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Originally posted by Malcolm @ cruisepage:
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I was feeling a bit 'credit crunched', but I could not resist a late deal to the Canary Islands. A review will follow soon.

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Well, you're doing your bit to help stimulate the economy, so good on you! Looking forward to your review.

Noordam - she had the beginnings of the great HAL interiors, but her bones lacked inspiration.

FairSky - she just became blah

Royal Princess - although the prettiest, her pastels got dated fast, and even her refurbs left pastel doors and ceilings.

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Originally posted by CliveB:
Thats odd Malcolm I too have just got back from a trip on the Celebration, I was on the 20-27th March sailing.
My friend and myself were slightly apprehensive about what to expect, but we didn’t have to worry we had a great time..

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What a small world Clive! I got on the day after you got off. She did rattle a bit because we had swells most of the cruise. Mind you the Queen Vic creaked her was across the Atlantic in Jan 2008 - mind you the seas were considerably rougher.

I think Thomson focus on the on board experience rather than refits and decor. I suspect they have generally only ever changed the carpets and soft furnishings.

[ 04-07-2009: Message edited by: Malcolm @ cruisepage ]

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Originally posted by dougnewman:

It will be interesting to hear your impressions of this ship. I always liked the look of her and her sister but being aimed at the "budget" end of the UK market Thomson has never especially appealed to me....

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The Thomson cruise experience is an interesting one. Most UK passengers book 'direct' with their web site. The fares go up and down like 'stocks and shares' - you get the fare at the time you book. Although they do have some excellent late deals, if you booked in advance you may well pay £100 per person, per night, like P&O etc. Hardly 'budget' at all.

So what suffers for the sometimes low fares? Well Thomson own their own airline which keeps fly/cruise prices down. The passengers embark at one of three ports and disembark at the same port a week later - it sounds a logistical nightmare, but it worked like clockwork.

The main dining room generally had open sitting, but their was never much of a queue (NCL take note). The food and service was excellent - better than NCL Jade's non-fee dining rooms and better than I experienced on Cunard's 'M' grade. It was certainly on a par with RCI's, possibly better. It outshone some of Olsen's food too. The lido buffet was good, serving many British favourites, but it was rarely very exotic.

The entertainment was nearly all provided by their on-board entertainment team. They did six production shows in a week, one play, several deck parties and selected singers provided evening cabaret. I think most passengers rated them as good-excellent, outshining many of the major cruise lines.

I suppose the one weak area is that the ship has obviously not had any recent multi-million pound refits. However it is generally in good shape, but the cabins look a little dated and some furniture looks a little tired.

Curiously, some of her decor (much of which still has many original HAL features) reminds me of the QE2 - even though she was built 15 years later. The show lounge for example has two levels, the upper being a mezzanine balcony. Both floors have corridors passing though them, like on-board the QE2.

The crew were excellent and tips were included in your fare, which proves that good service can be achieve without the primitive 'carrot and stick' approach favoured by most other lines.

Generally I did not feel that I was on a 'budget' cruise at all.

[ 04-07-2009: Message edited by: Malcolm @ cruisepage ]

My understanding is that even for their vintage, because of HAL's traditional outlook, they were built in a more classical or 'retro' style. Having sailed on many HAL ships, I would like to try these old HAL classics, shake & rattle or not!

Thanks.

Oh my full review will be a lot longer than that!

Funnily enough I have been thinking about these ships recently. I would be interested in sailing on them, both for their destinations in the Red Sea, Egypt, Israel etc & also for the ships themselves which are now quite historical in their own right. Having the connecting flights would be an advantage.

Celebration (and Spirit) have a lot of charm. As long as you are aware that all old ships do have their quirks, you will love them. The Thomson on board experience is a surprisingly good one. Although aimed at the Brit mass market, I understand that fellow Canadians do enjoy them too.

Yes you can check in two cases, assuming there are within the weight limit of 20kg. You can pay a supplement for extra weight. Thomsonfly are a low cost carrier so you don't get a lot of service or room - but they get you there cheaply.

You can book their fly/cruises or cruise only 'direct' on their web site. However the prices do go up and down like 'stocks and shares' - you get the fare you see at the time that you book. The late deals are of course the best, but don’t leave it to late as fares sometimes rise as the ship sells out.

This was my second time on Thomson Celebration, I did the 'Red Sea' in 2006. The ports are mainly industrial and ugly but the excursion take you to some facinating places. See Review Here

[ 04-08-2009: Message edited by: Malcolm @ cruisepage ]

Is that 20kg for each bag, or total?

I loved Regal Empress, so I think that I may qualify. I have to convince my wife though!

OK, I am still less likely to go on Thomson than Fred. Olsen or P&O but at least it is something I might consider. I do think some of the itineraries are interesting, in particular the Red Sea, which is not really well-trafficked.

As for the ships, they seem older than they are because they were practically old when they were built. In the late 1960s/early 1970s (so not much after QE2) HAL prepared two ship designs, a "small" and a "large." The "small" got built immediately as the original PRINSENDAM (there were originally supposed to be, I think, four of these but they could only afford one at the time, and the rest were never built). It took a decade or so for the company to be able to build the two planned "large" ships which of course became NIEUW AMSTERDAM and NOORDAM.

I also think that there is a similarity between Prinsendam I & the old Westerdam, even though she was built for Home Lines.

While sailing on Prinsendam II in the Med. a couple of years ago, we saw Thomson Spirit (Nieuw Amsterdam) in Barcelona, along with Thomson Destiny (Song of America). We also saw QE2 in Gib. so it was a good trip for seeing the 'classics'.

Our waiter on Prinsendam, had worked on Noordam III & said that she was getting old. He said that the plumbing was not so good & there were quite a few leaks!

I still want to sail on her. I am working my way around the HAL ships! I especially look forward to Rotterdam V in Rotterdam.

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Originally posted by bcscot:
I have just been looking at the HAL tiles of Noordam III & Prinsendam I. There certainly is a similarity in design between the two.

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Really, these are just the same ships in different sizes.

Below: Passengers relax near a rather attractive tender.

[ 04-10-2009: Message edited by: Malcolm @ cruisepage ]

The Prinsendam was the first of a 4 small cruise ships who could take each a full load of a Jumbo Jet. They where designed by the Dutch Merwede Shipyard and HAL ship building department. Only the Prinsendam was build by the Merwede the other 3 where canceled or never ordered. The Oil crises and HAL weak position and downfall of the industry where the reasons.

In the late '70's HAL start to look at there aging fleet, specially to the Statendam, Volendam and Veendam. The plan was to replaced theme with 1 big cruise ship in the Rotterdam class, and 1 option.
The design was based on the Prinsendam plans. The design came from the same De Merwede shipyard.

HAL asked 4 shipyards to make a offer. At the end De Merwede and St Nazaire where in the race fore the order. Only the Dutch Government don't wanted to support De Merwede with subsidy. At the end the France government did give St Nazaire subsidy and the shipyard could build theme much cheaper. The order going to France. There building was chaotic and delayed after delayed where announced. The Nieuw Amsterdam short fore here dedication suffer a fire in here main switch board.

HAL where never happy with theme, they where plagued with problems mentioned before. Also the legal battle between the shipyard and HAL took very long. This was solved when HAL was already owned by Carnival (they legal case was included in the take over)

BUT they where heralded fore there good looks and beautifull interiors. They where quite populair among HAL passengers.

Greetings Ben.

ps The Prinsendam also suffered a serious fire when under construction. And fire took here to the bottom of the ocean.

[ 04-10-2009: Message edited by: Maasdam ]

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Originally posted by dougnewman:
Thanks Malcolm for the short review. It actually all sounds rather nice - probably extremely difficult for a non-UK resident to book...

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Originally posted by Maasdam:
Malcome thanks fore you're review. Would you recommend Thomson to non Britt's.

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It really depends on the non-Brit.

I did not notice any concessions being made for non-English speakers. The food has some Brutishness about it, but some menu items were pretty international. The entertainment was not unlike most ships, broadways songs, dance, etc.

So Yes - As long as the non-Brit was 'open-minded' and realised that this is an old ship, with many quirks and original features including most cabins - I think they would enjoy the more intimate experience (especially if they got a low fare!).

However I think American's (the non-opened minded type) might regard her as an old tub without any Prime Rib and not enough ice.

(The late deals on their web site can be particualrly good - try it - http://www.thomson.co.uk/cruise.html - Do a search. However, don't be fooled by the openeing fare, there are add-ons. Use the 'cost-it' feature for a quote. )

[ 04-10-2009: Message edited by: Malcolm @ cruisepage ]

[ 04-10-2009: Message edited by: Malcolm @ cruisepage ]

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Originally posted by Malcolm @ cruisepage:
Here is an image that I took of 'Thomson Celebration' in Santa Cruz de la Palma, from my recent cruise. Her stern profile is rather attractive, in my opinion.

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HAL used to use a photo with ROTTERDAM (V) and NIEUW AMSTERDAM (at least, I think it was NIEUW AMSTERDAM - maybe NOORDAM) side-by-side in the Panama Canal. NIEUW AMSTERDAM looked pretty ugly next to ROTTERDAM.

But by today's standards they are rather classic and elegant - how times change!

What always did appeal to me about these ships were their very traditional interiors. At the end of NOORDAM's HAL career I quite wanted to sail in her but didn't get the chance.

I remember looking down on NOORDAM from Skywalkers on GRAND PRINCESS in Istanbul ... she was in great condition and we got a very nice view of all those lovely teak decks. I also remember seeing NIEUW AMSTERDAM in Vancouver at Canada Place and way, way back, in Tampa when I must have been ... six years old or so?

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Originally posted by Galaxy:
When was Thomson Celebration change flag?

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She still appears to be owned by HAL though. Interestingly she is the only Thomson ship that is not managed by Louis ... instead she is managed by the Cypriot-German Columbia Shipmanagement. (THOMSON SPIRIT was bareboat chartered from HAL to Louis who time-chartered her to Thomson. Later HAL sold her to Louis. I am not sure who charters THOMSON CELEBRATION from HAL - whether it is Columbia or Thomson.)

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Originally posted by Malcolm @ cruisepage:
I was told on board that Canadians and Scandinavians like Thomson, so they obviously manage to book. Most Brits book via the UK Thomson web site. I'm not sure if it allows non-Brits to book?

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Those teak decks do shout 'Holland America'!