Thomson Cruises...a few questions

[mskitty]

I've been on and on to dh to try a cruise for ages. I think I've finally worn him down and he's agreed to try 7 nights on a Thomson cruise next summer. It's a good price, good itinerary and has a free all inclusive upgrade at the mo.

Now I know it's not going to be as grand as other cruise liners but if it gets him over his fear of the waves and his misconception that cruises are full of stuck up snobs then I'll take it!

So just a few questions...

What's the kids club like? Does it open until late so me and dh could have dinner on our own maybe one night? Will there be enough spaces for all the kids on the ship?

When in port, if it's an industrial type port will they put on complimentary or resonbly priced shuttle buses to the main town or do we have to sort ourselves out with an excursion or taxi?

Any other advice?

[Guest]

Be interested in this too, booked the Tui Explorer next July for a Med cruise. We've been in a few cruises but never a Thomson/?Tui cruise and with the Explorer being a " new" ship I can't find any reviews. Thomson's online manage my booking is poor compared to Carnival and some of the others but their shore excursions look decent and not excessively priced.

[Mickeyspals]

Originally Posted by servicepoint

Be interested in this too, booked the Tui Explorer next July for a Med cruise. We've been in a few cruises but never a Thomson/?Tui cruise and with the Explorer being a " new" ship I can't find any reviews. Thomson's online manage my booking is poor compared to Carnival and some of the others but their shore excursions look decent and not excessively priced.

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The Explorer is not a new ship as in newly built, but was once owned by TUI Cruises and had the name of Mein Schiff 1.

[dismadbrit]

Thomson is my favourite cruise line and I prefer them over the bigger ships.
Tui ships are new to Thomson and include not only the pre paid tips (Thomson always do this) but AI as well, the other boats in the fleet allow you to book AI if you want to.

There will be a cruise news under your door each evening with details about the port you are visiting the next day and will explain excursion timings and how to get from the port to places of interest or just into the local town by foot or public transport.
The web site Cruise Critic have a run down on ports and excursion etc.
Happy sailing

[Guest]

Originally Posted by Mickeyspals

The Explorer is not a new ship as in newly built, but was once owned by TUI Cruises and had the name of Mein Schiff 1.

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I know that's why I put new in "new"... it was with another cruise line before Tui too.

Celebrity
MV Galaxy

[mskitty]

Originally Posted by servicepoint

Be interested in this too, booked the Tui Explorer next July for a Med cruise. We've been in a few cruises but never a Thomson/?Tui cruise and with the Explorer being a " new" ship I can't find any reviews. Thomson's online manage my booking is poor compared to Carnival and some of the others but their shore excursions look decent and not excessively priced.

See more...

I've just joined a Facebook group for Thomson Dream which is proving very useful .

[simmofamily]

I've just booked a Thomson Cruise to in February. Doing the Pride of Panama and Cuban Fusion.
My worry is will a long posh maxi dress be too much for the gala night? Is it not so formal?

[Guest]

Does anyone know how far in advance of a cruise Thomson release the excursions?
I've asked the agent and the call centre but they don't seem to know which is strange.

[Megandllsmum]

We went to Madeira last November and there were a few Thomson cruise ships coming into port whilst we were there and they looked fab... we used to sit at an amazing icecream place opposite the ships and look in envy thinking... one day

[Tor32]

We've booked a RC cruise as we'd heard good things for kids but I had a random conversation with someone about cruises the other day. They've cruised on most of the cruise lines before and they keep going back to Thomsons. What she did say was that when she took the grandchildren she chose the Discovery 2 and that was the perfect choice for the girls with more going on than some of their smaller ships. It's an ex- Royal Caribbean ship so impressive but had all the perks of an All inclusive ship with excellent British staff. She prefers it to the more American lines. I've already had a good look in anticipation of enjoying next year's cruise!