christmas getaway Thomson Dream

[sweby]

Hi we are also going, also flying from manchester really looking forward to it . Im more worried if this ship is ok nearly had heart failure when i booked it and read the reviews . Does any one have any news as to if the ship is up to scratch . Our last 2 cruises were on ocean village 1 & 2 which we liked . Looking for good trips any one can recommend we have a lively 12 year old son with us . Usually do our own but open to suggestions thanks xx

 

Don't worry about old reviews, all the recent reviews are good. We did a last minute cruise on the Dream in the summer and had a brilliant time, cabin was good, food was good, shows were outstanding, staff brilliant, good choice of shore excursions. We were pleased because we are going back on the Dream at Christmas, and that had already been booked. So at least we weren't disappointed.

Sweby

[Liftwise]

Just Booked up today for the Christmas Getaway Cruise

 

Cant wait!!!

 

Looking forward to some winter sun and time with the family

[OpheliaS]

Has anyone tried to get currency for all ports of call on this trip? I've tried everywhere I can think of and still can't get money for Curacao, Colombia and Panama?

 

I suppose US$ will be ok in Curacao and Panama, but my friend who was in Colombia a few years ago said US$ were a no no. Has anyone been there recently or knows whether it is better to take US$ or exchange on the ship? :confused:

 

Any advice very welcome!

 

Soon be down to days in the 20s! Excitement level rising daily :D:D:D

[kruzseeka]

Has anyone tried to get currency for all ports of call on this trip? I've tried everywhere I can think of and still can't get money for Curacao, Colombia and Panama?

 

I suppose US$ will be ok in Curacao and Panama, but my friend who was in Colombia a few years ago said US$ were a no no. Has anyone been there recently or knows whether it is better to take US$ or exchange on the ship? :confused:

 

Any advice very welcome!

 

Soon be down to days in the 20s! Excitement level rising daily :D:D:D

 

 

We took only US $ last year for our trip on the Dream with the exception of Cuba which is a closed currency and we had to purchase them in the port (that's a whole other story!) and had absolutely no problems anywhere. Curacao was definitely ok with US$ - we took a local taxi trip which included the distillery - great fun and paid in $. Entry to local beaches were also payable in $ and cafes, tourist shops just want your trade and are happy to take $.

 

Sorry, can't help with Columbia and Panama - do they have 'political' issue with the US like Cuba? If so, your only option may be to get some local currency once there - or from an ATM. I would be a bit guarded though - if like us in Cuba, we got a decent rate when we converted £ to Cuban currency (wouldn't take $) but it was an absolute rip-off when trying to covert back - they wouldn't give you anything except £20 notes back with a terrible conversion rate so anything less than multiples of £20 you were left with! So moral of that tale is to just get a small amount changed for drinks and incidentals and perhaps get more if you see a 'must buy' item which is more expensive.

 

Here's a couple of links from the 'ports of call' forum on this site which may help.

 

http://cruiseforums.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1329111&highlight=columbia+currency

 

http://cruiseforums.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1423987&highlight=panama+currency

 

Also, here's a link from the 'Ports' section. Scroll down to the 'Other Panama Canal and Central American Cruise Ports' section. There is a link to Curacao and may cover your other ports too. (This section is really useful for lots of ports but doesn't cover all those you may go to - I often print out sections from this part of the site to take with me to remind me of the tips and 'must sees' etc.)

 

http://www.cruisecritic.co.uk/ports/area.cfm?area=18

 

Hope this helps.

 

Enjoy your trip! Great way to spend Christmas! :)

[OpheliaS]

Thanks kruzseeka that was very helpful! I hope you have a great Christmas too, wherever you are :)

[celt123]

Tickets Have arrived ...yipeeeeeeeeeeeee:D

[OpheliaS]

That's great news! :) Did you book on-line or through a Travel Agent?

 

Can't wait to get ours, I want to see the excursions! :D

[leytonsmum]

Hi we booked with a travel agent if you go to thomson dream christmas getaway itinery web page it shows you some of the ports of calls and the trips

The booklet is great its got tickets info and luggage tags .. im just looking on line for tour / trips we can do much cheaper this way ...

[Kags]

I've been looking at cruisingexcursions.com. They seem reasonable compared to Thomson but a bit worried about booking with such a new company, as they only started up this year.

[OpheliaS]

Does anyone know at which of our ports of call we will have to get a tender? My husband will be more or less confined to a wheelchair on land so we want to be prepared for him being shipbound!

 

My son 18 is worried that he'll be the only male around his age on the ship, is there anyone out there that can put his mind at rest?

 

Excitment building here, only 3 weeks to go! :)

[kruzseeka]

Does anyone know at which of our ports of call we will have to get a tender? My husband will be more or less confined to a wheelchair on land so we want to be prepared for him being shipbound!

 

My son 18 is worried that he'll be the only male around his age on the ship, is there anyone out there that can put his mind at rest?

 

Excitment building here, only 3 weeks to go! :)

 

It doesn't look as though any of your ports are tender ones - in Thomson's brochure they indicate tender ports with an asterix in the itinerary description (e.g. see Villefranche on the Atlantic Sunrise itinerary P120 in their latest brochure) so I think you will be ok. Have a great time!

[OpheliaS]

Thanks again kruzseeka, that's excellent news :)

[Lou1993]

Does anyone know at which of our ports of call we will have to get a tender? My husband will be more or less confined to a wheelchair on land so we want to be prepared for him being shipbound!

 

My son 18 is worried that he'll be the only male around his age on the ship, is there anyone out there that can put his mind at rest?

 

Excitment building here, only 3 weeks to go! :)

 

Hi I can't help you with the tender question but I am going with my 18 year old daughter so I too was hoping that there is going to be other young ones on board that she can mix with rather than staying with her dear old mum,

Not long now :)

[OpheliaS]

Hi Lou

 

Glad to hear that there's someone his age on board, James doesn't mind being with us, but he despairs sometimes with us! Like all youths they always know better than those of us who've been there and bought more T-shirts etc. My daughter Rachel is also going and she's 15 going on 43!

 

I see you're from GM, we're from Leigh, but our postal address is still Lancs. Where do you live?

 

Only teens of days left tomorrow, we'll be coming back in just over a month, what a horrible thought! See you soon

 

Lynn :)

[Lou1993]

Hi Lynn, my name is Linda and my daughter is Amy and we are in Wigan! Not far from you, we are flying from Manchester also, I know what you mean about teenagers, this will be our third cruise but our first time on the Dream, Amy made several friends on our last cruise who she still speaks to on face book occasionally, I am sure they will form a little group and go off and do their own things,

Amy is like James she does not mind being with me but l am happy for her to spends time with her own age group, I also understand what you say about your daughter, at 15 they know everything at that age which can be very frustrating for parents, I have no doubt they will all have the time of their lives.

Let’s have no more talk of coming home Eh! Concentrate on the countdown.

Hope to meet you and your family real soon.

Linda :)

[OpheliaS]

Hi Linda

 

Looking forward to it, see you at Manchester!

 

Lynn :)

[celt123]

Just looking at our tickets and noticed that they have only put out initials on the tickets Is this the norm (they had our full names when we booked cruise ) 18 days to go !!!!!

[kruzseeka]

Just looking at our tickets and noticed that they have only put out initials on the tickets Is this the norm (they had our full names when we booked cruise ) 18 days to go !!!!!

 

Yes, that is the norm - so no worries! ;)

[celt123]

Phew Thank You x:)

[swfc]

hi I'm on dream next xmas/n.year looking forward to ur comments enjoy :)

[leytonsmum]

Hi

we went on ocean village twice and both times there were plenty of wheel chair users and the staff had a system of carrying wheel chairs and users on to the small tender boats .. which was great as no one missed out this way hopefully thomson have something in place for this event ....shame on them if they dont

we are a active family and the boys are planning a few mad trips swimming with sting rays etc so your son is more than welcome to join us (im the one sitting on the beach im too sensible )

see you in manchester

Dawn

[celt123]

Ill be sitting with you on the Beach Dawn sipping a few Rum cocktails!!! See You Soon

Rhian

x:D:D:D

[OpheliaS]

Hi Dawn

 

Thanks for that, but I can't imagine my extra heavy husband and his extra heavy wheelchair being carried anywhere, he'd probably sink the tender! You'll see what I mean soon. I think he'd rather stay on the ship and spend the day relaxing with a book. There's only Dominican Republic I'm not sure of really, I think we dock at all the other places.

 

James will be pleased if he has someone to play 5-a-side with on board. Neither he nor Rachel fancy swimming with Dolphins and I haven't mentioned the stingrays. What they really want to do is the zip slides and the one in Costa Rica which took in a boat ride up river into the rain forest doesn't seem to be available at the moment.

 

See you in Manchester soon, with the weather turning cold and wet it can't come soon enough.

 

Lynn ;)

[kruzseeka]

Hi Dawn

 

Thanks for that, but I can't imagine my extra heavy husband and his extra heavy wheelchair being carried anywhere, he'd probably sink the tender! You'll see what I mean soon. I think he'd rather stay on the ship and spend the day relaxing with a book. There's only Dominican Republic I'm not sure of really, I think we dock at all the other places.

 

James will be pleased if he has someone to play 5-a-side with on board. Neither he nor Rachel fancy swimming with Dolphins and I haven't mentioned the stingrays. What they really want to do is the zip slides and the one in Costa Rica which took in a boat ride up river into the rain forest doesn't seem to be available at the moment.

 

See you in Manchester soon, with the weather turning cold and wet it can't come soon enough.

 

Lynn ;)

 

Hi Lynn,

 

If you are going to La Romana in the Dominican Rep then you will dock - they operated their embarkation process here on the Destiny - there is a secure (secure being the operative word) port area but you will be berthed here. It's not very user friendly for getting off and wandering though (there is a small duty free area) but once outside of the compund i don't think it would be easy with a wheelchair. We did the Altos de Chavon trip here which we really enjoyed but I'm not sure it would be wheel-chair friendly. Perhaps there would be a different trip which would be suitable - you could check that out with Destination Services otherwise, as you say it could be a sun-bathing day!

 

If it's a different port in the Dom Rep then I don't know what the situation will be - but hope it all works out well for you. :)

[OpheliaS]

Hi Kruzseeka

 

You seem to be an absolute font of knowledge, I wish I could take you with us on our cruise!

 

Thanks, we are going to La Ramona, I'd looked on Google maps and there didn't seem to be anywhere for a cruise ship to dock, apart from a rather grubby looking area which had freight ships around. I may just leave hubby on board and do a quick 'recky' then back to the ship for a cocktail or two.

 

Thanks again

Lynn ;)