jake 26

We did that tour on the day we embarked and it was really useful, saved us much anguish over the next few days, still got lost though.

You are probably right. It certainly seems to be very popular, mind you it is a very nice ship. I hope you get what you booked.

I've just spoken to cabin reservations and they still won't let me book a JS cabin no. on Discovery 2 for November for the TA from Tenerife to Jamaica.

As far in advance as possible

I agree, prices for the coming year into 2018 have risen somewhat recently on the two Discovery ships.

However cabins on Discovery 2 are not yet available to book, probably because the ship is still with Royal Caribbean.

Agreed, we are also booked for next winter, on sister ship Legend of the Seas - Discovery 2, and the prices are excellent for such 'proper cruise ships',

Long may it last.

I'm mystified by the move to total all inclusive. The current cost of the drinks package for two for two weeks is £726 which is far more than many people would spend on alcohol, particularly as the individual drinks are normal pub prices, and with such port intensive itineraries time is constricted on board. Some people will obviously have the desire and capacity to take advantage of the package but I know we would suffer if we drank half of that.

Everyone is different and we really enjoy having a tipple on our balcony as the ship prepares to sail late afternoon/evening enjoying the Caribbean warmth as we sail, a glass or two of wine with dinner, and maybe a nightcap later.

I can only assume that cruise prices will rise and the drinks package quality will decrease with everything AI. It does seem an odd move, I hope its not a retrograde step as Discovery is such a great vessel.

We enjoyed the fish 'n chips from the Snack Shack as well!

Did the Paradise Islands trip from January 22 and absolutely loved it but talking to a mix of ages opinion differed greatly. We are the older brigade and I guess the restaurants and furnishings are important to many of us. The Discovery has these in abundance. I can understand the younger brigade might prefer the self service section and I would agree the attraction here was less evident. The area looked pretty cramped while there was plenty of space in the other areas. The theatre is superb but was let down by the entertainment - nothing against the talented youngsters, who have superb voices, but there was a total lack of props and little imagination in the presentation.

I am glad you enjoyed your cruise on Discovery Dorothy.

You summarize our view which is that the ship has great ambience in the public areas, particularly the main restaurants with the stunning windows, and the excellent theatre.

We found the buffet restaurant to be too busy and noisy with little pleasant decor. We only had one lunch in there.

Breakfast in the MDR is superb. There are excellent alternative dining venues too.

We are on her again in late March.

I just checked, next winter Discovery's 'Seven Isles' itinerary has calls at Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands.

 

If Thomson is reading this may I suggest it might be a good idea to change those ports!.

I recall we visited both of St Thomas and Peurto Rico on the Airtours Sunbird but that was pre 9/11. We didn't have to go through US immigration.

I think both areas, which are fairly close together are regarded as unincorporated territories of the US, so perhaps their inhabitants have to go through some form of immigration checks to enter the US proper.

Hi jake ...surprisingly the Discovery cruises was one of the overall best we have enjoyed in the Caribbean, despite the Dining issues.

As you say everybody is different about the issue of music on the ship.

It was the open dining with no possible fixed alternative that we didn't like.

On our other lines we always have second sitting and enjoy the experience.

I understand completely. We always enjoyed second sitting and the same waiters every night, who got to know you. We met some waiters several years later and chatted like old friends.

We then tried freedom dining on P&O and initially didn't like it, but eventually found the flexibility of times and meeting more people did suit us.

I do like the airiness of the Vision ships dining rooms, particularly at breakfast. Not so claustrophobic as Azura/Ventura.

 

But I take your point - and goodness knows how long immigration would take now - it was bad enough before!

You are so right. While I've not got strong views either way on Trump 's policies I think that any 'aliens' such as us will be given a very hard time by Homeland Security from now on.

We have had bad experiences with US Immigration in the past but now the thought of what it may be like puts us off considering a trip there.

It's a shame you didn't enjoy the Discovery as much as your other cruises.

I think most lines expect dinner in the MDR to take around 2 hours, certainly P&O take about that, although, as you say, there may be an extra course plus coffee. We enjoy lingering over dinner particularly with convivial fellow passengers and wine, so for us it's an enjoyable part of the cruise, but everyone is different. I do think Discovery's dining rooms are very attractive.

Sadly the plethora of sun bathing books and magazines are a factor on most ships, look on the P&O forum for sunbed wars. We found on Discovery that as long as you didn't need to be round the main pool there were often available beds.

I was reading a review recently where people were complaining that there wasn't enough music on deck, particularly during the evening while they were in the Caribbean, so I suppose it's difficult to suit everyone.

Perhaps Thomson need a quiet lounge instead of the Live room. We found the Glass House was a very pleasant quiet area for a drink and a chat.

Many thanks Miller. That feedback is most appreciated.

I investigated this recently. There is a fair bit of info if you Google 'death in paradise location' and look at the tripadvisor responses.

It appears that buses can be quite random and indirect so you may eventually get there but returning may be a problem. Taxis look pricey. There doesn't seem to be an actual true location as they use various places plus props. However it is set mainly in Deshaises.

My French is tres petit so that could be troublesome as it seems very little English is spoken. Obviously you need euros rather than dollars.

We are going on the botanical garden and Deshaises beach trip and hope to see some of the location.

We were on Discovery in October and the turn out for the night was quite good. The Captain's address in the atrium was at around 7.30 - 8 and it was well attended with people who had dressed accordingly.

There was live music with a good lady singer, fizz was served, photos were taken on the atrium stairs and all in all a good atmosphere.

It seemed that people who didn't want to join in dined earlier and those who attended then went to dinner afterwards.

I think it worked well.

We are on her again in March as well and I shall be taking a dj, as I think quite a few will dress for the evening, even though the climate is tropical. As davecttr says you can always change after.

Discovery 's atrium is quite stunning and suits such an event.

If these so called included tips actually exist how much are they ??? i suppose 0.01p pp would cover the claim of included tips, who gets them and how much ?????, certainly nobody i know onboard has a clue.

You are probably right, the tips don't actually exist. What Thomson actually say is that 'they are included in the price' which, to my mind, is a subtle way of saying that the remuneration received by the staff is a reflection of basic salary and an estimale of average gratuities.

As has been said the staff seem happy enough so it must work.

Thomson go on to say that you are entitled to tip extra if you so wish, which is what many people do. Its a matter of choice without obligaiion.

A cre member once told me that only a handful,literally 4-5,of staff on the whole ship are directly employed by thomson

Sadly, in many ways, over the last 15 years or so, contracting out various elements of large companies has become the norm, as it gives a much closer control of costs for the bean counters, who look after the shareholders.

On non thomson/tui owned ships the staff work for the ship owners and they determine their salary/contract.

On thomson/tui ships the staff work for the management company who have got the contract to run the ships, the staffs salary/contract are managed by that company.

About the only thomson employees onboard are the thomson manager and i presume destination services staff.

So in each case TUI Thomson will have agreed a contract for services. That means they have accepted the staff costs, which includes pay, and that is then fed into the algorithm for calculating fares. So indirectly the staff are paid by Thomson.

Thomson make no secret that tips are part of the package, I noticed it was even printed on my cruise card, so my thoughts are that the staff are happy with their remuneration as they also know tips are included and they don't appear to be disgruntled because of it, and they don't 'play' for tips as sometimes happens on other lines. If they do a good job however many people will tip them.

I think this is a much better system than on other lines where the gratuities can be eye watering, but where there may be a question as to how much the staff actually receive.

They dont work for thomson

So who do they work for?

If they work on a TUI Thomson ship they are working for Thomson directly or indirectly, but either way Thomson must have contracts in place which have been negotiated to provide services for an agreed sum. Therefore Thomson set their pricing in relation to to that sum, and that negotiation will have direct bearing on the pay received by the staff employed to provide those services.

Their salary has got nothing to do with thomson

Please clarify

We couldn't resist booking the Discovery 2 repo in April 18. 10-28

Great itinerary:

Montego Bay

Havana 8a.m. until midnight

Nassau, Bahamas

Bermuda. Day and a half

Ponta Delgada

Lisbon

Malaga

Cartagena

Palma

If tips are supposedly included why does their salary not go up and down depending on occupancy

 

.

Surely their pay is contractual and is based on a salary plus a share of average expected gratuity income, and that gratuity income comes from the margin that Thomson say is built into the price. So therefore it won't fluctuate with occupancy.

They seem to be a contented lot to me.

I agree with building gratuities into the headline price. If someone goes beyond their call of duty, or exceeds my expectations I will tip them extra. Otherwise I won't get on the tipping merry go round.

On P&O I left the auto grats in place as I feel that P&O underpay their staff and use the tips to make up their income.

I have heard back from both Cosol and Bernards tours. Thet say the the Discovery is in St Lucia on March 1st and St Maartens on March 9th. I know that is not what cruise timetables says, but for the minute, I will go with the tour guys dates.

Cosol and Bernards should know what's correct as they will be coordinating with their respective port agents so I agree, go with their info.

They will know if there is a change and alter plans accordingly.

The situation is all a bit curious with different bits of info cropping up!

It may not be relevant in this case but an officer on Ventura told me a couple of years ago, after some trouble with vandalism, and having identified the culprits, that ships the size of Ventura have become the holiday of choice for members of the travelling fraternity.

Apparently they block book cabins and spend a lot in the bars.

We are on the 26th March itinerary and ours has been changed to the 2 port lists as posted by 28SAC, so the Seven Shores / Paradise Islands in Feb/Mar is the same in Mar/April.

On each the sea day is now the last day which makes sense as the run from Tortola to Barbados is the longest in the itinerary. Also it appears Discovery is the only ship in Tortola on those Fridays which is excellent. Unfortunately St Maarten is going to be rammed as Harmony of the Seas is in on the Wednesdays along with 6 and 5 other ships respectively.

I just don't understand why Thomson aren't notifying customers of the changes.

We haven't been notified officially but as 28SAC has pointed out they are documented in the ports cruise calendars.k

Hi PC, that's the £30 they charge for booking in the shop.

Just looked at the deck plan on Internet and 8536 is one of three deluxe cabins among the junior suites. They have a balcony etc, so we'll just have to make out we are as posh as Them!

Our friends were in 8536 and it is a very good cabin, well situated just across from the concierge lounge. Its the same as a JS but without the balcony. Floor to ceiling windows instead. Very nice!