Thank you Thomson's for a brilliant holiday. This was our first cruise and we were a bit apprehensive, but we thoroughly enjoyed it. The cruise and all the crew were marvellous. Special thanks to Daniela, our cabin steward she was an absolute gem. We will definitely be sailing with you again. We enjoyed all the trips we went on with you and all the places we saw. Once again thank you very much.

cruise was on 5th May 2006 from Palma (Jewels of the Med) and it was to celebrate our Ruby Wedding.
Never having cruised before we selected the SPIRIT because neither of us are into dressing for dinner on an ultra smart basis and neither do we like having to share our table regularly with others.
We dined in the LIDO every day ,3 times a day and we could not fault the food or the quality.
You are able to sit where you like and the theme nights are wonderful.
We didnt do the captains night but equally it was our choice and lots of other peple did.
The entertainment in the main broadway lounge was great and we also did like the classical players in one of the other bars.
There was so much on each night we just didnt get round to going to all the other venues.
The staff were fantastic all round the ship and nothing was too much trouble for any crew member.
We did pay the extra and stayed in a suite which was lovely and a very special mention to the cabin attendant eleana who looked after the cabin admirally.
The excursions were very expensive and another time we may try to make our way on our own,but our take on the situation was that we were on holiday we didnt know where we were going if we ventured on our own and were quite happy to pay the price and be taken door to door.
We had booked early so we had the drinks package included and whilst we are not very heavy drinkers, we did love this,being able to order a drink any time, and a lot of the time I just ordered the non alcoholic cocktails which were great.
We had only been homeone day and we booked again for the next year.
May i finish by saying we have been all over the world on holiday and can honestly say that we enjoyed this holiday immensly and are looking forward to next year.

This was our second cruise on the Spirit and we were looking forward to it.We were not disapointed as we enjoyed it as much as the first time.We did the Mediterranean Renaissance cruise. Fantastic itineraries.Although we had to miss a port in France due to adverse sea conditions. Staff are brilliant.All of them. They work so hard, always smiling. Anything to keep us happy. Food is always excellent, plenty of choice and plenty of it.Most of our meals were in the Compass Rose Restaurant. The waiters ( June and Patrick )and wine waiter ( Vesko )Recognised us from last year. They saved us a table every night. Not to forget the head waiter ( Angel w/o wings ) These people and all the crew have made sure that we will take another cruise with them.Our cabin was kept spotless by a very polite Ahmed. The rest of the ship was clean throughout, wherever you went they were cleaning, hoovering and polishing, day and night, and when the ship was in dock, they were painting the outside. The entertainment is great, from the plays during the day to the cabarets, shows and comedians in the evening, even our 8yr old could not get enough.We have already booked a Thomson cruise for 2007 and are looking forward to it. Thankyou Thomson. brilliant holiday. Big thanks to the crew who make the holiday.

Just back from a cruise on the Thomson Spirit, it was our first cruise and we thoroughly enjoyed it.
Food was excellent, Staff very friendly and Helpful and the entertainment was first rate.
We did not do any of the on board excursions so can't comment on them though we did do some of our own, more of which later.
We booked this cruise early and so qualified for a free upgrade to all inclusive, I don't think we managed to drink £198's worth but I gave it a go..lol
It was worth the all inclusive bit just to avoid the hassle of worrying about how much your final bill was going to be. I reckon ours would have been around the £150 to £160 mark.
When you first arrive at the Spirit you are given a Thomson credit card with your name and cabin number on it, this is used for all onboard purchases and also as an identy card when you get on and off the ship, you do not need your passports when you go ashore just this card so leave your passports somewhere safe. In fact most people went to reception and hired a safety deposit box for £12 (charged to your card of course)you pay the card off on your final morning before you depart (a statement is posted under your door the night before)unless you pre-register your credit card with reception in which case the bill will appear on your next monthly statement from your bank.
We also took advantage of the cheap cabin upgrade offer and upgraded to an ordinary outside cabin (I like to look out the window when I wake up to see where we are), we also prebooked the cabin for an extra £30 which turned out to be worth it as we were put on deck 4 and these cabins have the larger picture style windows like the deluxe cabins and not portholes.
The onboard entertainment really was something to behold if you didn't like it then you must be really hard to please as the shows were packed out every night and the performers are very talented and fit (a can can went on for a full 6 1/2 minutes at full tilt). There is also an on board cinema showing fairly recent films which we used one night and very good that was to. In the cabins are small T.V's and these also show Sky news and CNN news the discovery channel and 2 different films each day.
The Captains formal do is on the night of the first full day aboard and is entirely voluntary if you don't want to dress up then you can use the self service Lido restuarant instead.
First port of call was Palermo and if you must go on an excursion then do it here rather then go into Palermo because Palermo is without doubt the filthiest city I have ever come across, they must have had one hell of a street party the night before or all the street cleaners have been on strike for months, it definately is not worth disembarking to walk round it hence the excursion trip tip. Next was Naples a bit better than Palermo, we wanted to go across to Capri but Thomson no longer include this excursion option apparently because the Italians have a habit of cancelling the ferries to and from Capri without notice,there were other excursions to Sorrento and Pompeii but we plan to holiday around that area in the future so didn't want to spoil a future highlight so we walked around the city and took in some of the sights (check the terms and conditions of your life insurance policy before you even think about trying to cross the roads here, as we discovered that most Italians are colour blind and don't know the difference between green and red lights at pedestrian crossings) next up was Ajaccio on Corsica and what a nice surprise to come across a peaceful and pretty little town (after the Italian mayhem) we disembarked and turned left into the town and got on A Petit Train (the kind you find at fete's etc)cost was 7 euro's each and the tour takes about 30 minutes we then found ourselves walking round most of the route the train took so could have done the tour on foot for nothing, if you want to take pictures of the Spirit showing its full length then this is the place to do it as in the other ports the views are wholly or partly obstructed. Next stop was Toulon, base of the French Mediterranean fleet and outside the harbour entrance was another Petit Train and this was better value at 5 euro's each and took you to some very nice beaches en route to the town centre, again Toulon was a nice clean and fairly relaxing town with a lovely quayside/Marina and also a nice shopping arcade which had a C & A's in it!
Final and best stop and the highlight of the cruise for us, was Barcelona, what a beautiful city and this was the main excursion we organised ourselves. There is a specialist tourist bus stop a couple of hundred yards from where you dock, we just bought our tickets at 18 euro's each and jumped on the open topped bus. There is a comentary in English of the sights of interest and the driver also advises passengers when to get off and change for different routes. There are the Blue, Red and Green routes to take, you are given a map when you buy your ticket highlighting all these routes and the places they visit (including the Olympic stadium and village, The Nou Camp stadium (10.50 euros entrance to this) the Sagarda Familia Cathedral etc etc). You can hop on and off these buses all day long at no extra charge and we thought it was a brilliant way to see all the city has to offer you also get a small booklet of discount tokens for most of these sites. Beware when walking down the Ramblas as its got a bad reputation for pickpocketing we saw a Chinese tourist complaining to the police that he had just been robbed.
Right next to the quay where we berthed was a cable car that took you right across the bay to the Olympic Stadium area overlooking the city, I'd have gone on this had I noticed it when we docked, unfortunately I only saw it as we returned to the ship and it was to late to go on it, the views would have been spectacular.
To sum up we had a great time and only had one really rough day at sea between Naples and Ajaccio, free sea sickness tablets are handed out to any passenger who wants them simply by going to reception and asking for them.
The only bad part of this holiday for me was the miniscule leg room on the boeing 757-200 that Thomson operate out of Newcastle where we flew from, at 6feet 1inch I was extremely cramped and certainly couldn't have sat in this space on a long haul flight, if you are very tall it might be worth paying the extra £36 they want for extra leg room seats, don't bother about paying the £12 extra to ensure you sit next to each other as we were allocated seats next to each other at check in without asking on both flights. The in flight meals didn't look much either so don't bother with them as you can have a meal as soon as you board the Spirit in the Lido restuarant in fact you will put on pounds if your not careful, so missing the in flight meals are one way to slim....lol
On a final note we got chatting to an elderly couple at Dinner one night (you do not sit at the same table every night and there is no early and late dinning preferences on the Spirit) and they said they had been on 12 Thomson cruises 8 of which were on the Spirit because in their opinion the Spirit is the Best Ship, Oh and there definately is a vibration despite what anyone else says in fact this is caused by an engine constantly being on to supply the air conditioning and lighting etc and after awhile you get used to it, its worse in the upper reaches of the ship.
If like us you are on an early flight home and don't have time to visit the duty free shop in palma then either do your shopping at the duty free shop next to the ship in palma when you first arrive or use the duty free shop in Barcelona which is situated right out side the ships docking berth in fact you have to walk past it to get out of the harbour. Oh and another thing don't believe that these cruises are for the over 60's brigade there were Babes in pushchairs, Toddlers, Teenagers, 20 somethings in fact all age groups though to be fair most were in the 45-65 age group. Well thats all I can think of so I hope its of some use to you people who bother to read these reviews...Enjoy yourselves

Sailed on the spirit for the second time on the Mediteranean renaissance itinery. I was a little worried that it would not live up to our expectations the second time round, I was wrong! It was totally fantastic from start to finish. There have been subtle changes, but all these are for the better.(PG Tips teabags now instead of dust fab!)Every mouthful of every meal(and we had lots)were delicious, especially in the Compass Rose Restaurant. The service in there was top notch and had improved from last year. We sat in Jose, Ludivic and Min's section most nights, they made our meals a special event every evening.We could not dock in Villefranche because of choppy seas, went to Genoa instead, so we decided to eat in Compass Rose that lunchtime, it was lovely, roast beef and yorkshire pud, the waiters were even more attentive as hardly anyone seems to eat in there in the day. Min filled my glass so many times I had to stop him in the end(all inclusive is a wonderful thing)
We could not believe how many staff remembered us from last year, Lovely Daniella in horizons bar even remembered what we drank. Amazing.
The entertainment staff were top notch, we saw all the shows and most of the quizes, my son won the weak link against his dad I think it made his holiday.
We did one organized trip to Rome, the walking tour with lunch included, quite expensive at £137 for the 3 of us, but we had a marvellous guide, and learned more about Rome than we ever would have if we had gone on our own.Note to all the moaners, who were complaining about the amount of walking involved, hello you booked a WALKING tour,where your legs may be required!!
The ship is immaculate and the staff are constantly cleaning.
I honestly cannot think of anything to criticize, it is the ultimate holiday.
We have already booked for next year with friends, sailing on the Destiny, as the wonderful Spirit is mainly in the Baltics next year. Thomsons please bring it back to the med soon!

The ship is immaculate

This cruise is not about the ship as the enjoyment of it is spoilt by the industrial ports it docks into for a couple of days (unless you stay inside that is). This cruise is a ferry between areas to go on trips to see some absolutely amazing places and experience some amazing cultures. If they could stop at better ports (ones which are not smelly, ugly and dirty (except Sharm el Sheikh), there would be something for everyone. Cannot fault the Restaurants, and restaurant staff, the housekeeping and staff, and entertainment and staff, they were fabulous. However the reception and destination desk became a form of amusement a bit like the locals ( I think they must get a hard time, as the trips are expensive and not always value for money (Ras Mohammed trip was very poor, the cruiser was good, but the snorkelling was poor and short)Some trips were cancelled, which does always happen, but these were the only reason some people had joined on board. Reception was not a place you went willingly, as you knew you would get a different answer from every person, just had to go with the flow and remember only there for 7 days. We are all pleased we went, as Jordan and Eygpt are amazing places to visit and very humbling. However, we would still have done such a trip but enjoyed it more if we had been properly informed - like many of the guests.

This was our first cruise and WOW, not one to be forgotten.

The staff were very fiendly and efficient. They were always willing to help in any way you needed.
All excursions were very well organinsed. On the long trips, we were given a snack box for the journey and on return given a hot flannel and drink to freshen up whilst waiting to board the ship. Each of these trips had police escorts and on any trip an armed guard was also on the each coach. Spare coaches went too on the long trips.
The guides were very knowledgable and very helpful.
The ship was very clean and there were always cleaners around doing various cleaning tasks. We did feel very sorry for one young girl who was trying to keep the glass in the doors free of grease, however, not all guests used the handles, which made her job an endless task.
The food was excellent. We mainly ate in the Compass Rose and was treated to culinary delights daily. (We now have some weight to lose!!!).

The Broadway Shows were of a very high standard. The entertainment team worked tremendously hard to provide these shows every evening (sometimes performing them twice an evening) as well as doing other events throughout the day.

We had an excellent holiday, and hope to return to the Thomson Spirit in the not too distant future.

This was our 1st cruise on the Thomson Spirit.

We joined the ship In Sharm El Sheik. The airport left a lot to be desired but once we got through the staff were excellent.
Our cabin was very big and we were pleasantly surprised to have been upgraded.
The food onboard was quite good for a budget cruise line and Siroccos Al La Carte restaurant was quite excellent.
The Suez canal was the highlight of the trip although we did feel that some commentary during the day would've been nice.
The entertainment on the ship is fantastic. The showteam were west-end standard especially Paul.
We had 2 comedians Stu(crush a grape)Francis who was awful and Andy Rudge who was hilarious.
The musicians onboard were also wonderful especially the Violin Duo.
We visited Cairo, Alexandria, Malta and Barcelona. Every other day was a sea day which made getting a sunbed a chore.
The staff on the Spirit are very good and the waiters and bar staff were especially attentive.

Just myself and 15 year old daughter on a weeks break. Weather was wonderful 25-30 degreeds every day! Loved the cruising experience, my first, but hooked and would love to try again, perhaps the carribean, when funds permit!

The staff are wonderful. Our housekeeper Daniella from Romania was a little gem, always chatty and she kept the room immaculate. Made up live a living area in the day, then after 7 all presented beautifully for sleeping, complete with the wonderful towel creation...different every day, and so clever. All the staff pamper you so well. The entertainment (if you partook) was different every day too, they are very professional, I was surprised, having endured some of the spainish resort efforts! No comparison.

Food was plentiful (24 hour if you could cope!)Loads of variety of dishes, expertly presented every time. Could not fault the food in any way. Missing it all already!

Excursions: My only gripe. The guides make a point of telling you how cheap fuel is in Egypt..50p a gallon, and how their cost of living is up to 75% lower than ours. Then, why their government (or is it the Thomson's?) can justify charging £68 per person (no reduction under 12)for the valley of the kings, and the pyramid tour defies belief! Then they make it very clear that you have to pay them extra for entering the pyramid, asking for a further £4 pp (incidentally only £2 if purchased from a small booth 100 yards from the entrance, which I opted for, out of principal) £10 per person for entering the mummies room at the Cairo museum (again, savings to be had if purchased at the nearby booth, I saved £10 for the two of us, as I obtained a student discount for my 15 year old daughter.) I did query with the Travco rep, and expressed my disgust as being charged double. She blamed it on the Egyptian government. There was a fair amount of pressure to be 'herded', not only in to buying at the higher price, but to keep the pace, which was fast, not good for those less mobile or the elderly.

BEWARE: When entering the pyramid. I would strongly recommend those over a certain age, or those less mobile, not to bother, seriously, the entrance is 3'6 in height, by 2' wide, to say you are doubled up for 90% the whole time is no exaggeration! Once you get to the end there is nothing there anyway, just a small 12x12 room with nothing but an egyptian telling you to "mind your head" (who then holds his hand out for the pleasure of doing so...?) and a grave, which has nothing in it! Not worth the effort if you are going to struggle. As we were entering an old chap (who was quite a hefty chap too) was in extreme distress coming out. His lips were blue and I knew he was having problems. When we come out, sure enough, he was on the ground receiving attention from the available reps and other holiday makers. Unfortunately, he did not make it, and I found out the next day he had died.

The valley of the kings was also too much of a fast pace. I am relatively fit (if a little bit of a couch potato for 9 months of the year!), but I found it a gruelling pace. You feel under pressure to keep up, so as not to hold up others or the coach. Could be because of the limited time available, but not ideal.
Ports: A bit military, especially Port Sokhna (for cairo) and Safaga (for valley of the kings). Not easy to escape from the ship, a few taxis at Sharm, but other a long walk before any are seen. Was not ideal as my daughter has mobility problems following long illness.

Would recommend the cruise and stay option, as recovery needed ideally from the must do excusions, so would have been lovely to have had a week in Sharm to do so, was very envious of those that were being transferred.

Overall a must do first cruising experience for everybody.

The Thomson Spirit was amazing take my word for it the entertainment was my most exiting bit of the cruise you should defently recomend it!
If you have kid's aspecially they enjoyed it so much they said that the entertainment was the best part of the cruise to we had one week on the cruise and a week in the hotel my kid's are 13 & 9 they both enjoyed it just as much and my son is a teenager!
There is alot of choose in the trips you can visit all different places we visited Petra we had another trip in Jordan it is called wadi rum it was fantastic we also went to luxor and cairo it was a very good experiance for me and my children but there is alot of hastling in Cairo trust me don't buy anything that men and women are trying to sell you the ship cleanliness was VERY godd aswell and the food was lovely you have three different resturants the lido resturant that is a buffet the Compass Rose resturant which is very posh and you have to be pretty dressed up to go there but i don't meen in a dress everyday or a tux for the men in the compass rose you have a captains cocktail party it was lovely you have to dress up for that because you have a photo with the captain and 2 more photo's just of your family with a nice background!
There is 1 more resturant but you have to book a table for it, it's called Sirocco's that is very posh you mostly have to be dressed up for that!
The staff are very nice aswell they are so very friendly! On the Thomson Spirit they have a kid's club they keep the children entertained so you can relax by the pool the maximaum age is up to 12 years there is also a video arcade for the kid's aswell when we was on the ship we was on deck 7 we were in a deluxe cabin it was very nice in there I would reccomend you to be in a cabin with a window and not one in the middle we was in one with a window it was lovely!
On the ship they havev camara men so if you see a big black video camara try to get in it because at the end of your cruise they have a dvd which show's your cruise and all of the shows you should buy the dvd because you see all of the show's and everything we got it and it is wickedit also shows it on your tv in your cabin on channel 17 I remember!

I WOULD REALLY RECCOMEND THE SHIP

hope you have a wicked cruise like i did !