Another good cruise on the Spirit

[kalos]

Let me start by saying that I hope Thompson Spirit will one day return to doing cruises from Newcastle

as it was a real stress free pleasure to sail from that port .

We got there and parked the car up around 10:45 after dropping the cases off along the way and given our boarding cards as well ,then a shuttle bus (plenty of them ) dropped us off at the terminal building where we were given a boarding number .

 

Soon as that number was called out we were whisked to the gangway of the ship by shuttle bus . We had boarded ,dropped off our hand luggage and got our room safe and whilst waiting for our main luggage to arrive we were sat at the back of the Lido watching the world go by and the time was only 11:45 ..That's what I call a good service/start to a holiday.

 

All our ports of call were good and apart from one night of moderate choppy sea the weather was kind to us most days ,Waterford in Ireland had a quick heavy shower but we could not complain ,the weather for the rest was good.

 

On the night we were going up to the Orkneys ..Kirkwall ,we had gone to bed ready for our trip the following day and whilst nodding off to sleep ,I thought I heard the rotor blades of a helicopter near the ship and found out the next morning that a passenger had took ill and was airlifted in the early hours from the ship and taken to a hospital.

 

So I hope they make a full recovery and get well soon .

 

Talking of our room we were in cabin 638 (inside) on deck 2 and the cabins had been fitted with a kettle and was supplied each day with 2 coffee and tea.

The cabin had a few niggles like the sink that seemed to take forever to drain away ,we asked for the plumber to check it out but it never got any better also the toilet vacuum system packed in twice but was mended by the plumber each time in minutes of being reported to reception .

A few doors down from us they had a burst pipe and the water had reached outside the cabins and so they had two industrial size blowers going ,trying to dry the carpet back out which looked recently new.

 

The food on the Spirit was good in both Compass Rose and the Lido. If we were out on a trip in the morning we would use the Lido ,from 7am until 8 you could avoid the crowds but after that we went down to the Compass Rose not for the waiter service but the self service

they do ,only serving tea's and coffee ,the rest you help yourself and it never seemed crowded . We tried a lunch in the Compass Rose Twice and both times it seemed very slow and drawn out and we were not the only ones who thought that , so after those meals ,we used the Lido, same menu /food.

 

I forget who told me on here that the Horizons Bar would make up for my sad loss of my beloved Sky Bar and they were right, sat watching the world go by as we cruised along with a pint in hand ,listening to a live trio band was our prefered location at night .

As for the present show team and CD Richard anyone going on the Spirit before the end of November will be in for a treat ..To say they are good would be an understatement ..enjoy the shows . They also did a comedy play called.."The Second Friday Of The Month" which

was very good as well.

As for the other bars we did not use them but some of the shows in the High Spirits bar and games went down very well with the crowd ,we were told by others who had used that bar.

As for the drinks onboard the prices are still the same as were published by thomson dream

so I will just put a link to that post for anyone who wants to read the BAR MENU

 

We had a great time onboard the Spirit and would like to return to her again and hope that one day she will sail from the UK again .

Having said that no matter where you board her ,you should be in for a very good time.

Edited August 23, 2014 by kalos

[MrsGyp]

Thank you very much for this review. We are on her for the Fire and Ice cruise so reading this has been very helpful. Thanks again!

[gillhalfpint]

Thanks for the great review. We join her on Tuesday for Fire and Ice too, and were already looking forward to our first time on her.

[holiday ahoy]

Great review, thank you.

[decjoe]

Hi Kalos Thanks for your report, looking forward to 28th September, when we revisit her.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[mtt]

can't wait to be back on in just 7 weeks for the eastern voyge, my mum was on this week my mum heard the passenger return to the ship while in the orkneys, she had a great time

[Malch_uk]

Agree wholeheartedly with everything said by Kalos, particularly regarding the Entertainment Team -10 excellent young singers & dancers, regularly joined by CD Richard Gray in the performances (eg: as "Master of the House" in the Les Mis performance).

 

We actually got 2 plays in one 7 night cruise as they also did Educating Rita whilst at sea on Friday afternoon with Richard as the lecturer and the newest recruit to the entertainment team as the student. Brilliant performance by all involved.

 

Cannot fault Spirit in any way - our favourite ship!

 

Will miss her next year - looking at Fred for ideas.

[happy v]

Thanks for your report Kalos, so glad you enjoyed it.

 

I'm another one who would love to see UK cruises again.

 

 

sorry and Malch

Edited August 23, 2014 by happy v

[kalos]

 

Glad you also had a great time Malch and also hope all of you going have a great time too:)

 

A photo I took of Rich playing the part of Master of the house and a happy looking Ben stood with his mum who was also on-board with his dad on our week. :cool:

[Deb71]

Great cruise wasn't it :D Ok the weather could have been warmer but at least the rain held off most of the time and the seas were calm - we've had choppier seas in the Caribbean lol

 

Our first time on the Spirit and we were very impressed, the public areas seemed very spacious and after our most recent trip on the Majesty trying to find a seat in the Lido (although I know it's recently been altered) we were impressed with the Lido on the Spirit. Nice quiet cabin deck 1 in the middle. Food was great as always! We too loved the Horizons bar, especially the evening sailing away from Tobermory watching the islands pass us by and seeing the lighthouses shining away in the distance, just magical :) The evening shows were just great and our daughter loved kids club.

 

We saw some luggage being offloaded in Kirkwall, must have been the poor guest who was taken ill in the night, we asked for an update but they didn't know, hope they are ok.

 

We noticed a couple of small differences from previous cruises - no towel animals for us, no singing waiters apart from baked Alaska night and no tour of the bridge, but obviously this did not stop us enjoying the cruise and I would book the Spirit again for sure! All the staff were lovely as always although we did find the photographer quite rude when trying to sell us more photos.

 

My husband was mistaken for one of the entertainment staff several times which I found hilarious as he can't sing a note lol

 

What a shame they are stopping UK cruises, as Kalos said it was such an easy process, we were on the ship before we knew it and disembarking was just as easy. Fingers crossed for the future. Now, in the meantime, where's that brochure........:D

[holiday ahoy]

Thanks Debs, always nice to hear good things about the Spirit.

[CRUISIN LINDA]

Thanks for the report kalos. Glad you had a good time. World Cruise next then? :D:D

 

Now, better get on with the packing!

[don26]

I would like to be associated with the remarks of the previous speakers, (kalos & Deb.)

Our 4th on Spirit & yes there were slight differences. We had towel animals every night on Deck 1, Deb, (I must try & book earlier) & singing waiters too.

Tea/coffee making facilities in cabin was a big big plus. Unfortunately, the previous Chef, Charles has moved to Majesty, & whilst the food from the new guy Alan, was good, he doesn't do the Chilled soups that Charles did, which we find delicious - just like smoothies. Entertainment was good, although we had seen 3 of the shows previously, but they stood up to another look. Let's hope Spirit comes back to Newcastle soon.

[CRUISIN LINDA]

Hi Don,

 

Glad you had a good time. We are off on the Majesty in October, so looking forward to the food although not keen on chilled soup ;)

 

On the Spirit on Tuesday :) Just packed. Difficult to know what to take, I've packed all sorts including gloves and woolly hat :o

[Deb71]

I would like to be associated with the remarks of the previous speakers, (kalos & Deb.)

Our 4th on Spirit & yes there were slight differences. We had towel animals every night on Deck 1, Deb, (I must try & book earlier) & singing waiters too.

 

That's good to know Don :D We must have just been in the wrong place at the wrong time, I'll just have to book again :)

[kalos]

Just to wish all you peeps on the Fire & Ice a great time :D

 

I wish I could do a world cruise Linda ... One day (Maybe) ;)

[kalos]

Great cruise wasn't it :D We noticed a couple of small differences from previous cruises - no towel animals for us, .:D

 

We got a Lobster one night and a dog and Mrs K and I will share the dog with you Debs ..but not his eyes ... we ate them !!:eek: ;):D

 

 

 

[holiday ahoy]

Thanks Kalos.

Safe journey to all those coming to Harwich.

[joeholiday2]

Thanks for all the good reports on Spirit.

Sounds like it's just as good as ever.

I think the lack of towel animals is across the fleet, they have so many cabins to tend to now.

 

It's the only one of the current fleet we have not been on....hmm might have to change that sometime;);)

[Jakanne1]

I too endorse what has been written by Kalos, Deb71 and Malch. I have just returned from the Amsterdam mini cruise and Thomson could have been forgiven if standards were not as high as usual as many people got the 3 day cruise for £149 each Deck 3/4 inside cabins, including free coach travel either to Newcastle Port of Tyne for the start of the cruise or from Harwich back to Port of Tyne at the end.

 

The standard for food both in the MDR and buffet was very good. IMO better than Dream in the Caribbean this past winter. The entertainment team in Broadway were excellent, probably the best I have seen. The ACD who did the game shows was excellent and had people relaxed and laughing especially at the Mr and Mrs show.

 

We got two towel animals out of 3 days but I know others who got none. It must depend on the cabin attendants. We had two lovely young ladies who kept the cabin very clean and made a fuss of my grandson. One at least was from Bulgaria.

 

There were a few little niggles that I heard about from others. One was of the sale of the Towel Folding books where some guests had had the books left in their cabins with a 'payment receipt' to sign and thought they had to buy it!

 

Also, the service in the MDR was rather mixed, from excellent one night to poor another, depending whereabouts in the dining room you were seated and which waiters you had,

 

I also had to insist on being given a table for 4 (we were 2 women with our young grandsons) and we preferred not to share with others for dinner as we did not want to sit a long time with the boys as we wanted them to see the early show before going to Kids Club at 9.00pm. This was eventually sorted by removing 2 sets of cutlery from a table for 6. So easy!

 

I also didn't like the way the children were handed the kids menu without us being asked. The chicken nuggets and fish fingers, although they looked 'home made', were overcooked and not at all nice and were left uneaten. We would have preferred to ask for small portions from the adult menu.

 

The Kids Club was excellently run by Louise and the children thoroughly enjoyed it.

 

It is such a shame that there will be no more ex Uk Thomson cruises for a while. My grandson wanted to stay on to go to Iceland!

[hgt]

I wish I'd spotted the Amsterdam cruise for £149... I'd have booked it at that price... would have been more fun than my very damp day out in London for the Bank Holiday! Was on the Spirit in July and did consider the Amsterdam trip as I love the Spirit and am missing her... plus I don't really fancy any of the 2015 itineraries on the Spirit. I really hope Thomson have a re-think and bring her back to the UK soon.

 

The crew are fantastic on the Spirit, and the entertainment staff are really good this year too... I'm very jealous of everyone setting sail on the Spirit over the next few weeks.

[gillhalfpint]

Fire and Ice was fantastic. Loved everything about the cruise despite missing 2 ports due to a bit of rough weather. Agree with the fantastic crew and staff on board and the entertainment team the best we have seen so far with Richard the CD.