My wife and I decided to treat ourself to our first cruise onboard the Celebration cruising the Canaries and Morrocco.
And treat ourself we did.
On first seeing the ship I was surprised how big she was, but it was only when we berthed at other ports and had two other ships beside us I then realised she was not that large. However I am convinced you only get what you pay for in this world and to that end the Celebration is very good value for money. We paid £715 each for the week but on speaking to other passengers there are better deals out there if you are prepared to shop around. We were upgraded to all inclusive for free and those initials AI on the bottom right of your blue onboard charge card sure are a recipe for a really good time if you like to partake of a tipple or two. The only drink we paid for was the bottle of water in our cabin. You can go down to the Lido restaurant and fill up as many empty bottles as you wish for free. If you cannot get upgraded to AI for free and if there are only two of you then make sure only one of you buys the all inclusive as the card you will be issued with gets up to two drinks.
Be aware that if you book a cabin on Deck 6 (that is any that starts with a two) you will get all and sundry walking past you cabin window, and after all these are not cheap cabins.
Now to the ship itself; the entertainment in the Broadway Show Lounge is a dancing and singing melody type show lasting about 45 minutes twice a night, and the week we were there it was different every night and in our opinion was of a very high standard indeed. We loved it!
The entertainment continued up in the Liberties bar with quizzes,game shows (naff prizes,but who cares),a resident band,comedians,karaoke,disco etc. etc.
If you like things a little quieter then the Explorers lounge had a piano and violinist who seemed pretty good although I must admit its not our cup of tea.
The Horizon bar at the top of the ship was where the jazz trio played but as we did not go up there at night I cannot give you an opinion, but if there were of the same standard as the other muscians on board they will be just fine.
The only bar that was music free was Hemingways where the casino is also situated.There is one roulette table, two or three blackjack tables and one poker table.This is only against the banker and not the popular Texas Hold Em Tournaments you can see on TV most nights here in England. Only a small casino but it can take your money as easily as a big one ( I know to my cost, but it was a nice way of rounding off the evening. As we always sailed at night it was usually open till around twoish.
Now to food;what a choice. We ate in the Meridian restaurant each night and the nice thing is that you always get seated with one,two or three other couples you,ve never met.We had a good laugh every night and did not meet anyone we didnt like or get on with.If you dont like the sound of this, there were a few tables for two dotted about and if you told the Maitre De you would be looked after.It was a five course meal every night with a choice (about five)of starters main and puddings.
The Lido Restaurant is open 24/7 with a wide choice of fresh fruit,tinned fruit,cold meats,salad,hot meals,ice cream,cakes etc etc etc. Also the open air bit at the back of the ship served pizza,hotdogs,burgers,chips etc etc etc.
The tea and coffee self service were out here as well.
If you are one of a dying (no pun intended) breed of smokers, the B & H were £19.95 for 400, yes thats right 400.
The staff were mainly Philippino and what a lovely bunch of blokes and ladies they are too.Anything you wanted was no trouble at all.Tipping is in your holiday price but we gave the lad who looked after our cabin a few quid anyway.Towels changed twice a day.Cabin cleaned twice a day and always a chocolate on your pillow when you went to bed.
The ship was always being cleaned and painted and was well looked after by her crew.
Do try and get on the half hour trip to the bridge.Fascinating gear up there.The steering wheel on my car is bigger than the ships!!!!!!
We found the excursions a bit pricey and could easily add hundreds to your trip so we just made our own way around using local taxis and buses.With the ship staying in port till at least 7pm there was plenty of time to explore and get a taste of countries we had not been to before.
There is also a reasonable size gym on board (I stuck my head round the corner) for those who like that sort of thing.There was a sign on deck saying 6 times round = 1 mile (Phew!)
Finally I must comment on the age of my fellow passengers who were mainly 60+ although we did meet a couple who were in there mid twenties.We were on board 11th to 16th November and would like to say Hi to anyone who may be reading this and wasnt it cold when we got back home.
If you,ve never cruised before give yourself a treat,you know you deserve it

I picked this cruise because it coincided with my 60th birthday, and I couldn't have given myself a better present. I've never been on a cruise before and so didn't know what to expect, but I loved every moment, and could find no fault except for the temperature in the restaurants, especially the Meridan which we found a bit too cold. Entertainment was what you made of it with ample choice for all tastes. We particularly enjoyed the shows in the Broadway lounge. The food in the Meridian was wonderful, and we were told by some fellow diners that it was just as good as they'd had on a P & O cruise. I expected drinks to be expensive, but in fact they were roughly at pub prices. The staff and crew couldn't do enough for us, and were always cheerful and friendly, and we enjoyed all the excursions ashore. Yes, a wonderful way to start my career as an OAP!

Overall my husband and I enjoyed our cruise. Our cabin - outside - on Eagle deck was very spacious and comfortable.There was a full bathroom en-suite and an area with table and chairs which could be used for drinks or room service food etc. Cabin steward service was very good.

The ship's crew and staff were pleasant, courteous and very friendly. The restaurants provided a varied menu with dishes which would, I suspect,suit most tastes. Worthy of special comment is the Mistral a la carte restaurant. The food/service here was exceptional. It more than justified the cover charge of 15 pounds per person.

The weather during our Cities of the Baltic Cruise was excellent. No rain during the whole 13 days. Very unusual for the Baltic region.

We were very disappointed with some aspects of our cruise.Some of the Thomson staff on board ship lacked professional in dealing with a number of difficult situations.(I have provided some feedback direct to Thomsons on these issues.)

Our cruise departure was delayed by a day because of technical problems with the ship's propeller. And due to circumstances which still remain rather a mystery to us - we missed two ports of call - not just one.

Some of our fellow passengers formed a "protest" group.
The way that their comments and behaviour were handled by the Thomson representative who attended the "mini mutiny" - appeared amateurish and rather insensitive to the feelings of the passengers concerned.

The team providing the entertainment worked very hard to compensate for the disappointment of missing ports of call. However, overall their show presentations seemed too ambitious for the level of talent that they had. Rather a "Butlins\Alton Towers" (no disrespect to either organisation) approach. They appeared to lack sophistication in their approach to the evening shows in particular.

I would not like anyone to be put off cruising by the
feedback I have provided. Each cruise is an individual event - even the new QM2 suffered technical and other problems on a couple of it's voyages!

Good news for passengers on our cruise was to be told -by Thomson Cruises - that we would be receiving 20% of our total holiday costs as compensation - within two week of our return to UK. That is fairly proactive for an organisation like Thomsons.(They had offered to pay some compensation even before the passengers protest meeting.)

After both good and bad holiday experiences - most important is the provision of constructive feedback to the company who arranged the holiday. It can help them to do better next time - if they don't they'll soon be out of business.

I have just returned from the Cities of the Baltic cruise onboard Thomson Celebration. Despite the problems of departing late from Harwich (owing to an unavoidable technical problem) the cruise was one of the best I have had.

My only complaint onboard was a persistent group of compensation seekers, who were hell-bent on disrupting the enjoyment of the trip for the other guests. On the second day of the cruise we were informed that owing to our late departure, we would be unable to call at Tallinn. This was very disappointing for everyone onboard. However there was little we could do about this and the 20% compensation offered by Thomson ensured we could fly there for a whole weekend!

Following the announcement regarding Tallinn, passengers grouped in reception and in a manor accustomed to that seen at football matches and 18th century “Witch Hunts” demanded to see members of the Thomson staff and the Captain.

The unruly passengers made such a spectacle of themselves that security was called and the guests moved into the dining room. This is where the fun started. The Staff Captain who was in attendance answered questions shouted at him the disgruntled heard. Despite him answering the questions many refused to believe him, and of course the now 80 angry guests all being experienced navigators were right to do so! This farce continued for around 30 minutes until the mob ensured that nothing productive could possibly be achieved.

The outcome? Well… The numbers of riotous cruisers dwindled and many of the original ringleaders got on with enjoying their sun-soaked voyage and the few persistent claimers continued their red-faced exchanges with the Front Desk staff.

What about the service onboard? The staff were exceptional and nothing was too much trouble. The entertainment was at the standard we expect from a Thomson ship; which as many passengers reviews below can testify, is second to none. Some may liken it to “Butlins”. But remember that “Butlins” is the biggest provider of live entertainment in the UK and has been such for more than 50 years.
The food is certainly of a standard akin to that of a 5 star liner but with a personal touch and the onboard staff were sterling in the professional way they deal with the rude, obnoxious and sometimes lamentable passengers.

We’ve already spent out 20% compensation….. unsurprisingly enough on another Thomson cruise.

Sailed on Celebration to Norwegian Fjords. Cabin, outside on Deck 3, was clean and comfortable and cabin staff kept it immaculate throughout. Food was plentiful, imaginative, well presented. Staff were fantastic thoughout - happy, quick to serve, nothing too much trouble. Entertainment - started a bit 'amateur night' at the beginning of the cruise, but improved considerably as the week went on. The 'Parisienne' night and the Buddy Holly night were particularly good. The first 'landing' day was a (literal) wash-out because of apalling weather on shore, but the trip on the Flam Railway is an absolute MUST. It seemed expensive but was worth every penny. The scenery from the train was unbelievable, lunch in Voss was to die for - we've never seen a buffet lunch like it. If you are a traveller accustomed to soggy sandwiches and paper plates for 'set lunch' you will be amazed! Crisp white tablecloths, drinks on the table, a buffet that included lobster, salmon, roast meats, cheeses, salads plus hot food in steaming tureens, followed by creme caramels, mousses, fruit salads and huge bowls of whipped cream. Wow. Excellent guides on comfy coaches for an afternoon around the most spectacular scenery ever. Add to all this a final day in sunny Bergen (yes, that was exceptional apparently!) and a smooth, happy sail home - would we recommend this trip! We sure would. We are already poring over next year's brochures! (Read someone else's review before we went, and they were moaning about the lack of tables for two in the dining room, stating they had to wait on several occasions until one was free. All we can say is - don't go on a cruise if you want to be ALONE! We shared for every meal, and met some lovely, friendly people - and the 'eat anytime' option does mean that if you ARE unfortunate enough to get someone who could bore for Britain - well, you are unlikely to ever see them for more than one meal!)

We have just returned from the latest Celebration Cruise to the Norwegian Fjords, the last of 2005.



I think their sewerage problems continue, we had a cabin on the Promenade Deck and there was a stink of sewerage in the alleyway for most of the cruise and it was even worse outside on deck, to the extent that it was unpleasant walking round the deck. We had the bath fill up at least twice with what looked like sewerage, which was not very pleasant. The crew worked hard to fix the problem.



The cruise consisted of a visit to 4 ports, unfortunately the first 2 were washed out, at Ulvik, the tender was used to get ashore, the full day excursion was cancelled due to the weather, and the few who braved it ashore got wet through. At Eidfjord the Master considered it too windy to attempt berthing. It was 2 places we were looking forward to exploring.



That aside the trip was fantastic, the entertainment team, the food and staff were all very good. When you realise that the whole crew work 7 days a week with no days off and the Filipino staff do 8 to 10 month stints, they are excellent.



For information, things we tried to find out before the trip but couldn't:- There are self laundry facilities on board, with washing machines, driers and irons, just about on every deck. But I think you need your own washing powder as I didn't see any, the machines are free to use.



On boarding each passenger is given a card, which includes your photograph, it is used for all purchases on board and going ashore and returning to the ship, it is very efficient.

Cocktails are £2.90, Pint of Bitter or lager £2.20, Spirits are £2.35. Bottles of wine are about £10/£15, but can be bought by the glass.

You cannot buy bottles of spirits until the last day: but fags can be purchased by the packet.

The Horizon bar and Hemingway bars allow smoking, but the rest are smoke free.

Smoking is allowed in cabins, we had to get the curtains changed and the whole place deodorised several times to get rid of the stink of tobacco smoke.

There is heaps to do every day even on sea days, if you are not careful you can find yourself spending time rushing from one event to another trying to catch them all. The evening shows are really fabulous, considering it is different every night.

Shore excursions:- Half day trips averaged out at £27 and full day £69 per person.

Captain's cocktail party:- If you are lucky you get a small glass of wine, we did not get a refill, some did. I was surprised that at least 90% of men wore Black Tie, i.e. Dinner jackets. The dress for other evening meals was smart casual, well most did. Some with jackets, some with ties as well. I haven’t mentioned ladies as they enjoy dressing up anyway.

Tea and coffee are available 24/7 and it is quickest to get your own, decaffeinated is available too in both restaurants.

Disembarking:- Each deck has it’s own colour, the luggage is also colour coded with the deck colour. Passengers are disembarked by colour starting with the top deck first.

For those going on a cruise later in the year the entertainment crew change in early November, so their will be new shows from then.

Thomson Celebration- the only celebration was when we disembarked.We had the misfortune to travel to Potimao via tender.On the return journey the tender was rising and falling some 15 feet against the gangway.The tender crew insisted we disembark and one poor lady was dropped between the gangway and the tender.She was suspended over the sea by two crew members holding her hands.Women on the tender were crying and screaming one of who was my wife.As the tender was rising to the top of the swell it seemed certain the woman would be crushed by the tender and this was only prevented by the two crewmen pulling her on board the gangway.My wife had gone into shock and spent 13 hours in the ship medical bay.For this we were charged £680.00. We also had to go to a hospital in La Coruna which also cost us 185 Euros.At la Havre a bus returning from the city centre carried appro 60 passengers who all proceeded to walk up the gangway despite it being clearly marked for 40 persons only.No ships staff were at the gangway to control embarkation.I have just recieved a reply from Thomson to my letter of compaint and have basically been fobbed off with a load of tripe.I am now seeking legal advice. Please be warned.

my wife and I went on the Iberrian Oddessy in september, about six weeks before we were due to pay our balance to the travel agents we heard about the toilet "disaster" they had on the same maiden voyage. I gave it serious thoughts about cancelling the holiday as there were loads of horror stories being published. In 2004 we went on a 11 day cruise with P and O. I can honestly say I enjoyed the Thomson Celebration a whole lot more, i could pick faults if I wanted to with both companies. The only real gripe I have with the Celebration, and one that will stop me going back on it is, it has a really bad vibration and the stabilizers are quite noisy in the lower deck cabins. Top marks for the entertainment, 10/10 the buffet food, I am still overweight. If you are thinking of going on this ship..do it, I dont think you would regret it and the sail away party? Who needs brass bands and streamers. Go Thomson Cruises.

This was my first experience of cruising and from the initial embarcation to disembarcation the following words sum it up.Fantastic,Excellent,Superb,brilliant.

The food was plentiful and available 24 hours a day.The entertainment was better than a lot of west end shows i have seen.The cabin was roomy and very clean with good views.All the staff were helpful.

The only negative was the poor weather so a couple of the trips we had looked forward to were cancelled because the ship was unable to dock but with all the entertainment on board it was a very small cross to bear. Hats off to The Thompson Celebration, i will definitly use them the next time i decide to go on a cruise.

It is now a year since I sailed with a lot of "british folk" , and others including a few Australians, out of Southampton heading for the Iberian Peninsula. It was my 1st cruise and although living on an island - Australia - had not even managed a Pacific cruise in my lifetime. The cabin crew were absolutely fantastic and bent over backwards to assist in every way. It was such a shame that they mostly seemed to be short term contractors who at the end of the journey had to clean up cabins and then personally get off the ship and fly home to Asia, with no promise of future work - a disappointment and a loss to Thomson. The entertainment crew were great - terrific laughs and very active and committed, even in rough seas!! Food was great, prices for drinks were great and I loved the Horizon Bar every even at sunset. I met some terrific people and am now in touch with some "Poms" via Xmas cards. We had a bit of rough weather, and my greatest disappointment was that one of my lifetime goals of visiting Mont St Michel didn't happen because of rough seas. Well done !! Would love to travel again with Celebration - who knows!!!