I just came back from a 8 day cruise to the canaries, On the life jacket drill my life jacket was pink and had no straps on it so i would drowned. The cabin was so small I had to sleep with my feet out of the door. Their was sick in the bed and the cabin windows were put out.

The food was like a school dining hall and the food was collected in and served the next day. The entertainment was rubbish, they performed snow wite and the seven dwarfs but the dwarfs wernt even real dwarfs they were just kids. Apart from this, the cruise was excellent

I sailed on the the celebration for my honeymoon. It was the first cruise i have been on and i can safely say it wont be the last! The crew were fantastic, friendly and hard working, what more could you want! The food was great, lots of choice and cooked to perfection!The entertainment was first class.One night we dined in the Aldo Zilli resturant, great food and service.Top tip book early because its a sort after option. The shows were faultless. Im not really into stage shows but the effort the team put it made all the more enjoyable. The bars were great fun, the bar staff knew us on first name terms and new what we wanted to drink, something my local still have not got the hang of! The cocktail menu was wide ranging and specials were on each night. Being in our late twentys we were worried there would be no late night entertainment but one bar always stayed open usually with a disco which was good!We done a few of the days out when in port. It was good to get off the boat but they were quite expensive. In some reviews people mentioned the vibration of the ship. It was noticable but made no difference to our enjoyment. Overall i would say this: Great staff,great food,great bars,great entertainment, good value for money, cant wait to do it again!!!!

Just came back off a cruise of 14 days on the Celebration. It was a lovely ship, the crew and waiters were great. The food very good, it was always fresh and well presented. My room was one of the best I have ever been in!

Overall the staff was fairly decent, both in helpfulness and efficiency. I did encounter a problem with the Cruise Entertainment Director though. My first drawback was the way he handled my compaint, he gave rubbish directions on how to deal with it and gave the impression he did not care, telling me to deal with it myself.

Althought the films themselves on the ship were not that bad, the very limited amount of movies onboard was shocking. Of course we let Mr. Good Ol' Entertainment Director know about this but surely enough he had a 'answer'for this too, just as ridiculous as himself. I could go on about his attitude but I feel you get the point



Overall I would definitely travel on the Thompson Celebration again if given half the chance, under one condition that the Entertainment Director has shaped up or shipped out!

Red Sea Magic in January 2008

We had a great time and I can honestly say it wasfar than a cruise we endured on a famous ship going out of service later this year! Captain James is a human being!!! The crew are obviously very fond of him as he takes the time to walk around the ship talking to them and the passengers alike.
The only disappointment was the ports... unless you go on the rather expensive trips then you can't go anywhere although we did manage to get off the ship in Jordon and buy something from the local traders who set up a stall.
All in all I would not hesitate to go on the Celebration again

We travelled on the 21st of November around the Canaries on this ship, its first sailing around this area after its 'refit' in Falmouth
I love Thompsons cruises I have been on the Destiny and the Spirit so thought that for my birthday it would be nice to have a cruise and stay, we did the same cruise on the Destiny 2 years ago and loved it

I wish we had chosen a different week this time

I will never go on another ship just after a refit
The ship had recived new air conditioning/heating, IT DIDNT WORK, the only places we could get warm were the lifts nd the Lido restraunt everywhere else was Baltic, after complaining the AC started to work but then it was far too hot and if you tried to turn it down it went to freezing cold and it wouldnt turn back to warm, I know of one woman who spent the second week of her holiday in teneriffe in hospital with a severe chest infection and a few other people getting flu as a present to go home with, I got a sinus infection from the draught from the AC in our cabin

The doctor made a fortune from this weeks cruise

The weather wasnt too warm so the AC should have been working before we sailed
We were on deck 1 (never been under deck 4 before) and never again will I go that low
IMO it was very shabby even with new carpets, light fittings were bashed and some upholstery was ripped
The crew were not up to it IMO, they may have just been getting used to the ship but our cabin wasnt made up as much as it should have been and chocolate was missing from our pillows a few times and the towels were not changed even if they were wet
just little things but it seemed others got better treatment the higher in the ship they were
I cant say I enjoyed the view from my porthole it was either the brick at dock side (if I craned my neck and looked upwards I could just about see daylight)or it was like looking at my Bendix washer, all I needed to see was a pair of socks or knickers flying past and I would be transported back to laundry day

One night after sitting on the Lido deck (yes it was warmer on deck than it was inside the ship)we went into the lift back to our cabin to find a strong smell of sewerage and everyone out in the corridoor complaining, even though staff said it was being seen too the smell stayed until the next morning, some people felt ill through it

It was cold on the ship (we needed fur lined knickers)
Service wasnt too good
Food was good even though it got cold very quickly
I cant comment on the entertainment as it was too cold in any bar or show room to sit and watch/listen to any

I was very very dissapointed with this cruise and unhappy that the Captain and his staff made no effort to explain or apologise about the failure of the AC and the sewerage problem
I got the impression the Captain and the staff didnt really care
I will not go on this cruise again

We have just retuned from a week onboard the Thompson Cocoon sorry i mean celebration. The reason for this mistake will be explained shortly.

This was our first cruise and was booked as a late deal we upgraded and stayed in a delux cabin on deck 7.

First impression of the ship yes as some reviews have stated it is slightly dated and a bit of wear and tear not a great deal and if your not looking for it you wont really notice as its in the cabins more that the public areas. We notices some grout missing from the tiles and the electric point in the bathroom didnt work and the other electric points are too near the draws to be effective. But in my opinion if you let the little things spoil a holiday like some of the reviews ive read then you might aswell lock yourself in a dark room and cry instead of going on holiday.

the food in my opinion was varied the breakfast in both the meridian and lido restaurantes was good but we did tend to favour the meridian and the simple reason was it was hard to get a seat in the lido due to vast array of OAP's that make a day of and take a book to read rather than once finished going to the reading room and freeing up tables. The Lido is fantastic for afternoon tea with canapes and scones with cream and jam and an array of cakes plus ice cream bar. but for evening meal we found the lido really let itself down as nothing really complimented the other ie youd have pie but no mash or chips so youd just have veg or peas and yet again getting a table. But we did find the meridian more than made up for this with there choice of evening meals.

The entire ship is no smoking but from deck 5 upwards your only 10 feet from the outside where smoking is permitted and at the back of the liberties bar is a fully heated smoking area. The staff onboard are absolutely fantastic freindly and extremely helpfull nothing is too much trouble so dont be afraid to ask.

The prices are ok but i have heard from some cruise pro's onboard they are on the dearer side of most cruise companies.

Price of a pint of stella or boddingtons was £2.70 a cocktail was £3.40 a can of coke was £1.80 tea or coffee is free in the restaurants or £1.25 at the bar. We were in EU zone so duty free couldn't be opened but when it is opened 200 Cigarettes is £17.50

only 2 bars sold cigarettes on board this was liberties and the outside lido bar they had a numerous amount of different brands and all were sold in single packs at £2.50 for a pack of 20. Everything is paid with an onboard card account and everything is in Sterling they will exchange euros to sterling to help you pay your account but the exchange rate they offer is poor. If your going to pay with cash then you will need a £200 per room deposit on your card within 2 days of boarding if you use a debit/credit card then they will take a copy of your card and process the payment on the last day. You can goto reception at anytime to check you balance on your card.

The shopping onboard was limited and expensive even compared to a basic cross channel ferry or minicruise.

Entertainment was catered towards the elderly with days at sea entertainment been carpet bowls or carpet putting with bingo at 5pm. The nighttime entertainment was far better but again in liberties to get a seat you need to be in by 6pm otherwise there will be no seating left.

And now onto the real problem with the holiday. We are not exactly a young couple we around 30 years old and we took 2 children with us and in all truth during this holiday i lost all respect for the elderly. If youve ever seen them at jumble sales you'll know what i mean there was one or two we spoke to that we different but in mostly and in gangs they made hoodies look like model citizens. I have never seen ignorance like it before they will push, shove and trip you to get to the buffet or coffee machine. The selfishness and bad manners was beyond belief if you left your seat you lost it. Don't get me wrong i know not everyone is like this, we spoke to a few that were friendly and curtious but i am talking about the majority here. We had a young infant in a pram but this didnt matter they just barged by the pram and knocked it to one side if need be. And in some cases my girlfriend took our baby upto the room to get out of there way. As if the baby only murmered there would be mucky looks or tuts or comments. The staff were completely opposite doting over both children and room service fetched regular hot water to the cabin free of charge for the bottles as no kettles were permitted in the room due to the smoke alarm we did however manage to use the steriliser ok but on us 120 voltage so took a little longer than normal.

As i said staff were excellent the boat was ok and the food spot on in the meridian but lido let itself down in the eveining only downside was the elderly passangers and there was alot i was looking for the eggs in the swimming pool and if they ever complain to you about loud music ignore them we saw plenty in liberties bar and the music in there was nightclub level.

I will definately go on this boat again but will be prepared with a cattle prod next time.

I will get off now as i have ranted for about 15 pages but i hope this has give some information that we hadnt found prior to going reading other reviews.

i thought that the cleaness of the boat was good and keept it as clean as possible!
The food was alright but it wasnt any thing special but the dessert was really yummy!
The staff on the boat was really friendly and kind and did the best for you they looked after you as best they could! the bed room cleaners was superb as the cleaned my room really good and ours was a complete tip!
The entertainment was the best thing ever! the best of the entertainments was in LIBERTIES! i like the different quizes and game shows! my favourite was PEE WEE PRICE! he does the best things! he is really funny and i liked his cabaret it was the best thing on the boat and should deffinatly keep it going on the boat! i laughed my head off! Pee Wee is the best entertainer on the boat along with Emma Louise Bennant as she brilliant game show = the WEAK LINK!

Over all i think pee wee was the best on the ship and if you could tell him that! and say that i am jo's daughter jasmine jo is the one who left her husband behind with 3 dogfs and one keept farting! and say the i fancyed him! i love you PEE WEE PRICE!! X

The ship, Thompson Celebration, was very, very clean; there was always someone cleaning around the ship. The food was amazing giving a very wide range of food, something to suit everybody. There was a much wider range of food available than with other cruise companies I have been with. All the staff were very friendly and approachable with everyone always saying hello to each other. It didn't take long to know individual staff members by name. The onboard entertainment was also amazing with the entertainment team obviously working very hard especially when one of the dancers hurt his knee so the dances had to be adapted to suit with one less member. All in all I would definitely sail on this ship again and although I only got back this morning am already looking for another cruise.

This was our fourth cruise with Thomsons and our second on the Celebration so we had a good idea what to expect. Check-in was a fairly painless process and we were settled and unpacked by around 4 o’clock to see the ship leave a rather grey Harwich.

So – onto the full cruise review!

Ship Cleanliness.

Our cabin was spotless and was kept nice and tidy by our cabin “boy”, Husni, throughout the cruise. The ship itself is pretty clean but some of the carpets are a little worn. Ship maintenance is a never ending task and there was always something being painted or repaired. The inside smoking ban has helped to make the interior more pleasant with no more nasty stale tobacco smells.

Crew

What can you say? They bend over backwards to help and are always smiling and joking. Nothing is too much trouble for them. I cannot say a bad word about any of the crew.

Ship Food

We ate at both the Lido buffet and Meridian restaurant. The food was of a high quality at both. The buffet is not “help yourself” but the servers will put as much or as little as you want on your plates. Finding seats was a little trickier on this cruise, perhaps because the weather meant more people ate inside. The Meridian food is superb and as good as any hotel or restaurant I’ve eaten at. The service was fast and efficient and we had two very good waiters – Bem and Richie – who kept us entertained.

Onboard Entertainment

The quality of entertainment is in the eye of the beholder. I heard one person compare it to Butlin’s in the 70’s but as someone who used to holiday every year at Butlin’s in the 70’s, I can reassure people it isn’t that bad. We didn’t think the evening stage shows were very good this year and the quality of the singing in particular was poor. The evening game shows were generally good, but did get a little silly at times; the “Miss Celebration” contest was very cringeworthy, although my kids loved it. During the day there were plenty of games, quizzes, lectures and films to keep just about everybody amused.

Now, let’s deal with the ports of call:

Stockholm

Some problems with the weather meant we were late arriving at Stockholm and our visit there was cut to a little less than three hours. The journey in to Stockholm is a complete joy; a three hour trip through the small islands and inlets of the archipelago. Once in the city, we wandered around the old town and the Royal Palace and took a pleasant stroll along the water front.

Helsinki

The ship was forced to berth some distance from the city, probably due to our late arrival. A complimentary shuttle bus was provided to the city but the queues were horrendous and we had to wait 40 minutes before we caught the bus. Apparently only two buses were available. That was the only hiccup, though, but it did give the moaners a chance to air their voices! Once in the city we took the 3B tram which is a circular route taking in the main sites, wandered around the shops and watched some street performers that were quite entertaining.

St Petersburg

As you are not allowed ashore without a visa, we took three excursions at St Petersburg. These are not particularly cheap (£30 - £40 per adult) but there is a good selection. We went to the Hermitage which was OK, but very crowded and rushed. Our guide was very good. Public toilets are rare so take the opportunity to go when you get one! In the evening we went to the ballet, “Swan Lake”. This was excellent. Getting out of the theatre was a farce; around a thousand people were funnelled through two tiny exits. One shudders to think what would have happened had there been a fire. The other trip was a guided coach tour around the city with plenty of photo stops.

Tallinn

An absolute delight of a city, helped by the warm weather! The city is not big and it was easy to wander from the ship, through the cobbled streets to the main sites. We enjoyed a drink at the town square and visited the oldest pharmacy in Europe!

Warnemunde

This is a very pleasant seaside resort with frequent rail services to nearby Rostok. We spent the day wandering around Warnemunde, though, as there are lots of shops, bars and general "goings on" to keep you amused.

Kalundburg

The excursions to Copenhagen were fully booked so we decided to explore the town. We were pleased we did as there is loads to do. A shuttle bus dropped us in the centre, right next to a small flea market. The church is a short walk away and right next to that was a small museum. Entrance to this was free for cruise passengers and you got the impression that we were special guests at the town. They even provided a brass band to see us off!

All in all it was a very good cruise. The weather wasn't brilliant but we didn't expect that for northern Europe. The sights and the enjoyable time onboard more than made up for it!

We had a fantastic cruise to the Faroes, Iceland and Norway. The ship was a little worn in places but was absolutely clean and well managed. The crew were friendly and helpful (special thanks to our cabin attendant Panji). The food was first class in both main restaurants and drinks prices were very reasonable. The Kidzone girls Skye and Kelly were superb entertainment for our 9-year-old daughter.

Two minor niggles: the currency exchange rates on the ship are a bit of a rip-off and the organised tours are a little expensive (although there's an excellent choice of land excursions).

I would definitely recommend the Thomson Celebration, and we are already planning our next Thomson cruise. It's not Cunard but it is fantastic value for money.