Thomson dream

[moodycow665]

Hello

 

I am a cruise virgin!

me and my husband are going on a thomson dream cruise , we start of at palma and go to Barcelona and a few other Spanish places. My question is . we didnt book the drinks package as they want £250 for both of us for 5 nights it seems alot considering we are not massive drinkers . with the morning breakfast etc would any drinks be included like tea and coffee etc . Please can someone help as i have no idea

 

thanks claire:):)

[LHT28]

there is a forum for Thomson cruises I would post there

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=497

[davecttr]

Yes, best to post on the Thomson forum here.

 

To answer the question, free tea and coffee always available at the buffet and in your cabin. Fruit juices available at breakfast, also milk and of course water.

 

Unless you drink a lot IMO the drinks package is not worth the money. It is good value if you get it free as an early booking incentive :)

[John Bull]

£125 pp per week is probably a promotional price!

Usually it's around double that!!

But yes, it's still not great value for some folk - we drink moderately, a few cocktails or a beer or two and a shared bottle of wine each day, and it come to a little less than that. At that price we just might be tempted & would ensure we got our money's-worth.

Bear in mind that there are stax of exclusions in the package. The only draught beers in the package are John Smith's & a lager, others are bottled or canned & carry a supplement of a pound or two for folk on a package. Ditto soft drinks (post-mix in the package, cans carry a supplement), half the cocktails, and the package wine is by the glass - that's not a bad thing, it's not even the drinkable house wine, & it's pretty foul. :eek:

 

If you sign-as-you-go bar prices are about the same as provincial pubs, ditto the wines if you buy 3-botle packages.

 

JB :)

Edited October 25, 2015 by John Bull

[moodycow665]

Yes, best to post on the Thomson forum here.

 

To answer the question, free tea and coffee always available at the buffet and in your cabin. Fruit juices available at breakfast, also milk and of course water.

 

Unless you drink a lot IMO the drinks package is not worth the money. It is good value if you get it free as an early booking incentive :)

 

 

Hello i have no idea were the thomson forum is i am new to this. so is water and juice available:confused all day for free ? thanks again

[moodycow665]

hello

thanks very much , was just unsure . i have had a lot of people say the food was bad recently. so that is not good :(

[John Bull]

For other forums, go to the bottom of this page & click on the arrow at "forum jump".

This will bring up a long long list of forums - scroll through to the "cruise lines" forums, highlight the Thomson one & click "go" and it'll take you there.

If you scroll that list of forums, you'll find some other useful ones.

There's a list of RollCalls, including Thomson. Sadly, on UK ships they're pretty meagre RollCalls, we Brits don't go in for RollCalls in a big way.

There are also forums on Ports of Call, & they can be pretty useful.

If you ever get lost on Cruise Critic, just click on your screen name (top right, any page) & you can navigate to your posts.

Takes a bit of getting used to, but well worth the effort.

Try to find the Thomson forum for yourself - but if you're struggling here's a direct link

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?s=&daysprune=&f=497

 

Water is from the tap at the drinks stations, & there's free ice. Also jugged iced water on the dinner table. Bottled water costs.

Free tea & coffee all day from the drinks stations, but the free coffee tastes like mud (or mebbe it's me, I find it pretty awful on all cruise ships :eek:)

Worth packing a little jar f your favourite brand.

Free tea & coffee in your cabin too.

 

Free orange juice (mebbe other juices, I can't remember) only in the lido buffet, and only while breakfast is being served. Same on most other cruise lines.

 

Diff'rent folks, diff'rent opinions on Thomson food.

On all Thomson ships I've found the lido buffet pretty basic, in both the canteen-like surroundings & the fayre. OK for a quick breakfast before going ashore, OK for daytime snacks or a bit of lunch, sometimes it's a bit of a rugby scrum.

Food, surroundings, & ambiance I've found pretty good in the main dining room.

So for a leisurely & civilised breakfast or lunch (probably best on sea-days) use the main dining room rather than the buffet. It's generally pretty empty.

 

IIRC in the main dining room on Dream it's "anytime" dining (you arrive whenever you like & sit wherever they seat you) rather than "traditional" dining (same time, same table & same table-mates each evening). Different tablemates each evening can get a bit tedious trying to remember names & same-old "where are you from?" type questions but you get to meet a wide cross-section. And if you hook up with another couple or two, you can arrange to go to dinner as a foursome. Or a sixsome. Or a small army ;).

Although it's a budget-end cruise line, Thomson is quite traditional about dress code for dinner in the dining room. Long trousers, collared shirt etc.

And on formal nights (probably one, might be two on your cruise) most will be in DJ's, but plenty in dark suit & tie.

If formal's not your scene, best to slum it in the lido buffet (no dress code) on formal nights.

 

Being geared to Brits, Thomson aren't as glitzy as US or Italian ships.

But there's no "sticker-shocks" - tips are included, no service charges, sensible bar prices, no nickel-and-dime add-ons.

All in all a decent choice for a first cruise. You'll enjoy :)

 

JB :)

[LHT28]

Hello i have no idea were the thomson forum is i am new to this.

see post #2 just click on the link I posted it will take you there

[moodycow665]

For other forums, go to the bottom of this page & click on the arrow at "forum jump".

This will bring up a long long list of forums - scroll through to the "cruise lines" forums, highlight the Thomson one & click "go" and it'll take you there.

If you scroll that list of forums, you'll find some other useful ones.

There's a list of RollCalls, including Thomson. Sadly, on UK ships they're pretty meagre RollCalls, we Brits don't go in for RollCalls in a big way.

There are also forums on Ports of Call, & they can be pretty useful.

If you ever get lost on Cruise Critic, just click on your screen name (top right, any page) & you can navigate to your posts.

Takes a bit of getting used to, but well worth the effort.

Try to find the Thomson forum for yourself - but if you're struggling here's a direct link

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?s=&daysprune=&f=497

Water is from the tap at the drinks stations, & there's free ice. Also jugged iced water on the dinner table. Bottled water costs.

Free tea & coffee all day from the drinks stations, but the free coffee tastes like mud (or mebbe it's me, I find it pretty awful on all cruise ships :eek:)

Worth packing a little jar f your favourite brand.

Free tea & coffee in your cabin too.

 

Free orange juice (mebbe other juices, I can't remember) only in the lido buffet, and only while breakfast is being served. Same on most other cruise lines.

 

Diff'rent folks, diff'rent opinions on Thomson food.

On all Thomson ships I've found the lido buffet pretty basic, in both the canteen-like surroundings & the fayre. OK for a quick breakfast before going ashore, OK for daytime snacks or a bit of lunch, sometimes it's a bit of a rugby scrum.

Food, surroundings, & ambiance I've found pretty good in the main dining room.

So for a leisurely & civilised breakfast or lunch (probably best on sea-days) use the main dining room rather than the buffet. It's generally pretty empty.

 

IIRC in the main dining room on Dream it's "anytime" dining (you arrive whenever you like & sit wherever they seat you) rather than "traditional" dining (same time, same table & same table-mates each evening). Different tablemates each evening can get a bit tedious trying to remember names & same-old "where are you from?" type questions but you get to meet a wide cross-section. And if you hook up with another couple or two, you can arrange to go to dinner as a foursome. Or a sixsome. Or a small army ;).

Although it's a budget-end cruise line, Thomson is quite traditional about dress code for dinner in the dining room. Long trousers, collared shirt etc.

And on formal nights (probably one, might be two on your cruise) most will be in DJ's, but plenty in dark suit & tie.

If formal's not your scene, best to slum it in the lido buffet (no dress code) on formal nights.

 

Being geared to Brits, Thomson aren't as glitzy as US or Italian ships.

But there's no "sticker-shocks" - tips are included, no service charges, sensible bar prices, no nickel-and-dime add-ons.

All in all a decent choice for a first cruise. You'll enjoy :)

 

JB :)

 

 

 

 

thanks so much for all your help!