Having read with trepidation previous reports of problems on the Celebration boarded the ship at Mamaris after a weeks stay at Belcejik Beach Olu Denise (fantastic hotel and area). The ship is old and shows signs of wear, however, the ships staff more than mad up for this.nothing seemed to be beyong thier duty and all done with a smile. Cabin cleaned regularly, sneek out, and the cabin steward would be in cleaning turning the bed down etc. Used both the main waiter dining room,food excellent and well presented with a good choice. Used the main buffet style restaurant (Lido) for breakfast and most other meals.... extensive choice..if you were still hungry then its your own fault. Didnt use the specialist restaurant, good menu but thought extra £20 each bit OTT (am a Yorkshireman). BE AWARE staff in the restaurants like to keep everything clean and are likely to whip away your plate as soon as it is empty!.. Show time and daily entertainment good UK based Drinks reasonably priced. AI package overpriced unless you have a big drink problem. Shore excursion also overpriced aw typical of most cruise ships, they dont seem to understand that we can an identical tour ashore at a 3rd or 1/2 cheaper.. First time with Thomsons but was impressed and would certainly use them again

Colin, Mary & Natasha (11), Coleraine, N.I. Just back from a 2 week Cruise and Stay on Thomson Celebration – (Otoman Treasures) and Club Belcekiz Beach Club Hotel in Olu Deniz. See my Hotel Review on the Hotel Section.
The cabins on the Celebration are clean and tidy. They are much larger than the cabins on the Destiny. Plenty of storage and wardrobe space. And the shower curtain doesn’t stick to your bum. The Cabin Stewart – Candy - was a nice fella and very friendly. He kept the cabin clean and tidy but his attention to detail could have been improved. Obviously the House Manager would need to sign off the room before new quests arrive, so he or she is to blame also. When I was putting the bags under the bed it was a bit grubby with bits of food lying there. Obviously left there by previous occupants. It was very dusty behind cupboards etc etc. He also didn’t make the animal shapes other Cabin Stewarts have made on previous cruises. We did get our beds folded down with a chockie at night, but no Towel Animals. Mmmm. The furniture is adequate but very dated.
The Lido Restaurant was very well run. The food was always well presented with a good variety. The main restaurant food was good. Although I am not a fan of open sitting. I like to have a designated table, and also like to get to know my table waiters. Adds a nice touch when you go to dinner and the guys know your families names. Yes they may be looking for tips, but if they provide an excellent service, then give them a shilling or two. Some nights there was a large queue as everyone wanted to eat at 8pm.
The AI Package was as per last year. Lots of variety of drinks on AI and a good selection of Cocktails. The main group this year was Ocean Five or live not sure. I called them Five Alive. But they were Awful. The girl on Key Board tried to sing. She would have been better off in the back ground with her lips stabled together. The drummer was the lead vocals he was quite good at Beatles Stuff, but there is only so much Beatles and 60’s stuff a man can stand. When they came to the afternoon session at the pool it was only her playing keyboard. Ouch. !!!. I went for a dander about the boat. They always played up in the Explorers Lounge in the evening. Hemingway’s is a nice bar. No music there, but there is a small Casino. Horizons Bar up the front was a great bar with a great view. There was always a duo in there. And she was a fabulous singer. Sometimes the Asst Cruise Director did a small gig in there some evenings. The Cruise director and his team are very good. They put on some good shows in the theatre and funny competition in the Explorers Lounge in the evening. They always had time to speak to their guests.
Did not do any organised trips. In Istanbul we got a taxi from the ship. He took us up the big hill to the Indoor Bazaar. (Do not try and walk up it as it is very steep. We agreed the price of 20tl before I got into the taxi. Went around the Bazaar, a huge place. Walked down the hill through the maze of shops and stalls and ended up at the Spice Bazaar which is at the bottom. There is a lovely square there were you can sit and have a glass of beer or tea and a fish roll. You can see the ship from there, so there are no worries about getting lost. Walk under the bridge. There are restaurants and bars under there. This is where we sat and had another beer. Luvly place to sit out of the sun. Do not be intimidated by the size of the city. It is perfectly safe and easy to do on your own. Most shop owners speak English so you will not get lost. You can also take the Tram from the port. If you miss your stop you can just sit on the tram and it will take you back to the port anyway. Goes in a big circle. But its a bit like the underground at rush hour. Very Cosy Indeed.

The Thomson Celebration is a fantastic cruise ship i would definatley recommend it to all ages. Fantatic food, entertainment and everything. Most of all the staff are extremily friendly and cant do enough for you day or night they are always around. I just with the Thomson Celebration would depart on a Saturday but overall a fantastic cruise liner. I would love to work on the ship and be part of the great team.

Best holiday ever, everything was fantastic. booked for next year as soon as we got home.

This was our 1st cruise. The ship was spotless and the service fantastic. The entertainment was a bit Butlin's on the sea, not our thing really. Can't fault the staff though, absolutely superb service and the quality of the food was very good. The ship was kept spotless. The ports we docked in were not 'walk off' ports and therefore the views were not very good at all...like being docked on the Manchester Ship Canal in the sun (well we do get some now and again lol) So we went on a few excursions, with our armed guards !! one to Petra, Jordan (really good) one to Egypt (awful), The Pryamids and Cairo Museum, this was a nightmare...Cairo museum was like going to a football match at Old Trafford, couldn't move for tourists : )could hardly see the exhibits it was so packed... soo disappointed at the Pyramids...they have no respect for them, people climbing over them and taking bits of them home for God's sake argghh I have always wanted to visit and I am so sorry I did. Got mithered to death by the beggars and they try to 'rip you off' at every opportunity. Don't let anybody take your photo or sit in a photo with you or basically do anything for you.....they want money for it and can be quite aggressive. I was glad to get back on the coach after thinking 40 minutes was not enough time...about 35 minutes too long as it turned out. The guide on our coach was selling tickets to see the 2nd pyramid...said its better if we get them from her...yeah right...cost twice as much thats why (price on ticket 30 she charged 60)!!!! everything on this trip was awful...like the lunch..herded like cattle into this hotel...not very friendly either ....was glad to get back on the ship. Not sure I would do another cruise ...felt a bit claustraphobic really, I like to walk along the beach or anywhere really, couldn't do either :( couldn't get a sunbed on the deck, even though there was supposed to be enough for everyone, people were up at dawn putting towels on them and not Germans...English...Sharm El Sheikh errr 'airport' lol yeah yeah was the funniest thing...they don't have tannoy just a guy shouting out your flights. Sorry if this sounds a bit doom and gloom, but was led to believe that once you did a cruise you would always do them....well not true in our case.

This was only our 2nd cruise ever and we chose a Red Sea cruise for the weather as well as a desire to see some of the obvious sights Egypt had to offer. We loved the Celebration. The staff, from the rather nice English catain John Westgate to our cabin steward Taufiq could not have been better...nothing was too much trouble and the food was simply outstsnding.

Hygiene was given a high prioity with hand disinfectant jells used going into all the eating areas as well as in the well equiped gym. We tended to use the buffet for breafast and lunch and the Meridian at night...being seated with different passengers every night was really nice and we made some excellent friends as a result.. I really cannot praise the quality of food enough...the choice simply enormous and the standard of presentation and waiter attention better than most 5* hotels and resteraunts.
The entertaimment was fabulous...those guys worked so hard to give a professional show every night...superb.The comedian Bernie Flint also made two very memorable evenings...he was brilliant.

As for the actual destinations I was a little disappointed...the Pyramids were full of hawkers trying to get money for cheap souvenirs ( which is to be expected) and Cairo was an eye opener!! The ports used were all industrial and not very pretty...and you couldnt do the trips without taking the excursions. We were unlucky that the one trip we really wanted was Petra which was cancelled due to snow and ice on the mountain paths ! Not the companies fault! The snorkelling trip was great though.

The ship itself was spotless and our cabin cleaned beautifully ...we were on deck 4 which seemed to be a good place with little disturbance...my only gripe with the ship was with the selfish passengers in the next cabin smoked (which is NOT allowed) and it filtered into ours making our clothes smell. We complained and finally on the last night it appeared to have been stopped. There could have been more sun loungers as it was difficult unless you bagged one early...and we wouldnt play that game! However the crew did issue "parking tickets" which was a great idea!
As value for money it couldnt be better as the no tipping policy made life easier ( although we did give our cabin steward extra, he deserved it!) The bar prices cheaper than the UK....and the cocktail of the day well worth having!!
Would we go on the Celebration again?? Most definitely..as retired teachers the lack of children at this time of year was a real bonus !!!!!!Thanks celebration team..job well done!!

Thomson Celebration - again !! 5 times now and still impressed. Red Sea Magic cruise once again lived up to all our expectations.

The ship ??
Yes, we know she's got a few vibrations, she's not a new glitzy, state of the art many 000's tons bit of kit but that's what we like about her. She has character and charm (a few foibles too perhaps!) and is spotlessly clean throughout. Our outside deluxe cabin (Deck 8) was excellent although the bathroom could do with a revamp. Our cabin steward Husni, did a fine job.

The food
Well, in the one week I put on more than half a stone !! Nearly always used the Meridian Restaurant for all meals and the food (both choice and quality) was excellent once more - 6 out of 5 !! Our waiter Chris was once more, our professional host - we have had Chris as our waiter for the past 3 years and he always impresses with his his skills, wit and charm. Ably supported by Jerome (asst waiter) and Evan (wine waiter), they make a formidable team.

The crew / staff
Always friendly, always smiling, always willing !! If you treat them right, they will look after you as if you are royalty - but....., we always see some people who think they are above them and they get what they truly deserve; need I say more !

The facilities
Well, it is a small ship by today's standards but she has most that you will ever need including a sparkling, well equipped gym (with nobody in it !) It can be a bit of a bun fight for the sun beds but you soon get to know the routine.

The entertainment
Excellent/Good for the most part - better than some West End shows we have seen and if you opt to do the 'Back Stage Tour' in the Broadway Lounge you'll be amazed at what they can do in such a small space.

Overall
Don't let some others here put you off - most who have written have rated it Good to Excellent; they are the ones who appreciate the good things in life. As for the others - in the words of the great Clarke Gable, "Quite frankly my dear, I don't give a damn".

This was our first cruise and I was worried it may he something like 'Butlins' on water, however I could not have been be more wrong.
The ship is a little dated but we found it to be kept very clean.We had a delux cabin on an upper deck which was kept in excellent condition by Husni, who cleaned it twice daily. There seemed to be a continous program of maintaining the ship, as staff were always cleaning down walls, rails etc. You are asked to use hand sanitizer solution whenever you come on board and whenever you enter a resturant.
The food was of a high standard, and avaliable 24 hours. We used the Lido resturant during the day, which has a continous buffet service - different themes each day, and the Meridian for dinner, which has an excellent waiter service providing a good standard 5 course menu.
The staff are all friendly and most helpful. We felt that they were all happy to be part of our holiday.
The nightly entertainment is brilliant - how they remember all the different shows is amazing.
I would recommend you upgrade to fully inclusive... you will get your moneys worth.
Trips - we had to go to Petra and the Pyramids, but be warned, the coach ride is very long. You will be pestered by vendors, especially in Egypt. If you decide to be very touristy (like us) and ride a camel, get the Rep. to arrange a price.
After years of avoiding this type of holiday we will be booking again.. on the same ship if possible.

This was our second Red sea cruise and stay. This time we stayed first. When we crused first, we felt like we were killing time at the hotel waiting for the flight home,

We have crused with a few companies now and feel that the Celebration is pound for pound beter value the the outhe companies we have sailed with.

This trip we had a delux cabin number 111 on deck 7. It was very roomy. We also had a free drinks package upgrade wich was nice, drinking known brands. It is worth mentioning the the drinks onboard are at UK pub prices, unlike the European/American cruiselines.

My scores say the rest. Outstanding in every area. The ports of call are not "walk off ports" but we still had a fab time.

We cruised on this ship the week before Christmas and had a really enjoyable holiday. I cannot fault the ship and its crew they were absolutely great.
The food and service in the restaurant was excellent our waiters Chris and Nelson together with our wine waiter Tony (alias Jackie Chan) really made each meal a great experience, and for a treat I recommend a meal in the Mistral restaurant it is well worth the extra money.
If I have anything to complain about it would be the expensive excursions and the overall standard of the nightly entertainment shows. The team put a massive effort into the shows but just seemed to miss that star quality, but there again considering the X factor perhaps I am being a little hard - some of the shows were good!
Overall well done Celebration.