Thomson Dilemma.

Hi guys, been left in a bit of a Dilemma, got married in September and decided to have a big year of trips and holidays ending with a trip to the Dominican Republic on our first year Anniversary before we start a family, the problem is this Zika Virus! Been advised you shouldn't conceive for up to 12 months after visiting DR which we ain't risking/doing. We've asked if we can change our holiday and we can but everywhere has the same problem...Jamaica/Mexico/Cape Verde so if we don't want to lose our deposit it's either go back to Cyprus were we got married or go on a Thomson Cruise.

Has anyone been on Thomson? What's it like? Seen a cruise on their new (to the fleet) boat and it looks nice once it's been refit, I really don't know what to do, it's round Spain/Portugal so a lot safer mozzie wise.

How does Thomson compare to P&O or RCI?

Thanks

Dean

Hi

We've asked the same question many times but have yet to book with Thomson. What I can say is that I have wandered over to the Thomson forum quite a lot and they are a really friendly lot over there. Post this on their forum (if you haven't already done so) and I am sure that you will get some genuinely friendly and helpful advice.

:)

Never been on a Thomson cruise...but...a lot of my friends have including 2 different couples who went for the first time this/ last year. They both had a whale of a time!

The ships have been old, balcony cabins were few and far between...but if you chose your cabin wisely,I am told the entertainment and food is on a par with PandO and the staff are very friendly.

are you looking at the ex RCI Splendour of the seas? If so, i reckon that would be a good bet as it will certainly have more balcony cabins and will be their biggest ship yet...on a par with P andO's Aurora & Oriana size wise. And if it is their new flagship they will be making sure it has a good start to its life in their fleet.

What ports does it visit? I have been to spain & portugal a couple of times, and am going again in May- still lots of things to do and see.

Thanks guys,

The ports are Majorca, Gibraltar, Lisbon, Cadiz, Malaga, Cartagena then back to Majorca for a 3 night stay which is a good thing as at we are changing an 11 night holiday as I didn't have enough holiday left for 2 weeks :(

Yeah it is the old Splendour of the Seas, the pictures on the website look amazing even if they are computer generated at the moment.

We go to Spain and Portugal in May too on the Navigator of the Seas but it's more Iberia, does stop at Lisbon but I can handle that, love the place.

I've got endless questions for the Thomson page :/

We too have booked this cruise for October this year doing the same itinerary.

Sailed on this ship in October last year as splendour and was very impressed ,we sailed out of Venice around Greece and Turkey ,great weather ,food ,staff etc and pleased we are going again on this ship under Thomsons .

We have sailed Thomsons twice over the past three years and have loved every cruise ,entertainment in our opinion is the best and we have sailed Rci, msc, princess ,Norwegian also.

Due to try p & o Ventura in two weeks so will be able to compare after this next cruise.

Thomson cruises are good and quite comparable to P & O , we have done several with both lines and have never been disappointed. The beauty of Thomson is that tips are included ....the drinks are about the same as P & O and alot cheaper than the american cruiselines.

I would definitely err on the side of caution, if I was of childbearing age, and stick to Europe until the threat from this virus has gone away.

Yeah definitely, we've just got back from the Caribbean visiting St Maarten and Martinique where my wife was actually bit in a cafe but as we're not trying until sept/October that should be a long enough wait.

We're in Tenerife in July, hopefully it won't be going there next!

There's always something to worry about! Just have to be extra careful and take all the sprays and stuff.

We managed two cruises last year 1 P&O Ventura in the Carribean the first fortnight in February and 2 Thomson Majesty in Eastern Med and Adriatic during the last fortnight in September.

Ventura is a big modern ship and the balcony cabin on deck 14 was excellent.

We were given a set dining time of 2030 which I thought was ok at the time of booking but this meant we were unable to get into the main theatre 1030 performance throughout the whole fortnight as all seats were taken by the time we finished dinner. This was also true of the other bars where there was live entertainment.

The food on Ventura was also very good and bar prices not bad with a very good selection of beers, but we found the atmosphere in the dining room a bit staid.

Thomson Majesty is an older and smaller ship with less than half the passengers of Ventura. The outside cabin on deck8 was tiny compared to Ventura. We were able to get into the main late night entertainment venues no bother and the bar prices were marginally cheaper than P&O (spirit measures 40 ml as opposed to 25 ml for around the same price) The food on the Majesty was on a par with Ventura but the dining experience was a different class due to the brilliant service from the waiting staff, who were Phillipinos, who could not do enough for us.The same great service applied in the bars, again from the friendly Phillipinos.

As I did not see any of P&Os night time entertainment I cannot make a comparison but Thomson's was of a high standard.

The Carribean islands we visited with P&O( Grenada,St Lucia, Dominica, St Maarten, Tortola,Curacao and Bonaire were all very pleasant and friendly but they are all pretty similar to each other, whereas the destinations with Thomson (venice,Koper,Split, Kotor, Corfu, Athens, kusadasi, Crete) were all much more interesting places.

If I had to choose between the two again I would go for Thomsons mainly due to the great service and ambience of their ships . The Ventura was a more modern vessel but was carrying far to many passengers (3200) and she lacked the great atmosphere which Thomson have which is mainly down to their fantastic crews.

I'm not really sure I'd be happy sailing on the 'Thomson Dilemma'!:D I'd be in two minds about it! (anymore puns?)

Simon

I took my grandkids on Majesty in February, their first cruise and my 1st with Thomson we didn't like I at all. The food was so so imho and they emptied the pool for 4 of the 7 nights back to P&O for me

My Uncle and Aunt really like Thomson's cruises, so they can't be that bad :)

I'd have a poke round the Thomson's forum here, see if there is a group on Facebook, also there are usually videos of the ships on Youtube ; that an reading the reviews carefully (lots of whingers) will give you a decent idea)