An important thing to note is that if you are going on the Spirit out of the school holidays, forget it. My 12 year old was bored! In fact there were so many old people on this boat that it was like an old age pensioners Bournemouth holiday. I am not sure whether it is like this all the time, but almost everything entertainment wise was geared up for them. Rushing to get into dinner each night so you could rush to the show in the Broadway - not our scene at all and with this we were very disappointed. If this cruise is not for children then we should have been told.
However on the plus side, the staff could not fo enought for you. The boat was spotless and they were always cleaning it and painting it. They were polite and dirty plates etc were cleaned away quickly.
If you are going on the Jewels of the Med, go on a trip for Sicily and Naples, as they are both dirty and you fear for your life whilst crossing the road. We went to Pompeii and although it rained it was very informative. Sardinia was very nice and also Barcelona. But to be honest although the ship has its good points, we were happy when our second week came so we could get to our hotel.
I realise that either the timing (month) was probably not right and the weather was not that good either, but if I cruised again I would need a much larger ship with more entertainment on hand to chose from.

We traveled on the Thomson Spirit doing The Mediteranean Renaisance Cruise. It had taken me 30 years to persuade my wife to go on a cruise and I must say that it was well worth the wait. Never having Cruised before we were concerned that we might have to dress up to the nine's each night but we were pleasently surprized that smart casual dress was normal apart that is from the Captains cocktail party on our second night aboard, which in my opion must be quite a bore for the Captain having to perform twice (two sittings) every week and try to keep smiling for all those photo's which by the way are a bit of a rip off.

The ship was very cleen and it seemed that the staf never had any time off as every time you looked around they were there tidying your cabin or generaly making sure everything on board was spotless.

I can't remember having had such wonderful food morning day and night for the whole seven nights on any holiday that my wife and I had been on,and the staff in the restaurants were magnificent, with special thanks to Ricky & Bing who looked after us most nights but all the staff in the Restaurants were superb be it the Compass Rose or the Lido, well done all of you.

As for the rest of the staff be it the Crew, Hotel reception or bar staff I cannot praise them highly enough,if you go on this Ship be sure to leave them a small tip even if it's only a few euros as they are worth every cent.

Now for the On Board Entertainment,as this was a thomson holiday I was not expecting much in the way of entertainment as I was expecting the same old routine of the thomson reps working there socks off but not quite getting it right,well what a surprize was install as the entertainment team led by the "Excellent" Sue Denning put on a really superb line up of activities even if you stayed aboard during the day, and each night a different show with a quite superb cast of performers singing dancing and acting all strutting there stuff and getting a well deserved ovation after every show. Our particular favourite was the "Moulin Rouge" which was performed with lot's of energy.
Just a little note here for any lovers of Top of the Pops or programs were the performers dance but have to mime because they can't do both at the same time this set of performers put them all to shame,they must be bloody fit.I watched them rehearse a couple of times and they were so particular that they got things right,and they did.

A special mention also to Lloyd who did game shows as well as sing and dance, and a fair bit of comedy in the other lounge after performing in the maine Broadway longe shows,this guy has a bright future let's hope the TV scouts pick him up soon.

Not only but also we had a guest artist on board namely Alan Rudge a comedian from Wales he was so funny that my sides have only just recovered from all the laughing, he had us in stitches.I never did buy his flipin DVD though (only a few left £10 each or 15 euros)He also did a comedy workshop with Sue and Lloyd that was very amusing.

I have left the trips untill last as these are allways a bone of contention regarding the cost's, well all I will say is get on as many as you can as you may be missing out.If you don't like the prices of the organized trips then do them on your own,for instance we could have done Nice, Monaco,Monte Carlo by the local train and bus for a fraction of the cost,the same goes for Florence & Pisa where you can get the train.The Rome trip can be quite easy to do for about 11 euros return on the fast express train from just outside the port into the heart of Rome. the choice as they say is yours but which ever way you decide just enjoy it.For Corcica if you dont fancy onother trip just stay in the port of Ajaccio for the day and relax and the same goes for Mahon in Menorca.

I can't wait to go on our next Cruise and it won't be 30 years in the waiting this time, "all aboard & all a shore that's going a shore"

Just back off Jewels of Med Cruise (30th Sept)We have only cruised once before on Carousel (Airtours) and have had this Spirit cruise booked for 11 months!! We therefore have been looking forward to this for a very long time.
THE GOOD POINTS. The ship staff make this ship. They are wonderful, always smiling, always happy to help and very very hard working. A credit to Thomsons.
We had a cabin on deck 2, inside, more or less right at the fromt of the ship. Great position as you could not even feel the boat moving no creaks or vibration. Also the cabin was very spacious compared to Carousel, 2 double wardrobes and 2 three drawer chests. Our cabin steward Tyna was excellent and we had the most wonderful towel animals each night. The best was a frog which she clipped to a trouser hanger, hung it from the TV unit, rolled up some toilet paper to make it look like a cigarette in its mouth, and put my glasses on it. Absolutely brilliant!
Entertainment was also excellent. We had a comedian called Mick Walker who was very funny. Sue Denning (Light entertainment Manager) was also excellent. Very professional shows put together by all the team who could all sing and dance very well. We also like Karl Morgan (Cruise Director) and he had a wonderful singing voice.
The food was in general very good. We both like vegetarian meals (we are not complete vegetarians) but sadly the choice in Compass Rose was not so good. Only 1 vegetarian dish on the menu. We ate some evening meals in the Lido which on the whole was good but occassionally you did encounter luke warm food. The pasta chef was wonderful as was the freshly made pizza.
THE NOT SO GOOD POINTS. The majority of people on this cruise were over 60. We sadly met alot of very rude and ignorant people. Meal times made me ashamed to be British. They were like vultures around a carcass, pushing and shoving to get in. At 3.30 when afternoon sandwiches and scones came out was like mass exodus from all areas of the ship to the Lido!!No manners, no please and thank you. Very very disappointing. Other examples like letting somebody pass in the corridor/stairs, again no thank you. Similar pushing and shoving to get seats in the show, to get on and off the ship etc etc.This sadly put a big dampner on our cruise. We also don't like the fact that smokers were allowed to smoke outside the reception/compass rose area. Everytime you walked in or out of the restaurant you were faced with clouds of smoke. Also the corridors to the cabin were reaking of cigarette smoke.

PORTS OF CALL We did not do any organised trips. In Palermo we purchased two tour bus tickets at 15 euros each. This was a shambles. There were far too many people trying to get on this bus. The queues were horrendous, people arguing shouting. We could not get a seat upstairs and did the tour sat downstairs trying to see through windows that had black dotted patterns on!! A total waste of money. Next was Naples which was dirty, full of beggars and very shady looking characters. Unfortunately the weather was awful, lashing rain and thunder and lightning. We took the hydrofoil over to Capri (it was very very rough) and spent a little while walking around Capri. Olbia (Sardinia) was quite nice, pretty shops selling lovely Italian shoes and clothes etc. The next Port was our favourite, Toulon. A beautiful place, lovely narrow streets full of the most amazing shops. A beautiful waterfront with some fantastic seafood restaurants. Last port was Barcelona. We did not get off the ship as we have done Barclona before.
SUMMARY Overall an enjoyable holiday but very strange that we did not enjoy this cruise as much as Carousel.
Cannot quite put my finger on what it was but we both left feeling we did not want to do another cruise with Thomsons!

This was our first cruise, but it certainly won’t be the last. Everything about the spirit was first class, from the cabins, maids, food and the waiters were all excellent. Can find no faults at all with this ship. Looking forward to the 2006 brochure.

Cruise & Stay - Spirit - Jewels of the Med
then Hotel Santa Lucia, Palma Nova 30/9 - 14/10
Never cruised before always done the traditional 2 weeks in hotel/beach etc (half board). So booked the cruise and stay to ensure got best of both. All we can say is that the stay after the cruise although a really fab hotel, felt like a come down from the ship. So if you are thinking along the same lines, then do the stay first so you get the best bit at the end and you end your holiday on a high.
First, the flight as usual with Thomas was excellent, well looked after, quick delivery of luggage at Palma, straight onto coach to ship. Off the ship collect passes and labels for cases and they ended up outside the cabin within 15 mins. We did the AI upgrade which we got free, and I must say if was excellent value for money and would recommend it.
We got quite used to everything being billed to us as ZERO. The ship was exceptionally clean. And our cabin stewardess, Nelly was so friendly and she could not do enough for you. Our room was always so tidy and she made our sons put up bed up every evening whilst we were out and turned down the sheets and placed chocolates on them.
What can we say about the food. You could not fault it whether you ate in the Compass Rose or the Lido. A quick hello to Ned and Spencer who were extremely courteous and friendly. The rest of the staff were also brill. Especially those who worked in the High Spirits where we usually ended up (particularly Bianca).
The entertainment was also excellent, we did not see all the shows but I agree that Mick Walker was excellent. He put in two performances over the week and he had us in stitches. My son got on really well with Keef and Lloyd. Especially Keef who went out of his way to make sure he was amused whether games or on the sports deck. Not to mention that he was standing in for the DJ who left 2 weeks before and did not get to bed until 3 am most morning and then was up again at 7 am. You were a star.
But our favourite would have to be Sue Denning, (Ent Manager) who came from just up the road from us and she was brilliant. Always had the time to stop and have a chat, she was really down to earth.
PORTS: Palermo - feared for our life crossing the road and very dirty. Naples - did Pompeii and although it rained, our guide Nanda (who had a really sexy voice) was most informative and we found the trip very pleasant. Sardinia - very nice but the drinks were expensive. Toulon - got the train to the beach which was nice. Barcelona - our advice is walk up Las Ramblas and get the red open top route and then jump on the blue one. You can't beat it. All cost 44 euros. Get off an one when you liked and they came very regular. Barcelona was our best stop. I went there once but I was only 12.....
All in all an excellent cruise.
ONLY A COUPLE OF MOANS:
Yes I agree with Keith and Wendy the older people were rude and thought they took presedence over other folk for some reason. One of the old bats made my son cry all because he was trying to save some seats for us in the Broadway Lounge - so she got a peice of our mind (not that it did any good). Don't know if it was the time of year but there were a good percentage of older people on this cruise.
Wish the pools had been freshwater.
They had a wonderful Lido Deck for outdoor parties and they old had one the night we left Palma. (could have been down to the weather though in all honesty).
Need more activities in the daytime - it goes a bit flat in the day especially if you don't get off the ship.
HOTEL: Excellent food location, the pool was wonderful although a bit cold but they do have an indoor pool. The staff were miserable (compared to the ship anyway) again the hotel was full of older people (but the rep says this hotel attracts this generation), the beds were a disgrace. Other than that it was a good quality hotel.
SUM UP: An excellent holiday. But next time would do STAY AND THEN CRUISE (OR JUST CRUISE).
Sadly I am not a good flyer and we have decided to try the The Legand of the Seas for 2006 from S'ton.
But I feel sure that we will definitely Sail with Thomson again, perhaps in the Red Sea. Thank you all keep up the good work.

2nd trip this year on the spirit,wonderful!the romans romance, and riviera was the cruise i went on, sailing from palma to la spezia the med was as smooth as glass !!weather was very warm,got a nice bronzey in the first 2 days,la spezia was a nice place i went to the naval museum very interesting place, the trip run by thomsons to pisa was excellent the guide in pisa was the image of arthur daly in looks and mannerisms he was very proud of his city and this made his commentary all the more interesting, the girl tour guide on our bus was stunning she was called viola and her command of the english language was amazing,next stop civitavechia,caught the train to rome and went for a yomp around the city in my own time, spent loads in the shops lost about 10 years of my life crossing the roads!followed example of an old lady who just walked across the crossing, the traffic doesn't seem to stop at crossings like in this country you just have to go for it .corsica was next went on proper tour with the ship, went to a nougat factory run by the most bonkers person i have ever met he was a cross between basil fawlty and the gendarme from allo allo he was hilarious tons of freebies on offer of every thing he made very good it was too,essential oil factory and winery also very good a nice town centre as well,next stop sete in france very nice place,the mariners cemetery was breathtaking such a peaceful place, plenty of seafood eateries in the town well impressed the whole town was exceptional would like to go back again,tarragonna next stop this town had it all very cosmopolitan went on a run ashore with 2 girls from the ship it was a shame their boss made them take price lists from the duty free shops and compare them with the prices on the mainland!!we had a really good laugth getting the info covertly without the shop keepers knowing what we were up to, hello iryna and adrienne!!i wont forget that trip in a hurry it cost me a fortune buying aftershave and cologne while the girls got the info they needed while the shopkeeper was attending to me, all in all a wonderful cruise the staff were exceptional in all departments names that spring to mind are haris the barkeeper from cyprus who remembered me from the last cruise he even knew what i drank his first words when he saw me were pimms and lemonade?!!, winston the phillipino barman,the 2 crazy waitresses helen from the ukraine,and laura from transylvania all from the lido bar they worked very hard but provided endless entertainment while doing so when the assistant bar manager wasn't looking,. he seemed very miserable and i sensed the bar staff thought so as well, he isn't a patch on the beautiful desi who was the assistant bar manager on my cruise in april,, my 2 friends from duty free iryna and adrienne. my cabin maid who seemed to work non stop, vana the sun deck drinks waitress with her beautiful smile and amazing memory she remembered me from my last cruise as well,fiona the social events organizer for arranging the solos dinner and forwarding my letter to an ex crewmember, the entertainments team were outstanding especially the girl singer who mistook me for being an ipswich supporter!!!, up the hammers!!and the show put on by the ships company was amazing, eric or erica as he likes to be called has to be heard to be believed where does that voice come from? all in all a great cruise on a very happy ship i will definitly cruise on the spirit again..thank you thomsons the ship is a credit to you........

The check in service was excellent on arrival and we were in our cabin within about 3 minutes from setting foot inside the ship. When we had unpacked we made our way down to Raffles bar for a cool drink in the relaxing surroundings. That evening on entering the Compass Rose we were most disappointed to see that there were not many tables for 2. Whilst we like to meet new people we were not keen to do this whilst trying to enjoy our food. The food in this restaurant is very nicely presented and quite immaginative.

Because of the lack of dining for 2 in this restaurant we only used it 3 times and the rest of the time ate in the Lido. The food in this restaurant was ok but lacked the wow! factor that we had experienced in the Waterfront restaurant on the Ocean Village last year. As we both enjoy eating out we were not overly impressed with our holiday food.

The bar staff on the ship were mostly friendly and very impressive especially how they remembered who had ordered what and how many drinks they could balance on a tray! Our cabin steward Delroy was great and made us some fascinating towel sculptures.

We did enjoy the entertainment especially the shows in the Broadway and some of the quiz nights in High Spirits. We enjoyed the Bingo sessions as well as we won 3 times! Sue and Lloyd had a really good banter going on and did make us laugh.

We did not go on any excursions as they were very pricey, but Thomson had chosen some good destinations which you could get to and from easily on your own. The only critism I would have is what is the point of travelling to Gibralter for Tax Free shopping on a Sunday when there are only booze and perfume shops open.

On reflection we really enjoyed our holiday as we met some friendly people on this ship and most people were up for a good time. The biggest disappointment was the dining and food quality which would make me think twice about travelling again with the Spirit (No I am not a 30 stone women who thinks about nothing but food! but I do like to enjoy what I am eating)

OK,here is my review.
I cant say to much,as we will be going through legal stuff soon with Thomson.
The check in was good,all our bags were in our cabin within the hour,we did have the wrong grade/class of cabin,but I was told the ship was full,so no other was offered,and of course NO refund !
The staff i.e bar staff Waiters etc were more that good,they use to play with our 10 month old baby daughter all the time,these guys need a tip ! We were told NOT to tip them,but after our 14 nights on the ship I did tip them.
The food in the Compass Rose was good,the food (buffet) in the Lido was OK,but seemed warm not hot,plenty of it though.
We didnt use the entertainment,as we had a baby,but I have given it full marks,as people tell me it was good.
On our 4th night the engine room had a fault,the fuel line split,and we told the front dest at 01.30hrs,we were told to sleep in one of the show lounges or on deck !!!!......I took my daughter and the cot and we stayed in the Broadway lounge,NOT GOOD !...My partner the next day was in the Hospital with breathing problems,and had to have Oxygen and a course of injections,still no cabin change !
That evening we were put in a single cabin untill the Friday,and had to return to our old smelly cabin.They offered us £30,yes £30 refund !....I said NO !
All in all we did have a good time,but the management of this ship needs sacking !....The people in the engine room admit to smoking,and puttinf our lives at risk.We are going through some legal stuff at the moment,so I cant say to much.Would I use them again?...Not if it was FREE,Thomson are the worst company I have ever come across,and they should be BANNED from being travel agents.

We had outside cabin on deck 4. It was rather small and VERY VERY noisy!The cabin no was 561 and it turned out to directly under the galley. Therefore from 4 am in the morning there was plenty of noise from above.
The cabins shower room was in need of a redecoration and it was impossible to regulate the temperature on the shower resulting in varying degrees in heat and causing my wife to scald her back.
Our maid Anna was very good and looked after us.

The food was adequate in the Lido and good in the Compass Rose. The Lido was very busy around 9.30 am in the morning. I food the food in Lido to be rather cold on a number of occasions.

The Ship Staff were excellent with the exception of Linda Reyes who I found very patronizing and for us she let the rest of the ship down.
A big thanks to Tay Za,Dennis,Winstone,Joshua,Laura,Mollow,Alex and Jane.
You guys were absolute stars and made our holiday more bearable.

The onboard entertainment ranged from excellent to poor.
The two groups they had on board were :The Gemini Trio who very polished but rather predictable. The singer had a weird voice and his rendition of "lollypop" was hilarous.The trouble was he covered this rack on every occasion.
The other band was a five piece outfit and these did not appeal to me in the slightest.There were very wooden and showed no enthusiam towards their gigs.
The rest of the entertainment team were very good and a special mention to Sue,Lloyd and Emma B .

I must also mention a couple of other points.
We had a Shipping fuel leak on board and Thomson's attitude towards those affected was disgraceful. Many suffered sore throats(my wife for one),Mouth ulcers(myself) nausea,Asthma and other ailments.
I cannot stress enough the noise we had to endure.
Please Please if go on the Spirit ensure that you do not hve cabin 561.
Remember that number 561 !!!

Overall we were very disappointed with our cruise and it not come even close to when we went in February on the Spirit.

I feel that since the demise of Airtours that Thomson can run rough shod over the rest of us.
I would love to meet the crew again but feel that in the present mood this will be unlikely.

Our family has just returned from a week's holiday on the Thomson Spirit having booked the Jewels of the Med cruise and just wanted to add a little more info to that already stated on this site. We stayed in an inside cabin on deck 3. As some people have mentioned before, the ship vibrates even when docked which takes some getting used to! This is the reason I personally would not choose to sail on The Spirit again as you gently vibrate whether lying in bed or watching a show but other people may not be bothered by this.

Food was generally very good - as a veggie I found the food varied and delicious. We chose to eat in the Lido apart from one occasion when we opted to try the Compass Rose as it was my husband's birthday. Despite there being many tables for 4 available we were shown to a table for 8, again some people may prefer to meet their fellow cruisers over dinner but we were disappointed not to have been offered a table for 4.

Entertainment was good, shows were varied and perfomers of a high class. Unfortunately it rained for most of our day at sea and it would have been nice if some extra entertainment was laid on even if it had only been a couple of quizzes.

We chose to go on 3 excursions. Our first trip was to Pompeii as our children were very keen to visit. I did not think I would enjoy this much as my husband and I had already been several years ago but the guide we had was so informative that this was my favourite of the trips we booked. At Olbia, Sardinia, we opted to book a beach transfer. Do not book this if you want to visit a quiet beach!! The beach was huge but packed and had only a couple of noisy bars. We also took a sights and shopping trip around Barcelona, an hour of which was taken up with walking around the outside of a church! We had chosen this trip as Barcelona has been in the headlines a bit recently regarding pickpockets but having walked down Las Ramblas we felt fairly safe and just took normal precautions against theft.

The one thing that did make The Spirit stand out for us was the staff who were truly amazing and a real credit to Thomson.