Ok so first impressions were good, the ship was gleaming and white, looking every bit a well maintained if a little dated vessel.

Once onboard i found the overall clenliness to be fine. The problems started as soon as I found my cabin. Small! It redefines the word.

The food I have to admit left me utterly disappointed. A huge part of the cruise experience is centred around dining. Lots and lots of food, imaginatley created and served well. Imagination there was, in abundance. The quality however was some of the worst I have experienced. On the 4 nights I attempted to eat in the main dining room, I left shortly after the mian course arrived. Food was invariably bland, over cooked, watery and lacking in taste. The staff put a brave face on it but no, I could not finish it. If this had been a resteraunt, I would never have repeated the experince. I found solace in the lido, where standards, so long as the dishes were served immediately were acceptable.

Staff were excellent. Again though in the dining room they had too much on. Spirit has opted for an open sitting policy, which has not worked too well. They have not added sufficent staff to cope with this system so passengers are left waiting and waiting. Bar staff were fine and entertainment staff tired hard, with some degree of sucsess.

I appreciate that this ship is geared towards the budget minded cruise passenger, but even so the quality and price are mismatched. A poor effort on behalf of Thomsons.

This was the best holiday we have ever been on, it was our first time on a cruise and can't wait to do it again.
The entertainment was out of this world, the staff were so friendly and work really hard. The food was out of this world even my daughter who is the worst eater enjoyed it. The captains night was great. It was the only holiday where we came back with more money than we went with as hubby won on the casino.

We could not fault it and have already booked for next year.

Hiya....i dont remember names,but i recognise all your faces. I remember ralph, definatly! I came in feburary and may this year. Do u remember me, Catalins girlfriend.
Do u remember, being at one of your crew parties on the lido deck, and there were two girls on the deck above dancing to your music...well im one of the girls!? Please write back if u remember. and does anyone know if ralph has an email address... congratulations....28th!!

Me and my husband went on this cruise for our 10th Wedding Anniversary. Booked a deluxe cabin on deck 7.
First time cruiser's and we can say it was absolutly brilliant.
Could not fault anything. the food was great, staff brill, and entertainment was fantastic. i would love to do it again but taking kids abroad in 2005 so might book one for 2006 with some friends we met on board.

Great holiday.

Party of 6 adults celebrating wedding anniversaries. 4 adults first time cruisers. Got on the cruise at tenerife. All cabins together. However cabins were inside and the configuration of the beds was disappointing as the brochure did not have picture of the standard set up of most cabins on our deck. The outside cabins were also the same.
The cabin stewards were fabulous and so helpful and friendly. We were disappointed with the pools as they were tiny. My husband and I were comparing its standards to the ocean village and ocean village won each time. The only thing better than ocean village was the entertainment which was excellent
However our fellow passengers in our party first experience we did not want to influence so kept quiet.
On the 3rd day my mother got diarrohea and vomiting and we had to get the doctor out to her. He told us she had sea sickness. Subsequently all the party became ill with the same and we were unable to eat anything for the duration of the holiday we just visited the doctor and took our injections/ tablets. We were never quaranteened and we were apalled at the lack of infection control on board. My sister complained to the service manager and was confronted by the ships doctor and safety officer and made to cry at the meeting. The doctor was talking in his own language ( greek ) at the interview.Quite a few other passengers were poorly as we were but we were all told that it was sea sickness. Other ships insist that the passengers use alcohol wash before they help themselves to the food, not this ship. However mid week the crew srarted to serve the food and they started to sanitise the ship.
This was a bad experience and I would not travel on this ship again. Its put us off cruising.

This ship has been a favorite of mine since I first cruised on her (then Holland America's Nieuw Amsterdam) in 1984, and this cruise didn’t change my mind. She’s comfortable, clean and well maintained, and compares favorably with the Holland America ship (Volendam) that I cruised on last November.

Food was surprisingly good, and both the main dining room and the Lido cafe (my favorite informal dining area on any ship I’ve been on) are pleasant places to have a meal; many newer ships have very dark dining rooms.

I definitely intend to try another Thomson cruise in the near future. Both of the ships that they will be introducing in the near future have been past favorites of mine, too, so I’m sure I’ll be able to find another cruise that I’ll like.

THIS WAS OUR FIRST CRUISE AND IT WAS FANTASTIC WE HAD A BLESSING AT SEA WHICH WAS VERY NICE THEY MADE YOU FEEL VERY SPECIAL I CANNOT FAUT THIS SHIP AT ALL AND WHO EVER HAS HAD A MOAN ABOUT IT WANTS TO GET THERE HEAD LOOKED AT TRY ORLANDO RESORT IN PLAYA DE LAS AMERIACS TENERIFE THEN THATS WHEN YOU CAN HAVE A MOAN THE CLEANLINESS, FOOD , STAFF WHERE AMAZING I THINK THERE COULD HAVE BEEN A BIT MORE ENTERTAINMENT THOUGH THE ENTERTAINMENT WAS REALLY GOOD I WOULD RECOMMEND ANY BODY TO GO ON SPIRIT

We joined the ship in Majorca after a pretty awful flight. Having cruised several times with P&O , Cunard etc. we decided to try Thomson Cruises and booked a short (7 Day) cruise on Thomson Spirit. It proved to be a wise decision (the shortness, I mean). OK so the cabin was spacious and clean. Where some of your reviewers got clean sheets every day from escapes me. The cabin stewardess was charming and efficient . Unfortunately, the same could not be said for some of the bar staff. Offhand, slow and not very professional. As for the restaurant, the food was bland, unappetising and frequently tepid. The food in the Lido was at least hot - if the queue was not too long . However, the Lido was too reminiscent of a self service canteen. However, the staff were generally friendly and helpful under, I would think, pretty stressful conditions. As for the entertainment the least said, the better. Suffice to say I've been to better karaote nights . Thomson should stick to what it does best and leave cruising to the real professionals.

Havin been on the Thomson Emerald, we were a little dissapointed with the ship and facilities in general.

Being themaiden voyage under the Thomson banner we thought the ship was a new ship by all the rave reviews said about it.
But we found many of the facilities in the cabin and lounge areas very tatty.

The food was adequate but not up to the standard we are used to on cruise ships.

The entertainment was a bit amature and the singers very basic. one girl singer who seemed to be in most lead songs was awful with a very gruff voice. The cruise director wsa well above himself, well he thought he was god. no really he was not as good as he thought he was I think his name was stephen guy.

I don't think we will return on the Spirit, we may try another Thomson ship as the Emerald was superb.

We flyed to majorca to board the spirt instead of going to manchester. A much easier option as petrol is not wasted an you get the enjoyment of flying. As we approached the Spirit we thought we must be mistaken as normally we end up picking bad choices but it was amazing. So big and clean.
We had a royal reception as u were greated by the captain who insisted on shaking ur hand, also funny ship photos were taken. From that moment a great atmosphere was created.
ur lugage was taken by the cerriors, who later delievered them to your door! very posh. the rooms were little but modern and cosey. the bathroom was allways well kept as the cleaners were trust worthy and hard working. Dont be afraid to leave ur valubles on show!
Dinner can be eaten in the buffet or a la carte restaurant. the a la carte is gr8 as u really get 2 dress up. Allthough all the food is fantastique! After dinner head to the show hall were fantastique cabera acts are performed by very talented performers. After head to the bar were funny comedy acts are noramally held. On returning to your room, pajamas are laid out for you by maids with a little mint on your pillow, sometimes if your lucky they'll make you towel swans and rabbits. A queens touch.
You may think days at see are boring but you dont get enough of them as there is a cinems- fantastique new movies for all ages, shows, kids clubs, pools, a gym, a sauna, a beuty sallon- not enough hours in a day.
Each port is fantastique in there own way, brilliant trips and excursions or just take leave on your own.
The captains dinner is th highlight as everyone is goiving roses and cigars, you dress up to the nines and have a beutiful dinner. A spectacular ice sculpture is made by a crew member, it feels like titanic as there is a titanic style photo, just need leanado now lol!
Fantastique for old and new, seriously the best holiday you'll ever have! if your goin on a cruise and stay you'll want to get back on the ship