Dream Cruise - Just returned

[Dreamgirl1957]

post on other site

 

http://www.cruise.co.uk/cruise-reviews/pando-cruises/azura/read_review_79500/?utm_source=040213&utm_medium=bulletin&utm_content=3&utm_campaign=reviews

 

Stevie

 

makes you think :cool:

 

Thanks Steve, will have a read tonight ;);)

[geomagot]

Why have they stopped the deck entertainment then does anyone know?

 

They never really started it on dream in the same way that that they did it on destiny

 

there is a deck bbq on dream but no entertainment to go with it…they don’t actually cook the food on the deck like they did on destiny, so it reallyis just a bbq buffet……on the destiny that smell wafted over to ventura which was what (I think) drew them in

 

they will hold a quiz/game show on dream followed by 2 hrs b2b of the same cd followed maybe by the cocktail demonstration

 

on destiny the hosts and show team would be on deck some afternoons, dancing and singing during the afternoon bbq & sailaways, the band would do a couple of sets then the usual cocktail demonstrations napkin folding etc

 

It may be just me?....but it certainly felt like there was much more going on on destiny and more atmosphere….they seemed to be making the most of the outside space especially on the Caribbean itineraries

[sodafountain]

They never really started it on dream in the same way that that they did it on destiny

 

there is a deck bbq on dream but no entertainment to go with it…they don’t actually cook the food on the deck like they did on destiny, so it reallyis just a bbq buffet……on the destiny that smell wafted over to ventura which was what (I think) drew them in

 

they will hold a quiz/game show on dream followed by 2 hrs b2b of the same cd followed maybe by the cocktail demonstration

 

on destiny the hosts and show team would be on deck some afternoons, dancing and singing during the afternoon bbq & sailaways, the band would do a couple of sets then the usual cocktail demonstrations napkin folding etc

 

It may be just me?....but it certainly felt like there was much more going on on destiny and more atmosphere….they seemed to be making the most of the outside space especially on the Caribbean itineraries

 

We have only done the 1 caribbean cruise, and the sailaways and afternoon's on deck were always great, when we then did Dream in the Med, it wasn't the same, we assumed it was because it wasn't in the Caribbean, but it sounds like it's because it's not the Destiny, or that Thomson have decided to change how they do things.

 

It was one of the main reasons for thinking of going back next year (as it is more expensive), but if the admosphere isn't going to be the same as that, then i may have to re-think that idea.

[Dreamgirl1957]

We have only done the 1 caribbean cruise, and the sailaways and afternoon's on deck were always great, when we then did Dream in the Med, it wasn't the same, we assumed it was because it wasn't in the Caribbean, but it sounds like it's because it's not the Destiny, or that Thomson have decided to change how they do things.

 

It was one of the main reasons for thinking of going back next year (as it is more expensive), but if the admosphere isn't going to be the same as that, then i may have to re-think that idea.

 

 

Im thinking ahead too sodafountain for 2014 , really cant decide between Greek islands cruise & stay in June or save a bit harder and do caribbean Nov 14 or feb 15, as you cant see both prices at once to decide in april it means waiting till Caribbean prices are out by which time any early booking deals such as all inc for Aegean will have been missed !:(

If there is to be a new ship for Caribbean (sailaways posts re-madeira etc ) then that might be exciting and worth a wait but be nice to know now! :rolleyes:

[geomagot]

The caribbean itineraries are still great...fantastic and I do enjoy the dream (and the atmosphere still suits me better than on P&O imo)

 

I lurrved the destiny

 

that destiny cruise christmas 2009 certainly was a memorable one, for all the right reasons..... a great happy crowd of fellow cruisers on board, captain and officers mingling, perfect weather and sea conditions throughout....and...you couldn’t sit down for more than 2 seconds before a drinks waiter what at your side ready to take your order....perfect!

 

Unfortunately I think that particular cruise has become the benchmark that I judge all cruises on

 

maybe its just my perceptions??

 

to me, dream deck entertainment just aint the same....I'm not saying its bad....just not the same.....imo dream daytime entertainment seems a little flat, the thoms happy atmosphere is still there but not in shedloads like it was on destiny.....maybe it depends on the crowd you are sailing with??...maybe its just me??

 

Destiny certainly was a hard act to follow imo

[Dreamgirl1957]

The caribbean itineraries are still great...fantastic and I do enjoy the dream (and the atmosphere still suits me better than on P&O imo)

 

I lurrved the destiny

 

that destiny cruise christmas 2009 certainly was a memorable one, for all the right reasons..... a great happy crowd of fellow cruisers on board, captain and officers mingling, perfect weather and sea conditions throughout....and...you couldn’t sit down for more than 2 seconds before a drinks waiter what at your side ready to take your order....perfect!

 

Unfortunately I think that particular cruise has become the benchmark that I judge all cruises on

 

maybe its just my perceptions??

 

to me, dream deck entertainment just aint the same....I'm not saying its bad....just not the same.....imo dream daytime entertainment seems a little flat, the thoms happy atmosphere is still there but not in shedloads like it was on destiny.....maybe it depends on the crowd you are sailing with??...maybe its just me??

 

Destiny certainly was a hard act to follow imo

 

Shame we never tried the destiny as everyone seems to love it , if you were me then geo, Aegean cruise & stay june 14 or Caribbean in the winter 14/15 ???????????????????? :confused::confused::confused:

[geomagot]

Shame we never tried the destiny as everyone seems to love it , if you were me then geo, Aegean cruise & stay june 14 or Caribbean in the winter 14/15 ???????????????????? :confused::confused::confused:

 

its a difficult one dreamgirl....difficult for sure...aegean does certainly hold a lot of attraction for me

 

if it was me tho and I had to choose between them...I would choose caribbean....I just luv it over there so much

[Dreamgirl1957]

its a difficult one dreamgirl....difficult for sure...aegean does certainly hold a lot of attraction for me

 

if it was me tho and I had to choose between them...I would choose caribbean....I just luv it over there so much

 

Thanks, how silly not to be able to make my mind up and then also as ive got this silly £200 credit with P&O been thinking if it is caribbean then Thoms or P&O..:confused:

Well today have def decided £200 or not will be Thomsons as i sat looking at that vidio of the sailaway thinking if i was on the techno tower block :eek: i would be looking down at the friendly little Thomson ship thinking i wish ..!

And we've done several land based Greek holidays , never done Caribbean so all in all i think im making headway !

Thanks again :):)

[happy v]

Thanks, how silly not to be able to make my mind up and then also as ive got this silly £200 credit with P&O been thinking if it is caribbean then Thoms or P&O..:confused:

 

Well today have def decided £200 or not will be Thomsons as i sat looking at that vidio of the sailaway thinking if i was on the techno tower block :eek: i would be looking down at the friendly little Thomson ship thinking i wish ..!

 

And we've done several land based Greek holidays , never done Caribbean so all in all i think im making headway !

Thanks again :):)

 

I love your deliberations Dreamgirl!!, and as it's only February I'm sure there are lots more to come. ;):D

[Dreamgirl1957]

Haha happy v, you have got me sussed! ! :eek::eek:

 

If I only I could win the lottery then I'd book them all! :D

 

I like to have a good think first and get it right then all those months paying don't seem so bad. ;)

 

Happy with this years choice can't wait for Oct! ;)

 

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2

[happy v]

Haha happy v, you have got me sussed! ! :eek::eek:

 

If I only I could win the lottery then I'd book them all! :D

 

I like to have a good think first and get it right then all those months paying don't seem so bad. ;)

 

Happy with this years choice can't wait for Oct! ;)

 

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2

 

It probably isn't much consolation but I don't believe people who can have anything appreciate and enjoy it as much as those who have worked hard to achieve it.:)

[sodafountain]

Wow! lovely to see that...many thanks for posting:cool:....brings it all back....nice views of virgin gorda too

 

Just checked my bill, 20th - 27th December, from Birmingam, All Inclusive with outside cabin, choose seats and extra luggage was £2272, booked July 2009.

 

4 years later, 22nd to 29th December, from Birmingam, All Inclusive with outside cabin, choose seats and extra luggage, now costs .............. £3730!

 

I know things have to go up, but that's nearly £1500 extra 4 years later, for the same holiday (different islands though).

 

Mind you, week before is only £2352, maybe they didn't charge as much extra for Christmas back then?

[paulaud]

Hi Guys

 

Some interesting comments in this thread. We have come across people who turn their noses up at Thomsons and yet as others have said the complete package offered by Thomsons is superior in many areas in my opinion. We have sailed on the Destiny and apart from the windy Lido we really enjoyed the whole experience. I also agree with the comment about the deck parties being better on Destiny. We brought back the video of our Latin Gems cruise on the dream which included the sailaway party. Sadly it looks like we were in a canteen not on the deck of a cruise liner!

 

I think the other point to bear in mind on pricing particularly with the larger cruise liners is possibly down to supply and demand. If you have to fill 4500 places on each cruise, those prices are bound to drop as the date arrives. With Thomson ships holding max 1500 it is probably easier to fill the ships hence the ability to maintain prices. Despite this i do think that trying to push prices up with the current fleet might be difficult to maintain unless more up to date ships are used.

[Julessmiles]

Hi Guys

 

Some interesting comments in this thread. We have come across people who turn their noses up at Thomsons and yet as others have said the complete package offered by Thomsons is superior in many areas in my opinion. We have sailed on the Destiny and apart from the windy Lido we really enjoyed the whole experience. I also agree with the comment about the deck parties being better on Destiny. We brought back the video of our Latin Gems cruise on the dream which included the sailaway party. Sadly it looks like we were in a canteen not on the deck of a cruise liner!

 

I think the other point to bear in mind on pricing particularly with the larger cruise liners is possibly down to supply and demand. If you have to fill 4500 places on each cruise, those prices are bound to drop as the date arrives. With Thomson ships holding max 1500 it is probably easier to fill the ships hence the ability to maintain prices. Despite this i do think that trying to push prices up with the current fleet might be difficult to maintain unless more up to date ships are used.

 

 

The Sailaway Parties we have done have always been really good on the Spirit & the Celebration with really good atmosphere :)

[Grez]

Hi Guys

 

Some interesting comments in this thread. We have come across people who turn their noses up at Thomsons and yet as others have said the complete package offered by Thomsons is superior in many areas in my opinion. We have sailed on the Destiny and apart from the windy Lido we really enjoyed the whole experience. I also agree with the comment about the deck parties being better on Destiny. We brought back the video of our Latin Gems cruise on the dream which included the sailaway party. Sadly it looks like we were in a canteen not on the deck of a cruise liner!

 

I think the other point to bear in mind on pricing particularly with the larger cruise liners is possibly down to supply and demand. If you have to fill 4500 places on each cruise, those prices are bound to drop as the date arrives. With Thomson ships holding max 1500 it is probably easier to fill the ships hence the ability to maintain prices. Despite this i do think that trying to push prices up with the current fleet might be difficult to maintain unless more up to date ships are used.

You've hit the nail on the head with your last sentence - that's been my concern for the last few months.

[Jim The Scot]

I`ll buck the trend by saying always found the sailaway parties and deck entertainment on the Dream excellent.As Geo says it must be down to the crowds you sail with

[geomagot]

Just checked my bill, 20th - 27th December, from Birmingam, All Inclusive with outside cabin, choose seats and extra luggage was £2272, booked July 2009.

 

4 years later, 22nd to 29th December, from Birmingam, All Inclusive with outside cabin, choose seats and extra luggage, now costs .............. £3730!

 

I know things have to go up, but that's nearly £1500 extra 4 years later, for the same holiday (different islands though).

 

Mind you, week before is only £2352, maybe they didn't charge as much extra for Christmas back then?

 

very interesting this soda

 

thoms are definitely moving away from their low cost reputation

 

except that they are just putting up the fares and not doing anything else much (like newer ships)

 

we went on the the dream the following year (christmas 2010) and there was a hideous hike in the price, I assumed this was because it was the (supposed new) dream and because of the Cuba itinerary

 

in the event this cruise suffered all manner of problems (which have been well documented on here) we managed to get a partial refund

 

we didn’t dare trust the dream (for family christmas) after that (mil is still, to this day fretting about that fire!)

 

so

 

christmas 2011 we went back on destiny, christmas canaries (much cheaper) probably due to the short haul flights etc….destiny was, as always….great!

 

comparing like for like this year, we are going back on dream this march same 2 weeks as last year, same cabin type etc....definitely about £400 more and with the hike in drinks prices on top....its not looking likely that I will be booking Thoms for next (family) christmas....unless they get a new ship??

[Dreamgirl1957]

Hi geo, if a new ship for caribbean as Sailaway thinks will be for 14/15 wont it not next winter 13/14 or am i all mixed up :confused::confused:

[KirkNC]

Thanks for the report!

[Julessmiles]

Thanks for the report!

 

 

Can I please ask you why you are continually posting "Thanks for the report" but make no apparent effort to contribute to the Thomson forum? Do you have a repeat sentence on your keypad that does this automatically for you without you knowing? It all seems very odd to me. Everyone is welcome to contribute on here, would be nice to read your opinions sometimes rather than just "Thanks for your report"

 

Have a nice day and thanks for your comments :D;);)

[whistlerbc]

Loved seeing those pics, brought back some very fond memories of both Destiny and those fantastic deck parties. I shall try dig out and post a short video where the Thomson team get the P&O passengers joining in with the party, fabulous.

 

Are the sailaway parties on Dream leaving Barbados? Destiny was Tortola and at the end of the week, maybe there are too many newly arrived and tired passengers on Dream for the party to have the same high spirits as later on in the cruise.

[Grez]

Can I please ask you why you are continually posting "Thanks for the report" but make no apparent effort to contribute to the Thomson forum? Do you have a repeat sentence on your keypad that does this automatically for you without you knowing? It all seems very odd to me. Everyone is welcome to contribute on here, would be nice to read your opinions sometimes rather than just "Thanks for your report"

 

Have a nice day and thanks for your comments :D;);)

Hi Jules,

Kirk NC is the worst kind of forum poster - worse than trolls (at least they are occasionally amusing). He is the type who is only interested in increasing the number of posts he has made. You will find he does this on all boards on the CC forum, not just Thomsons. I have commented on this in the past, and in the end I just put him on my ignore list. There are many forums where the likes of Kirk NC are warned and then banned if the quality of their posts does not improve, but sadly the powers that be at CC aren't interested.

 

I will leave it to your own imagination as to why he feels the need to keep posting the same inane comments, but as I have said the best course of action is to just ignore him.

[Julessmiles]

Hi Jules,

Kirk NC is the worst kind of forum poster - worse than trolls (at least they are occasionally amusing). He is the type who is only interested in increasing the number of posts he has made. You will find he does this on all boards on the CC forum, not just Thomsons. I have commented on this in the past, and in the end I just put him on my ignore list. There are many forums where the likes of Kirk NC are warned and then banned if the quality of their posts does not improve, but sadly the powers that be at CC aren't interested.

 

I will leave it to your own imagination as to why he feels the need to keep posting the same inane comments, but as I have said the best course of action is to just ignore him.

 

I know all that Grez, just wondered if he would answer my question lol! It wouldn't matter too much if he didn't have such a long signature with the hundreds of cruises he is due to go on taking up all the space on my screen but it does get a bit repetitive seeing his name come up all the time:D. The only consolation is it doesn't look like any of us will bump into him on Thomson Cruise. Do you think he walks round all day saying " Thank you for your report". It appears he is very limited in his conversation ha ha ha !!!!! :):rolleyes: