We booked this cruise very much ‘last minute’ as we had a week to spare and nowhere to go, and overall we were not disappointed. I am pleased that Thomson have adopted the P and O practise of checking in luggage at the airport and delivering direct to the cabin – so much easier. (Last time we cruised with them we had to collect cases from the carousel and take them to the coaches.)
Celebration is beginning to show her age in places, but our cabin 313 was spacious with ample wardrobe and drawer space and kept spotless by Sulardi. The only problem was that on docking (or anchoring for tender ports) the noise from the bow thrusters/anchor chain put an end to any thoughts of a lie-in! The ship was suffering from a fault causing vibration whilst we were on board. We were told they were waiting for parts to rectify the problem, but these had obviously not materialised by the time we left the ship.
Food in both the main dining room and the Lido self service restaurant was excellent and Nicholas and Benjii made sure we were well looked after every dinnertime.
Pools were small and to get to the Lido Pool on deck 5 we had to walk through the Lido restaurant. No problem unless you want a quick swim when you would be going through to get back to the cabin dripping wet!
The show team were superb – especially the Cameron Classics show when they received a very well deserved standing ovation for their medley of songs from Les Miserables, and also for their version of My Fair Lady.
Ports of call were different – never been to Koper, Sibenik or Korcula before and would certainly try these again. Bari was a let-down though, and of course Venice and Dubrovnik were both superb.
We booked one excursion through the ship – a 4 hour ‘Riviera Cruise’ from Korcula. Maybe I am too trusting, but for a 4 hour trip I would have expected a boat with maybe toilets and somewhere to purchase a drink, even if only water, onboard. We had neither! The ‘boat’ appeared to be very old and maybe more suited to a quick trip across the bay. My doubts increased when the engine stopped en route to our 2nd port of call, however the Captain managed to get us into port for a look around and a drink. When we returned, the floor of the ‘bridge‘ was up with the 2 crew under the floor trying to repair the engine! Eventually we set sail with the no 2 in command and Captain still under the floorboards where he remained for the entire journey back to port. Worried phone calls from No 2 resulted in another boat shadowing us back in case the engine failed completely! But we got back and the last tender to the ship had waited – the advantages of booking tours with the ship rather than independently! However I was not happy with the condition of the boat or the fact that there did not appear to be any life jackets on board. Maybe Thomson should be a bit more careful who they subcontract their shore excursions to.
Taking everything into account we had a lovely cruise and a good rest and |I would certainly travel with Thomson Cruises again – although I might think twice about a boat trip!
