Eglesbrech

Because we booked late there are very few times left open for us. We have one show for example at 7.30 which means a 7.15 seating time which is too tight. Also if you read the reviews from the sister ship dinner is taking much much longer due to slow seating / service.

We are on the Anthem on the 30th of this month and as we only booked last week we had no choice, we were put onto the early fixed dining. As this was no use whatsoever for booking / coordinating the shows and dinner I have opted to go to the paid restaurants. (Not moaning, as late bookers this is to be expected and I am looking forward to Wonderland, Chefs table etc). On a longer cruise this would probably be less of an issue.

 

If you are on classic then the "free" restaurant booking times are locked out. The show times don't all work with the early sitting unless you want to bolt back your food, which I do not.

 

We have been advised that there is a 4 day rotation for the free restaurants.

I posted in January this year when we were kicked off the Celebration for the whole of our second last day for them to sanitise the ship which had a high incidence of noro virus.

 

I also mentioned that clothes had been damaged by bleaching cleaning products which were apparently not properly diluted being used on chairs, surfaces etc. I understand that there were a large number of claims as the chemicals took every bit of colour out of clothing.

 

Some people had really expensive outfits ruined, we were lucky as we only had basic cotton cut offs and shirts "bleached", cheap and cheerful high street clothes.

 

That was in January, this is now the end of April.

 

According to Thomson their passengers should keep the receipts for all of their clothes. Indeed having spoken to various Thomson staff they all assure me that they keep every single receipt for every sock or cotton t-shirt they buy. I have to say that I don't and having spoken to many friends about this, neither do they.

 

So just out of interest do you keep all of the receipts for your clothes?

Hi Sharon, welcome is not quite the appropriate phrase as I have seen you around but welcome anyway.

Just along from the cruise terminal is the Spanish Civil War museum which is actually in the caves underground that the population hid in and lived in. They lived their lives there and had a school, recreation facilities etc. the museum is fascinating and well worth a visit.

 

Some of the children of the caves were sent to communist Russia for safety and when some (but not all came back) they brought some Russian traditions with them to the area.some had forgotten how to speak Spanish and had to re learn it.

 

There are also roman remains in the middle of the shopping area which are interesting.

 

It's a nice accessible port with quite a bit to do there.

Most of the tables in blu are for 2 but they are so close together that you can chat with those at the next tables. We always found lovely people around to talk to if you want to if you want to but you can eat at your own pace at the table for 2.

Having just disembarked Celebration in Las Palmas yesterday (having embarked 1st Feb) I can only say in all honesty that absolutely NONE of the very bad things that happened on your cruise happened to us. We had an excellent week with absolutely no problems of any kind.

 

Yes,great attention is being paid to hygiene with handrails etc being often cleaned. The Lido buffet was all served by staff,and ample chilled bottled water is offered in the MDR.

 

I always chat to other passengers and I can honestly say that the general level of satisfaction with Celebration seemed high. The staff were absolutely great and just could not do enough for you.

 

I will shortly be posting a review hopefully.

 

I am delighted to hear that you had a trouble free cruise. I only wish I could have experienced the same. Perhaps the fact that they kicked us off to clean the ship helped those who came after us. I would much preferred to have a nice relaxing cruise with no issues like yours but unfortunately I did not.

I just read a review on the Celebration and it appears that the clean up did not work. There is (allegedly) still an issue onboard.

Could The insurance company be referring the Montenegro the region in South America as opposed to the state in Europe? As others have said the well known one in Europe usually covered.

Our local boots said the same. problem at the production factory and it will be quite some time before they(and any other brand that uses the same chemicals) will get them again.

Fine if this is routine procedure good to know that they do it regularly.

 

I wonder why though they used only bottled water in the latter part of the cruise as I have never seen this before. It is usually just iced water poured from silver jugs.

 

Anyone else had bottled water in the restaurants before?

I read something the other day saying the problems could be from the water supply as it is processed on the ship.

 

On the Friday morning just as we about to be kicked off for the day there was an announcement over the PA system that the water system was being chemically purged and that no one should use it.

 

Most passengers were off by then with only the 250 who were departing the next day or those on for 2 weeks still onboard and about to go off.

 

They said that this was routine maintenance but given the degree of illness and the fact that they had started serving bottled water in the dining rooms for the last 3 days of the cruise I do wonder if this was an issue. We are not tea drinkers so did not use the kettle in the room but as lots of people do so if there was an issue (and I am not saying that there was) then this could explain how many people were ill.

Hi, Due to join the Celebration on Friday 31st. Very concerned as travelling with my father who is 85 so I rang Thomson Customer Services. They deny that the ship was cleared and sanitised. They say there was a small outbreak of the virus that was contained & the majority of the passengers were unaffected. They say the ship was unable to dock in La Gomera due to the weather so arrived in Tenerife a day early. Any comments from people on last weeks cruise?

 

The ship was indeed cleared of passengers and all unnecessary staff. I have the letter back with me which confirms this as a fact so I do wonder why Thomson have said this?

 

Those who were flying were taken off first thing in the morning to hotels. Those of us who were getting off the next day in Gran canaria or on for 2 weeks were taken off to the sol Melia hotel in puerto cruise an dumped there for the full day where I wrote the original post.

 

This was certainly not a small outbreak with many passengers and staff affected. As an example of the extent of the illness the main shows had to be cancelled and the cruise director announced from the stage that so many of his staff were ill that the show that night was the guy who normally played guitar in the Hemingways bar with a dancer on light and sound as the light and sound team were also ill!

 

The way we were treated was dreadful, like an inconvenience to get out of the way so that they could clean the entire ship. Passengers who should have Still been confined were on the coaches and In the hotel. The hotel served a buffet- no gel and free for all with the tongs so we avoided it.

 

For those of us on AI tough luck- the hotel had very little choice and the staff had a really bad attitude once they knew why we were all there.

 

Thomson also used a bleach based cleaner on the ship which ruined people's clothes and took the colour right out of them so they now have multiple insurance claims for this damage.

 

This cruise was dreadful . The service was poor as many staff were ill, the food choice was restricted eg they closed the stir fry, limited the buffet usage creating queues etc corridors stank of vomit and worse.

 

We received a letter on the first day saying that there was Noro onboard. They did too little too late and the bug got a real grip before it was properly dealt with. Unfortunately we happened to be the passengers that suffered and lost the last day of our cruise with no apology from thomsom.

 

For the first time in my life I was glad to get off a cruise ship as quickly as possible. A poor experience from start to finish.

 

For those going on in subsequent weeks at least the ship has now been probably cleaned so hopefully all will now be well for future passengers as I would not wish my experience on my worst enemy!

I am currently sitting in a hotel having been kicked off the ship for a day for sanitation. The whole ship has been cleared as so many people have been ill.

 

In my opinion Thomson have not dealt well with the situation. The virus was on the ship when we arrived last week and has gone from bad to worse with people literally vomiting in corridors.

 

Thankfully we get off tomorrow but this has not been an enjoyable holiday at all day with all the things that have been going on. I will give a full report on my return next weekend but for those coming on the celebration come prepared.

The BOB is in the lap of the gods no matter the time of year but you have a good chance of decent weather at this time of the year. Oceania is a pretty stable ship.

The ports on offer are really good.The port for La Rochelle is in the middle of nowhere but only a short shuttle ride to the beautiful little town. The port and harbour area are really quaint with some lovely shops, cafés and restaurants. Great little place for some chic French gifts.

If you have not been to Bilbao before then there is the obvious choice, the shuttle into Bilbao stops just a minute away from the Guggenheim which is just amazing. If you prefer not to shuttle (approx 20 minutes away from the port town with usually a long queue and wait for the shuttle back) then there is a lovely promenade walk right on the port and a glass lift up to the local town which has lots of individual shops, nice tapas bars and friendly people. Of it is a good day then there is also a nice clean beach just a few minutes walk from the ship.

La Corunna is a walk off port but not that exciting, though you can pass a pleasant day there. Shops, bars etc.

This is a nice cruise area where you can see and do lots or just relax and do very little.

I hate to be the bearer of bad tidings but in my experience the winter cruises are usually almost full. We go every year in January/February

and there is always a good crowd and few in any cabins left.

 

That said there are fewer families so the 4 berth cabins usually only have 2 people in them so there is a slightly more laid back feel.

Start at the beginning and work your way through, I am sure you will find something that you particularly like!!!!! I liked a rapberry collins at night, but pre dinner went for something along the lines of a margarita - just lovely!:)

 

Now that sounds like an excellent idea!

 

I am normally a wine drinker but have AI this time and don't particularly like the house plonk so thought I would try cocktails for a change. I do like a nice Martini so will try that and don't like anything too sweet so thanks for the recommendations.

I have been checking out the bar list but nothing beats personal experience so what in your opinion is the best cocktail on the list?

We went in to tenerife last year but are going on the Saturday from gran canaria this year so will let you know.

 

I do remember from last year that those in GC had their welcome show on the last night as the main pick up is tenerife.

Well I have spent the afternoon packing for our cruise next week and the baggage allowance is tight for 2 weeks away. Given the recent reviews I am not inclined to waste baggage space on formal outfits for a mediocre meal in the MDR (And having attended 80+ captains nights over the years would not miss this much either).

 

Has anyone skipped the formal night and just eaten in the buffet. What was it like and did you feel out of place in the bars or theatre etc?

 

From the perspective of those who do dress up would you be offended by someone in smart casual in the bar areas on formal night (we would obviously avoid the MDR as not dressed).

I have just read the new reviews as well and again they are pretty poor.

 

It is concerning when you know that thomson are aware of the ongoing bad feedback from passengers, recent damaging reviews etc and they (appear to) not do anything to improve it. They must be very confident or simply don't care that they will lose a lot of long term customers.

 

Being ever the optimist perhaps they are working on the issues in the background and the improvements will all be in place just in time for my arrival on the ship in gran canaria next Saturday.:)

 

Thomson please note that an upgrade to a suite, case of vintage champagne, seat at the captains table and of course a red carpet on my arrival will secure a glowing report on my return to the uk::D

The official currency is the dirham however this is a closed currency and only used in the country. You can get hold of it but if you are on a tourist area then euros or dollars in small notes are ideal, small notes because you are likely to get change in dirhams which are worthless outside Morrocco.

I am on the celebration in just a few weeks and the reviews over the last months have not been encouraging with the majority being pretty negative. We have travelled thomson on many occasions and always had a good holiday so I remain hopeful but it would be nice to have some more positive feedback.

 

There reviews about the food and the extremely poor bar service are particularly concerning.

If you have never bento Morocco then it is a life experience. The crossing can be a bit rough as others have said but the weather is usually really warm even in mind winter.

 

We have been in several times and now done most of the tours.

 

1. Targa mound with the tree climbing goats is interesting but you do get hassled in the bazaar and at the Argon oil factory you go to.

 

2. There is a tour to the centre of the town and the souk. There are some interesting goods on sale but you have to bargain hard ( and in French if you want a really good price). Wear closed in shoes as the floors in the market are filthy with bit of decaying vegetable etc. you also go up to the Kazba and get hassled to buy trinkets.

 

3. If it is available the camel ride round the palace gardens and to the bird sanctuary is really interesting but you do need to be fairly fit as you are on a camel for hours.

 

We once went by taxi and I felt dreadfully uncomfortable as on the way home we got taken via a carpet store we did not ask to see. A firm no got us back to the ship but never again.

 

If you do go in dress modestly, take small denomination euros or dollars, wear closed shoes and if at all possible avoid the toilets (if you really need to go then take your own supply of paper and sanitising gel).

 

As I say it is something you will not forget but go prepared.

Celebrity has been our first choice in recent years. I still do the odd P&O cruise but the quality has dropped quite a bit in my opinion so it is now an also ran against Celebrity or some other lines.