We sailed from Dover down to Lisbon in September. The weather wasn't wonderful, but it wasn't too choppy in the Bay of Biscay, even if the porthole did resemble a washing machine! We were on the Marco Polo which is an ice breaker and built to withstand rough seas. The Spirit may be different.

I would recommend you take Stugeron travel sickness tablets just in case.

We have only been to Cadiz from the ports you mention. If you walk about 15 mins to the left of the port as you come out, you will come to a shopping mall with El Corte Ingles. There is also a hop on hop off bus to take you on a tour. We were there in an afternoon and I think most of the shops were closed.

luci

Lisbon - ship provided bus to the edge of the city centre, next to where the open top buses leave from - we found this a good way to see the city, as had previously tried to walk round it and found it too much! Cartagena, Malaga and Cadiz are all close to the port and very pleasant and easy to walk around. We also enjoyed the open top bus round Cadiz.

Gill

My husband, myself and my mother-in-law are going on the Thompson Spirit next July for a two week cruise. There are two itineries, Jewels of the Mediterannean and Mediterannean Renaissance. Can anybody advise me where we would be able to go to by ourselves and where it is best to take the organised tours from the ship.

None of us have been on a cruise before and we are looking forward to it, unsure of what to expect but we are sure it will be a trip to remember.

Hi cherryblossom and welcome to the Cruise forum!

If you list the ports you will be visiting our members may have some suggestions.

You can also get some information in our DIY Excursions - Med Area at the top of the forum.

luci

Hi Cherry blossom

Many ports are suitable to explore independantly and of course you can make your own way to sights of interest, It can work out expensive for a family to do the excursions. There is a lot of info in most brochures about the excursions and some are well worth doing. I am sure when you list the ports you will get lots of info and advice on HT.

Supermum

Hi- I dug out my Thomson's brochure to look at the ports. On the "Jewels" week, Ajaccio, Toulon and Barcelona can certainly be done independently as the ship will dock quite close to the main towns, which are all very nice for strolling around. Never been to Trapani, looks like a new port in Sicily. In Naples the taxi drivers are rather a surly lot who drive like madmen and really only want a day trip booking. If you want to go to Capri that is quite manageable on your own, anywhere else is a bit of a battle.
On the second week, Villefranche is a good port for exploring on your own as the town is lovely and has a beach. Also, the station is close, and it is easy to get to Monaco, Nice, Eze etc. Mahon puts you right in the town,too.
For Rome and Livorno it really depends what you want to see, and if you have been before. Rome is easier than Livorno.
Trouble is, when you get on board you will find so many of the excursions look interesting that you will be very tempted!

Hi Cherry Blossom

We did Rome on our own, took a bit of planning, making sure we knew which train to catch & which bus. It was all worked out the day of our DIY trip, we did an open top bus tour to get us round once we arrived. As long as you have someone with you who has a sense of direction (I haven't, but my husband & friend have!). Thompson's wanted £75.00 each for the trip, we did it for approx €80 for all 4 of us! Just allow plenty of time for delays etc. you can't go wrong. We will definitely do the Med. Renaissance trip again, the ports of call were all fantastic.

hubby and i are considering do our first cruise with the spirit next spring.
we are contemplating upgrading to all inclusive.
can anyone tell me how this differs to full board (obviously it includes drinks) but i want to know whether there are any restaurant/bar restrictions and timing restrictions etc.
ta in advance......

Hi suzanne and welcome to the Cruise forum!

The only difference from booking the standard cruise and booking AI is that most, but not all, of your drinks are included. You have to pay a supplement for certain brands, liquers, malt whiskies and speciality coffees. The supplement is around 90p.

HERE and HERE is a drinks list from the Thomson Celebration from this year. The price in blue to the left of the main price is the supplement you would have to pay.

There are no restrictions on the bars you can use and I think drinks are available from 10am till either 1 or 2am, I think it's 2am.

luci

thanks for that - looks great!

we've just booked to go on the jewels of the med / med renaissance next year.

never done a cruise before - really looking forward it - hope i don't get sea sick though! ha ha

incidentally thomson are doing free all inclusive upgrade at the moment on certain cruise and dates

does anyone know where i can download city maps? i want to check out the ports of call.....

Get some Stugeron before you go just incase. They work the best.I needed them perhaps once on the whole cruise.

Hey guys,

I was wondering if anyone can point me in direction of some photos of this Ship. I'm just wondering what the shops are like on board, as i have seen various pics of like a promenade with shops on either side & wondering if the Thompson spirit is like this.

Also do you have to go to the Captains dinner, & if so do you have to wear a tux.

Our friend were on the celebration for 2 weeks in September and the men just wore smart jackets or a suit on Captains night.

The shops are limited on the thomson spirit. A perfume shop, jewellry shop and a shop that sells sweets and general items. These are very small. The Thomson spirit is good value for money and we enjoyed it, but it does not have the wow factor that you get on the newer ships, for example Royal Carribbean.

The shops are really very small and it take's about half an hour to memorise exactly what they have. If you have the nerve to hold out, they do have some special offers a couple of times in a fortnight. We got some reduced jewellery that was good value and Me to You bears were cheaper.

Only if the cruise goes outside the EU are they allowed to open the Duty Free shop. On our first week we spent 4 hours in Tunisia.For the whole of that week, even though the rest of the cruise was spent visiting EU ports, the duty free shop was open.

However during the 2nd week, as soon as we got back to Palma they closed the Duty Free shop

So if your cruise does not go outside the EU then there will be no duty free goods available on the ship.

I'm sure you will find stuff to buy in the ports though.Have a great cruise

Has anyone been on the Spirit recently?

Hubby and I have never been on a cruise before and we have booked to go this year on the spirit on the jewels of med / med renaissance one. Looking forward to it.

Can anyone please tell me .

1) What's the smoking policy like onboard?
2) Can a man wear just a shirt/tie to the captains dinner or do they need to wear a jacket / tux?
3) I've read there's a bad noise/vibration on the ship - is it worse in certain places? I shall take earplugs just incase!
4) What's the choice of drinks like in the AI package and is there a limit? I like baileys! Hee hee

Think that's all I can think of at the moment!

Thanks in advance.

Hi Suzanne - can't answer all of your questions, but hope this helps:

shirt & tie will be fine - some wear dj's others don't. Same for ladies - some wear evening dresses, others wear 'smart'

all inclusive contains an excellent range of drinks BUT not baileys - you have to pay a supplement. I love sambucca and luckily for me thats included!

the vibration is there, but has never bothered us.

We have just booked our 4th cruise on the spirit because we love it so much - I'm sure you'll have a great time. When do you leave? We are travelling end of July for 2 weeks.

Hope this helps.

Gill

Thanks gill

Don't suppose anyone can tell me what the launderette is like on the spirit? how much does it charge and what's the facilities?

thanks in advance