Welcome to Cruise Talk the Internet's most popular discussion forum dedicated to cruising. Stop by Cruise Talk anytime to post a message or find out what your fellow passengers and industry insiders are saying about a particular ship, cruise line or destination.
>>> Reader Reviews >>> CruisePage.com Photo Gallery >>> Join Our Cruise Club.
Latest News...Disney Cruise Line announced today that the honorary role of "godparent" for its new ship, the Disney Treasure, will be held by The Walt Disney Company cast, crew, Imagineers and employees around the world. The profound declaration is a heartfelt tribute to the more than 200,000 dreamers and doers who make every Disney entertainment, vacation and at-home experience possible. Disney Cruise Line is proud to celebrate...
Latest News...Carnival Cruise Line is adding to its line-up of 2026/27 deployment with sailings from New York City on Carnival Venezia, and more Long Beach sailings on Carnival Firenze and Carnival Radiance. “Our two Carnival Fun Italian Style ships offer great options from the east and west coasts, conveniently connecting New York and Long Beach to popular destinations, while delivering unique experiences on board...
Latest News...Vacationers are in for more ways to make memories across Royal Caribbean’s latest combination of tropical and Northeast 2026-27 getaways. The lineup of 12 Royal Caribbean ships rounds out a variety of adventures across Florida, Texas, Puerto Rico and the Northeast for every type of family and vacationer to get away any time of year. Crown & Anchor Society loyalty members...
Here are some of the comments from the public:
Air con in cabins was not working, the TV was not working properly, the telephone not working, the toilets did’t flush properly, the ceiling in cabin and many public areas were leaking, very poor quality and choice of meals in the buffet restaurant, no organised daytime activities for adults, a total lack of communication between crew and guests, endless long queues everywhere on the ship including the buffet restaurant, reception, on embarking and disembarkation etc.
Anyone got a real image yet (not a photoshop/press one) of the ship in the Thomson colours?
I believe it is not yet fully crewed which would explain any service issues. Give her a few more weeks to settle in, it is rare to have a Maiden without some problems but these do on the face of it sound as if she should have had longer in dock to prepare her.
Has there ever been a ship that come out of refit not finished then ended up having to go back ? (excluding Island Princess 1 which was rammed by Regent Sea 4 days after leaving dry dock for refit).
http://travel.sky.com/inspiration/blogs/Cruise-Diary
As a travel writer Steve Read reports on ships in service but has no real reason to check on all their history as that is not always of interest to those booking on the ship !
quote:Originally posted by Neil - Ex P. & O. S. N. Company.:Grant As a travel writer Steve Read reports on ships in service but has no real reason to check on all their history as that is not always of interest to those booking on the ship !
Sort of like when news agencies get it wrong. No real reason to check the facts.
But then there are some who never get anything wrong !
quote:Originally posted by dmwnc1:Sort of like when news agencies get it wrong. No real reason to check the facts.
Her being Homeric is irrelevant to the target market - Brits. If Home Lines carried more than a dozen Brits per year, it would have been a record.
Add to that, only two years of her entire career were spent with Home Lines - so the 22 year balance of her career was spent with HAL and Costa, of which the British market is familiar.
Some days I think this board should be re-named Cruise Nit-Pick or Cruise Cynic.
It's getting as bad as Liners List.
Tim
That's kinda sad.
Michael
quote:Originally posted by dmwnc1:To not mention a part of a ships history because the target audience may not be familiar with it seems shortsighted.
If I were making that video I would almost certainly not mention Home Lines. I'd definitely mention that she was previously COSTA EUROPA, in the context of pointing out that she was new to the Thomson fleet. I might mention her HAL career before that, though I just as easily might not have. But her Home Lines origin would be irrelevant. It probably wouldn't even occur to me to mention it.
Saying the ship was originally WESTERDAM was an error, though certainly a forgivable one. But simply not saying she was originally HOMERIC was not an error; in fact it was a wise decision to leave out a piece of information that would be of interest to virtually none of the viewers of the video.
99% of people looking at booking a cruise are not in the slightest bit interested in the history of any ship, just what they are going to get for their money in terms of the overall ship experience and the ports of call today, not yesterday.
Saying all that, I can't even watch the clip anyway so I don't know exactly what was said. But it will no doubt be mainly the good points. When Malcolm posted originally, I had read 2 bad and one good review, with entirely different opinions on the food, working TVs and so many things to do aboard there was no time to eat. All individual personal opinions that one can't really make a lot of.
Pam
quote:Originally posted by PamM: I had read 2 bad and one good review, with entirely different opinions on the food, working TVs and so many things to do aboard there was no time to eat.
I have now read a more positive review. Pam is right (as always ), it's all very subjective. Most new ships (or ships under new operators) have teething problems.
Steve's video diaries are always 'positive' in tone. I doubt if Sky Travel would use his work if he was over negative.
[ 05-02-2010: Message edited by: Malcolm @ cruisepage ]
quote:Originally posted by sread:Glad so many of you enjoyed the video of Thomson Dream. Apologies to Grant and dmwnc1 for failing to mention her brief service as Homeric. Steve
Mr. Read, no apologies needed. It is your video, and aside from the 'debated' notation of her service as Homeric, it was well done and she looks comfortable, a welcome choice from the mega-mosters and floating amusment parks. I had the opportunity to tour her and have a luncheon onboard when she was Westerdam. I liked her then well enough. I just wish more of these were in service on this side of the pond.
I remember as a kid seeing a picture of Titanic on the cover of Sea Classics magazine, and from that day forward was hooked on liners and cruise ships. Many decades later I still like ship trivia and the smallest bit can send me researching on the internet for hours. I believe if a 'seed' is planted, you can cultivate a new budding ship historian that will carry on our traditions for the love of the historic side of this industry, otherwise it all dies away when we do and all of these experiences and all of this knowledge dies with us. Hopefully we can take some of the youth out there, plant that seed, and pass this torch and the love of the history of cruise ships and liners on to them. That is what my jest of posts above were about.
It would be unlikely that many British people would have heard of Home Lines, when the ship entered service, as she was intended for the American market.
I think Steve gave an excellent report.
Ultimate Bulletin BoardTM 6.1.0.3
More Vacation & Cruise Specials...