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If you are interested in the Hermitage Gold Room tour, I would recommend that you book this in advance as it will sell out and may not be available when you are on board. I do this for any limited availability tour on Tui or for any tour I especially want. 

A couple of things to note. You can cancel or exchange trips when on board, usually up to 24h ahead. Also, booking in advance usually saves you a small amount (possibly only £5 per head, but it adds up).

One thing that really annoys me about the trips is that no timing details are made available online. This can make it difficult to choose e.g. if you want to combine different trips (e.g. in St Petersburg) or if you want to combine an excursion with a walk around local ports.

I have not looked at your itinerary. It is possible that I have information on excursions at other ports (albeit, possibly a little bit out of date). Feel free to ask. Excursions at other ports were not always up to the same standard as in St Petersburg.

We were on a Thomson Baltic Cruise, with 2 days in St Petersburg, in July 2012. We totally loved it and went again in 2013! Both years we were blessed with excellent weather.

Your own specific interests will direct what you might wish to see. We are interested in history, art and architecture.

For us, the 2 'must see' attractions are the Peterhof Palace and the Hermitage. We saw both of these in 2012. The Peterhof Palace is stunning. The trip was very well organised. The Hermitage tour was rather lengthy, but there really is so much to see. The stunning display of Impressionist paintings came at the end, when some people were beginning to flag, but these rival anything you will see anywhere else. In 2013, we did the Gold Room Tour at the Hermitage, which also included time in the main galleries. This is restricted in numbers but I strongly recommend this, particularly if you are interested in Faberge and want to see some stunning works.

In 2013 we also went to St Catherine's Palace. The interiors are stunning but the exterior is not quite as good as the Peterhof.

You will need to decide on whether to do half day or full day trips. You can do 2 half day trips in the one day but this involves the double coach trip to the ship. Both worked fine for us.

We did have a tour of some of the main sites of St Petersburg. This included viewing the Church of the Spilled Blood from outside. This is one of the most stunning buildings you could imagine. Don't miss it. We had a canal tour (not that exciting) combined with the Yusupov Palace (where Rasputin met his end) which was very interesting. The final trip was a half day trip to 3 churches, the last of which was the Peter and Paul Cathedral where the Romanov's are buried.

We were not tempted by the evening ballet excursion, and reports from fellow passengers suggested this was not the fine performance that they anticipated (probably aimed at the tourist market).

We felt that Thomson's really provided what we wanted and I could not fault their organisation. Local guides were generally excellent. I thought the trips were good value for money. I believe that it is possible to organise trips yourself, but they must be through validated local tour companies. We are a bit risk averse and stuck with Thomson, and happy to do so at this location.

There was a bit of a delay going through security the first morning, but that was due to another ship disembarking at the same time and a shortage of officials, so not the fault of Thomsons.

Save your energy for St Petersburg. Long busy days, some early starts, but choose what suits you.

One other word of warning: Russia is 3 hours ahead of BST. We 'lost' 1 hour on 3 different nights (which I think were between Newcastle and Norway, between Stockholm and Riga, and between Riga and St Petersburg). 

Hope this helps. Also hope the sun shines - you will be impressed. Enjoy.

We were on the Explorer last summer and were very disappointed with the shows: too loud, brash, noisy. Performers shouting so much to be heard over the music that it became tuneless.

We are on the Celebration this summer. Does anyone know if the shows will follow their more traditional format, or have they also been 'upgraded'?

We will be in Chania in June on the Greek Mystique cruise on the Celebration. 

Looking online, it appears that the cruise ships dock in Souda, which is about 6km from Chania. There are local buses specifically for cruise passengers at 3 Euros return with a journey time of about 15 min. Not sure how current this information is.

Can anyone confirm this? 

We were on the Mediterranean Secrets cruise on Explorer from 16th June.

The ship is attractive; well furnished and comfortable.

We were in the larger balcony cabin (deck 10). The cabin is fairly compact but has nice large shower with panel door. The balcony is indeed large. One sun lounger, 2 seats and a small side table. Plus the hammock which stretches across. I recommend the hammock but it does obscure the view of anyone on the lounger.

The ship has good and bad points. They are not good (yet?) at providing information. Cruise news for day 2 did not specifically say that night was the Dress to Impress Night. We only knew from the slip on our bed placed during the day to encourage early dining (it was open dining). Also, it was rather hard to find out the cost of the pay-extra dining venues. You had to go through the electronic booking to find out just before placing a booking.

Main dining room is just the same as in other Marella ships. Staff are excellent. I very much recommend Vista - the Italian themed restaurant and the food is delicious. No extra charge and you can't book. It gets very busy to arrive early!

The buffet (Market Place) is good and we never found it to be too busy. There are different counters for different items so that seems to spread things out. The ship is all inclusive. In the buffet, you can dispense your own wine or beer. I found the beer to be ok; my wife was happy with the wine, but you could always take a drink in from a nearby bar.

Main showroom is large and comfortable. View from balcony is not great unless you are tall. There are pre-poured drinks at the entrance - wines, 2 cocktails, bottles of beer. Staff keen to give you 2 drinks at a time. No waiter staff to take bar orders. We were happy with this arrangement.

We found the shows and the entertainment to be a huge disappointment as this was, for us, a big part of cruising with Tui. They have gone for modern, edgy, high decibel. Lost are the very musical sounds and shows. Might suit some but I suspect a large percentage of customers will not be happy. I thought the comedian was very third rate.

Of 5 ports of call, one was tender to shore (which I liked) and 4 required shuttle transfer from industrial ports - which I detest. In Tarragona, there was a £7 charge for return shuttle. The others were free of charge (supplied by local authority?).

We booked half say trips in each port. In the first, we were 45 min late in getting port clearance. That 45 min was curtailed from our trip as the ship had not communicated with the local firm. I complaint and had a written acknowledgement. For our last port, the literature said we would have more than 2h free time on our trip to Portovenere. In fact, this was wrong. It could never have been that long (it was 1h). I complained again and received a partial refund.

All these comments are my personal thoughts. We have been on 21 Thomson cruises. The change to the style of entertainment may well mean that will be our last.

On the subject of repeat custom, we were invited to a reception with captain and officers on the day at sea (which was actually our last day). They scheduled this for 6pm at which time we were actually entering Vista restaurant for dinner. 4pm would have been a sensible time to choose. Sort of sums up the mentality on board.

Hope this has been of value. Let me know of you have any other specific questions.

Will be on the Explorer from 16th June (Mediterranean Secrets). Look forward to hearing about first reports of this ship.

A bit disappointed to find that the cruise will now operate in the reverse order from the initial schedule. We now have our day at sea right at the end rather than at the start. Not been told why this has changed.

Wondering in general about traveller's views on the Captain's Gala Dinner. We have always dressed up for this but find that this has become less popular with guests. Gentlemen, how do you feel about this? Would you wear

a. dinner suit and bow tie (or Scottish equivalent)

b. lounge suit, shirt and tie

c. jacket with shirt and tie

d. jacket, shirt, no tie

e. very informal

f. not attend

Looking to book on this ship next year.

Does anyone have any information on balcony cabins from the ship's previous incarnation?

In particular:

How much difference is there between standard and large balcony? Might the larger balcony have sunbeds instead of chairs?

Large balcony cabins can sleep 2 or 3 - the latter having a sofa bed. Do these cabins differ in size? On at least some cruises, the 3 person cabin is cheaper than the 2 person. Why should this be? Is it related to location or perhaps a 3-person cabin is likely to be noisier (e.g. with a child).

Any deck recommendations? e.g. how much noise comes from facilities on decks above and below.

Many thanks,

Stuart

We cruised to Norway and Iceland in the summer and some of the popular tours were 'virtually sold out' before embarkation! Someone did say that a proportion of places were held back for sale on ship but I'm not certain if that is true and if so, they will sell out quickly.

If you know for certain that you want to do a specific trip, and if it is marked as limited availability, I would strongly advise booking in advance. You will probably also have a slightly cheaper price.

I understand that, if you change your mind, you can swap to another trip of even have a refund (do check details on this).

My annoyance with the website is the absence of information on departure times for the trips. This is important to us. For half day trips in particular, it helps us to decide is there is time to do the trip and see the actual port of call.

Of course, the other missing bit of important information concerns the location of berthing. Thomson like to keep this a secret until the last minute but I believe that the ports have all of these bookings settled well in advance. Do tell us. if you are berthed some distance from the 'town' you might be more inclined to book a trip.

Final rant: We used to like to see the port showcase for further information on different trips, to help us make a choice. More and more, we find this a waste of time with little additional information being presented. Better to go to Destination Services and ask in person.

We have cruised 20 times with Thomson. As you can imagine, we have covered most of the itineraries on offer. We have always chosen on the basis of the ports of call as we like to see somewhere new.

Our problem now is that of repetition. If we are to go back to the same old ports, maybe it is time to try a different cruise line (heresy!) with more comfort on board i.e. enjoy the cruise ship as much as the ports.

We like the the friendliness of the Thomson staff, some of the entertainment (main shows, vocal duos - not the game shows). Comfort and food could be better.

So, any suggestions as to what we should consider, and why? We would prefer mainly UK clientele and don't want to sail from Southampton.

Thanks.

Stuart

Sadly, the gardens are not an offered excursion. Would need to check if time in port is sufficient to do this privately.

Thanks for the very helpful advice.

The gardens look amazing.

:)

Heading northwards on this cruise in the summer. Would appreciate any recommendations on excursions for resorts which are new to us.

These are:

Stavanger in Norway (we already know Flam and Bergen)

Reykjavik, Isafjord and Akureyri in Iceland

Torshavn in Faroe Isles

Lerwick in Shetland Isles

Some of these ports of call are quite small and I imagine to make the most of a visit, it will be better to go out on an excursion, but perhaps you know better.

Thanks in advance

Looking at a February cruise and stay either from Jamaica or Barbados.

Would appreciate recommendations for hotels in either.

Main requirements are:

cleanliness and comfort

good food

on or very close to good sandy beach

close to (within walking distance) a town with interesting shops, restaurants, perhaps some night life

less than 1h transfer from airport

Thanks in advance

Anyone able to offer suggestions on some of the ports of call, specifically Koper, Rijeka, Korcula and Durres?

Is there enough of interest in the towns themselves? Are they easily accessed from the ship (i.e. no long walks, buses, taxis)? Would you recommend any of the excursions on offer?

Thanks

Looking at Mayan Treasures, Cuban Fusion and Pride of Panama itineraries for Jan/Feb 2017.

Does anyone have experience of these?

I note that some ports (Colombia, Belize) have possibly high crime risk. Whilst I appreciate that all cities are associated with some crime, I want to go on holiday to relax and not be constantly looking over my shoulder.

Any comments?

Thanks for your reply. I am looking at cabins on deck 9. Is there any late night noise from the entertainment lounges below?

Thanks for your reply. Last time in Venice we used the monorail to the Roma square and took the water bus down the Grand Canal. Visited the Accademia Gallery, wandered around, had lunch and strolled back. Looking to go the the Guggenheim Gallery and probably the Opera House. Your return route sounds nice. Any idea how long it took?

Anyone had any experience booking tickets ahead for the Doge's Palace?

As for the other ports of call, I have a good idea about the excursions we would like to do but will wait to see the timings to see whether we can combine a half day trip with enough time to explore the local town as well.

Anyone done the lake cruise from Bar?

We are considering this cruise on the Dream in January 2017. We have been to the Barbados area of the Caribbean on the Celebration but new to the Dream.

Anyone done this trip and would share comments? Any tips about the Dream: cabins, entertainment, food, etc.

Many thanks.

Booked on the Croatian Classics cruise in June. Anyone able to offer advice on ports of call e.g. how interesting the ports are, how accessible the nice parts are, and any particular excursions to consider?

We have been to Venice before and happy to explore on our own. Also been to Hvar but stayed in the very attractive town. Trieste, Rovinj and Bar are new to us.

Our 2 week Caribbean Cruise on the Thomson Celebration in February was our 16th cruise with Thomson (19 weeks in total). We like seeing new places and this was our first time in the Caribbean. We have sailed in the Baltic, Mediterranean, Norway Fjords, Aegean, Adriatic, Red Sea and Black Sea.

We were very disappointed that our repeat custom was not recognised in any way by Thomson, despite registering as repeat customers when booking online. On cruises 10 and 11 we were at least given a complementary bottle of fizz (ok, not exactly exciting). Fellow passengers were quite amazed that we had received no recent, tangible, reward.

I perhaps should have raised this issue on board but did contact Thomson on return. I received an ambiguous reply - they may put forward my request for consideration. Whether for me or for passengers in general, I do not know. My response asking for clarity has been met with silence.

So I'd be very interested to hear from other Thomson cruisers about any loyalty recognition that they have received and how this compares with other cruise lines.