Thomson Hellenic Treasures Cruise

[Rosie Cruiser]

Has anyone done the Thomson Hellenic Treasures Cruise-I am keen to visit Santorini ?

I want to take my 75year old very fit mother on a cruise in late July (yes I now its a bad time to choose).

Can anyone tell me what the Hellenic Cruise is like?

How does Thomson compare with Royal Caribbean?

Does anyone have any tips for us?

[jenny wren]

Well I hope I can help you a bit ....although we haven't actually done this itinerary we have been on the Calypso and been to Santorini, Katakolon and Piraeus.

 

Firstly comparing Thomson to Royal Caribbean...the ships are nothing like the same...Thomson ships are older, not new and flashy, the Calypso is quite small and we absolutely loved it...no children, excellent crew, food we found better than RCI and Thomson entertainment we think is the best afloat (inspite of low ceiling and no stage as such )and a nice intimate ambience to it....We would love to do this itinerary as it goes through the Corinth Canal which the bigger ships can't manage.

My tips would be to eat in the main dining room whenever you can as the food seemed hotter there...we only ate in the buffet if we were in a hurry. We had a superior cabin on deck 6 which was quite small and we did look at the cabins on deck 3 which were much larger so study the deck plans for the larger cabins and it might be worth booking a specific number (£35 to book).

 

I would choose a cabin nearer the front than the back so you don't get the engine noise...we were at the front and high up and we had a very comfortable ride even in the rough sea we had in the Black Sea....

 

I don't know if you would choose excursions or do it yourself but the excursions we found to be reasonably priced with thomson and they also give you plenty of information to do it yourself. Watch out for any 'port talks' and go armed with pen and paper to get info re trains/buses, markets, shopping areas etc. we found these very useful.

Santorini...get off the ship as early as you can to get ahead of the queue for the cable car...face the cliff if you don't like heights! Please don't use a donkey! We actually walked down but it will be very smelly in July so probably best to use the cable car again. Nice town with lots of lovely shops.

Piraeus ...we've done a sightseeing trip of Athens with couple of hours shopping. We've also explored Piraeus away from the port and there is a Metro station about 30 mins along harbour edge with trains to Acropolis.

 

Katakolon ...is a small town with shops and cafes ...and a little beach I think ....quite pleasant to wander on foot from the ship.

Thessaloniki....we had time to wander here as well...quite pleasant walk along the sea front to the white tower and back, one street in along the shops.

Can't help with Rethymnon or Skiathos I'm afraid but I'm sure someone else will.!!

the other plus against Royal Caribbean is that tips are included in the price and there is not 15 % added onto drinks!!

[kruzseeka]

The Thomson trip to Oia at Santorini was lovely. You are taken off by tender to a small port then by coach to Oia which is a beautiful picture-postcard village with stunning views. After the trip, you are left at Thira to look around at your leisure and given a voucher to go down at the cable car when you're ready to be tendered back to the ship. I think it was about £30.

[Bella36]

Having been on both cruise lines, I have to tell you that you really cannot compare the Royal Caribbean ships with Thomson ships.

 

I have to disagree with Jenny Wren (sorry Jenny!) when she said that RCI ships were flashy. I was on the Greek Islands cruise on RCI's Splendour of the Seas three weeks ago, and the ship was absolutely beautiful, full of light and good taste! Splendour isn't one of the huge RCI ships, but is obviously bigger than any Thomson ship, having capacity for about 2,200 passengers. We were berthed next to Celebration in Katakolon, and the difference in size was evident. That difference does mean it is less crowded and there are far more facilities. The spa and free solarium pool on Splendour is out of this world and Thomson ships just cannot compare.

 

The food was excellent, better than both P&O and Thomson in my opinion, AND it was hot, and the crew were simply fab - mostly Filipino and Indian, and nothing was too much trouble for them.

 

There is a huge difference in the cabins, with RCI's being bigger, better designed and more modern. The shower was just great, with lots of room.

 

Where I would say that Thomson beat RCI hands down was in the Entertainment. That is not to say that RCI is bad - but just that our experience of Thomson's entertainment has been so good! I do think it is the best at sea, certainly was on Destiny in the Caribbean anyway.

 

The other major difference is in the mix of nationalities onboard. Thomson obviously is aimed at and caters to a British market, whereas RCI is predominantly American, though Captain Tommy told us there were over 20 different nationalities onboard Splendour. There were over 300 Brits on our cruise. We really enjoyed meeting cruisers from all over the world, but others may prefer the British focus of Thomson. I did miss the sailaways - they just didn't happen on RCI.

 

We did find that alcohol was a little more expensive, but it didn't really make that much of a difference to us and our onboard spend was almost exactly the same as we spend with Thomson and P&O. The "tips included" Thomson thing is a bit misleading, because we found everyone gave more tips for the excellent service anyway, on our Thomson cruise.

 

In all, I would say that I like both Royal Caribbean and Thomson cruiselines, both have positives and negatives, but from a purely "Ship" point of view, in my opinion Royal Caribbean have the better product, but if you love great entertainment and a friendly, informal, and very British atmosphere, then Thomson is the best for you. We would have no hesitation in booking either RCI or Thomson again.

 

However, we would say that for a all over total "cruise experience" P&O has the best product - but that is just our opinion of course! We do like sailing from Southampton, so easy and no luggage restictions! We are on both Aurora and Oriana later this year. You could say we are cruise addicts!:D

[kate52]

Hi- I am going on this cruise in July, and have been on Calypso twice before. However, I have only been on Thomson's and Island ships so can't really advise how they compare to the big lines. I think it depends what you want from a cruise. For us, the ship is not the holiday, the destinations are, and fancy spas and rock climbing walls would be totally wasted on us! Some of the cabins on the Calypso are very small as a previous poster said, and some of the "cheaper" ones are bigger. A smaller ship means fewer passengers, less queuing, and more personal service. The pool is miniscule and inconveniently situated, and will be emptied while it goes through the Corinth canal. Sunbathing areas are quite cramped. The tiered decks at the back are lovely, with a very pleasant open air bar on the top deck. Inside public areas are fairly spacious and nicely kept. The trips are much cheaper than people are paying on the big liners. And the atmosphere and friendliness are great!

Good luck with whatever you decide!

kate

[jenny wren]

For Bella ...'I have to disagree with Jenny Wren (sorry Jenny!) when she said that RCI ships were flashy.'

Sorry Bella I didn't mean that RCI ships were new and flashy...I meant that Thomson ships weren't new and flashy!! We went on Brilliance of the Seas earlier this year and she too is a most beautiful ship! We did notice the thought that had been put into the design and soft furnishings.

We did find, however, that the drink prices were astronomical i.e. $14.95 about £10 for two small glasses of house wine....so we had a teetotal cruise after that first drink!!! I have since heard that the 15% service charge has been removed from the drinks on Royal Caribbean ships.

We too like P and O and will be on Oriana in November but we do think that Thomson offer excellent value for money and have some good itineraries.

[Bella36]

Thanks for that Jenny and I don't want to give the impression that I don't like Thomson either, because we had a fab time on Destiny last December and you are quite right in saying they do have some fantastic and different itineraries. :)

 

I am not so sure about the value for money aspect any more though! While other cruise lines have reacted to the present financial crisis by reducing their prices and offering extra onboard credit to loyal passengers, or even new passengers, I don't see Thomson doing much to counter that. We have been looking at lots of different cruise lines lately and I think pound for pound, Thomson is now amongst the most expensive, and although the drinks prices on RCI were more expensive, this was countered by the $200 onboard credit we received! Thomson do not offer any "Passenger Loyalty" Scheme, such as P&O's Portunus or RCI's Crown and Anchor and believe me, with up to £400 OBC and free parking, this can make a big difference in price.

 

While a lot of people are primarily interested in the destinations, I must confess that I regard the ship as my destination, with the ports of call as my "day trips", so having a luxurious ship, with classy decor and lots of things to do is a real priority for us. That is where Royal Caribbean and P&O do win over the older, smaller Thomson ships - but no-one can beat Thomson for their wonderful entertainment, their friendly atmosphere and their wonderful crew. I often recommend trying Thomson to my P&O cruiser friends, but I would equally say the same to Thomson cruisers - do consider P&O, RCI and even Celebrity - there are some amazing deals out there at the moment!:D