New to Thomson questions?

[jennjess]

We are considering a Thomson cruise in the autumn because the itinerary looks so interesting. We cruise for the ports rather than facilities so the fact that Thomson's ships are older won't be a big problem for us I feel. I would prefer a balcony but they seem to be short supply on their ships. Which ships have them and which don't?

 

Also the drinks packages seem very expensive. We are not big drinkers so what sort of prices do the ships sell drinks individually for onboard? Anyone have a drink menu? My son drinks a lot of fruit juices are they available? Is it possible to bring soft drinks onboard?

 

Also would like to know more about the food onboard. Is it mostly British style? We are British (but long time expat) so British is fine with us. Are there vegetarian options? Is there also a self service food area? Does it have long opening hours?

 

Questions, questions? I'll probably think of more but that will do for now.

 

We have sailed before on RCI & Holland America.

[delapsthrowingarm]

there are drinks menus on the forum somewhere ,,my daughter is vegetarian and she had no complaints at all on the dream last year,,as for self service food ,its 24 hrs.

[Sailaway487]

We are considering a Thomson cruise in the autumn because the itinerary looks so interesting. We cruise for the ports rather than facilities so the fact that Thomson's ships are older won't be a big problem for us I feel. I would prefer a balcony but they seem to be short supply on their ships. Which ships have them and which don't?

 

Also the drinks packages seem very expensive. We are not big drinkers so what sort of prices do the ships sell drinks individually for onboard? Anyone have a drink menu? My son drinks a lot of fruit juices are they available? Is it possible to bring soft drinks onboard?

 

Also would like to know more about the food onboard. Is it mostly British style? We are British (but long time expat) so British is fine with us. Are there vegetarian options? Is there also a self service food area? Does it have long opening hours?

 

Questions, questions? I'll probably think of more but that will do for now.

 

We have sailed before on RCI & Holland America.

 

Hi jennjess. Will try and answer some of your questions for you.

 

All of Thomson's fleet now have balcony cabins. Dream has the least with just six, whereas the other ships have just had balcony cabins added. Although, like you say, there is a limited number of them so Thomson do charge quite high prices for them.

 

The drinks package is ridiculously expensive! I would never pay the full price for it. Drinks prices are very reasonable - the same sort of price you'd expect to pay at home. About £3.90 for a glass of wine. Fruit juices are available. I think these are around £1.80 a glass. You shouldn't have a problem bringing drinks onboard either. They have sometimes been funny about alcohol in the past, but rules seemed to have been relaxed recently. Fruit juices though you won't have a problem.

 

There's a bar menu at the bottom of this thread, post number 20:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=38513912&postcount=20

 

Although it is from last year so may have changed slightly, it should give you a good idea. Although, I should note that because Dream/Celebration has a different management company to Majesty/Spirit, the range of things like cocktails can differ.

 

Food is mostly British style. Always plenty of choice, and yes there is always something vegetarian. There is a buffet restaurant on all ships, two on Dream and Majesty, and it is open from 6am to 1am.

Edited July 12, 2014 by Sailaway487

[jem16]

We are considering a Thomson cruise in the autumn because the itinerary looks so interesting. We cruise for the ports rather than facilities so the fact that Thomson's ships are older won't be a big problem for us I feel. I would prefer a balcony but they seem to be short supply on their ships. Which ships have them and which don't?

 

The Spirit and the Celebration certainly do, both on Deck 9 and some on Deck 5 for the Celebration only.

 

Also the drinks packages seem very expensive. We are not big drinkers so what sort of prices do the ships sell drinks individually for onboard? Anyone have a drink menu?

 

Menu posted here. Some ships are slightly different but this gives you an idea.

 

http://cruiseforums.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1748329

 

My son drinks a lot of fruit juices are they available? Is it possible to bring soft drinks onboard?

 

Yes they do have fruit juices. I don't think you'll have a problem bringing them onboard but only for cabin use.

 

Also would like to know more about the food onboard. Is it mostly British style? We are British (but long time expat) so British is fine with us. Are there vegetarian options? Is there also a self service food area? Does it have long opening hours?

 

Menus are suited to British tastes but they do have themed nights in the buffet areas - things such as Asian, oriental etc. They also do vegetarian options.

 

Buffet is usually open till very late and from very early. In some cases it's 24 hours but not all. I don't think you'll ever find a problem with eating.

[jennjess]

Thanks for all the answers so far, very helpful.

 

What is the laundry situation? Do they sell laundry packages?

[CRUISIN LINDA]

Spirit and Celebration have self service laundries, but not Dream and Majesty. All have a laundry service and I believe that sometimes they do have offers of filling a bag for so much, but not sure if this is still on offer.

[Huddersfieldtourist]

there are drinks menus on the forum somewhere ,,my daughter is vegetarian and she had no complaints at all on the dream last year,,as for self service food ,its 24 hrs.

 

 

On the Dream at least they now shut the buffet in the Lido at 1am in the morning and reopen it at about 5am from memory so it is nearly 24 hours - more like 20 hours !! If you have not eaten enough in those hours it is open then you have a very large appetite !! :D

Edited July 12, 2014 by Huddersfieldtourist

[jennjess]

Well it looks like we won't be able to go on this cruise as Thomson will only accept UK issued credit & debit cards which we as expats don't have.

 

Online searches have failed to find any European travel agencies that will book Thomson so we seem to be stuck. :(

[CRUISIN LINDA]

That's odd as Thomson are marketing the Dream to Canadians next winter,so how are they paying :confused:

[Jakanne1]

Well it looks like we won't be able to go on this cruise as Thomson will only accept UK issued credit & debit cards which we as expats don't have.

 

Online searches have failed to find any European travel agencies that will book Thomson so we seem to be stuck. :(

 

That's a coincidence, because I have just been pre-booking tickets for our one and a half days in Amsterdam on the Spirit mini-cruise. I paid for the Anne Frank House with a debit card, no problem. Then I tried to book tickets for the Nemo Science Centre but it would not take any British visa or credit cards only iDeal cards. :(

 

I sympathise with you and it is frustrating and annoying. And there are some UK travel agents who do not book Thomson cruises either. :rolleyes:

[shot2bits]

Nobody cruises with Thomson for the ships. It's only for the itineraries, IMO. They are not competitively priced so look at other lines too. Also, don't expect good customer service.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[terry2]

Well it looks like we won't be able to go on this cruise as Thomson will only accept UK issued credit & debit cards which we as expats don't have.

 

Hmmm I'm a bit puzzled by that - I can see why they say that about debit cards (as they tend to be tied to banks) - but credit cards are usually issued by big specialist firms that are multinational.

 

Have you actually tied to book and the credit card been rejected, or are you believing what it says in some small print.

Edited July 15, 2014 by terry2
correction

[hall4me]

Spirit and Celebration have self service laundries, but not Dream and Majesty. All have a laundry service and I believe that sometimes they do have offers of filling a bag for so much, but not sure if this is still on offer.

 

That offer is still on we used it when we were there in May can't remember how much but not expensive we had to have bag made up early for pick-up in morning best getting bag sorted out night before because you have to itemise everything you put in bag .

[jennjess]

That's a coincidence, because I have just been pre-booking tickets for our one and a half days in Amsterdam on the Spirit mini-cruise. I paid for the Anne Frank House with a debit card, no problem. Then I tried to book tickets for the Nemo Science Centre but it would not take any British visa or credit cards only iDeal cards. :(

 

I sympathise with you and it is frustrating and annoying. And there are some UK travel agents who do not book Thomson cruises either. :rolleyes:

 

Yes it is annoying, I will try some UK travel agents today to see if they will accept non UK issued cards. But then I suppose onboard expenses are also charged to a card? so don't know if that will work either.

 

Enjoy Amsterdam and if you need any advice I am here to help.

[jennjess]

Nobody cruises with Thomson for the ships. It's only for the itineraries, IMO. They are not competitively priced so look at other lines too. Also, don't expect good customer service.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

 

 

It is the unusual itineraries that interest me. The major lines always seem to visit the same old ports. Those that don't are usually the more luxury lines that are out of our budget.

[Jakanne1]

Yes it is annoying, I will try some UK travel agents today to see if they will accept non UK issued cards. But then I suppose onboard expenses are also charged to a card? so don't know if that will work either.

 

Enjoy Amsterdam and if you need any advice I am here to help.

 

You don't need to use a card to pay on board expenses. All they ask is that you lodge £200 cash with Reception. I haven't used this method so don't know the details but a friend had a lot of dollars left and she used them at Reception to pay off part of her bill and it was no problem.

 

Thank you for your offer of advice re Amsterdam. I am in my 60's and quite fit and taking my 9 year old grandson. We are due to arrive at 2.00pm on the Saturday and leave at 6.00pm Sunday.

 

My plan is to first of all take the hoho bus to orientate ourselves. We will be able to use the hoho bus for part of the Sunday too. I have booked Anne Frank house for 2.20pm on Sunday. (Hardly any times left already). We intend to go to Nemo on Sunday morning and have lunch on the roof before going to Anne Frank House. I would like to fit in Van Gogh's Museum but will just have to see how the time goes.

 

If there is anything else that you think that a 9 year old might like to experience, I would be grateful for your advice. :).

[campolady]

If there is anything else that you think that a 9 year old might like to experience, I would be grateful for your advice. :).

 

Am sure that he would enjoy the Waxworks - topics range from Dutch history to One Direction! Really central at Dam Square. http://www.madametussauds.com/amsterdam/en/

Edited July 16, 2014 by campolady

[jennjess]

Hmmm I'm a bit puzzled by that - I can see why they say that about debit cards (as they tend to be tied to banks) - but credit cards are usually issued by big specialist firms that are multinational.

 

Have you actually tied to book and the credit card been rejected, or are you believing what it says in some small print.

 

No, I haven't tried to book but was looking at the faq's and called Thomson to ask, which they confirmed. You need a UK card tied to a UK address. I have neither.

[campolady]

No, I haven't tried to book but was looking at the faq's and called Thomson to ask, which they confirmed. You need a UK card tied to a UK address. I have neither.

 

Could you not get a friend or relative resident in the UK to book for you and send the payment into his/her bank account? I know that some US Thomson cruisers have done this in the past.

 

Looks as though it is lucky that we kept Hubbys UK bank account active when we became Ex-Pats.

[jennjess]

In Amsterdam rather than the HoHo bus, I would take a canal boat which also is a hop on hop off and stops at most attractions. It is much nicer to see the city from the water and less likely to be snarled up in traffic.

 

http://www.dutchamsterdam.nl/134-museumboat

 

http://www.lovers.nl/en/tickets-and-prices/museum-line-hop-on---hop-off/

 

Nemo is great fun for a child of that age, if you can find the time to fit it in.

 

Watch out for all the bicycles when walking around as they rarely obey the rules, such as, being on the right side of the road or stopping at crossings.

 

This was meant to be a reply to Jakanne1 but somehow wound up here.

Edited July 16, 2014 by jennjess

[Jakanne1]

Am sure that he would enjoy the Waxworks - topics range from Dutch history to One Direction! Really central at Dam Square. http://www.madametussauds.com/amsterdam/en/

 

Thank you for that suggestion, Campolady.

 

Regarding booking a Thomson cruise from Holland without a UK bank, I am wondering how the Australian couple who we met on Majesty's Sailaway from Corfu, had managed to book. They had become aware of the cruise in Malta and had taken a flight from there to Corfu to catch the ship. Also, there were a lot of people living on Crete who joined the Spirit at Limassol on a recent Easter cruise. At least one of them was originally from an Eastern European country.

[jennjess]

Could you not get a friend or relative resident in the UK to book for you and send the payment into his/her bank account? I know that some US Thomson cruisers have done this in the past.

 

Looks as though it is lucky that we kept Hubbys UK bank account active when we became Ex-Pats.

 

Luckily I still have family in the UK so this would seem to be the only way around it.

[davecttr]

I have met passengers from several places around the world and they must have been able to book :confused:

 

Depositing cash at reception is a good idea. You can top up the amount during the cruise and they will return any remaining balance to you at the end.

[Jakanne1]

In Amsterdam rather than the HoHo bus, I would take a canal boat which also is a hop on hop off and stops at most attractions. It is much nicer to see the city from the water and less likely to be snarled up in traffic.

 

http://www.dutchamsterdam.nl/134-museumboat

 

http://www.lovers.nl/en/tickets-and-prices/museum-line-hop-on---hop-off/

 

Nemo is great fun for a child of that age, if you can find the time to fit it in.

 

Watch out for all the bicycles when walking around as they rarely obey the rules, such as, being on the right side of the road or stopping at crossings.

 

This was meant to be a reply to Jakanne1 but somehow wound up here.

 

Oh, I totally forgot about the Canal Boats! I must look into them. Much more fun than a bus! And Amsterdam is called the Venice of the North! Thank you so much, and for the links. :)

[jennjess]

I have found a dutch travel agency that CAN book Thomson for me. Should get back to me shortly. :)