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Thomson Destiny

2 of 8 Thomson Cruises ships

A medium sized vessel of standard rating. Built in 1982. Thomson Destiny carries a maximum of 1595 passengers in 715 cabins, 9 of which have balconies with 408 having ocean views. There are no specific disabled cabins but movement around the ship is adequate for wheelchairs.

Cabins are small with limited storage space. Larger cabins have twin beds which convert to queen size and half size bathtubs.

Entertainment is in two show lounges and internet access is also available. Sporting facilities include fitness centre, sauna, badminton and basketball.

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273 Reviews

Traveller Rating

  • Excellent
    189
  • Very Good
    57
  • Good
    12
  • Average
    7
  • Poor
    8

Review Overview

  • Cleanliness
  • Entertainment
  • Food
  • Service
12 years 4 months ago
Cabin was very small, Food not as good as other Thomson Cruise Ships. Staff could not do enough to please. Entertainment on board was excellent. Ship looked very tired, going in to dock for refurbishment, very badly needed. Work going on on board, lots of banging, when made it very diffcult to relax. Very disappointed that trip to Morrocco was cancelled due to, we were told, religious holiday. Took us to Fuertoventura instead, not impressed. Madeira was beautiful, so clean. Other ports of call were: Gran Canaria, Las Palmas, Lanzarote.
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Travel operator: Thomson

12 years 4 months ago
Just returned from the thompsons building site on Thomsons Destiny so called emergency repair lasted 4 days of the cruise only when we put in a formal complaint did the workers pack up - drilling hammering and arc welding!! on the main deck next to the buffet and the pools so no escape and the only thing separating us from the welders an old curtain!! and so much for it being an urgent safety issue when they left two of the main windows had no glass and in a rough sea could have been a serious threat to someone unsteady on their feet,also ship is going in to dry dock for a complete refit as its really tatty so there was no need to disrupt peoples holiday at all.

Food in the restaurant was dire - only seafood was frozen or crab sticks which were masquerading as crab salad , seafood linguine ( white sauce with crab sticks)antipasti - poor quality mortadella( really gritty ) and salami from breakfast with some soggy lettuce and a sardine on top! gave up like most people and ended up at the self service place next to the Lido where it was basic but surprisingly very tasty - it got busier as the week went on with most people opting to have their breakfast there as well


Didn't get to Morocco - they decided that there was a chance of a religious festival happening so things might be closed everyone was so disappointed as it was the highlight of the cruise - Fuerteventura port was a poor substitute dirty, tiny town centre with nothing to do or see and cruisers walking around in a daze wondering what the hell they were doing there - courtesy bus to a bigger prettier place might have been a good idea but last week of the season nobody really was that bothered staff were lovely but you could see that the service was dropping from day to day as their flight home got nearer - ( although the cleaners were fantastic really good ) but the experience certainly put me off cruising again !!

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Travel operator: thomson

Bone
12 years 7 months ago
We had a wonderful time on board destiny yes we did the Roman Epic yes it is a little tired in areas. The cabins are very small especially the showers they are adequate as there are many comfortable areas to sit in around the ship so you will only spend time getting ready in your cabin. The food is excellent seven seas restaurant is waiter service so you will be sat at the same table each evening early sitting is a little too early as it starts 6.30pm prompt personally the second sitting is much better 8.30pm. Afernoon tea is served at 3pm food is of a very excellent standard. The only negative thing I have to say is the evening entertainment it has no variety same each evening fantastic voices but lack direction on the production side of the shows therefore very repetitive and boring. Waiters and other crew members so polite. Best entertainment for us was the destiny talent show night involving staff this was better than the onboard entertainment crew. Excursions were very good and informative we prefer to go on tours although most are accessible on your own. Thomson are very organised and you are shown where to go all the time. This is a 3rd cruise with Thomson and will be booking a 4th next summer.
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Travel operator: thomson

Recommended
Bill Richardson
13 years ago
just got back 4/04 from 14 days on the Destiny in the Caribbean. much has been written about this ship so not much to add, we have sailed several times on the Destiny so know it pretty well.
One of the previous posters mentioned cabin noise and yes its is a big big problem on this ship which neither Thomson or the criuse ship owners will address.We had an absolutly appalling cabin 2201 which would not have passed EU regulations on what is habitible by humans,the noise was horrendous and it is disgraceful that these cabins are still being sold.We requested a cabin change and got the usual "no free cabins " response which is tosh, I told them we were leaving the ship in Antigua and flying home and I would take my chance in court as it was totally unreasonable for anyone to spend 1 night in this cabin let alone 14, within 2 hours we had a new cabin, every member of staff on that ship knows about the 22 /21 numbers cabin noise and it is a standing joke amongst the crew. get your act together Thomson as price alone wont condone the selling of these appalling cabins.
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Travel operator: Thomson

Luisa Pemberton
13 years ago
Thomson Destiny is a great ship. I went to the Caribbean for 14 days and I loved everything about it.
24 hours a day, someone is always cleaning and polishing the ship. The service in any of the restaurants and food, excellent. The cabin wasn't huge, but big enough. Just one thing , The showers were rather small if you were a big person, which I am not. Everyone on board very helpful,polite and willing to please. The entertainment on board was excellent.
Well done Thomson.
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Travel operator: Thomson

Recommended
13 years 1 month ago
Flew from manchester for embarkation on the 13thFeb, flight to La Romana in Dom Rep took about 10hrs, we got off the plane and straight onto coaches to the ships terminal, our cases went straight to the ship so we had no customs or baggage belt to contend with, arrived at the terminal and had around 60minutes to wait in the cattle shed they have ready for us, we checked in with the three flights that arrived within 30 minutes of each other, surely thomsons can quicken this up by staggering the flight arrivals.
We were shown to our cabin by a member of staff, our cases arrived within half an hour. First impressions of the ship were mixed, our cabin was small yet practical clean and tidy, the upper decks odf the ship looked worn and tired, but ok, the terminal looks over a chemical plant of some sort which was bleaching black smoke into the evening sky which looked awful, but I suppose thats the Dom Reps unenviromental outlook.
We had booked second sitting for Dinner and I must say that the sevice in this restaurant was good, we had Benny and Roland as our waiters on table number54, they were brilliant and also members of the singing waiters who would entertain you at mealtimes.The other dining options were self service and the food was good and varied.
Our cabin steward was Lydon and he kept our cabin spic and span.
The entertainment on board is aimed at the elderly, lots of dancing and singing from " westend "shows, we also had a good comedian the first week, called Carl Schofield and a crap comedienne called Brenda Collins the second week, there was an incredibaly crap Elvis impersonator and a so so Lulu impersonator.
The stars of the Cruise were the Islands, my favourites , not in any particular order were Barbados, Dominica,St Kitts amd St Maatens, but the others were just as fascinating.
The Captain of the ship is a Greek man who looks like Mr Cunningham from Happy Days, and he is a popular character, he enjoys meeting his passengers and always has a word for them.
All in all it was our first cruise and out of ten for the overall experience I would give it eight, do go on tours of the islands but do it yourself, its far cheaper, improvements in entertainment for younger travellers would get it up to 9/10, and if Thomson could get one of the bigger Liners it could reach 10/10.
The Caribbean is fascinating, the islanders have nowt but they all love their own particular island and are ready to tell you that their Island is the best.
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Travel operator: Thomson

Recommended
Paul Phillips
13 years 4 months ago
just come back from colourfull coasts cruise on destiny, very clean ship ,food is excellent , great choice .staff are very friendly, they have always got a smile on ther face , its amazing how they remember your name and what you drink by the second day on board.the entertainment team were fantastic , really professional,theres a west end style show every night in the can can lounge, kane davis was our cruise director, he is brilliant . we went up to the bridge deck on a tour , it was very interesting , we had inside cabins on deck 6 which are a bit small , i would have a outside cabin next time , well worth it .all carpets are red at front of ship and grey in the middle to help you get around .
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Travel operator: thompson

Recommended
The Mannings
13 years 5 months ago
The Thomson destiny disaster cruise. We decided to book one of the deluxe balcony suites, on the island escape after booking 10 months in advance we were looking very much forward to the cruise for 8 and a half months. 1st thing that went wrong was a thomson agent phoned saying our ship had been recalled for refubishment and we had the choice to change to the destiny (sailing the same time we had booked off work) or our money back, hobsons choice really. We were promised priority checkin by thomson and that we wouldnt have to queue to board the ship on our arrival because of the luxury cabin we had booked, At the port side we were told to queue like the rest as theres no priority checkin by this white suited arrogant crews officer. (didnt go down well as we had just waited for our lugage for an hour at palma airport.) On arrival at our suite 1st impressions were ok apart from the sellotape holding the wall light shades together as they were both broke in half,and the balcony french doors wouldnt shut properly so at sea this constantly whistled, on rough sea days the wardrobe and fridge cupboard doors kept opening and banging shut. not designed for a ship. also the radio was faulty. on the plus side our housekeeper was exellent (helen) and kept it ship shape and bristol fashion. seven seas dinning was a very rushed affair although the waiters were very pleasant. The food served was poor quality, badly cooked and weired concoctions. (melon with mint?) and there wasnt much choice, The lido cafe and grill was very poor, cold and transport cafe food, no tea or coffee making facillities at the lido grill, have to walk to other end to get one, and afternoon cream tea was very disapointing every day it was exactly the same weired plain scones butter biscuits and plain buns. on the up side we'd like to thank thomson for helping us to lose weight. we cannot blame thomson for the dull weather,but on the only sunny day we would have liked to go in the pool but low and behold the crew had decided to paint it, so we sat on the sun beds sipping mocktails with the wonderful added extra of paint fumes wafting in the air. Blakes bar apart from the fact that the whole evening long every single night the same act was on elena along with the shabby leather thread burn seats and square boxes covered in sticky back plastic peeling off in short morose act and atmosphere. cancan/oklahoma lounge the entertainment at best was amateurish maplins style, apart from one act the Comedian Buster who had us laughing on and off the stage, was a scream in the casino losing money together and singing to the carpenters. (Thanks Buster!)





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Travel operator: thomson

13 years 5 months ago
Just returned from a pleasant holiday on the destiny, the ship was clean the decor in the cabin was a little tired but overall accomodation was fine. Food was of a good standard on par with a mid price range restaurant, the staff were excellent extremely friendly and always ready to offer you a smile a good morning or indeed practical assistance. The entertainment was good the ship's entertainment team really put on a good show each night, unfortunately we missed the late show of the onboard comedian, as the ship hit stormy seas that particular night and we were told the lifts were out of use, so my hubby a wheelchair user, was unable to go down to the show, but we had seen him early in the week and he was great.
we probably wouldn't be sailing on this ship again purely for the reason that its layout is not very disabled friendly; whilst there are ramps, there are very few and there did seem to be little steps in a lot of places so access was difficult in a wheelchair, thankfully my hubby also uses crutches, but he found it quite tiring.
So although we had a great holiday and the staff were great, our next cruise will be on a more disabled friendly ship.
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Travel operator: Thomson

13 years 6 months ago
For anyone just back from the Destiny's recent cruise (August 28th - September 4th) I was the guy sleeping on the lobby couches on decks 7 and 8, and eventually on one of the 2-seaters in Reception on the first night.
The excellent bar staff were mostly to blame, but, being a light sleeper the engine drone was too much for me. My wife hardly noticed though, and that's a pretty good indicator for how loud it was.
So after using their Front Desk as a bedroom (simply for a better sleep), I was immediately offered another room with no fuss whatsoever, and this was the standard of service we both enjoyed throughout our near-perfect holiday on-board.
We were courteous and friendly passengers (the way you should be) and we enjoyed service that rivals the Sandals Royal Bahamian Spa Resort in the Bahamas, a 5-star hotel. No joke.
There are too many real stars on-board the Destiny to mention, although special thanks go to Olga (wine with a smile), Destination Services' Susan (Helpful) and James (Fairy), The Spice-Boys, and the cast of the shows we watched in the Can-Can Lounge, which rivalled any we've seen in playhouses. I'd particularly recommend the 'Cult Fiction' night to anyone with a sense of fun.
The excursions we went on were awesome; Villafranche and Monaco are stunning, and Monte Carlo really is the rich playground you've always imagined it to be. We sat in a cafe across from the Casino hotel and watched Ferraris and Aston Martins cruise past almost every minute. A large beer and a coke cost around £18 but it was worth it. The Thomson's guide was informative, as you'd expect.
We found a free shuttle into Livorno pretty disappointing though, and didn't venture far beyond its shabby city centre and docks.
When we ported at Cittitevechia, near Rome, we decided to head for the city by our own means, saving time and money as many others had suggested on this forum (cheers guys). Taking the train saves 2 hours travel time and the open-top tour buses are as cheap as chips. Its architecture is jaw-dropping, and although we didn’t get off anywhere we certainly got a flavour for the place.
We spent the day at Corsica getting burnt on top deck, but in some style! The island panorama from the ship was exotic and hard to top over a bowl of Frosties at breakfast.
The draw of Barcelona (the Palamos dock) was the Nou Camp (football stadium). It was almost 2 hours either way in an un-airconditioned bus which wasn’t too welcome in the humid heat, but the trip was worth it. There are gifts galore in the Barca merchandise store and we managed to spend £120 in about ten minutes, which must be a personal best for us. We were also dropped in the centre of Barcelona and allowed just over an hour to soak it up. Like Rome, it’s a fine city, albeit not in the same league of architecture.
As I mentioned before, we moved rooms, trading an outside room in the middle of floor 2 for an inside one nearer the front of the ship. Here the engine was almost silent, at the expense of feeling the swaying of the liner on one or two of the choppy nights. Sea-sickness tablets kept it at bay.
It’s worth mentioning that the engine sounded pretty much like a deep heartbeat you could hear throughout the centre of the ship on almost every level, but, again, it never impacted on my wife and myself since there was little reason to loiter around the lobbys that occupied these areas on most levels.
Before I go any further I’d like to point out that this was our first cruise, which we were encouraged into by parents who had been on several before, and on much more elegant ships. In keeping with what they reported about their own experiences, the passengers on-board the Destiny did seem to have more fun than those on the more, shall we say ‘stuffy’ liners, where formality seems to suck some of the pleasure out of cruising, if what I’m told holds water.
The food throughout the ship was of a high standard, although slightly limited in variety. Although I tend to eat with my eyes, I found myself enjoying meals I would never order at home, and the house wine isn’t too bad at first, and becomes quite pleasant after a couple of glasses. Speaking of which, the All Inclusive package was worthwhile, even though very few premium brands fell under its umbrella. Those not included in the all-inclusive package were on offer at a discount to those who had shelled out.
The atmosphere on-board was very relaxed and friendly, and the send-off party as we left dock on the first night seemed to set the good mood throughout our holiday. Seeing the lights of the coast-lines and other cruise liners lit up on the horizon was beautiful at night.
Areas of complaint are few and far between. Firstly, the lady from the beauty salon who was supposed to style my wife’s hair on the night of the Captains Ball was off ill, and the replacement girl made what I can only describe as a birds nest of my wife’s hair. She sorted it herself in a toilet.
Secondly, I felt that waiting times for drinks at the pool bar were long, despite the hard-working staff, and invariably we were finished our lunch before they arrived. I’d recommend sitting at a table, ordering drinks first, then self-serving your lunch.
Lastly, some of the gym equipment was either faulty or simply not working at all.
Points of interest:
The showers are very small in the cabins (I have broad shoulders and I spent the whole time in them, wearing the shower curtain) so after the second night I used the showers in the gym which were much larger.
Take an adapter with you as the plug set-up in the cabins is for ’European.’
Might be worth while going easy on the sauce on the first night, as a safety drill occurs the following morning, which sees every passenger lined up on deck with life-jackets on. Not what the doctor ordered after a night of sleeping on couches throughout the ship.
The age-group on-board was mixed, although I would say that an average would probably be somewhere around the forties mark. Hopefully that goes some way to eliminating the myth that cruises are predominantly occupied by oldies, or treated as a ‘booze-cruise’ by lager-louts. Neither was the case, and we never noticed any trouble or hint of it anywhere throughout our holiday. Incidentally we are in our mid-thirties.
So to summarise, I’d whole-heartedly recommend this ship and the Mediterrainian Rennaisance cruise it took us around to anyone, and we both agree that we’d be more than willing to do it all again.
See you around in Reception some time!

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Travel operator: THOMPSONS

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