cuisign

Hello Babby

We are also booked into a balcony cabin desk 8 and although we haven’t been on this ship before we have been on a number of thomson cruises in the past and from my experience you won’t be disappointed. 

Have  a great time, we certainly will - just over 2 weeks now😆

We were lucky and managed to get a balcony cabin on deck 8. Like you we booked excursions on the net except 1 which I hope we can book when we get on the ship. 

Hi 11057

many thanks for such an informative review. I agree about the premium choice we don’t go any other way now we’ve ‘discovered ‘ the Dreamliner.

Did you have a balcony cabin?

There have been many adverse comments about the lack of facilities at the airport in Thailand and wonder what your experience was?

Thanks for the update redsails, what a shame to miss this.  For Us it was a once in a lifetime opportunity.  I hope that the outside won't be shrouded in scafolding.

On a different issue I wondered if anyone who is on board between 7th March and 21st March would be interested in meeting up on one of the sea days.  I think it would be nice to put faces to CC id's.  I know it isn't everyone's cup of tea but some might welcome a chat over a drink (or two!).

Happy cruising

Cuisign

I’ll be interested in how you get on cos I think the sip leaves earlier that day. We were concerned that queues at the cable car might be too long. 

Have a good time anyway. 

Cuisign

We're planning to 'do' the Lankawi cable car trip by taxi.  Anyone have thoughts on that is it a wise move?  The ship is only in port till 4pm that day and if there are queue's we don't want to miss the boat!🙄

Ideas or experience there would be greatly appreciated.

Cuisign

Also found a travelling steam iron that I'd forgotten about, so well set up now.

Does anyone know if the shopping and food facilities at UTapao airport are as dire as Lankawi?

If so (as Pension Cruiser suggests) we'll stock up at the Snack Shack before leaving the boat as our flight isn't until 5pm.

Wow.....well that one got me a load of replies - many thanks to everyone who responded.

We do have a light modern travelling iron which is light and folds up into its own travelling case.  When we use it we always unplug anyway as a precaution.

I'm hoping that there will be more information on excursions coming up as the flights return (Thursdays at Gatwick plus others).

I'm planning our excursions now and the advice so far has been very helpful.  Google Street Scene is also very useful in finding where interesting places are in relation to the ports, some seem to be very close and I think that a taxi (or tuk tuk) would be a better bet for some.

Ps. Found the iron at the back of the holiday cupboard!! 

Does anyone know if there is an iron and ironing board in the suite cabins?  In previous cruises with Thomson the ships had them in the cabins but I can't find any reference to them on Discovery.

We do have a limited pressing service available but no mention of cabin irons

Ta in anticipation 

Ta ever so. 

It seems that your not the onl

 “beginner “ around here🤪

Excellent B but how would I access that without being a Facebook subscriber?  Could it be done via a family member who is?

As I'm not a Facebook follower can anyone tell me whether there is any more useful information on that which isn't on this Site?

PC's idea of stocking up on essentials from the Snack Shack is excellent, the only problem could be if any food is taken off you as you go air side.  In which case eat whilst still land side (if the opportunity presents itself)!

PS Only 39 days 8 hours to go (not that I'm counting!!)

Good idea PC, some tend to take such advice for granted but it's essential to pack a few bits in your hand luggage including rolled up pair of shorts, Tshirt or similar and comfortable light foot wear. We tend to wear light clothing for the flight anyway with a fleece or similar to cover against the weather here when arriving and returning to Gatwick airport.  Toothpaste etc. are provided on the plane so I don't bother with toiletries.  Stocking up with snacks for the return journey to keep you going between the ship and plane is good advice from Sylvia but this seems to be unique to Utapao airport which appears to be ill equipped to cope with a large number of passengers in a short space of time.

3 hours ago, Cristaltips said:

Thanks for posting the info, Sylvia. Just as a matter of interest, are the coaches Tui use modern ones? 

Redsails9, we are also flying out on 27 Feb. Can’t wait. First Marella, first Asia, all new experiences!! 

Not too long for you now then?

We fly out on 6 March so will be joining you after your first week aboard!!

Anyone else going from Gatwick on 6 March?

Unfortunately I’m not a Facebook groupie so I have no idea what’s on it about the cruise but I would hope that TUI read them and react positively 🤞

Thanks for the info Sylvia. 

It’s about what I expected and seems to support some of the adverse comments on various posts. I take the view that I’m on holiday so what the heck! However if TUI are aware of the problems I think they should take some remedial action where they are in a position to solve matters. My concern is that they have transferred operations to Utapao airport to save money which is not a problem in itself unless it impacts adversely on passengers .  I should get their response soon (hopefully)!

Thanks Sylvia

Having been on a number of cruises in the Med and Carib. with Thomson I have always found the standards to be high so I was rather concerned about the organisation at the airport (both in and out) and the embarkation/disembarkation arrangements which seemed to be well below par according to reviews.  No-one has mentioned this issue in recent posts so it would be helpful to have your views good or bad.  Gatwick has always been brilliant (perhaps Premium seating and the No.1 Lounge helped).

My etickets have arrived and I see that there are only 2 ports on our itinerary where tender landing is used an I will certainly make up my own mind about the various tours when we get there, your experiences seem to be positive in the main and it's good to have a balanced opinion of things.

Welcome back anyway !!

It’s there first go at Asia so I expected some teething problems (see my previous post), hence booking for March. Fingers crossed 🤞 !!

I doubt if it was as a result of an overwhelming accolade 😏

That's a relief Cristaltips, at least I got that right!

You may be interested in the Marella Asia message board too.  Her's the link

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/660-marella-cruises-roll-calls-formerly-thomson/

Have fun

For those who missed the Trip advisor report the text is below.  I contacted my TUI shop and received a diplomatic reply so I've emailed TUI direct today and am awaiting their response.

Unless I'm wrong we actually fly into Utapao Airport which is a small ex military one (hence the critical post I think). From there we are bussed to the ship berthed at Langkawi.

For security reasons I understand that we have to collect our own luggage from the Airport baggage hall and take it through customs after which is taken from us and transported to the ship.

Hope this helps

Happy cruising.

Trip Advisor post

“First of all this review has been confirmed by a number of guests whilst on the return flight back to the U.K as the points listed below are the general consensus throughout this holiday/trip.

1. A month previous to our departure date we received an email from TUI notifying us we would not be flying into Bangkok International Airport but from booking this it was described solely as “Bangkok” (no airport stated). This was disappointing especially when we found out the actual airport we were flying to. It was called U-Tapoa Airport (A Military Airport), this Airport was in the middle of no where and quite simply a third world airport un-capable of taking any commercial flights. After a lengthy flight we landed and was made wait a long period just to get off the plane onto a crowded bus to the arrival terminal. We then faced an agonizing 1.5hr wait standing in an extremely compact/claustrophobic queue which led to verbal abuse between fellow passengers, this was due to the airports inabilities to have enough staff at the immigration desks (also to note the staff at this airport are very un-friendly and do not speak English). We also had to wait for our bags to then “drag” them to a bus which was a ten minute walk to a car park in the scorching heat, this was un-usual for a cruise as you normally check them in at the airport and not see them until you get to your cabin on board the ship. We then had a hour journey to the ship which was TUI’s excuse of using this airport as “it was closer” yet Bangkok International Airport was an 1hr 45mins transfer to the ship (The General reason for this we’ve gathered is that it’s just a cheaper option for TUI to use this airport).

2. We got to the ship finally. Being very tired especially after the bad start we had, we went to do the standard check in service on board the ship. To our surprise we where checked in by a woman that couldn’t even speak English that wasn’t obviously trained to cater for check in procedures and had to be shadowed by a manager that was trying to also manage everything else, being experienced with cruises thankfully we where able to assist her in doing her job.

3. Our first day in Bangkok we opted to do a TUI excursion “Highlights of Bangkok”. We were greeted by a very nice tour guide but little did we know what we where in for. It’s just over a two hour bus journey to get into Bangkok City which we where made aware of but the quality of the tour guide was very poor, to sum it up we got no information of anything but she was keen on telling us her life story instead which was very inappropriate and also quite depressing (speaking about family members who have passed away due to cancer etc..), we were stuck on a bus for the entire day driving past everything interesting and got off at two points at very un-interesting locations. Overall worst trip, would not advise at all.

4. The quality of the ports of call are poor to say the least for example Malacca in Malaysia, this port was a disgrace we had to tender to a dock from the ship (jump on smaller boats which take you into the dock due the water being to low for the TUI discovery ship). First off TUI treats anyone who has an excursion booked like royalty you will quite frankly feel like Jack & Rose trying to get off the ship (Titantic reference) when you see TUI getting everyone on an excursion off first not caring about anyone else. The procedure to get everyone off the ship was appalling everyone had to go and grab a raffle ticket which you also had to queue 20-30min for, in our case our number was 810. Once we had our ticket we then had to wait another 2 hours for the crew to announce our ticket to allow us get the smaller boat to get off the ship the numbers where been called out for example like “ could guests holding tickets 1-50 please proceed to the gangway to exit the ship”. It was very clear TUI had no clue how to manage this even though they had been in this location the week previous to our arrival and from speaking with guests from that week it was the same chaos. In total we waited nearly three hours to get off the ship which in turn gave us less time off the ship but unfortunately it gets worse. The scheduled time for the last boat/tender to get back to the ship was at three o’ clock which is the one we decided to get since we didn’t have much time but when we got back to the dock the queue was enormous due the lack of boats and un-organization by TUI (photo attached). We queued 1.5hrs in the scorching heat with no shade just to get back to the ship. Sun burn, exhaustion and total disappointment was an understatement not to mention that night being ruined due the day we had. Our second last day one of our last ports of call was Koh Samaui unfortunately this was the same case as Malacca with getting on and off the ship only we queued for 2hrs to get back on again with no shade or refreshments and also suffered sun stroke/sickness due being left queue in the sun at 31 degrees just to get a boat back to the ship, total disgrace two days of our holiday ruined!

5. When on board the ship we had ID cards which gives us access to our room/cabin but this is also needed to order drinks and access restaurants even though we’ve paid for an all inclusive holiday (all drinks/food paid for). Why are these cards needed if we’ve already paid ! ? On a certain day we played bingo which was £5.00 each so £10 in total but we had to scan our TUI cards to pay which then they go ahead and take it from your bank which is linked to your account but unfortunately we forgot to inform our bank that we where abroad so they declined the payment but this payment was still outstanding on our TUI cards/account on board the ship so this led to us not being able to order drinks nor access any restaurants because they block these cards until they get there money! We tried to explain to the reception on board that our bank wasn’t contactable over the phone as it’s a prepaid travel card they are only contactable via the App which we needed WIFI for but this was £8 an hour on the ship which we weren’t paying for so we needed to wait for the following day to get WIFI elsewhere off the ship but we did not see why they can block the cards on board the ship for food and drink we have already paid for just so they ensure they get £10 for bingo or whatever this is a total disgrace. We asked the reception and she simply had no information to why this is a policy on board! To sum all the above up TUI stops you from eating & drinking on board if they can’t get the money from your bank linked to your onboard TUI cards.

6. The quality and professionalism of the reception team on board the ship was horrendous. The lack of knowledge and capability to deal with any situation or query is null & void. Prepare to spend quite a while trying to explain anything as some of the staff do not have the English language as there first tongue and only reply frankly like there reading from an instruction manual.

7. The food quality & variation on board the ship was shocking unless you pay extra for the retardants on the upper decks which we weren’t keen on since we’ve paid for all inclusive. Let me start by saying you will never want to see chips ever again once you get back from your holiday not to mention a curry since this was the common dish on board especially if your peckish after 9:30pm as a curry or a burger is your only options. We couldn’t wait to get off the ship to go have a nice wholesome meal. The 47 restaurant on board was a waiter serviced restaurant covered by the all inclusive package but you will be waiting 10-20mins when your glass is empty and you need a chainsaw to cut any of the meat served (pre made otherwise its like eating plastic, very chewy).

8. All the extras on board are frequently promoted for example the premium drinks package, the shops on board, the pay extra restaurants and also the excursions. Be prepared to be on board one big sale pitch.

9. The excursions, before we departed for this holiday we had a number of TUI excursions booked & paid for but we later learnt by passengers who had already been on board the ship a week to cancel most of them which we did. It turned out it works out better and much cheaper to do everything on your own for example Vietnam, the TUI excursion team told everyone on board that from there research it would cost $200-250 to get a taxi to/from Vietnam but yet we got a private taxi/chauffeur for the day for $60 which included seeing all there is to see in Vietnam with our driver waiting for us everywhere and also showing us everything best about Ho Chi Minh. So it’s best to get off the ship and grab a bargain with the drivers and don’t fall for the TUI excursions which they will lead you to believe is best.

10. The entertainment on board the ship was ok but the shows in the Broadway Theatre where embarrassing. The standard was very poor which was disappointing because from past cruisers we’ve done we really look forward to the shows but unfortunately our evenings where always dull from these shows on board by the Entertainment team.

11. On our final day when departing the ship would you believe we had a problem with one our payments again with the bank which wasn’t our fault. They didn’t allow us to leave the ship and made us stand aside which was totally embarrassing! It turned out this was there fault that they didn’t even try to charge it in the first place which led jointing the back of yet another queue, frustrating.

12. When we returned to Tapoa Airport (Third World Military Airport we arrived at in Bangkok). We where shocked to see that there was a massive queue outside the airport just to get in the front door! Again we had to queue 2hrs just go get in! Everyone including us was tired fed up and yet again being burned from being left out in the sun with no shade to queue! We later found that this wait was due to there only being one machine to scan bags at the entrance. When we finally got in the chaos was far from over. Everyone from both the Gatwick & Birmingham flights where piled into a small waiting area with no information boards to show flights gates/information. After 15mins a woman shouting for all Birmingham passengers told everyone start queuing by this door. Everyone was literally compacted into this line it was very tense and unsafe to be honest, it even led to two men throwing verbal abuse at one another. When the two lady’s starting letting people threw the gate to get onto a bus which takes you to the plane it was like a free for all everyone starting pushing and screaming it was insane! Just to note how backwards this airport was they didn’t even have a machine to scan boarding passes they had ripped pieces of paper which they wrote down your seat number. When we all got packed onto the very congested bus it was a rough 5min journey to the plane. Sweaty, tired and overall fed up, we where all glad to see that plane trust me.

We spent a lot of money on this trip and by no means did we get any value for our money.

We don’t write reviews often but we had to share this one for the sake of anyone else being affected. This is one of many trips we’ve booked with TUI, we always trusted the company and there standards but on this occasion I’m afraid it was a poorly managed/organized attempt and we where totally let down and left with bad memories.”

Hi Hartswood

I can confirm that E visas are not accepted, you need to take a passport size photo with you and get the visa on arrival in Cambodia (and pay £30).  You can't away with it by staying on the ship either as you still have to pay up.

There have been some very uncomplimentary comments on social media about the organisation at Utapao Airport and embarkation at the ship.  TUI moved the arrival airport from Bangkok to Utapao and changed flight times too so.  Utapao is a military airfield (or was) so perhaps passenger facilities there are not up to the mark yet. 

We're going in March so we'll get first hand experience of the arrangements for ourselves.

Fingers crossed!

Only too pleased to help I hope you manage to book the excursions you want and I look forward to benefiting from your experiences when you get back!

Have fun and enjoy it.

Babby and Sylvia

Try this site, it should work.

https://cruiseexcursions.tui.co.uk/

Coincidentally I was talking to the TUI travel agent yesterday and her advice was to select the ones you want on line then book them via the agent because they sell them 5% cheaper than the on line price; but I haven't checked this out for myself yet so I'm not sure how accurate the info is.

I tried to book some time ago and failed too.

I was thinking of waiting now till after the cruises start (November?) and see what experiences other cruisers have had when booking and going on the excursions.

I'm hoping that someone else is also going on 7 March!!

Happy cruising