Just Back From The Dream

[Stevio]

Thomson Dream 26th April – 4th May 2013 Springtime Splendours.

OK just back, & a few cruise critic members will be on shortly with proper reviews, but here are a few bullet points written on the plane home……

Mass Norovirus outbreak… (Captain claimed over a hundred reported sick in one day)… Under staffed, (lot of crew sick as well)…. Cool food… Occasional flash flooding of bathroom … Chaotic tendering day, (people left waiting on tour bus for over an hour while the last couple of people tendered across at Portimao) … Room airicon broke down three separate nights … Room safe only opened if you crept up on it & took it by surprise…. & horror of horrors… A broken lock on our fridge.

But having said all that, we were not effected by any illness, we are not too fussed about cool food, & we were one of the last to be tendered across, making everyone else late (not our fault, tender needed re-fuelling), the room aircon was repaired promptly each time we reported it, & Curiously it seemed many members knew the code to reset & open the safe, which was great for getting access to our valuables but next time will probably just use a draw & save on the fifteen quid. OK the water rising out of the drain grid from under the washbasin, when our bathroom was not in use was a bit worrying, but as there were no smells & the water cleared within minutes & the floor dried clean & speedily, I did not worry too much. (Seen a lot worse sloshing around the floor on the Destiny).

Now what you all want to know… All bags were scanned when entering the ship from each port but I saw no notices about alcohol & duty free… At Valencia we were given two free mini bottles of plonk at the port & there were no alarms sounded when my rucksack went through on the way back.

I witnessed bottles of various alcohol being purchased onboard from booze stalls set up in the corridor outside the shop with a 15% sale on the second day (sea day) & people were free to take them back to their rooms… Also Richmond Superkings were going for less than £19 for 200, wanted to take up smoking again but Mrs Stevio wouldn’t let me.

However a poor casino & slow service in the buffet were about all we had to worry about. A man I saw about the ship for first few days, was not seen again until going home said that he was one of the ill & had been confined to his cabin for the last four days. We feel really sorry for all those affected. We only realised how serious it was when the captain made an announcement in the form of an apology that due to 100 people reporting sick on the same day, help could not be given to them in a “timely fashion”. Even if (hopefully) most of those 100 were false alarms, Our thoughts are with all those that were taken ill.

More later.

[CRUISIN LINDA]

Hi Stevio,

 

Thanks for your message in the Cruise News. Sorry,we didn't meet up. I kept mentioning cc to people and that I came from Oxford, but no luck locating you or kalos :(

 

I was violently sick on Thursday evening. I called the medical centre and was given an injection in my rear end :eek: which was supposed to stop me being sick and told to stay in my cabin the next day. I was given a room service menu for that evening, but didn't feel like any, then was sick again!

I went to bed and slept all night and woke up feeling fine! Now, my husband and I caught what we think was noro virus on a plane back from Turkey a few years ago and I can tell you that was awful. You feel ill for days and sometimes weeks. What I believe I had was food poisoning, possibly from some fish in the restaurant which I think was under cooked. DH had chicken and was fine!

 

Anyway, the cabin stewardess came in the morning and asked if we were going to breakfast and she would clean our room. We had no breakfast menu for room service so went to the buffet. We left the ship and no-one queried it. Our room was cleaned thoroughly. Later the captain came over the loudspeakers and we were waiting for an announcement about people leaving their cabins as he had said the day before, but nothing!

 

So was it noro or food poisoning, or a bit of both?

[Jakanne1]

Welcome back Linda and Stevio, hope you enjoyed most of your cruise despite the sickness and other problems. It's been a bit quiet on here recently!! :)

[CRUISIN LINDA]

Welcome back Linda and Stevio, hope you enjoyed most of your cruise despite the sickness and other problems. It's been a bit quiet on here recently!! :)

 

Hi Jackie,

 

Arrived home about 5pm. Just had egg and chips :) and now having a cuppa

 

We certainly enjoyed all the ports of call, expecially Ceuta - what a stunning place. As Stevio said lots of problems in Portamao. The captain said they will not be be using it again, but there are four stops there planned for this summer on the Dream and one, I think, on the Spirit. Not sure if it his decision on ports of call, but we think Ceuta would be a better bet and you can dock there :)

 

I'm sorry to say the Dream is not as we remember her last year. Not sure what is wrong, but I sensed a strange atmosphere on her from the start of the cruise, even before the tummy upsets began. Just really disappointed with her :(

[Jakanne1]

Hi Jackie,

 

Arrived home about 5pm. Just had egg and chips :) and now having a cuppa

 

We certainly enjoyed all the ports of call, expecially Ceuta - what a stunning place. As Stevio said lots of problems in Portamao. The captain said they will not be be using it again, but there are four stops there planned for this summer on the Dream and one, I think, on the Spirit. Not sure if it his decision on ports of call, but we think Ceuta would be a better bet and you can dock there :)

 

I'm sorry to say the Dream is not as we remember her last year. Not sure what is wrong, but I sensed a strange atmosphere on her from the start of the cruise, even before the tummy upsets began. Just really disappointed with her :(

 

Wondering if the "strange atmosphere" was anything to do with some of the staff. I was told by one of the waiters on Majesty that they worked for an agency that worked for more than Thomson cruise ships and that at least one of their ships had been taken out of commission and therefore a lot of uncertainty about getting another contract. While we were there an Indian head waiter was replaced with a Greek man (who had difficulty in smiling) making 2 Greeks in 4 Seasons and there seemed to be more East European bar staff than in September.

[SheilaA]

First of all, Stevio it was really nice of you to post in the Cruise News. Thanks, and a shame that none of us knew who the others were. I did sometimes think if perhaps the person on the next table might have been a CC member.

 

The norovirus, or whatever it was, was a great shame. Though I still enjoyed the cruise. Loved all of the Spanish ports, Portimao was a bit of a nuisance as far as tenders were concerned, and the wind, but liked the place. I thought the crew were great, and loved all the shows and thought the showteam were excellent. We saw the first show last night with the Les Miserables finale, and were told that afterwards two of the showteam went down with the bug, and there nearly wasn't a second show.

 

Wished the aircon onboard wasn't so ferocious.

 

Am used to cool food after many years holidaying in Spanish hotels.

[Jakanne1]

Hi Jackie,

 

Arrived home about 5pm. Just had egg and chips :) and now having a cuppa

F

We certainly enjoyed all the ports of call, expecially Ceuta - what a stunning place. As Stevio said lots of problems in Portamao. The captain said they will not be be using it again, but there are four stops there planned for this summer on the Dream and one, I think, on the Spirit. Not sure if it his decision on ports of call, but we think Ceuta would be a better bet and you can dock there :)

 

I'm sorry to say the Dream is not as we remember her last year. Not sure what is wrong, but I sensed a strange atmosphere on her from the start of the cruise, even before the tummy upsets began. Just really disappointed with her :(

 

Now there is a good idea for a new thread.....mine is toast and ginger/whisky marmalade ( from MS) and of course a cuppa tea with proper milk!

 

When you have more time it would be lovely to have a review of Ceuta. Was there approx. 35 years ago and remember it being full of tourists stocking up on duty free to take back to our Moroccan hotels! :):rolleyes:

[Julessmiles]

Can't believe you are all back already - that has gone so quickly :(

 

Sorry to hear you were poorly Linda

[Langtoncouple]

We have just returned and again thoroughly enjoyed ourselves on the Dream. We noticed many passengers not using the hand gels or even washing hands after using the toilets. This spread the virus. The captain also announced that several sick passengers had left their cabins despite being told to remain there until the doctor told them they were safe to leave. Staff were serving the buffet because of this and again we saw people help themselves. The captain told us it had been a difficult week for all and that this was a very rare occurrence.

 

Tenders and buses were problematic at Portimao. Although buses had been ordered, only a couple turned up. The ship was not allowed to deck nearer, hence the long tender voyage. The Captain apologised and said he would advise Thomson HQ against using this port in the future.

 

Arrival at Ceuta was a public holiday which was a pity cause everything was closed. But it was a lovely place to wander around. I`ll write a full report in the review soon.

[geomagot]

good to have you back (all you guys just back) sorry to hear of problems on board

 

stevio...sorry to hear about your aircon/plumbing/safe/fridge (at a guess, I'd say it sounds like deck 5??)

 

linda...agree with you on the atmosphere?? couldn't quite put my finger on it either, shocking to hear of so much illness on board

 

very pleased to hear thatthe booze confiscations have been binned:cool:

 

Guys, so pleased you made the most of it and had a good time....despite

 

I really am beginning to think that the poor puttering old dream just isn't cutting it as a platinum flag ship:(

 

Now there is a good idea for a new thread.....mine is toast and ginger/whisky marmalade ( from MS) and of course a cuppa tea with proper milk!

 

mine is jam donuts btw:cool:

[CRUISIN LINDA]

The trouble is that antibacterial hand-gels do not kill norovirus, as it is, as the name suggests, a virus. Washing hands thoroughly is the best way to combat it. Perhaps the use of hand-gels does more harm than good by stopping people from washing their hands properly?

 

This is an interesting website.

 

http://www.emetophobiahelp.org/norovirus.html

[SheilaA]

Have to agree with you Cruising Linda. Been hearing other cruisers who are going to stock up with bought hand gels. But surely if that was the answer the onboard ones by the toilets, buffet, gangway would stop it. There's no way Thomsons want norovirus onboard, and the resulting bad publicity. Was a bit scary though going back to the cabin and seeing the latest 'carpet squares' put outside the affected cabins, especially on Thursday.

[kruzseeka]

Wondering if the "strange atmosphere" was anything to do with some of the staff. I was told by one of the waiters on Majesty that they worked for an agency that worked for more than Thomson cruise ships and that at least one of their ships had been taken out of commission and therefore a lot of uncertainty about getting another contract. While we were there an Indian head waiter was replaced with a Greek man (who had difficulty in smiling) making 2 Greeks in 4 Seasons and there seemed to be more East European bar staff than in September.

 

 

Majesty and Dream use different agencies for recruiting their staff. Dream and Celebration (Thomson managed) use the same one but Majesty and Spirit use a different one (Louis managed). The mix of nationalities varies between C&D and M&S - with more Eastern Europeans on the two Louis managed ships.

 

Sorry to hear about the problems on Dream especially for anyone affected.

[toonhibby]

Thanks for the report Stevio sorry to hear about people being poorly,pleased it did not spoil your cruise,glad your all back safe and well.

[Jakanne1]

The trouble is that antibacterial hand-gels do not kill norovirus, as it is, as the name suggests, a virus. Washing hands thoroughly is the best way to combat it. Perhaps the use of hand-gels does more harm than good by stopping people from washing their hands properly?

 

This is an interesting website.

 

http://www.emetophobiahelp.org/norovirus.html

 

Very interesting, Linda. I've copied it for future reference.

[kalos]

Hi Guys

Were back as well and also had a good time on the Dream .

Stevio thanks for the message in Wednesdays Cruise news paper. We did try to locate

you guys along with Linda and her hubby ,we went through the Argo lounge at 2pm and about

half past as well but the weather was that cool everyone was inside the ship and same as the

other bars it was packed solid with people , but we did try .

(Jakanne ... Ceuta is a very nice place and I did film it .. so watch this space ;))

( Geo ... You will be glad to know I never saw spinach but on the first few days I think I ate all the sprouts

Then they hit back with chicken legs we had them curried ,spiced and a few other disguises most days of the week :eek:.

Mr Jim the Scot .... Yes I had many a happy hour on my knees with my head in the wardrobe , swearing at the safe

eg ... press on ... put in you four digit code and press ok ... sometimes it would open/close but lots I would get really

annoyed with it and wished i had locked it all in the fridge :mad:.

Linda Sorry to hear you was ill , We had a great day out and even had a beer which was called Sagres at the castle in Ceuta,

later that night did the First show , had a few beers in the Ocean Bar , into the Lido at 11.30 for a late bite .

As we opened the cabin door we were in 6107 (a nice mid ship) cabin we had a leaflet through the door telling us

of the rise in infection , we read it and went to bed . The next thig I knew was a toilet being flushed around 2pm

and Mrs Kalos was not in bed ,she was being ill. So around 6 am I rang reception and two hours later the doctor came

and to cut a long story short, just like you, mrs Kalos also had a little plaster stuck to her bum :D.

Later that evening around 7 we managed to get room service and she ate a little and the next morning she was fine .

Makes you wonder if they had two viruses on board ? Noro and a 24 hr one ?

The Doctor had said stay in for 24 hours from her last being ill which meant we got our freedom back the next morning at 8am

so we missed out on Cartagena but better that than possibly spreading it about, I stayed in as well even though I was fine ,

only to hear that some who were under the Doctor were wandering around the ship ,we were told over the PA as the captain

gave us our story of the day . We both stayed in our cabin all day .

 

As we left the ship today we got our cases ( IF YOUR EATING STOP READING AND READ THIS PART LATER )

as we queued for the airport coaches we could see a guy spraying the floor further up the queue from the crowd towards a building and as we got closer realised that it was a trail of what only could be described as liquid poo .

So I was shouting down the line for people to lift the cases over and to tread very carefull as the went over it .

Some poor sod was trying to travel home in that state .

I like the ship a very lot but we are glad to be home away from this virus .

I would have liked to see them cleaning the lifts and the stairway hand rails a lot more than they did .

The Destiny and the Majesty had someone doing them all day and they gleamed and the Dream only got

them evey now and again from what we saw ....As Kruzze says maybe down to the contracts .

 

Going onto the subject dear to my heart onboard beers ... We could not get on with the Heiniken beer but I was in

luck as they sold Becks , which I am sat drinking now ..Cheers everyone !

The bad news it cost more but the good bit was you got more in the bottle and it was 5% vol and not 4.8% which I have now.

Must admit they went down well whilst I sat listening to Elegant touch and then a bit of Top Men who were both brill at what they do .

 

I hope they have a safe journey home as last night was the last show for them as well .

To all others who were onboard I hope you all had a great Cruise as we did dispite our day holed up :).

　

　

　

[Stevio]

......Stevio thanks for the message in Wednesdays Cruise news paper. We did try to locate

you guys along with Linda and her hubby ,we went through the Argo lounge at 2pm and about

half past as well but the weather was that cool everyone was inside the ship and same as the

other bars it was packed solid with people , but we did try.......

 

I too swang by the Argo Lounge around 2pm & yes it was fairly full with only a few seats at the far end & a few in the middle where we sat & conversed with another couple with my back seated to most so couldn’t size up the assembled groups. Did not have the bottle to shout out… “Where’s Cruising Linda” … though would have been fun if it had turned into a Spartacus scene with Geordie Scots & Welsh accents (geezers too) all shouting back “I’m Cruisin Linda” …. Nah sorry the problem is you can’t go round a cruise ship asking people if they are Cruising Lindas as most people who don’t know about CC could well get the wrong idea.

Mrs Stevio suggested other ways of making contact with fellow CC members but to be honest they all sounded a bit like they could be taken for stalking & were quickly discarded… Which is why I went for the simple hello notice in the Cruise news, which suffered greatly from higher & lowercase mistakes but sort of worked… Apologies to Ramcol & Baxter19 who are at least two of the names I forgot…

Just wondering Linda, did you go on a Tetouan City Tour from Cueta? As I noticed a Linda being called when they were returning passports at the border.

........stevio...sorry to hear about your aircon/plumbing/safe/fridge (at a guess, I'd say it sounds like deck 5??).........

Actually Geo we had a good cruise, best sized rooms since Ocean Village, only listed some faults, as it would take too long to go through the positives. Our biggest problem was the titchy little casino, but I shall start my campaign for a larger casino on the Dream later... We were in cabin number 6082 Which I playfully referred to as the "Plague Deck" as there were 17 mats outside doors denoting infected cabins on our port side but saw two other cabins being stripped or fumigated without mats so I assumed they had run out of them.

.......food poisoning, possibly from some fish in the restaurant which I think was under cooked. ..........

Sorry To hear that yourself & Mrs Kalos were unwell … I remember one night I had 3 fillets of an unidentified brown coated white on the inside fish that I refused to eat as it shook like a blancmange with the same frequency as the surface of my glass of water with the ships engines. Although fascinated as to how a dead fish could move like that, there was no way I was going to eat wobbly fish.

[Little Nell]

Welcome home, everyone. So sorry to hear that some of you were unwell but at least you are all back safe and sound.

 

My goodness, beginning to have more than second thoughts about the Dream.

 

Omg, Kalos :eek: I am glad I wasn't eating when I read that, but don't much feel like breakfast now :)

[CRUISIN LINDA]

Just weighed myself and have LOST about 5 pounds :rolleyes: So not all bad!

 

I'm sure it will be fine by the time you go Nell :)

 

I just hope it was given a good cleaning (I was going to say a good bottoming.... but in the circumstances..............:() and that no-one gets ill this week - Flopsy etc :(

 

The Captain said they had learnt a lot of lessons this week.

 

One thing to make you laugh. I have a partial denture, which I dropped down the plughole of our sink while the plug was out :eek: The cabin attendant was knocking on the door and I was shouting from the bathroom "Oh no, I've dropped my denture down the plug!" She rang the plumber and within 5 minutes he had arrived and retrieved it for me. Was I embarrassed? He didn't seem to be fazed by it, I expect he has retrieved stranger things before now!

 

First lot of washing on the line, second lot in the machine :)

[Stevio]

Just weighed myself and have LOST about 5 pounds :rolleyes: So not all bad!

 

I'm sure it will be fine by the time you go Nell :)

 

I just hope it was given a good cleaning (I was going to say a good bottoming.... but in the circumstances..............:() and that no-one gets ill this week - Flopsy etc :(

 

The Captain said they had learnt a lot of lessons this week.

 

One thing to make you laugh. I have a partial denture, which I dropped down the plughole of our sink while the plug was out :eek: The cabin attendant was knocking on the door and I was shouting from the bathroom "Oh no, I've dropped my denture down the plug!" She rang the plumber and within 5 minutes he had arrived and retrieved it for me. Was I embarrassed? He didn't seem to be fazed by it, I expect he has retrieved stranger things before now!

 

First lot of washing on the line, second lot in the machine :)

We heard that the people who were staying on board for another week on our disembarkation day were told to leave for at least 3 hours so that a whole ship decontamination could take place... Heard that they were also offered a tour & a short stay at a hotel for use of a swimming pool.

Mrs Stevio is now also half way through the second machine load, with four short washes & two long ones remaining (something to do with colour coding & fabric types that us men know nothing about)... She is however particularly proud of a clothes horse in the garden festooned with my socks & underpants.

[Stevio]

......so we missed out on Cartagena but better that than possibly spreading it about, I stayed in as well even though I was fine　

Sorry to hear you missed out on Cartagena, that was the only port we did our own thing at. Guided by the advice of those here on CC We got a combined ticket for the glass lift, Castle, Roman theatre & a 40 minute open top bus tour with audio commentary for a bargain price of 12.50 Euros each... So at least you will know what to do on your next visit there... You also missed out on the one free mini bottle of Cartagena liqueur each, given away by the nice lady at the port.:eek::eek:.

[Langtoncouple]

Stevio, I read Cruise News and shouted out to my husband "we`ve got a mention in here!" He came rushing over. But thanks for that.

 

I wished we`d realised about the Cartagena ticket for all 3 attractions. we did the Ampitheatre, then the castle before realising we could have got all 3 at not much more than we paid. Maybe next time.

 

Did any of you discover the beautiful maritime park in Ceuta down at the waterside? It was wonderful. Only cost around 5 euros and we stayed the afternoon and enjoyed a beer then a lovely lunch in one of the restaurants there. Its a haven with pools, little islands in the middle, hundreds of empty sunloungers, palm trees, exotic flowers and gardens.. We only spotted around 20 people in totla (mainly locals). And on a bank holiday too! It was so peacuful just sitting there enjoying the views.

[CRUISIN LINDA]

We bought the ticket for the lift, castle and amphitheatre. We had to prove we were pensioners :rolleyes: Obviously we didn't have our passports with us, but she accepted our EHIC cards. Good job we heard Martin Lewis saying you must carry them with you at all times and not leave them in the hotel (or ship) So another use for them :)

 

Three loads of washing dried and ironed (plus some ironing that son had left for me!!) Grass cut and house hoovered. Last load of washing on the line, so sitting in the garden typing this :)

 

I did speak to someone who had been in the gardens and said how nice they were. Maybe it was you!

[Stevio]

Stevio, I read Cruise News and shouted out to my husband "we`ve got a mention in here!" He came rushing over. But thanks for that.

 

I wished we`d realised about the Cartagena ticket for all 3 attractions. we did the Ampitheatre, then the castle before realising we could have got all 3 at not much more than we paid. Maybe next time.

 

Did any of you discover the beautiful maritime park in Ceuta down at the waterside? It was wonderful. Only cost around 5 euros and we stayed the afternoon and enjoyed a beer then a lovely lunch in one of the restaurants there. Its a haven with pools, little islands in the middle, hundreds of empty sunloungers, palm trees, exotic flowers and gardens.. We only spotted around 20 people in totla (mainly locals). And on a bank holiday too! It was so peacuful just sitting there enjoying the views.

No I missed Ceuta. On hearing that it was closed for the bank holiday we did the Tetouan City Tour excursion over the border to Morocco. They turned out to have a bank holiday as well, but were able at short notice to lay on some specialist beggars & street traders that won't take no for an answer... Strange place, they just get through telling you how women in their society are demure & always wear the headscarf, then take you for a mint tea with biscuits and lay on a semi clothed belly dancer. :o Think they were trying to distract me from the biscuits....

Three loads of washing dried and ironed (plus some ironing that son had left for me!!) Grass cut and house hoovered. Last load of washing on the line, so sitting in the garden typing this :)

 

Linda, you are way ahead of Mrs Stevio. She has only done the roast dinner & 7 loads of washing. No ironing done at all & still a machine load to dry. I myself have been very busy trying to catch up with 8 days of Sky Plus

[CRUISIN LINDA]

Ha ha! DH has been very busy catching up on a week's Oxford Mails and checking that the local hostelry had not closed down while we were away :rolleyes::D

 

Mind you he did cook a delicious HOT fried breakfast :D