This was our first cruise and we chose a great ship to start off with. So much good feedback has been given about the Spirit that there is nothing to add. So the ship is not the QE2 but you won't have a better time or get better looked after than you will on the Spirit. We upgraded cabin to a double on Deck 6 Promenade deck and were very pleased we did so, great position. Must give a big 'plug' for the FREEDOM BAND' which plays most nights in the High Spirits loungbar. Great lead female vocalist and excellent musicians.

This was our first cruise,the best holiday we have ever had.This ship could not have been kept any cleaner even down to daily scrubbing of the decks, and constant washing of outside windows!

The Compass Rose Restaurant was great if you liked to be waited on.Sirrocos Restaurant was excellent but could not eat all that was on offer.The Lido Restaurant was self service but for us the food was equally as good. There are a lot of crew working behind the scenes who deserve a lot of credit.
All crew that we came in contact with were excellent. Special thanks goes to Frankie in the Horizon Bar, JJ,Lorenzo & Si in the Lido Bar not forgetting Anastasia in reception for making our week so special.

The entertainment on this ship is first class.All the entertainers work very hard during the day and in the evenings.Credit for all the great shows.
A special thanks goes out to Richard Sykes who made Laura's week (our daughter)very special giving her more confidence and help with her singing.

If you are thinking of going on a cruise and have not been on one before we would recommend The Spirit.We are sure you will not be dissappointed. Great value for money and well looked after.This ship has not seen the last of us, we hope to be on it again before the end of the year !!

This is the first time we have sailed on the Spirit having previously sailed with Sun Cruises on the Carousel and Seawing and this is the best ever Cruise. The cleanliness of the Ship was 100% at all times we seen our cabin stewardess Cristina clean the bathroom with a toothbrush. We have never been looked after as good as the staff looked after us. One night my husband was not feeling too well and Cristina later on that night phoned him to ask if he was okay and did he need anything.
The entertainment on board was first class never missed a show in the Broadway Show Lounge. The game shows in the High Spirits were equally as good and good fun. The atmosphere at the Sailaway Party and the Party in the Park out on deck were brilliant. All the entertainment staff work extremely hard.
We had breakfast and lunch in the Lido Restuarant and evening meal in the Compass Rose and could not fault any of it. We sat at table 89 for the whole week and were well entertained by Mark and Patrick who sang to us most evenings.
On arriving on the Ship it was good to see Leeroy Brown the Restaurant Manager who was previously on the Carousel.
Would we sail on this Ship again???????When does it set sail???????tomorrow.

This was our first cruise , we were delighted by the "better than expected" standards of food, service, cleanliness & the overall experience.
The was only one "downside" which did not spoil the overall holiday.
As a special treat we decided to eat in the "A la carte restaurant." at an additional cost of £15 each.
The food was really good , beautifully cooked and presented and the waiter service was top class.
As "almost" non-drinkers we decided to opt for one glass each of "house wine". This was served and tasted as if it was not much stronger than water !!.
However when the voucher was presented for signature we were casually informed "The house wine is double price in this dining room" , this is something that everyone needs to be aware of, the "perception" is of being ripped off.
An E-mail to TUI brought the expected reply (nothing)

just finished our crise on spirit, overall we enjoyed it BUT we feel that this ship is definatley very downmarket, the lido restaraunt is very similar to a motorway sevices cafe on a bank holiday monday, crowded and brash, the food was edible and ok but low quality surroundings, yes u coud eat in other restaraunt but that was not a lot better, entertainment was excellent, our inside cabin was good too, flight was terrible, storms caused us to have a frightening aborted landing, this of course is not thomsons fault however they are to blame for the ship, to sum up, crowded, cheap and cheerfull.

We have just returned from our first cruise. The Thompson Spirit exceeded all our expectations and we had previously read all the reviews. We could not fault anything except the weather and nobody can do anything about that.
The family all stayed in the one cabin and there was enough room and excellent wardrobe /drawer space, I have stayed in worse 4 star hotels. we spoke to people who had been on luxury cruises with other companies and they said the cabins on the spirit were the biggest they had ever had. The food even for a fussy child was superb and the waiters could not do enough for you, the Lido was sometimes busy but there were so many staff who were always cleaning and clearing it did not matter. We even saw staff cleaning marks on the carpets in the early hours with a toothbrush to remove marks.
The entertainment was first rate, the previous reviewer complimented the entertainment but only gave one star however the majority of reviewers on this site gave everything 5 stars like me
we had a wonderful time and I would definitely recommend the spirit

I have just returned from my first ever cruise,on the Spirit.There is no way i could ever find fault with it.The staff from captain to cabin steward,where so polite cheerful,and could never do enough to make your cruise more pleasant.The restaurant waiters where so cheerful.They would introduce themselves to you on the first day,and ask your name.which they never forgot.Being open seating at meals you met different people mostly.But at times you would be sat with previous people you had met.Myself being on my own i met some wonderful people.I used both the "Compass Rose" restaurant and the Lido.But they where both clean and the food excellent.It did not matter what time of day or night you wanted something to eat or drink,you could always get something.
The drinks prices where very reasonable.
The entertainment, first class.A different show every night,and a top cabaret artist on 2 nights.
The cabins.I had a twin to myself,which had plenty of room.So i cant comment,on the single cabins.The cabins where always spotless.Towels changed whenever needed through the day.At night,there was always a different animal made up using your towels.I had a Swan/Rabbit/octopus.Also chocolates left on your pillow each night.
The captains cocktail party night,i enjoyed very much,followed by a gala dinner.Which would have put some 5* hotels to shame.
At the end of the cruise you had to nominate 3 members of staff for an oscar.That was a pity,as i thought,all the members of staff,regardless of department,deserved an oscar,as they all went out of there way to be so helpful.

We were on Thomson Spirit from 18th – 25th Feb 2005.
Flight from LGW to Tenerife North was on time leaving and arrived in Tenerife about 10 mins. early.
We collected our luggage from the Carousel and were directed to the waiting coach, once at the quayside we checked in, were given stickers with our cabin number to put onto our cases (which were then delivered to the cabin).
We boarded and were shown to our cabin, the cases arrived minutes later.

We had a cabin on deck 6 (promenade) it was very spacious with 2 windows and plenty of drawer and wardrobe space, a kingsize bed, table and 2 armchairs, and a fridge, very nice indeed.

The ship itself was spotlessly clean, and in our opinion the food was very good in both the Lido and Compass Rose.
There was freshly made pasta and pizza on the outside Lido deck at lunchtime, as well as a good choice inside, and usually the chef carving various meats.
The open dining arrangements suited us very well, more so than on other cruises where we have had early or late sitting.

The entertainment was excellent, as has been said in many previous reviews.

We thoroughly enjoyed our week on the Spirit and would certainly go again.

I was on the same cruise as William who posted his report previously and would just like to add a few more comments. This was my 14th cruise and I have sailed with P&O, Princess, Royal Caribbean, Celebrity, Carnival etc. I was impressed with this holiday - it was good value for money.

I was with my 82 year old mother who walks with a stick. We had an outside cabin on deck 1 and had a porthole which was really a waste of money as it was quite frightening to see the waves covering the porthole. Also, when in port, if the ship was docked on the portside all we could see was the side of the dock. The access to and from the ship was difficult for a disabled person - there were a lot of steps to negotiate if the exit point was on deck 4.

The entertainment was excellent - I believe that they were the best singers and dancers I have seen on a cruise ship. However, the rest of the entertainment was dominated by a family from Birmingham and other passengers who wanted to participate in the quizzes/tv games were not able to do so. I managed to play the 'Weak Link' one day but as the Brummies had 3 family members playing I was voted off early on (they failed to answer any questions - even with the audience shouting out the answers!)

Ports of call -
Gran Canaria, we went on a trip to the old town and the crater.
La Palma, we were there on a Sunday and it was shut.
Madeira, we had afternoon tea at Reid's Palace Hotel which was very nice.
Agadir, did the horse and carriage trip with a visit to the Medina. This was the best way to buy souvenirs as there was no hassle.
Lanzarote, rode a camel up the Fire mountain for 20 minutes and then went to the top of the volcano and also drove through the National Park. This was by far the best trip of the cruise - even though it rained!

The weather on the cruise was not good - apart from the last morning. If the sun is out then there are not enough sun beds to go round.

We liked the option of dining at a time convenient to us, but on the evening of the Captain's cocktail party we had an early seating for dinner. We met some lovely people at the meal times in the Compass Rose restaurant - especially William, John and Bill (the twins from Birmingham)and Pat and Nicky from Taunton. We only lucked out once with a man seated at our table on the last evening. If we had eaten with him on the first night I would have spent the rest of the time in the Lido!

On the whole we had a good time and found the cruise to be excellent value for money.

Would just like to add a few comments to say how excellent out holiday was on Thomsons Spirit. As with previous comments we found the cleanliness outstanding, and the same goes for the food, any time of day it was superb. Before going I read all these reviews and was not put off by some of the negative comments, all I can say is if people did not enjoy this holiday for the money they paid they should stay at home in future, as they are never going to be happy!!!!

I too saw a waiter cleaning seats with a toothbrush to ensure cleanliness. The cabin girl worked so hard especially to entertain our three year old daughter with towel animals. Finishing touches that made a holiday special.

The waiters had magnificent memories and always had suprises on the table for my daughter when we went into dinner making every night very special. A big thanks to Marius and Jay!!! At breakfast time in the buffet restaurant, my tray was always carried to the table to enable me to look after my daughter and also they would fetch her anything she wanted so none of us had to leave our seats (never seen that in a 'motorway services' anywhere!!!!).

We all enjoyed the on board entertainment and found the shows very good. Also the entertainers would involve my daughter whenever she wanted to get on stage and dance, especially on the two disco nights on deck. The entertainers managed to make the sail away party similar to a New Years Eve Party the atmosphere was that good.

We only went on a couple of the organised trips with having a small child however, the ones we did do Agadir and Lanzarote were well worth the money. At the other ports we made our own way using a Taxi without any problems at all.

The weather was awful, however, being a person who worships the sun, I have to admit this was probably one of the best holidays I have ever had and my family agree with me.

If I was to make one small critisism it would be a need to arrange more entertainment small children. Their was childrens entertainment but only for a couple of hours and the weather was bad so plans to put more things on for them would have been a good idea. Perhaps even a cartoon channel, ball pool, toy kitchen/shop etc. The Kidzone room needed up grading the toys were poor and it was locked quite often and this was a safe area for children to play in. The decks are obviously very dangerous and open for small children, so they do need good toys and a safe area to run in. You can only manage to carry a few small toys from home with you.

Having said that my daughter had an excellent time as she was treated like a Princess by all the staff and also fellow passengers.

My husband and I have cruised before on another ship which was supposed to be more upmarket, however, this ship far exceeded our expectations for the money we spent. We will be recommending this cruise to people in future.