Kiki cat

This was our second cruise and was chosen for the destinations not the ship. We have previously sailed on the Dream. The Celebration, we thought, was just as nice.

Check in at Glasgow was great and we next saw our cases in our cabin about 20 minutes after arriving onboard.

Our cabin was 716 Deck 2 with a porthole. It was a very large cabin with separate beds which couldn't be moved but that wasn't an issue. The cabin was kept spotless by Mircea and we were treated to lots of towel art throughout the cruise and pillow chocolates each night. He seemed to work every day for the 2 weeks! The only problem with the cabin was noise from docking early in the mornings as it was just beside the gangway.

All the staff were polite, courteous and helpful during the cruise.

We had breakfast on the Lido and I loved my fresh omelettes from Leo every morning! Most days we had lunch there too and loved the paninis! We went to the Meridian for our evening meals, again could not fault the food. We liked a table for 2 but sometimes had to wait for a bit but on our second week were invited to join a table of 4 lovely friendly people from Airdrie who all made us very welcome. The excellent waiters were Ronaldo, Malcos and Benjamin (wine) all remembering everyone's preferences.

We enjoyed all the shows which were very professional and also heard a funny comedian (not really my thing usually).

Our preferred sun deck was 10 as it was more open than 9 so got a slight breeze. It was great having a mini bar and water cooler on sun deck 9 as it was so hot! Sometimes I went down to the shade on deck 6 though!

All the stops were beautiful especially Kotor and the water so blue. Loved Croatia. We were lucky to see a pod of dolphins leaping in and out the water on one of our nightly walks round the promenade deck.

We did 2 trips - Blue Grotto in Malta - was quite good but if we had known about the hop on/hop off bus we might have chosen that instead. and Mount Etna which was a long drive but interesting.

We had a day in Dubrovnik in the middle and walked the walls - lovely views but very hot! Would do a city break to Dubrovnik in the future. The towns were all so clean compared to home.

Last night we put our cases outside the cabin and collected them in Glasgow. Excellent! Long queues in Dubrovnik and Glasgow for security but we were expecting that.

All in all, this was a lovely cruise and the Celebration is old but still a nice ship to cruise on.:)

We had a great cruise first 2 weeks in July. Enjoyed the ship, staff were mostly polite and very helpful, cabin huge - deck 2, food brilliant - Meridian better than our cruise on Dream 2 years ago. I don't think the recent reviews reflect the ship accurately though of course everyone is entitled to their opinion. I think the good reviews are somewhere else - can't say where. I haven't had time to do mine yet as work madness! but I will :) soon!

How interesting - never heard of that happening on a cruise ship :eek: ! Wish they would come to our street sometimes! :D

Why did they do that Crimson Moon?:confused:

I know this isn't related to the question but is anyone else having problems with this website "quivering" and defaulting to the first post when you scroll down? :confused:

Sorry. No idea it was against "rules". Just trying to be helpful. Some places are easier to post on than others especially on the move. Not trying to say any better than any other. :confused:

http://www.whatsinport.com

This site has port reviews as well though it is American so some words different.

Welcome sellwyn90, lots of info on this site re ports and any questions - someone will know the answer.

Not been on Celebration yet but on Dream we had a window which was quite large and square and you could see a lot. I imagine a porthole to be small and round.

On Dream you could take your own drinks on board for your cabin. We had the package but both of us enjoy a wee gin and cocktails, wine etc.

If you have Facebook there is a group for Thomson Celebration where people share advice, photos and up to the minute changes - quite a lively group.

We go in July to Adriatic and Croatia so getting excited now!

You'll have a ball! :D

In my experience it doesn't matter where you are - at sea, hotel based, at home - everything is affected by tournaments - football, tennis, rugby, Olympics etc so if you don't like sport take something you can entertain yourself with!

I don't know about cruise ships but on hotel based holidays football is usually on in the hotel or bars but it doesn't affect other types of entertainment.

I think if people really dislike football being a prominent feature of the evening then June 2016 might not be the best time to holiday.

I don't really watch it much but I find the bigger tournaments quite exciting so do watch a match or two!

I'm sure you will have a great time anyway!

I would never ever tip £70 a week! That's a horrendous amount! I prefer to tip as I would in a hotel and this is what puts me off going with other companies!

Very sorry to hear this Campolady and hope you have better news when you visit today. My thoughts are with you x

I have never had a free safe anywhere so no idea where all these free safes are! As I have never had a free safe it doesn't bother me in the least!

Hand gel does not get rid of norovirus. The only way to clean your hands and be protected from this is washing with soap and water. You can use hand gel after if you want but properly washing with soap and water is the best method - and you should throughly hand wash the 5 point way. Sorry folks!:D

While completely agreeing with Ginjoli and unbelievable that cancelling a booking is more economical for a company than trying to ensure the cabin can be booked, sadly in my experience this confusion is not restricted to travel companies! Even at my doctor's surgery if you speak to one receptionist, you get completely different information from another! And I am a nurse who works there! Have also had conflicting information from Vodafone recently and RBS!

This year when we arrived at our hotel we were informed we had a room upgrade to a new luxury garden room at no extra cost - it was the best room we have ever had! Yet people in the same row of rooms were offered the same upgrade and had to pay extra! They were not happy bunnies but it seemed to be a random decision which benefitted us! We ended up keeping stumm as it seemed to upset some of the older gents! And yes we were on holiday with Thomson! Though to be fair I think it was a hotel decision not Thomson! Maybe they thought we needed a treat! :D

Congratulations Happy V - how brilliant for your family! Welcome little princess! x

Hello Mike and Janice,

Thanks for the reply! We too are cruising from July 2nd from Dubrovnik flying from Glasgow.

We also booked this cruise because of the ports visited as we have never been to Croatia, Slovenia or Montenegro and the area looks beautiful. We were in Venice in April so it will be lovely to revisit.

First cruise we did was on the Dream and loved it so I am sure we will love the Celebration as well.

No doubt we will bump into each other at some point?

Elaine and Ian

Just booked 2nd cruise for next summer on Celebration! Very excited at itinerary! Taste of Adriatic and Croatian Classics back to back - has anyone any experience of these? :)

Oh my! Just booked for next July Taste of Adriatic/Croatian Classics - so excited! Have bookmarked your web site to find out more about the ship! Well done!:)

I remember buying gin on The Dream a couple of years ago and it was same price as duty free shops on land. This year we went to Menorca and were surprised to be able to buy duty free at Edinburgh airport and on the flight outing back. I was not aware that the regulations had changed.:)

There are lots of very funny videos on YouTube of people almost missing the ships and running along the port side watched by hundreds of passengers ! Also dangerous sea transfers of people who hired boatmen to take them to a sailing ship! :D

What is July like? I was thinking then. The reviews are not so great but I love the itinerary. Is it being refurbished again?

Hi, we have only gone on a Thomson Cruise where everything is included though we did tip the cabin steward and our waiter and wine waiter. We would normally give hotel staff 20 Euros for 2 weeks on a hotel holiday.

So 2 questions:

Why is it written in dollars and not euros when it is a European cruise?

Why do the service charges cost so much as the figure seems to be £98 each for 2 weeks which is a horrendous amount and then more if you tip in cash as well?

Our Australian relatives didn't tip at all when we were in Venice and they said they don't tip in Perth Australia.:D