Thomson Celebration Cruise Ship

This was our first cruise, and it was my husband's 50th birthday gift from me. The flight to Dalaman was fine, a little bit unorganised when we arrived at the airport - but that was not the fault of Thomson staff.

Once on the coach we were given instructions, of what to do at the port check-in. The Thomson staff at the port were very efficient, and we were soon in the queue to board. I had goose-bumps when I first saw the Celebration, she is a lovely ship - and that was it I was hooked ! The ship's crew make you feel welcome instantly, they are so helpful and nothing is too much trouble - always smiling.

Your luggage takes about 2 hours to be delivered to your cabin - but this is a good opportunity to have a walk around, have a couple of drinks and admire the views. Marmaris is a stunning port, and when we arrived it was pleasingly hot. Even my husband who is quite reserved was overwhelmed, it was such a friendly atmosphere.

We set sail that night about 10.30 - and it was fantastic ! There was a party on the Lido deck around the pool, and with the twinkling lights of Marmaris in the distance, it was magical. We had a twin cabin on deck 7, and only had to walk down one set of stairs and we reached the wonderful wrap around deck. All the cabins are fine we believe, having spoken to many passengers who have sailed on the Celebration several times.

We will definitely cruise again, opening the cutains every morning with a different view, is brilliant. Then setting sail again late afternoon is an event in itself.

The Ancient Wonders itinary is excellent - there really is something for everybody, but the stop-off that really stood out for us, was Mykonos, absolutely beautiful. But as the entertainment starts at lunch-time everyday, until about 2.00 in the morning - if you did want to stay on the ship, there is always something to do.

The shows are very good, and the resident band Top Men are great ; in Kusadasi port the band were playing on the Lido deck, and the ship moored next to ours was one of the very big ones with the balconies, yet many of their passengers were sat out watching OUR enterainment ! The drinks package is good value if you like a tipple, and they are all known brands. None of your watered down stuff here ! Food is good quality, and so much of it ! You can literally eat all the time.

I could go on and on about the experience we had, but what I have said to everyone since we got home last week - if you are thinking about cruising - go with Thomson !

Just back from 7 nts on the Red Sea Magic. The ship has had an overall to platinum, flat screen tvs in your cabin plus tea & coffee facilities. As usual Thomson give you an excellent cruise good service with friendly staff. They are constantly cleaning. For the first 3 days at sea in the Lido buffet you can't help yourself to the food, they serve it to you to keep infections down, which I feel is a good idea. We had a cabin with a double bed on deck 3(we paid extra). Great cabin man. We ate in the Meridian restaurant all week, sat with lots of different people, wonderful food, plenty of wine. Good shows. The entertainment team work extremely hard to put on a good show for us. They were changing over to a new team in readiness for the summer from Marmaris. Can't fault Thomson at all, quick check in at the Port, although, can't say the same for the Sharm airport utter chaos. Very good transfer system on the morning of departure. You were given all the relevant tags for your cases to be put outside your cabin at 2 am. We had a purple tag for our hotel transfer to the Club Magic Hotel, all done with great efficiency. All in all had a great cruise only did the Petra trip which was well worth the long day. A fab 3 days in the hotel. Well done Thomson. Don't take any notice of negative reviews, they are just moaners go and have a wonderful cruise with great value for what you pay.

This was our first cruise and after reading some of the reviews were expecting a lot of renovation work however there was such a small amount of maintence going on that you could hardly notice this. We had an outside cabin on deck 3 which was far more spacious than we anticipated.

The staff work hard to ensure that your cruise is enjoyable and the food is great. Hygiene is a priority so whenever approaching the dining rooms a man would hop out with a squirty bottle of sterliser for your hands.

Yes, the ports are industrial but you are told this upfront. We went on four excursions - Wadi Rum, Petra, Pyramids and Land of the Kings. They were all truly awesome and I would recommend them. Three of them include buffet lunches at 3 star hotels.

We found some people had been on the Celebration 2 or 3 times and all comments were positive. I suppose that there are larger, more impressive ships out there but this cruise ticked all the boxes for us and we loved every minute. We are now looking at our next cruise with Thomsons.

We had such a fab time last Easter that we decided to do it again but took both sets of parents with us this time. The only extra we paid was for outside cabins, very lucky to get cabins next door to each other and on deck 4, bigger windows! New bedding and bathroom, apart from loo, and the same excellent service from hard working, polite cabin cleaners!

We were made aware that norovirus had been reported on previous cruise and to be extra vigilent, so plenty of anti-bac soap about and all food served to you for the first several days.

Ports not brill but good stops for excursions. Went to Petra again, just as awesome, and my partner went into the second pyramid, reopened Oct 2012, well worth a visit, very impressive. Also snorkelled the Red Sea with the Emperor gang, made us very welcome and provided a lush lunch, and dolphins!!Thomson had also put on alot more excursions to go on this time, spoilt for choice.

If you have not cruised before, give the Celebration a go, service excellent, good food and entertainment, lovely promenade deck to walk around and not too expensive!

Very few negatives, might need to get up early for sunbed but did see staff put notices on beds left unattended, remains of sand storm in Soknah covering surfaces with red dust but staff did best to wipe down, some noise from staff doing maintenance but has to be done to keep it in ship shape condition!

Having been a on this ship 4 times (3 x Red Sea 1x Cruise and stay Turkey) My wife and I love this ship. We have always found it to me outstanding value when compared to other cruise lines.

Other companies my subject you to 17.5% service charge on all drinks and add up to 10€ per person, per day to your on-board account. This is to tip unseen crew members.

This ship has never been aimed to be in competition the PO or Royal Caribbean. The Celebration aims at giving a good informal cruise experience at a very competitive price. We have booked two more trips (Im 58 Better half 55). Both trips are all inclusive (If you book early it is possible to get a free drinks package.

We have fund that the entertainment does not change much from cruise to cruise. The food has always been outstanding at all of the outlets.The standard cabins are comfortable.If you pay more the luxury improves.We are looking forward to seeing the ship now that it is getting Platinum status.

For those who agree with my comments. Look at Celebration 28 Oct 13. Cruising from Turkey to Portsmouth over 14 nights. Out bound flight, Coach transfer on return and free drinks package for £1k (As at 5 Apr 13). 10 stops on the way home. Great value if your not expecting a surfing machine on the rear deck......

Sailed Red Sea magic from 21st march 13. Been on this ship before and the cabins are a lot nicer now the refurb is almost complete especially the bathrooms. We had an outside cabin on deck 3.

The staff are friendly a few remembered us from previous trips which was nice.

The entertainment was fine although not as good as I've seen before but still entertaining and the comedian is funny although needs to change some of his jokes after 9 months.

The food is fantastic, good quality and high levels of service.

The Red Sea ports aren't the best. The port of Aqaba in Jordan is a decent port and you can see Israel and Jordan with views of the mountains. The ship provides a courtesy shuttle into town every 30 mins. Once u leave the shuttle if u walk past the movenpick and towards the rovers return pub u can head into the beach.

On the day at sea there are a lack on sunbeds and people did complain. We had sunbeds at the front of the ship on deck 10 but be warned it was very windy and one lady fell on the floor when the wind blew her chair from under her. They did close the very front of the ship due to the winds which caused even more demand for sunbeds.

At port sonkha it us very industrial. If your not going to Cairo consider going to the hotel shuttle transfer. The beach is nice. The drinks and food are cheap and you can swim in the sea. Those who stayed on the boat got to look at containers all day.

At port safaga. Again if your not going to luxor consider going to the beach hotel as the beach is nice and there are lots of fish swimming round your feet. This again beats staying in a dusty container port.

One final recommendation is the ocean snorkling trip. This is about £50 per person but worth every penny. You get two opprotunities to swim near coral with millions of fish all around you. It is an amazing experience.

Overall had a fantastic cruise and for once won in the casino and the bingo which was a bonus. Thanks thomson see you again soon.

Great value for money cruise (£500 each for 1 week).

Cabins very nice & comfortable, staff hard working helpful & friendly, food good and entertainment FABULOUS (West End standard).

We visited Petra (amazing) and Pyramids/Sphinx (ticked list) - excursion costs ok compared with other cruises.

Good organisation on every aspect.

Only downside was that Ports Sokhna and Safaga were industrial container ports, so if you didn't go on an excursion there was very little to see/do nearby, so best to stay on ship - where one slight drawback arose - finding loungers - we always managed, but had to do a bit of furniture shuffling.

However, the positives vastly outweighed the few slight negatives.

RECOMMENDED!

We went on the cruise from 7th to 14th March to celebrate our Golden Wedding anniversary - our children treated us to the package and also flowers in the cabin (207 on the promenade deck)it was a fantastic bouquet of flowers, champagne and chocolate dipped strawberries. We also had dinner at the captains table and a blessing on the bridge. Everything was fantastic

All the crew from the captain to the domestic staff were great, could not have been more helpfull. We mostly ate our evening meals in the Meridian restuarant,fabulous service and food of a great quality - all this included in the very good price that we paid for our trip.

We also went on the Petra day trip which was a great day out - at first we thought the trip was a bit costly, but - the admission to the site is £50 and our fare included a guide throughout, and a really nice lunch in a good hotel near the site - so overall it was good value for money. It was overall an anniversary to remember - Thank you all on board for everything you did for us.

Our very first cruise and we have nothing but good comments to make. The ship was immaculately clean all the time with staff on hand to make sure that you sanitised your hands wherever you went on board.

The service was exceptional in all the restaurants and bars with the choice of food very varied and to a high standard. We paid extra to have a meal in "Mistrals" as we were celebrating our anniversary. Well worth the added cost and gave us a night to remember.

The entertainment team gave us some memorable performances, especially the Africa night in the showbar. After that there was always good entertainment in "Liberties" till late.

The cabin was very comfortable and was tidied and cleaned twice a day.

We had an outside cabin on deck 3 and was very convenient for the stairs and lifts.

The ports were a bit industrialised but we were told about them before we left,so we were not disappointed in them. We booked a trip to Petra in Jordan and had a most amazing day there. Something we dont suppose we will ever see again, everything explained in great detail by our tour guide.

It seemed expensive, but when you see that it is £50.00 to get in and you have a good meal in a hotel at lunchtime then it is not bad value for the cost.

We had a fantastic time on the Celebration and cannot wait to book another cruise

We sailed on the celebration in Feb. The flights with Thomson are very basic now, no films etc, but we did get a route planner which passed the time. Arrival at SES was good and everything followed well. We had a deluxe cabin 221 which has been refurbished, only complaint we got woken early a couple of morning when they was putting the sun beds out. Hygiene on the ship was spot on, the only people to blame for sickness is the people who bring it with them as the ship staff are always cleaning and for the 1st few days the lido serve you at the Buffett , which seems to work well. We ate in both restaurants depending on the menu and both ok, but have to admit the Spirit was better last year. We did a couple of excursions which we enjoyed and felt they was worth the money. The days we was at sea you will find it difficult to get round the deck, didn't even bother to try and get my little Girl round in her pram, sunbeds everywhere, little room to walk between them. Overall we had a very enjoyable cruise, people were very friendly, staff couldn't do enough. Don't be put off by the bad reviews, basically you get what you pay for, I have travelled on other ships in Far East and Med, and believe Thomson are good value for the money you pay.