Just returned from 2 weeks on the Calypso - 24th September to 8th October doing the Crimea and Aegean. Early morning flight from Luton. The weather was awful and as the plane was still climbing it suddenly lost altitude. After the nervous giggles stopped and the plane continued its climb it started to shake from side to side. Afterwards I heard that there was a hurricane/tornado over part of England.

Arrived in Thessaloniki around noon and the reps were on hand to guide us to the coaches. Journey to the ship took about 45 minutes through down town Thessaloniki and its traffic. Arrived at port and could just see the upper decks of the ship over the port buidings - it looked even smaller than I expected. The usual formalities took place in the port buildings. Its two years since I have cruised with Thomson's and on this occasion they did not retain the passports and the credit card registration took place prior to embarkation. The usual table assignment and then onto the ship for the embarkation photo and shown to the cabin.

Although travelling alone I was given a four berth cabin on deck 2 (inside). This was spotlessly clean and had the usual TV, air con, safety deposit (12 pounds per week rental - non refundable and I think 48 pounds if you lose the key). Pool towels are provided as well as a few shower gel/shower caps etc. Even though my cabin stewardess (Violetta) knew I was alone there were towels for 4 in the bathroon.

The overall cleanliness of the ship was excellent. Because it is a small ship you could leave your cabin in the morning and find one of the senior housekeeping staff giving the morning insructions/pep talk to her staff. I was also happy to see that not only were hand sanitisers at the entrances to both the restaurant and the bistro they were also at the gangways and were used by everyone.

The ship is still carrying out a refurbishment programme - a couple of times during the first week there were carpets being fitted on corridors. However this caused no problems for passengers that I could see - if you came to an area being refitted the work would stop and the workmen would assist you safely accross.

The food was excellent - better than the Emerald which was the last Thomson ship I cruised on and 50 times better than that served on the Island Escape when I cruised on her earlier in the year. Breakfast was served in either the Bistro or the restaurant. The additional items in the restaurant were things like kippers, poached eggs, eggs Benedict etc. There were pastries, full English, pancakes, fruit and cold meats and salads. Morning coffee in the bistro was pastries and muffins. Lunch comprised of salads, cold meats, soup, a roast, vegetables, pasta/rice/potatoes, fabulous deserts and fresh fruit. Afternoon tea in the bistro was the usual sandwiches, scones (unfortunately due to the heat they had to use the spray "cream" fron a can. Dinner comprised of a choice of 3/4 starters, 2/3 soups, salad, main course, pasta, vegetarian option and desert/cheese and biscuits plus tea/coffee. Every few nights there was a themed buffet in the bistro - Indian, Mexican, Italian and once a week there was a Buffet Magnifique in the restaurant. On the nights there was no buffee finger food was passed around in all the bars.

There was no way I could find fault with any of the staff. They were polite, efficient, friendly without being over friendly and seemed happy in their jobs. Many had worked on other Thomson ships and said they preferred the Calypso. One young lad from Romania seemed to have no end of jobs. He was assisting the wine waiters in the restaurant in the evenings, he was seen carrying luggage on change over days, he was seen taking out the rubbish one day in port and was even assisting the carpet fitters. However the behaviour of a number of passengers towards the crew left a lot to be desired. On one evening I went to the casino area for a pre dinner drink and a smoke. The area was quiet and as Francis (bar steward) was brining me my drink a man arrived. Francis went up to him and asked him if he would like a drink. The man actually turned his head to look away from Francis as he curtly told him to come back in 5 minutes - that he was waiting for his wife. 5 minutes later Francis obviously recogninsed the man's wife and when she had seated herself he appeared and again asked if they would like a drink. The man said "yes" and naturally Francis asked what he would like to drink. The woman's response was "You should know by now - why don't you". I felt like going over to them and suggesting that they should know Francis' name by now and use it.

I didn't go to any of the shows but by all accounts they were enjoyable. The one thing I noticed about this team was their lack of arrogance. They have some talent, were all very good looking and may have a future in the industry but they were not so full of themselves as entertainment staff I have previously encountered. Frank Hammond, the cruise director, is a very nice man and has a reasonably good voice but on the night in Istanbul when he did a set in the Captain's Club he really picked the wrong songs for his voice.

There was the usual game shows - I understand Mr & Mrs was particularly embarrassing both for those taking part and those watching. There was bingo in the late afternoon, a duo (SP3)in the Tropical bar next to the bistro - the girl had a particularly good voice. There was a duo (Ebony Duo - piano and violin) in the plaza with light classical and other favourites. The Happy Band from South America (Brazil?) played in the Captain's club - jazz/blues, dance music etc - very versatile and talented but did not look all the happy.

The Casino had two games tables - roulette and poker/blackjack and about 20 slot machines but a number of these were not in use due to some Greek regulations.

There was a small library (a couple of bookcases) but a surprising variety of books, board games and about half a dozen computer terminals - internet access was down for most of the first week.

The only indoor smoking area is in the casino. Smoking is permitted but not encouraged in the cabins. Smoking is also permitted on the starboard side of the open decks.

Sunbed space is at a premium and far too many beds were crammed into the limited space. People did their usual reserving of beds and their belongings were not removed. However there was a tendency of others to move the beds and belongings to parts of the deck which did not get much sun or cram them so close together that it was impossible to reach them on return.

The pool is tiny but was used reguarly during the two weeks I was on board. There was a selection of gym equipment and saunas but I didn't investigate these. The shops sold the usual duty free items - be warned there are spot checks at the Port of Thessaloniki on disembarkation. I was luck with the duty free cigarettes - 22 pounds sterling for 400 (5 pounds discount if you bought 400). That works out at approximately 16 euro for 200 compared to 67 euro at home.

In relation to Euro - even the Bulgarian and Ukranian ports seem to prefer these to the pound. The only places where local money was required was getting into the Panorama building in Sevastopol and the Topkapi and Aya Sophia in Istanbul.

Travelling alone and having done all the ports of call before I did a few trips - Gallipoli from Canakkale, Khans Palace from Sevastopol and Epidauros from Nauplion/ All trips offered were good value for money and the destination services staff were only too happy to answer queries from those wishing to go ashore and tour independently. Constanta in Romania was removed and an overnight in Istanbul was put in its place. This appears to be as a result of negative feedback from passengers on the port of Consanta and a night in Istanbul was not something most of us were going to complain about. However a number did because the casino and on board shops are closed when in port.

Most people seemed to have the all inclusive option - on this ship they don't take your card from you and scan it thus speeding up the drinks service. I did hear comments that the draught beer and the spirits were waterered down but I can't say I noticed that. There were a few of the moaners on board, a few snobs and a few yobs who were determined to drink at least up to the value of the all inclusive (despite having got it free as an early booking incentive). However the bars closed reasonably early - the exception being the Captain's Club which served the disco and I didn't see any real drunken behavour. The age profile was in the late 50s and most people were friends. There was only a handful of people under 30 and thankfully no children (again I had enough of the little darlings on the IE earlier in the year).

There were many highlights to the cruise and one was when the Calypso and the Emerald were both in Thessaloniki on the same day. I met up with some friends working on the Emerald. Some of them are hoping to join the Calypso next season.

My only complaint throughout the entire two weeks is the changing of dining room waiters and bar staff on a weekly rotation. I'm used to having the same waiters for the duration of a cruise. When I queried the reason I was told that it was a management decision but the real reason is that waiters in the bistro rarely receive tips and waiters in certain bars receive more tips than others. So to ensure that everyone gets a chance to maximise their tips they are moved around. I know a lot of people did not tip - indeed the dining room on the last night was particlarly empty - people decided to eat in the bistro in order not to have to tip their waiters. Basic tips are of course included but given the level of service I received there was no way I could not have given a little extra to a number of the staff.

Would I travel on the Calypso again - the answer is yes. I have already booked to do the Ionian leg (through the Corinth Canal) and repeat the Aegean on 2nd June 2008 and I'm counting down the days. Since coming home I re-read the earlier negative reviews and indeed spoke to a Cypriot couple on board who were on the first cruise of the season. Thomson and the Calypso really seem to have gotten their acts together and the ship is now unrecognisable from what it was then. Finally I did read in some review that the Captain had limited English and this caused concern for people given the tragedy at Santorini earlier in the season with another Louis ship. To put people's minds at rest I was introduced to the Captain by some of the senior staff I knew on the Emerald and had a number of brief conversations with him. His English is excellent and his attitude towards safety and the welling being of crew, staff and passengers is evident.

last sailed on Calypso in Sept 07 and re booking

Great to see good comments for this boat , yes it is small but alot friendly, we met alot of different passengers each meal and by the end of the week could say we talked to best part of them,

here is a link for future passangers plenty of photos etc, and information, remember the boat is chartered to thomson only the funnel has changed colour,

http://www.dolphin-hellas.gr/Cruises/Louis-cruises/Ships/cruise-vessel-Calypso.htm

I have just returned from a weeks cruise on the ionian treasures. The ship although small had all the necessary amenities.
The ports were good although the weather extremely hot in Athens.
The entertainment staff worked very hard although I thought some of them very immature.
The food was excellent in bistro and restaraunt.
The ship was slightly noisy but didny stop us sleeping.
The swimming pool is wrongly placed amongst the tables in the outside bistro, it would be more suited to the sun deck where all the sun loungers are.
Overall a good all round value for monry cruise.

I will start with the itinerary- Crimean Discovery followed by Ionian Treasures. It was like 2 different holidays, as the ports, passengers and atmosphere were quite different from one week to the next.
It was a truly wonderful mix of ports, and even when sailing there was nearly always something to see. The sea day on week 1 was made extra special by the Cannakale straits (Dardanelles) by day and Istanbul by night. On week 2 sea day we had the Corinth Canal which was a great experience, and then there were lots of islands we sailed past.
Owing to some very stormy weather we were 4 hours late getting to Sevastopol, and fearing we wouldn't have time to do what we wanted to do independently, we were luck to jump on a trip at the last moment. This was a very good move. The Ukraine is not really geared up for independent tourists yet, and the trip was excellent. Do not miss the Panorama museum- I have never seen anything like it.
Istanbul and Nessebar were easy to do on our own. In Cannakale we just got the transfer into town, saw the wooden horse, ambled around. It was Sunday so fairly quiet, some shops etc open. We went on a wine tasting trip in Constanta based on poor reports of the port we read here, and it was enjoyable but not wonderful.
In week 2 we went on a beach trip in Corfu and a train ride in Volos. Both were well organised and good trips. Elsewhere we made our own way independently. Parga was lovely, and we were pleased with the last minute change which took us to Kotor in Montenegro instead of Durres Albania. The scenery was fantastic. Paula the destinations manager was superb at her job, and gave really good information for DIY as well as trips. Particularly useful was all the port information on the excursions tv channel.
Much has already been said about the ship, we found it fine on a rather small scale, but you wouldn't choose it if the facilities were more important than the ports. The cabin on deck 6 at the front was clean and bright, a bit short on drawer space but otherwise plenty of room, and the shower room was the best we have had so far. We tool round and flat pin adapters, both worked in the sockets, and although others reported difficulties with chargers ours worked fine.
In places the ship is very noisy, outside and inside. It certainly didn't ride the force 7 storm very well, and only about 1 in 10 made it to dinner that night. Our cabin stewardess was on her hands and knees in the corridor crying and being sick!
Food was mainly good quality, but because it only has one galley, they can't provide 24 hour dining, and there were times when you might miss lunch and afternoon tea, and have a long wait for dinner! Second sitting is a bit late at 9 pm. Sometimes we didn't get out till 11, but it suited us better than 1st.
Entertainment was varied- plays, lectures and classical music as well as game shows, dance band, quizzes, guest comedians and musical shows.
All the staff and crew were friendly, helpful and polite (even on reception!) The captain treated everyone to a glass of wine one night in the restaurant- that was a first! Customer service is excellent on this ship, and when one of our table companions needed medical treatment, the attention he recieved from the doctor and guest relations manager was really good and caring.
On a less positive note- we were amazed that the ship sailed without 39 people who were on a delayed flight- a Thomson flight too. They had to catch us up 2 days later in Corfu. Apparently it was to do with the length of the delay and the need to get to Corinth Canal for a specific time. However, I would have been really upset if it had happened to me, and hope they get some decent compensation.
It's not the smartest ship in the fleet, but if itinerary is important to you, the fact that it can go places bigger ships can't will make up for any lack of glitz.

Dont' hesitate to take a trip on the Calypso, we had a week - Ist week in August, to the Crimean Discovery and enjoyed every minute of it, wished we'd booked second week. Thanks to all at Thomsons and particularly Frank and his entertainments team!

Having read previous reviews on how bad the ship was I was pleasantly surprised to find that things were not as bad as made out.
Yes she is a small ship but there is a surprising amount of public spaces to have a drink or just to sit quietly and relax, there are plenty of sun lougers but she does lack decent seating on the prom deck.
We occupied an inside cabin on deck 2 and the cabin was of a standard to be expected on a ship of this size and type and the stewardess keep the cabin very clean and well stock with towels and toiletries, overall the ship was kept very clean.
The food was good quality and the waiter service was reasonable, the buffet on the bistro was good quality but had a tendency to cool quickly due to the open deck area outside and the through draught caused by the open doorway.
The entertainment was some of the best that I have seen on a cruise ship and the cast did two plays and a song and dance routine feature stage musicals etc in my opinion a first rate team.
The cruise was "The Crimean Discovery" and the only disappointment was the port of Constantana in Bulgaria, all the other ports were great and well worth a visit, especially Sevastapol.
I have had the pleasure of cruising with P and O and on other Thomson boats and I have no hesitation in recommending this boat to any one.

Can't say enough good things about our holiday aboard The Calypso,
14 days aboard ,enjoyed every minute.
Cruise direcvtor,Frank and all his team,I think there were about twelve of them,worked very hard keeping us happy. The shows were excellent and well performed. we even had two plays,"Blythe Spirit" and The Classic "Hobson's Choice". Full Marks to them.
Our cabin was kept clean and well stocked with clean linen,thanks to the cabin staff.
Food,,dangerously good and well served,again by perfect staff The Matre de. made sure everything was perfect.
I could go on forever,praising individuals, but let's say
A superb Holiday was had by all

After reading other reviews Re; "Rock & Roll" I opted to prebook a cabin (264) on deck two- BAD MOVE !. The worst aspect of this ship is the noise. It is Inescapably a converted car ferry. Engine noise is especially bad down on decks 2/3. Also on deck 2 a door to below decks is sometimes wedged open by the crew resulting diesel smell from the engines creeping into my cabin. I overcame the noise by using wax cotton ear plugs.Other couples seemed ok with noise above deck 3. This cruise ship is definately for the 50+ aged group ( I was OK I,m an oap) but younger couples may enjoy another cruise in this regard.
I did the Ionian treasures and for the last three days we had adverse weather resulting in a late departure from Durres in Albania & unable to use the tender to go ashore in Parga which , after dropping anchor for about three hours the Captain decided to continue on to Pireus (Athens)I have to say, none of these conditions resulted in any significant rolling and as far as I know, no one suffered sea sickness.

Now for the good bits. The Corinth Canal was something not to be missed, 1½ feet spare each side & two hours to slowly cover about 3 miles, touched the side twice! but no danger & very exciting. Great atmosphere on the ship for us "Oldies"" something happening most of the time. Entertainment was enjoyed my most. Food was OK.The Thomson staff/ bar staff & waiters were of the highest order. The coach excursion to Durres/Tirana was an eye opener, dont expect sightseeing & souvenier hunting, etc. Albania is still recovering from the communist regime, is very poor and, although safe, is to be expierenced rather than enjoyed.
Volos was OK once you walked through two miles of container port & some slums! Made worse in our case by rain. All the other ports were excellent.
Overall a mildly enjoyable cruise but I definately will not do The Calypso again.

We have just returned from the first Thomson Calypso cruise. It is certainly not like any of the other Thomson ships. Thomson advertised this ship as 'refurbished'; well the cabins that I saw had certainly not been refurbished. The carpets were dirty; the curtains stained and threadbare; the furniture old and scratched; drawers didn't open properly; no coat-hangers; no bins; dust everywhere; some portholes leaked. The cabin was not vacuumed or dusted all week. I even had to take a toilet roll from one of the 'public' toilets. Towels were also not always replaced when they were dirty.

On the first day at sea most people were sick as it was very rough; only thirty people out of 486 attended the captains dinner and most of them lduring the meal. In Thomson's defence, they did reschedule the captains meal for later in the week but most people by then had had enough and many didn't attend.

There were not enough drinks waiters; we often waited more than half an hour for our drinks to arrive after ordering. The food was of extremely poor quality and was mostly served cold-that's when you managed to get it after queuing for sometimes more than fifteen minutes. The entertainment during the day was non-existent and was only of a satisfactory standard in the evening - the resident band sang the same songs all week!

Most people on board were very unhappy with their holiday; some even set up a committee to complain. The staff were very friendly but seemed powerless to improve anything. Some people that had booked a two week cruise transferred their second week to a hotel - Thomson tried to charge them for doing this!

All I can say is that you will only travel on this ship once - I doubt that there will be any returning passengers. I would only rate this cruise a 2 out of 10.

Rock and Roll on "The Calypso"

Inaugural Cruise for Thomsons

"Ancient Empires" - 31 March to 7 April 2007

INTRODUCTION

"The Calypso" was built as a car ferry in 1968, converted to a cruise ship in 1994. She has a flat bottom, and at just over 11,000 tonnes she is a third of the size of Celebration or Spirit. She rides badly even in slight seas. Compared to Celebration/Spirit, cabins are small with limited storage space (135 – 244 sq ft, cf 150 – 296 sq ft), although according to the "Berlitz" guide the smallest cabins are bigger than their equivalent on Emerald and Destiny. Berlitz rated her as **+ when operated by Louis, compared to ***+ for Celebration/Spirit.

ARRIVAL

Arriving at Pathos airport, passengers had to collect their luggage and take it to the transfer coaches. This was offloaded at the port by cruise staff and taken to the quayside for identification, then delivered to the cabins.

Arriving at the port of Limassol, there was a short queue while we waited to check in at the cruise terminal. Thomson staff were working the queue explaining the procedures, and were friendly and welcoming. Credit card details were taken and the cruise boarding cards, which double as charge cards, were issued. We then proceeded to the Maitre d’s desk for a table allocation for dinner. After identifying our luggage, we climbed a steep narrow gangway to deck 4. Quayside was at the level of deck 2, and an entrance on deck 2 was available to passengers with limited mobility (and to all passengers later in the Cruise, as we found out on our last day!)

On board, after the obligatory photo, we were personally escorted to our cabin by a steward who unfortunately didn’t know where it was, and got slightly lost.

We started to hang our clothes and realised there were very few coat hangers. I went out to the corridor and asked a steward if I could have some more coat hangers. They didn’t understand me. A second steward understood, but said it was not possible.

When we were ready to leave the cabin we realised that it had old-fashioned keys, and we had to return to reception to ask for them. We also got for a key for the in-room safe, which cost £12.00 for the week. At reception, a number of people were complaining about their cabins (some people felt the brochure pictures were misleading).

CABINS

Knowing that this ship was small with limited facilities, we upgraded to a Premier cabin (Louis sell these as Junior Suites). Cabin 645 on deck 7 is spacious. The beds can be curtained off; the cabin has two large windows, two sofas, a round table, and a minibar. However, the minibar was not turned on or stocked all week. Bathrobes are provided, but not slippers. An arrangement of fresh flowers was on the table. The quality of the toiletries and towels (new but rough and poor quality) was the same as for other cabins. Shampoo and soap were provided, but not shower gel. Face cloths were not provided. The cabin was generally very clean (although there was a rather nasty stain on the side of one the sofas); carpets and curtains appeared to be new. (I believe the ship was redecorated after last year’s fire in the English Channel, and had a further refurbishment this winter before starting its Thomson’s charter. The ship is in very good condition throughout).

Towels were changed twice a day, and pool towels were left in the room and changed daily. We got a turndown on nights 2 to 7, and chocolates on the pillow on nights 5 and 6 only.

The sleeping area for 645 is at the entrance to the cabin, so one bed is almost in the middle of the ship, and the beds lie aft-stern along the line of the ship rather than at right angles to the outside wall. Although high up on deck seven, we felt the cabin layout helped us to cope with the terrible ride on this ship. The ship is more comfortable towards the back than at the front. The TVs in all the cabins and suites are small and immovable (they need to be as we were soon to find out). We could only see the TV from one of our beds.

On the last day, I looked at suites 653 and 660. Although larger than our Premier cabin, these had only one window. Because the seating area was in a small partitioned area by the window, the main part of the cabin was very dark. We also looked at premier cabins 651 and 658, and these also had one window. I can recommend 645 and 509 (which I didn’t look at, but its immediately below and I assume is the same).

The route to cabins on decks one and two at the front of the ship felt very claustrophobic, and to reach the cabins at the very front one has to step through waterproof doorways and go down a level.

All cabins have telephones, TVs and safes. TVs show “a view from the bridge” (so you can see where you are even in an inside cabin), CNN, Discovery, and two movie channels each showing one movie 6 times a day.

Room service is available at additional cost.

The "do not disturb" sign was routinely ignored. When our steward saw us go to breakfast, she would make up our room regardless of the sign. She also came in to the cabin once without knocking, as did a maintenance man. When the cabins are locked from the inside, they can still be opened from the outside with a key – there is no bolt.

She did a good job of cleaning the cabin, and she folded my pullover neatly and left it on the bed when I left it thrown on the sofa.

RESTAURANTS

The main restaurant is low down at the back of the ship on deck 3. It is on two levels. Entering the restaurant, the first section is long and narrow with three columns of tables. This section of the restaurant has proper windows, although many of the "window" tables do not line up with the windows. If you are going on The Calypso, try to get a table in this section of the restaurant. I would recommend that you print off a deck-plan from the Thomson website and use it when booking your table. (http://www.thomsonbeach.co.uk/th/cruise/viewShipDeckPlans.do) This section of the restaurant is closer to the middle of the ship.

The lower, and main part of the restaurant is at the VERY back of deck 3, above the propellers. This part of the restaurant has portholes instead of windows. Tables "by a window" are by a porthole that is high up and have no view. The square back of the ship betrays its origins as a car ferry – yes, you are eating on the car deck!

When at sea, this part of the restaurant can be very noisy (being over the propellers) and you get a very rough ride if the sea is anything other than calm.

Mirrors are in abundance throughout the restaurant, to compensate for the lack of natural light.

Tables are for 4, 6, or 8 (mainly 6), and are very close together. The fixed sittings for dinner (6.30 or 8.30) mean that the waiters are trying to serve everyone at the same time. Service suffers as a result. Having previously been on “Celebration”, we had experienced elegant service; chairs pulled out/pushed in for you, napkin on the lap, the pepper mill always coming round, this does not happen on Calypso – the waiters do not have the time. Nor do they have time to entertain guests the way they do on Celebration with their "party tricks", although they do sing if someone has a birthday.

On our first night, the ship was not due to sail until midnight, and some passengers arrived very late, so dinner was open seating. Even with open seating, you are placed on large tables, and each table is filled up. The waiters serve everyone at the same pace, so a couple having three courses will sit there for the same time as a couple at the same table having all five.

As "anti social" cruisers, we thought we would get some privacy at breakfast and lunch, and were prepared to put up with sharing a table at dinner. In fact, dinner was the most comfortable of meals as we always had the same companions. Breakfast and lunch however were always with different people, which started to feel like hard work after a while!

Dinner on the first night and lunch on day 2 (a sea day) were both pretty awful. The food was definitely canteen rather than restaurant standard. Dinner on day 3 was better and continued to improve as the week went on, and some of the meals were quite enjoyable. Dinner on day 6 would have been excellent if we had had the sense not to order pre prepared Crepes Suzette, which were ghastly. As the week wore on, we particularly enjoyed some very good homemade soups and fresh salads, and some interesting starters. From day 4 when we had a regular table for dinner, we would arrive to find our favourite wine chilled but unopened in a cooler on our table.

Breakfast was a confusing affair. Initially offered only as a buffet, later in the week an à la carte option was offered on some days in the top part of the restaurant with options for omelettes cooked to order, Eggs Benedict, and kippers. The buffet breakfast was generally good. However, coffee (although a good brand – Douwe Egberts) was hopelessly weak and sometimes only luke warm, and the "orange juice" was disgusting and tasted as it was made up from a powder. Apple and Pineapple juices tasted better. The fresh fruit was very good. Breakfast was generally 7:30 to 9:00 in the restaurant, with long queues for breakfast in the small buffet after 9am.

Later in the week we met the Chef, who told us he was only fully staffed from day 4 when some of his team joined the ship in Athens. He also explained that the Calypso has only one galley to serve the main restaurant, buffet, and crew, and that some of his team who had come from other Thomson ships were alarmed at how small the galley was. The team had not worked together before, and are multi national. We saw improvements in the standards during our week on board, and would expect standards to continue to improve as the new Chef get his new team in shape. The Chef seemed dedicated (we saw him at quayside checking the quality of produce being loaded) and has previously worked for Cunard (as well as on other Thomson ships). Menus are set corporately by Thomsons.

We spent most days ashore, but on day 7 we had afternoon tea which was very enjoyable. Delicious home made scones with jam and lots of cream, and some very good buttery crumbly biscuits. On day 8 we had “elevenses”, with a good selection of freshly baked Danish pastries.

The BUFFET is very small with only 11 tables for 4. It is at the back on deck 5, and food can be taken out on deck where there are plenty of tables and chairs. However, the weather was cold for most of the week, one needed a jacket (and sometimes a pullover as well) to sit on deck. The buffet has a canteen feel to it – the tables are not dressed in the evening, the napkins are paper. There is no waiter service, but it is next to a bar so I suppose it might be possible to get a bottle of wine.

ROCK AND ROLL

Day two was a day at sea on the way from Cyprus to Crete. The sea was choppy, and some people were feeling unwell at lifeboat drill at 10:30am. We were fine, and went to lunch around one. We were seated at the very back of the restaurant which was noisy and bounced up and down a great deal. The sea got rougher in the afternoon, with force 5 winds, and sickness bags appeared all round the ship. That evening was the formal night – the Captain’s cocktail party and Gala Dinner. We went to the Cocktail Party in the "Festival Lounge" which is at the front of the ship on deck 4. The pitching and rolling was very severe, and after a few minutes my partner left. The Cocktail Party was meant to be 7:30 to 8:30. A pianist was playing and drinks and canapés were brought round. The sparkling wine was pretty awful. I am never sea sick, and actually enjoy rough seas, but by 8:10 after 40 minutes bouncing around in this overheated lounge I started to feel uncomfortable and left, so I never actually heard Captain Vakondios introduce his officers. I understand from fellow passengers that he speaks limited English, which is a slight concern as I understood it to be the international language of the sea. This is probably why he did not make any announcements during the entire week (in contrast to the personable Geir Larsen who entertained us with a couple of announcements every day about the weather, route etc when we were on Celebration two years ago).

We tried to go to dinner, but our reserved table was at the back of the restaurant. We went to the restaurant around 8:40 and asked the Maitre d’ if he could move us to a table in the upper level of the restaurant. He said this was impossible, that all tables were reserved and that he could not move people. He suggested that we go and eat at the buffet! (Rather annoying, as we had taken formal clothes and dressed for the dining room). We found out the next day that the restaurant was about 20% full for the Gala Dinner, and there were many couples sitting alone at tables for six.

In the middle of the night, not being able to sleep as the ship was pitching and rolling, and feeling that we would never get a decent meal on this ship, I went to the Internet Café to try to find the price of a flight home from Crete. The PCs had a Louis Cruise Lines logon screen, and when I swiped my charge card I could not log on. I reported this to reception, who said the internet was not working because of the bad weather and being at sea (which seemed odd as I had a signal on my mobile). Early the next morning, after we docked in Heraklion, I again tried to use the internet to find out about flights home, and it still didn’t work. I went back to reception who said they would get someone from IT to look at it. That evening, the logon screen had been changed to Thomsons, and it worked. It would seem the internet café had just not been set up properly.

When we went to Dinner on day 3, the Maitre d’ apologised for turning us away the previous night, and said he had sent staff to look for us afterwards. (They would have found us in the buffet having a bowl of soup if they had looked). We were then shown to our table, to find another couple had been moved to our seats – so much for being told it was impossible to move people! We were found a new table, which we stayed on for dinner for the rest of the week.

We had had breakfast on morning 3 with a couple from Cyprus. They persuaded us that such rough seas and bad weather were extremely unusual for this time of the year, and we decided to stay at least one more day. After Cyprus, we were in more sheltered waters, and the seas were much calmer. On day 5 the sea felt quite choppy and the ship was rocking quite a lot. We went on deck after dinner and stood at the front of the ship for some air. We were surprised at how calm the sea looked, yet the ship was pitching quite badly.

Because so many people missed the formal night (half the entertainments crew were also sick!), a second formal night was arranged for day 6. One of the main course options was Beef Wellington, which according to the menu was served medium or well done. The waiter did not ask anyone how they would like their steak. I asked for mine rare, which was noted down. They all arrived well done. Most of the steaks were tough – certainly not fillet – although one of our party had a good one. The paté was not pleasant and the pastry was soggy. The evening also featured a Baked Alaska parade. Other deserts were on the menu as an alternative to Baked Alaska, although everyone got the Alaska regardless of what they ordered. The ice cream was good, the meringue was soft and runny.

MISCELLANEOUS

I only saw half of one show, which was very good (a tribute to Cameron Macintosh). Waiters served canapés in the show lounge after the show. I heard from companions that waiter service was often slow, particularly at the far end of the lounge.

All the Ents staff and Thomson Staff were very friendly and helpful, as were the reception staff, and the hotel manager. The cabin stewards were mainly from Eastern Europe, and seemed to have limited English. We generally got a warm and friendly welcome on entering the dining room. Some waiters were very good, others not so.

A very good 80-page guidebook was provided in our welcome pack, covering all the ports of call.

The Ports Showcases were well presented (a mixture of short films and talks). The Destination Services Manager, Paula Almonte, had first hand experience of all the destinations from The Emerald last season. The team also ran some Ports Showcase talks for independent travellers, and were very helpful with advice about prices for taxis, public transport etc.

I went to the first lecture, which was disappointing. I was expecting to hear about the history or culture of the places we were to visit. Instead it was more like a continuation of the port showcase, with a guy showing pictures of the places we were to see and talking about what we would see rather than the context.

We didn’t use the lounges. The Calypso does not have an inside bar with a good view. It has excellent outside deck space and given calm seas and good weather could be most enjoyable. However, because of the instability of this ship even in slight seas, caused by its small size and flat bottom, I would not recommend the Calypso unless you are a very good sailor and enjoy a rough ride.

Despite the best efforts of many of the crew, the ship feels more like a ferry than a cruise liner.