are mixed at the moment but our Cruise wasn't all bad. We just got the wrong cabin. Personally I find it a bit of a mine field choosing a cabin. There are so many things to consider. There is a very good thread about choosing cabins on this forum at the moment.

Sometimes it is just down to luck but I read the forums all the time to pick up hints and suggestions from other people. If you have any questions about Thomson cruises there are some really nice people on here. I know they were great, when I was researching our cruise last year.

You really made me laugh 1160451 ! Yes never choose a cabin over the drummer in a Band. Seriously though we were very naive when we first started cruising and some would say we still are ! Our first cabin was on the Emerald, many years ago. It was huge and right at the front of the ship. I soon learned what it was like to be sea-sick. I always look for a cabin mid ship and I prefer the lower decks as the ship doesn't seem to move around so much lower down.

A balcony is always a treat but we are quite happy with an outside. I quite like to see what is going on outside and like the view of the sea.

On our last cruise we upgraded to a Deluxe Cabin as it was a special occasion but it was disastrous. We were on a cruise and stay holiday and had booked a cheaper hotel to have the deluxe cabin. Anyway the hotel exceeded our expectations so it all worked out well in the end. I will avoid big white spaces on the ship in future 1160451 and yes I agree it is always better to have cabins above and below you if possible. Last week we said we would never cruise again but it gets into your blood and guess what we have just booked another cruise ! No choice of cabin which is slightly worrying but hey ho It was a bargain !

Hi Geomagot, Kruzseeka and Little Nell.

Yes I am glad the review finally showed up.

This forum is great for gaining information and the chart to help people choose cabins is a brilliant idea. I will put the cabin info in as soon as I can work out how to do it. I am not very good with computers!

I am glad you thought it was a fair review Geomagot. Our last cruise was on P&O Azura and I didn't find the people particularly friendly. The tables for two were very close together and we would say good evening to people but were often just met with an icy stare. There are good and bad things on every cruise line and its fun to chop and change sometimes.

Thank you Malch_uk for putting the link to my review.

Hello gillhalfpint ! I have never been in another cabin like it. It was incredibly noisy. How I managed a week without murdering the drummer in the Medussa Lounge I don't know !

It was so strange seeing people outside the cabin window so clearly Joe. The windows are very low down.

I don't think some people sunbathing on deck 9 realise that they are right outside the cabin windows and everything they do is seen ! I don't suppose the guy looking in meant any harm, he probably wondered what was behind the darkened glass. If you like people watching they are great cabins but I wouldn't like to repeat the experience. I found it really odd. This experience has put me off cruising ! It is incredibly difficult finding the right cabin and if you don't there is no opportunity to change.

Our holiday was a Cruise and Stay and we enjoyed the hotel bit so much I think we will go back next year for just a land based holiday.

Just to let people know !

My review of the Thomson Dream can now be found in The Review section at the very top of this page. :)