Sally V Lamb

Brummijam is correct in most respects. Standards have slipped but no one objects. Just back from a week around the Canaries and I would add the following.  Breakfast very poor selection with bacon of a low fatty nature. No tomatoes some days and the waiter said they rationed these to every other day. Quite ridiculous considering they stock up weekly in Tenerife where they are abundant. Mushrooms sliced so thinly you could not tell what they were.  Hash browns on alternate days.

I found the main broadway shows very good and have no complaints here. However there was a tendency for some passengers - mostly scottish - as they sat by us and told us they were - would pick up the free drinks on the way in and then nip out the other entrance and come back with more drinks. As the drinks were free regardless on board I cannot see that the advantage is. These were also the people going to the toilet throughout the show. The doors should be shut as well to prevent a procession of late comers.

That said the ship is in good condition,was well run day to day and we enjoyed ourselves.

Recently returned from Greek Getaway cruise on Explorer 2 and thought I would cover a few points.

Embarkation        Flew from Manchester and no issues here or going through Naples airport and collecting luggage. It is leaving the airport the issues arise. No coaches are allowed onto the airport for all cruise lines and consequently all passengers are not advised that there is a long walk, say 1/4 mile, to the coach park. This involves crossing a busy road and walking on public pavements either carrying or pushing your own luggage. Not for the elderly or infirm. There may have been assistance but I did not see anybody using or asking for it. You are NOT warned in advance about this and it could have been heavy rain like the previous week's cruisers endured.

Disembarkation   This was better as Naples airport is regarded as bonded for the return journey. Your case goes from the ship direct to Manchester in our case. This was fine. However passengers on the return coach remembered the walk on the way in. For some reason the driver went to the coach park and everybody thought a long walk was needed without your luggage. However he then proceeded to drive out of the coach park and dropped everybody in front of the departures terminal which was better. No explanation given.

Food     Excellent throughout and good choice of restaurants. Kora La and Surf 'n' turf are much better positioned on the same deck as all cruisers walk up and down going to the shops and bars etc. Because they were more visible they appeared full each night. Still a question of whether value for money and probably not. Did not try the Dining Club. The Italian restaurant Vista situated in the main dining room was busy every night and we ate there 3 times as it was excellent. 

Bars   Very good choice of bars and open and airy with plenty of room. Premium All Inclusive well worth purchasing a £50 per person per week. Much better choice of wines, beers, cocktails as well as coffees in the Coffee port. a 1.5L bottle of water per cabin per day and also included liqueur coffee with the evening meal. 

Venues   Good range with Indigo at the top of the ship for cabaret and late night disco. Squid and Anchor ( the pub) for quizzes and the evening gameshow. Gets busy in here after 9 pm. The Broadway show lounge is on 2 tiers and is impressive. On a wet morning they put on the film Bohemian Rhapsody and it was packed out. An Ent host said during the refurbishment £1M had been spent on audio sound system. Golf themed bar with 2 golf simulators which were said to be more expensive than any golf club in the UK!

Shops   Good range of shops split over 2 levels. I did not particularly notice until well into the cruise that there was no shop selling alcohol or cigarettes. Presumably because we are always in EU waters on the summer's cruises someone said ?

Spa    Champneys spa is well appointed and well used but dearer than Marella cruisers may be used to.

Destination Services.  On embarkation afternoon there was a port showcase showing on the large screen on the pool deck. Not paid any attention. However on the next day at sea there was no port showcase in the Broadway show lounge. Cruisers left a bit baffled and DS stock answer - it's on the tv in your cabin. First port of call was Chania in Crete but due to a medical emergency we were late. Ship turned around and had to meet a boat nearer the coast to take an injured member of staff off. Half the excursions were cancelled and rest moved to later afternoon slots. Any wishing to change were told by DS you need to give 24 hours to cancel. This is always an area which lets the cruise down.

Entertainment  A new to us Cruise Director , Matthew Shaw, but very pleasant. Never seen around the ship at all until the main show at 8.30 pm. Two of the Ent Hosts, TJ and Andy, should form a double act as they were very amusing during quizzes and game shows. The standard type of quizzes, games, other entertainment slightly changed for the cruise and you need to check the cruise news to see what is on when. Game shows not seen as good as usual but amusing. Shows in the BSL were excellent every night. New ones so not seen by previous cruisers. Comedian one night but not overly funny. Bingo seem as popular as usual. Cabaret in the Indigo club very good. Two good bands on board as well.

Ports   Chania very nice but late in. Excursion to a Monastery was good. Mykonos was a tender but very nice and worth a visit but not a paid excursion. Athens - to the Parthenon very good but absolutely packed out. There is also a very long walk on slippery ground to the top as well as a busy main road to cross. Zante - due to high winds/rain failed to tender and set sail to Catania. Film put on as above. Catania - been to Mount Etna before as well as Taormina - little do in Catania and generally poor.

Summary  We had basically decent weather apart from one morning unlike the previous week who had rain every day. The Explorer 2 is a very nice ship but perhaps lacks the "wow" factor of Discovery. The atrium in comparison was very small. However Indigo was very popular in the day to sit and read in a light and airy. Full deck width Coffee Port unlike the wraparound style on Discovery. Main Dining rooms were fine and I note that there were a considerable number more of tables for two. All in all a very nice cruise

Recently returned from Explorer 2 and had purchased the premium all inclusive package at £50 each. Considered worthwhile as you will easily exceed the £7 cost per day. A 1.5 litre bottle of water is available in your cabin, coffees in the coffee port and a much better range of drinks. Each of the bars had their own menu and therefore different ranges of cocktails were only available in the specific bar. Plenty of beers from the mobile trolley on the pool deck as well.

We found the best bit was the better wines at dinner but more importantly at the end of the meal the speciality liqueur coffees were also included in the package !!.    Good range of cocktails of the world in the Indigo bar at the top of the ship. Combined with the late night disco what could be better.

We were on Discovery in July. All beers are OK but I noticed that all cocktails appeared weak. Some bars had large plastic bottles of the most popular cocktails premixed and simply poured this over ice in the glass. More ice I thought as well. However if you were on the premium drinks package the drinks were much better and made to order rather than simply poured out of the mixed bottle.

I agree AI has pushed price of a cruise up but we were happy with the package without paying for drinks additionally. However lots of passengers do not really make use of the AI as presented so TUI earn a lot of money off these drinks.

Did not realise at first that there were no straws in the cocktails. Could ask for one but few people did so they save on costs there but will claim environmental responsibility on use of plastic

We did the Magnificent Fjords cruise on 21 July for a week and took 3 full cases. In the past especially on 2 weeks cruise we have taken four 20Kg cases and no issue whatsoever by anybody. I agree with getting there early as mentioned earlier. We drove 200 miles on the day and got there 11 to 11.15. Cark park queue had started but onboard by about 12.30. Had lunch and went on the pool deck shortly afterwards. Looking at the car park there was an enormous queue of passengers waiting to hand their luggage over and collect their cards. Cars waiting in a huge tailback. They would have waited a long time to get on board. However the ship is fabulous and we enjoyed everything. Operatic Rock duo Braximusic were superb at all performances especially singing as we left Flam on the pool deck

Returned from a week long Fjords cruise on Discovery 1. As we had been to all ports apart from Rosendal before the excursions were not a priority. So we decided to spend some money on dining. Booked when we got on board via the terminals near reception for Kora La and Surf and Turf. Whilst we booked early evening both places never got busy when we where there.

Kora La up on Deck 11 has fabulous views and is very smart. I thought staff were a bit over enthusiastic in their attention. Nice menu selection and no issues with quality. Super cocktail purchased as well. All in all pleasant but regarded as expensive for hat we had.

Surf and Turf. Pleasant restaurant on Deck 11 with a nice menu. Staff welcoming and enjoyable evening. Same comment as above in that nice but even more expensive.

Would suggest to be used for special occasions only.. States reservations only but not particularly busy.

On Discovery there is also a free restaurant called Gallery 47 which is Italian based. No need to book but very busy. Excellent meal here.

Also a further paid for restaurant called the Glass House. Did not dine there but used late evening as the self service restaurant.

Dining all week was first class

We did the Fire and Ice tour some years ago in July. In Akuyeri it was so cold and windy we put gloves and fleece hat on !! It rained at Gulfoss and umbrella was no use due to the wind.

We did Treasures of the Baltic this July. Went on the Panoramic tour on the second day. Leave the ship early morning. We stopped at St Isaacs Cathedral, Aurora battleship and Church of the Spilled Blood. May even have been another before the obligatory souvenior stop. To be fair this was a different one to previous cruises and was quite good with toilets, free coffee and everything marked in euros. I think we were late back to the ship which did not bother us but would have done if we were going straight out again.

Last time we were there they provided packed lunches for passengers getting off the morning coach to save them going back to the ship. Basically straight onto the afternoon coach. Not seen or mentioned this year.

Peterhof was very good but packed. The evening of Russian Song and Dance was surprisingly very good and there was an interval with champagne served. Free water to take away as well. All the people in the hall were off cruise ships and there were 7 in that day.

Went on the Dream at the end of May and have just returned from a week on Brittania to the Norwegian fjords. Booked online relatively late but was a good deal with an outside balcony. Did pay for the coach trip to Southampton as well. Unlike Harwich or Newcastle ports Southampton is much larger and clearly geared up for volume. Even so it is slow but security is much beefed up. Once aboard you were simply told to find your own room and what floor it was on. The problem is there are no stairs in the middle of the ship and it is a very long walk to either end. However room was very nice and the glass door on the shower was better. Luggage turned up inside the room very quickly.

Went to the lido and was impressed with the set up and choice of food. Plenty of space but on sea days was crowded. We had freedom dining in the allocated Meridian restaurant. Choice was limited compared to Thomsons but service was slow. However food was very hot when served. Slighly annoying in having to ask every night for a table for 2 when they would clearly like you to share a larger table.

Shops and facilities were very swish but expensive. Photographs were obtained from many computer terminals where you find your own and could order there and then. Good cinema on board with latest release, Many films were available in your cabin via state of the art large flat screen Tv. Entertainment was varied but the theatre put on first class shows due to the size of the stage and latest technology. Good ventriloquist. Rather camp Cruise director and not very visible entertainments team. Could not decide whether it was not required by passengers or seen as down market. There was a pub onboard which held quizzes and seemed popular.

Excursions - same as anywhere with excursions team not very helpful

In summary hard to compare large ship with over 4000 passengers to any of Thomson's ships and whilst facilities on Brittania were clearly better including food there was a lack of genuine warmth from the staff and there was on overall lack of ambience. The Thomson game shows whilst dated do generate a good spirit though the ship. Happy to go one either brand if the price is right. Drinks were expensive on board and clearly all inclusive not pushed as passengers prepared to pay full prices.

Went to both last week on the Dream and they are tender ports. We left the ship at Villefranche on to a very large tender marked Port Of Nice rather than the ship's own tender. Double the capacity and faster so some of the excursion passengers got moved quickly. Normal tender upon return.

There is quite a steep walk to the coaches in Villefranche which they do not tell you about. Not that much in Rapallo but a nice place. Had done the cable car to the monastery before so went on the coach trip to Genoa. Very busy city which is quite steep. Walking tour to the main sights. Saw a thief being chased by 3 armed policemen by the Cathedral. Usual annoying street hawkers following you and this year's hot item are selfie sticks !

We have been to both places on separate cruises. Both on the same day seems hard going. Pompeii is impressive but was jam packed with tourists and extremely hot when we were there. Wilting after a while and a sun hat and water are essential. More experienced cruisers say that Herculaneum is a far superior site.

As regards Vesuvius the coach takes you up a winding road and stops well short of the top. It is quite a hard walk to the summit on very loose lava gravel and good walking shoes / trainers are required otherwise your feet will be covered in dust. Do not fall for the old trick of locals offering you a walking stick as they charge you for the use at the top ! Several were abandoned before the top to save being charged. The views of the Bay of Naples are excellent and there are the usual tourist kiosks and refreshments at the top. Despite the steep road to the top several Fiat Panda 4x4s were seen ferrying goods to the top. The actual caldera is quite deep but as it is mostly covered in grass and small trees it does not look like a volcano. However worth going as a half day excursion.

Did this cruise last July but went to Tangiers instead. Gibraltar was excellent and we did the Rock Tour. Afternoon shopping ( M&S WHS ). Cadiz was a lovely port and we walked right into town. Did an around town excursion but probably would not again.

Motril is a poor port and not really set up for cruise ships. The white berth was actually grey concrete but absolutely plastered in seagull poo ! However had a very nice morning in the sugar cane museum followed by a visit to the Ron Montero rum distillery. Free samples tested followed by more free samples and the entire coach returned happy ! Told that Motril is now the cherry tomato capital of the world.

Cartagena was a lovely port with nice views from high up. Went to coffee / pastry shop in the main street and had a pleasant day.

Weather was hot throughout and as the ports are fairly close together the ship sails slowly overnight.