Dark Defender

On ‎6‎/‎13‎/‎2019 at 8:34 PM, pgilc1 said:

 

The issue does exist, however i suspect that

 

• It might be more prevalent in some areas of the ship than others
• It depends what engine combination she is running on at the time.  Apparently they alternate engines, so it may be a specific engine or only noticable if they are running on both.
• It depends on what levels of power the engines are being asked to produce at any given time.

 

 

That would explain why I heard the vibration/creaking in the same cabin within 10 months of cruises.

Hi

I'd been to Rome several times so wasn't too concerned about a guided tour. The happy medium was the insurance policy of "Rome on your own" where you get a coach transfer from the port to a spot you return to. In my experience it was Castel Sant Angelo which is well placed for walking to most tourist attractions. You also get handed a map and the guide typically provides a commentary en route for the most part.

That said, if I'd never been before I'd probably be keen to a get a more inclusive guided tour to make the most of it/get into attractions.

It's funny reading about the vibration on the Dream.

I didn't hear a single thing my first time on the ship. Fast forward 10 months and I couldn't relax at all or sleep from the vibration. In the same cabin I'd previously occupied.

Yeah strictly speaking I don't think there's a exit time, but in practice I think most people are getting coached by TUI from the marina to the hotel.

We did a week on the ship then a week at the Son Matias Beach in Palma Nova.

We love the Palma area, including Palma Nova, but noticed the difference between cruise life and hotel life so quickly.

As such, if I was to do it again, I'd maybe do the stay bit first, then go on the cruise.

That said, we're quite active, so if you like to chill by the pool and park yourself at a bar or restaurant all night I suppose it doesn't matter what order you do it in :)

The late night buffet on Discovery was much more limited than the Dream. Burgers, hotdogs, chips and chicken curry are the only things I can remember on Discovery. Dream had the same, plus other stuff like toasties.

I've been there myself and am aggrieved by it, but really don't think we can expect much from the company. We know the nature of the business model is for prices to fluctuate. We don't offer more money when the price is lower than previously seen, so we can't moan too much when the price goes down after purchase. It's a bit like a show I'm going to later, if I buy tour merch and then leaving the arena there's an end of tour merch sale to get rid of remaining stock it's a pity, but I took my chances earlier on and was happy to pay that price.

Booked on the May 20th Baltic Discovery tour from Newcastle in December last year and paid £3000 for 2 in a inside berth. A week after the full account was due Marella reduced the price down to £950 each over a £1000 cheaper. Not a happy bunny. Got nothing out of TUI / Marella regarding compo or upgrade, it was just tough luck but they would not have asked for more money if the price had gone up. Definately pays to book late with Marella and will do so next year, have noticed that other companies are discounting now so will look around at other providers for our next cruise.

We were going to do this cruise but due to family issues we couldn't. So I know what you mean about the cruise literally being around half price.

I think if there's an equivalent cruise next year I'll hold off. You don't need to worry about flights, and surely a cruise pre-Summer is unlikely to sell out until there's a heavy price cut.

Really sorry to hear you got stung though. I think what makes it worse is the short timescale between booking and the price cut. I'd guess you don't have a legal leg to stand on, and I'm not even sure Thomson will do something out the goodness of their heart as a little 'make good' gesture.

The main thing is you were happy to pay the price you did for the cruise at the time, now go and enjoy it, it's a cracking itinerary and I know from last year it's a brilliant ship :)

It's a few years ago now, but I booked a cruise for Thomson Dream in December 2011. The cruise was 2 weeks for June 2012. Around 3 months before cruising I checked and it was a grand cheaper a person. Several factors could play into this. Eg Concordia happening in-between, the company trying to ensure the ship was full. In any case a bit of a sore one.

A couple of months before booking this cruise I went to a cruise exhibition at the SECC in Glasgow. I found it bad form that the prices Thomson offered were higher than what was available online via their website, and the staff laid it on thick that there was only one outside cabin left circa 9 months before the cruise, when there was evidently more available once checked (but kinda knew without having to verify).

I've said on here before. Cruise prices are like the stock market. Take a punt if you're happy with the price, and be happy to take it on the chin if the price falls, or pat yourself on the back if the price rises.

Last June on Discovery 1 the dress to impress night was quite relaxed. Folk that wanted to get suited and booted did, others were in smart casual, I think it was a much better vibe than the previous Captain's Night where there was more of a 'have to' culture.

Also, our day at sea was at the end of the cruise. It was preferable to us. After 5 days of exploring the different stop off points it was lovely to have a leisurely stroll around the ship during the day, with lots of entertainment, and a decent lunch in the restaurant rather than getting up early for brekkie and maybe a snack during the day.

Horses for courses, but that's how we felt about it.

Sometimes the cruise industry game feels a bit like football. "We're going with this coach" and 9 months later there's a replacement en route!

I'll need to read some reviews of Dream, my virgin cruise was on her and it was an excellent holiday. Second time not so much, not because of the ship itself, but significantly more punters and significantly less staff plus a real drop in food quality ruined it a bit.

I'd like to think she's back on track, albeit I'd now probably prefer to try Explorer 2 or return to Discovery 1 than revisit Dream.

In the brochure, you can ONLY fly from Glasgow to Naples.

No Edinburgh or Aberdeen.

 

From Glasgow, you can fly to all the ships and do extra stay to Discovery 2 and Dream

That's marvellous news, for me and other folk from Glasgow.

I'm really excited to look at the brochure.

I've just read Jet2 are going to start doing flights to Naples from Glasgow (my local) next Summer.

Great news, as I'm well up for some of the Explorer 2 itineraries, and it's currently unclear if TUI will fly Gla-Naples!

You wonder where the line is sometimes.

Someone probably has considered charging for sunbed hire, but enough voices in the room said no to that, but yay to premium all inclusive, bridge tours etc.

I just wanted to say cheers for posting all the new itineraries @SausPud. They look great! Thanks for taking the time to do this!

Thought Dream replaced Destiny?

 

Sent from my VF-895N using Forums mobile app

No, I think they started operating Dream in June 2010. I was on Dream in August 2011. I wasn't sure whether to book Dream or Destiny. It was a month or 2 later they announced and replaced Destiny with Majesty.

A lot of stuff Thomson do seems knee jerk.

When I first got into cruising I recall them ditching Destiny and replacing with Majesty out of nowhere. I think there's even a chance Destiny was all over the 'new' brochure, such was the last minute nature of it all.

Hi guys, posted this on another site, but crib below. Any questions give me a shout.

We travelled on the TUI Discovery for 1 week from 24 June 2017 and had a fantastic time! The itinerary was "Highlights of the Mediterranean" with stops at Barcelona, St Raphael, Livorno, Civitaveccia and Ajaccio.

An early morning flight meant arriving at Palma port at about 12pm. As soon as we arrived Ryan from the show team boarded the bus and clearly explained the check in procedure.

Check in was quick and pain free. We were staying in a junior suite which TUI class as "premier". This meant we got to fast track security and check in. A nice perk, albeit one that didn't save a huge amount of time as check in was pretty quiet and efficient for everyone by the looks of it. Another perk of premier was priority delivery of cases. I can't compare with non-priority, but we had everything in our cabin within an hour and a half I'd guess. The other perks where free breakfast delivered to the cabin one morning and upto 3 items pressed within the first 24 hours on board. Again very nice and appreciated.

Out junior suite was 8068. It was a nice cabin with plenty of room and a decent balcony. Selected this cabin because it was under the spa, so we had no noise from above. At times there was a vibration in the room, e.g. when you were lying in bed at night and felt the ship was rocking a bit. Nothing to frighten the horses though.

The decor in the ship was lovely. Special mentions to the 47 restaurants and the Atrium. In the public areas I'd sat as good as any 5 star hotel I've been in (I've recently stayed in Hilton, Radisson, DeVere, Marriott and small boutique globally). The cabin probably wasn't as fresh as the public areas, but not really a complaint. It was all good.

Entertainment the whole week was first class. The show team put on some fantastic shows in the Broadway theatre. Difficult to pick a favourite. Definitely no bad shows, we're now in the "stay" part of our cruise and stay holiday and the entertainment on land can't compare.

We also caught some bands and musicians through the week and they were all good too. The other hosts were all great too, very personable and hard working. Adam Brooks the cruise director has a really good team!

The guest UK act was comedy magician Andre. First class show, he had the whole audience in stitches with his jokes, interactions with volunteers and did some tricks and mentalism that Derren Brown or Penn and Teller would be proud of!

There was plenty going on around the ship, particularly the day at sea. A great afternoon play called Breakfast for One, Ryan and Laura from the show team put on good solo shows, and Peter Pan was a blast! Daily bingo was a must for us - the big winner on the last day walked away with over 1,500! The mini golf course was good fun, we didn't try the rock climbing wall though some braver folk looked like they were having fun!

The food was a delight. Special mention to Gallery 47 - the Italian restaurant. The food was lovely. Viola was always a lovely hostess on the door, and a couple of times we were served by Fredy and Jorge who were first class waiters. Service very efficient with a smile and a joke, a great experience. Food was lovely, plenty of choices and quality meats etc. We also ate in 47 and echo the same. Islands was fine, decent for a buffet. Pizza was ok from the Glass House. The ice cream, coffee and cakes in the Coffee Port are lovely, worth the small supplement. Burgers and fish and chips from the Snack Shack are tasty, this venue adds a nice casual feel to the ship. Late night eating is burgers and curries and the like in the Glass House, fills a hole if you're peckish late on. Lunch in 47 is a particular treat, the Discovery burger is as good as you'll get from TGI or Hard Rock Cafe.

Drinks service throughout the ship was broadly very good. Waiter service in the Broadway theatre was excellent. In other areas the waiters don't seem particularly proactive at some times. But it's not a long wait if you end up going to the bar yourself.

For tea totallers the quality of juice varies depending on where you go. Avoid draft Coke/Fanta etc from the Glass House. Something not quite hitting the spot with their water or post mix. Islands you'll get Coke from a bottle.

Ports were all fantastic. We did a couple of ship excursions, I think it's good value for money if you think of it as paying a premium for getting back on the ship if something goes wrong! We did Easy Pisa and Rome on your Own (7 hr version). Easy Pisa is great - coach to Pisa, and you get off and straight on a mini tourist train that takes you round the city and drops you off yards from the famous leaning tower landmark where you get about an hour and a half to potter around as you please. Rome on your Own is great if you have your bearings with the city from previous trips. The guides on the coaches in both cases were very informative and helpful.

Special mention to James Byford from the excursions team who tried really hard to get us on a sold out trip (St Tropez by boat) but to no avail. The effort was appreciated!

I think the only minor blip to our schedule was leaving Rome about an hour and a half later than scheduled due to "a small electrical fault downstairs". This didn't seem to result in us arriving at the next port late.

Our cabin steward was a tiny bit irritating as he came across as a bit cheeky a couple of times. We're really amenable people but we separately noted instances of feeling like communications could be better, or stuff had been forgotten. The latter was never an issue, we're all human. But it was the attitude we got when we tried to politely rectify things that hit a nerve with us ever so slightly. Overall he did an ok job though.

Captain Hugh Maynard seemed very good. Not too in your face or going for jokes and laughs like previous Thomson Captains we've had (Torsten Olbrich, and "the voice from above" Roy Dearman) but a very clear speaker and on top of things.

As a random comment free WiFi wouldn't go amiss on the ship as it's taken as given in hotels nowadays.

A great week all in and we'll likely cruise again with TUI sooner rather than later. Probably the "new" Explorer for the Med again, or a Baltics route on Discovery again next year.

Hopefully not a terrible idea for a thread, but I wanted to let you all know that we had an amazing time on Discovery last week.

I wanted to say that everything is first class in advance of many of you getting close to going, as some reviews have indicated it was a bit ropey.

I intend to do a proper review, but I'm currently in the "stay" element of the cruise and stay, so don't know when that will be.

Though will try to pop in to answer any burning questions people have.

DD

Oh no, hope it's nothing major!

It would be great if you could update us when you have more info.

That's really helpful Dronnygirl.

I've been to Rome on cruises twice but we have always bottled travelling to Rome ourselves from Civitiveccia!

Can you tell me where you found the train timetable?

Thanks!

Very interesting!

Hi

I'll be visiting the port of St Raphael in the Summer. Struggling to find much info on things to do there. I'm minded to travel to Nice and/or Monaco.

Has anyone got experience of St Raphael? Worth staying to explore? Or if you're best to visit elsewhere, is it easy enough to get from the cruise terminal to the train station?

Hi all

Long time no speak. We're making my return to cruising in June 2017 after (what will be) a 5 year hiatus!

We're going on the Thomson Discovery, and have booked a junior suite. From memory (and it was only yesterday!) all cabins appear to be on deck 8.

Does anyone have any recommendations of what cabin(s) to choose and/or avoid?

Our wants are unrestricted view and quiet.

I'm sure this will be the first of many more frequent visits back on here!

Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

Hey guys

Thanks for the replies. Really helpful.

I could be paranoid but just for the avoidance of doubt my post wasn't meant as a negative. I'm trying to ensure I don't discount Thomson in the future just because my second experience wasn't as good as the first.

With the food the first time was incredible tasty food, plenty of meat, efficient service. The second time the food tasted bland (eg no matter what flavour the soup was supposed to be it tasted the same). Was also a struggle to find meat on the menu, whereas 10 months earlier it was mixed grills etc on offer. Funnily enough I received a link to a review this morning which while not on all 4's kinda echoes with me (just realised its another website so better not put the link up but it's about being hungry after a 5 course meal).

Entertainment had no complaints at all. One of the highlights of the holiday was the hour in the Broadway at night as our hobby is local theatre with trips to London where we catch a West End show 4 nights on the trot. Also loved the guest comedians, especially Paul Eastwood. Was just wanting to verify everything is still first class in this area, which it seems to be.

In regards to getting what you pay for the last time I paid more for a fortnight on the med than I would have done booking any other mainstream line (NCL, PO, RCI) and even spotted cheaper Cunard. But it's not about the money if you're getting the sad standard you got 10 months earlier.

I think in hindsight in August 2011 Thomson had capped capacity and had plentiful staff and dining budgets. All in order to build a strong rep for Dream following the nightmare start involving legal disputes. Fast forward to June and they're now getting rave reviews and have lifted the capped capacity and reduced staff and budgets. That's how it felt to me.