we went on the cruise for our ruby anniversary when we booked like most we checked on reviews we were not happy.so off to our local thomson to ask if things had been sorted yes was the reply.so in the lap of the gods off we trot fingers crossed.when we first saw the white lady i thought shes a bit worn .17 days later all we can say, food spot on, staff fantastic,entertainment brilliant,cabin deck 6 large and kept spotless by (i made) cabin lads name,casino staff jj,nelma,casia,and never to be forgotten nikola tarlac,good crack and lots of fun,ps did,et win but good fun.all in all spot on will dream again well done thomson stars*****.

Having just returned,with my Family,and friends,from a two week cruise,onboard the Thomson Dream.I would like everyone to know,what a wonderful time we had,and there was 11 of us to please.This included our three Grandchildren,5,4,and 21 months.Our 5 year old Grandaughter especially enjoyed the kids club,onboard,it was very well organised.The crew in the orion restaurant,were absolutely wonderful,in every way,they could not do enough for you,and the food was excellent.Our cabins were all on deck 5,and were very spacious,and kept very clean,by our cabin steward,who was very good,and helpful,also.All entertainment onboard was first class.Infact,all in all a wonderful cruise on an older,but lovely ship.Having read some of the reviews,before going on this cruise ship,we were concerned,but there was no need,all was well.It was kept clean in all areas,good food,in all restaurants,ships crew were excellent,and the entertainment brilliant.Thank you Thomson Dream.We shall return.!!.

had high expectations for this cruise even after the watchdog reports, however from the moment we boarded we realised that we were going to be disappointed. The food was repetative and we queued for absolutely everything. The entertainment could have been better and the band strum jam was hard to understand. The staff in the casino were rude. the cabins looked much better than the destiny until you removed the sheets and the mattresses were just awful. there was very little atmosphere on board and no music at all on deck 9 the cruise director explained that this was because it is a cruise for the older holidaymakers which did leave me wondering why they had a disco starting at 12.30 am (this was always empty as it was too late) the captain insisted on telling everyone a tale when setting sail this was also hard to understand as he was german. Although the destiny is older and needs lots of tlc i would much prefer that to the dream. Overall it felt like they were just feeling there feet and maybe in a couple of years they may get it just right. we have booked p&o ventura for 2012 and i'm sure it will be much better and even after upgrading to a balcony cabin is £1,500 cheaper than the dream

The cruise started badly with a fire in the engine room on the 1st night, as the tannoy put out enough information to scare people but not enough to reassure them this was pretty scarey. This resulted in panicking passengers going on deck in life-jackets and more worrying panicking crew clutching their rosary beads. This meant continuing on one engine for 2 days so we missed one of our stops. The smell of sewage was ever present and myself and 2 of of our friends had stomach complaints. The lifts on board were continually breaking down so long waits for them were the norm.
On the plus side the staff and entertainment were 1st class but the food varied. The buffets including the breakfast were very good but the Orion restaurant on the 4th floor was very poor compared to other Thomson ships I have been on. I think this has been done deliberately to get you to pay the extra £10 for the Grill restaurant. The cabins were a good size and the ship layout was good.
To sum up a lot of hard working staff let down by a poor condition ship and a greedy cruise company. Improve the food and spend some money on the ship and I would use it again but not until this has been done.

cuban adventure 29 dec 2010 to 13 jan 2011

this ship stinks of raw sewrage it catches fire

sorry if you have booked on this ship but try and get money back or book another ship this thing should be scrapped because thats what it is scrap

please dont waste money or time on this ship

Hi, My wife and I went on the "Dream" with the Cuban Adventure cruise and after reading previous reviews thought that it was going to be a nightmare we have cruised with Thomson before and found them good value for money and very friendly ships, we have also cruised P & O and others so have something to compare with. During the cruise we did have one engine out off action for about a day this caused a small change off itinerary but no problem to us. I did E-Mail Thomson before we left asking if after all the bad press they could assure me that we would have a good holiday, they replied that they were aware of the problems and were on the case.
We can only say that we had a very good holiday, the ship is showing its age but overall the crew, food & entertainment was execelent value for money

We actually sailed from Jamaica on the 20th Jan on the Cuban Adventure.
We too had been reading reviews and it was not looking very good for our cruise.
I rang Thomson cruises in December to ask about problems with the ship and was told there weren’t any????????
Well we decided that we would go and reserve the conclusion until after the holiday. The first part of the holiday did not start well; we had a 3hr wait on the plane due to baggage discrepancies and had no apologies while waiting on the plane or before take off on our 10hr/13hr plane journey. Could this have been an Oman?

After landing at Montego Bay at around 4.30pm we transferred to the ship and was shown our cabin at around 6pm. We were surprised and pleased at the size. The cabin boy introduced himself and I ask if the aircon could be higher. He called reception and an hour later the cabin was cooler and stayed the same throughout the cruise.

The ship sailed at around midnight (late flight NOT) and the noise from what we were told the next morning was one of the 2 engines breaking down, which kept us awake the first night. Due to only having one engine it took us a full day at sea arriving at Grand Cayman at 4pm where we stopped over night and had a full day the following day in Grand Cayman. No information for 3 days as to our changed itinerary but day 3 was another sea day and we were on our way to Roatan and arrived on time but a day late and by now the engine was fixed.

You might by now think that the cruise was doomed but no it was now getting better.
Roatan was a very good stop and we did an island tour for $20 a third of the price of Thomson as were most trips. The next port was Cozumel and not Costa Maya, and was promised 2 days there but only one due to earlier problems but still all OK.
From then on the itinerary was as promised and we sailed on to Havana Cuba, being the highlight of the holiday. Havana was really better than we could have expected and the afternoon, full day and following morning we brilliant (Thunder storm on arrival). We did the open topped bus £3 for a 2 ½ hr trip of Havana. That night we went to a bar across the road from the ship and drank mojitos, a bottle of rum in 4 mojitoes for about £10. The next morning we did a horse and cart ride for £15 to see old Havana. We had a brill time in Cuba and would love to go back again and most passengers echoed this. Thomson are not doing this cruise any more and there must be a big market for this itinerary that they could miss?
The following week we stopped in Samana, Road Town, St Johns and St Lucia, which were all very good, and the weather was brilliant.

The ship is not new as we already knew but was kept very clean. The food was very good and never had to queue when we dined in the Orion, Lido or Sirens the latter being our favourite. Most of the bar staff were cheerful but one or two were down hearted (having working on the Celebration). The drinks are a reasonable price(3.25 a pint and 3.50 a double spirit) but don’t order drinks in the show lounge take one with you from the bar. They give short measures or no alcohol at all in cocktails?? Why?
We only did a few shows which were good but others did not appeal to us. They give short measures or no alcohol at all in cocktails?? Why?
I think all the negative issues from previous cruises have now been sorted. We really enjoyed ourselves after going with an open mind and conclude that we were really pleased with the outcome.

sailed on the dream 8th dec from southampton.before ship left there was a large queue at reception with complaints.we waited 2hours 10mins for cabin key.hatch above bath left open 3hours before it was closed.on way to spain/porto one of the engines broke down 3 times captain was going to abort cruise at porto.the outside cabin deck 6 was fine bed comfortable,floor to ceiling cupboard in outside cabins no one knew what they were for.our cabin steward 2 out of 10.through out cruise following complaints across ship hot food was tepid to cold on decks 9/11 deck 4 rest ok burgers/hotdogs/omlettes good food layout poor in buffets rest,quality of food good better if hot.range of food poor
flooding deck 5 heating went of water went of lights went of engineering degree to work showers some of the staff excellent
overall entertaint could not fault. had this ship booked for our 25th anniversary in march 11 have cancelled. some people we spoke to were very happy and had no complaints

we had a lovely holiday on the celebration around egypt 4 years ago so decided to go on the bigger ship this time.a speacial treat for our speacial big "o" birthdays. wish we hadn't. it may have put us off cruising for ever.
set sail from southampton for 16 days on the Dream to the caribbean
our check in was quick but several people we spoke to had to wait ages for their cabins. safe in cabin was free but was very tempremental. couldn't fault the cabin crew they were very efficient keeping our cabin clean. no hangers in tall hanging space!
entertainment was brilliant. didn't like the fact that for a big percentage of the 16 days cruise the ship had only one engine working,people were talking of getting off at portugal and going home. added to this the weather was a little rough, force 14,(can't do anything about the weather) but I wonder if the ship would have handled a little better with 2 good engines.we had a complete loss of engines and electric whilst in the middle of the Atlantic just a little freaky.
captain Roy handled the problem calmly but I wonder, how confident was he?
didn't like the lido buffet, too much cross contamination possibilities. decided waiter service on deck 4 was safer.
to sum up our experience we liked the entertainment,staff,and the shore excursions but will not be going on the dream again.

I have sailed on all the Thomson ships before and have had a great time, so was looking forward to my caribbean "Dream". Oh dear, oh dear what a disappointment! Our cabin was on deck 5 (the punishment block as one of our fellow passengers called it). We had no air con for days, the bathroom was flooded twice (fresh water thank goodness), the ship broke down at sea, the food was tepid and the bed linen was stained. Deck 10 was shut because it was full of sunbeds awaiting repair and I would like to know what "code Victoria" means when addressed over the tanoy to the crew - rather worrying considering all the other problems with the ship. I would never, ever, sail on this ship again and would urge all others - JUST DON'T!!