Thomson Destiny Reviews

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My wife and myself have just returned from the THOMPSON DESTINY final cruise what can only be described as very expensive mistake. To keep things as short as possible, the cruise was seen by thompsons as a stopgap for them to transfer sailings from the sold off destiny to the newly acquired ship the Thompson majesty. We had booked the cruise because it had 12 ports of call in its itinery all of which appealed to us, what we didnt know beforehand is that once on ship most of the visits ashore would be cut short or in one case cancelled so we could arrive at our final destination a day earlier. We also had to endure over the last week of the cruise the ship being varnished and areas of the deck being closed off for this and other works to be completed, and although there was not a great deal of room in the public areas it was seen fit to close off the OKLAHOMA bar for a private function [staff party] and push the passengers up on to the lido deck [open area] which had to be cancelled due to inclement weather. They even started to run out of some drinks due to them being taken to the thompson majesty' On the whole thompsons used the passengers and treated them extremely badly. Questions to reception were met by a shrug of the shoulders and we were told to contact thompsons. One thing must be said is that the entertainment was excellent, and both cabin and waiting staff [restaurant and bar were wonderful and most of these poor people spent half the time apologising for their bosses, Reception run out of complaint forms because there was in excess of 340 complaints. MISLED MISHANDLED MISSOLD BY THOMPSONS

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As this was to be the last cruise the Destiny was to sail under the Thomson flag, (although we were not informed of this when we booked) I assumed that they would make it a special cruise for their customers, how wrong were we.We know that when we book with Thomson we are not in for a five star experience, but we have always had exceptional service, good food and reasonably good entertainment and very good trips and ports of call. This was an exercise in nothing more than getting this ship from Las Palmos to Corfu and cheaply and quickly as possible. The itinerary was ripped to shreds and the time allowed in port was nothing more than cursory visit at best 4 hours in Gibraltar and ,in fact the whole cruise was an insult to our intelligence. We were on a cruise holiday that was being dissembled bit by bit as the time went by.Not just the itinerary,we watched the staff being bussed of the ship, changed Captains part way through and at one point we were excluding from one half of the ship as the staff held a private party.This the second staff party to be held whilst we were out at sea. The first party took place with the Captain and his crew which continued till the early hours of the morning at the front of the ship.By early hours the couple who gate crashed the party were there until 5:30am. With everything that happened with the Costa Concordia I cannot believe that Thomson thought it acceptable that not 1 but 2 staff parties were held whilst the ship was out at sea.And To add insult to injury the paying customer had such a limited waiter service all cruise and didn't even get a second formal night never mind a party. Gibraltar 4 hours Alicante 2.5 hours Palamos instead of Barcelona an ugly industrial port where if we wanted the pleasure of leaving the ship we had to pay 5 Euros as Thomson didn't see fit to put on a courtesy bus. Villefranche,although we had a full day in port Thomson decided that instead of launching several tenders launched two and one from the the port. They then made sure that everyone who had booked a trip was given priority to leave the ship, they issued the remaining customers with cut up luggage labels of various colors and allotted times for us to leave the ship, then to add insult to injury as it became clear that most of us where not going to get of the ship before 12 in fact it was 1:30 when we finally got of the ship,they announced that the tenders were available to staff after 11.30.Our planned trip to Monte Carlo was firmly left un-achievable. We finally got onshore to be greeted by three officers sitting in the sun after finishing a meal and several bottles of wine.2 drinks rule? We did find out why the tender situation was so bad, they did not know how to launch them,as told to us by a member of the entertainment crew.She new as soon as she said it that it was a mistake and tried to backtrack so quickly it was laughable.I could go on and on as it just got worse and worse. I cannot believe that especially in this current climate that a company like Thomson could treat their paying customers with such disregard. To have to comfort a 70 year old lady who had saved up for 2 1/2 years to go on this cruise with highlight being a trip to the Vatican, where she was made to queue for 3 hours as the tour guide had not bought the tickets, only to be told that it was pointless going in because it closed in twenty minutes. This lady was a staunch catholic and was so distraught it broke my heart.She is never going to be able to afford to go again, if Thomson have any moral backbone they should offer this lady and he family a free cruise with a proper itinerary and make sure that this lady gets to achieve her pilgrimage of going to the place where her religions heart is.So many people have been very very badly let down by this cruise and frankly our hard earned cash has done nothing but paid for the fuel to get this ship from A to B.We the paying customer were not given a moments regard.Shame on you Thomson, and as your staff refused to accept any more complaints on ship you can be sure that they will be receiving one from me and many of my fellow passengers. Most of which I would like to thank for making what could have been a completely disastrous holiday into one where we will have least some good memories, as not one was provided by Thomson.On a final note for the life of me I cannot see how a so called professional matre d found it acceptable to walk through the restaurant as part of the laughable Baked Alaska parade with a serviette shaped like a pair of ladies panties swinging in front of his face whilst he pretended to be sniffing them, all of this as his customers are eating. It was gross and completely disgusting and not the least bit funny. We were in a restaurant not at the poolside where we would have expected a little bit of banter and toilet humour. We have never in 30 years of travelling been subjected to such disregard, they have taken out money and given virtually nothing in return.

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I am a seasoned traveller and have been to many places across the world staying in 4/5 star hotels or camping. I decided to go on a Thompsons Cruise to the Med/Morocco being assured by the information available that it would be an enjoyable experience but sadly it was not. I guess that's because we don't all have the same definition of quality so all I am able to do is give you some examples and let you decide. In summary 1) The staff and crew were lovely and very helpful. 2) The entertainment was also the best I have experienced a semi professional group a kin to Butlins Redcoats, however 70% of which was an endurance. 3)The ship is old and it shows everywhere you look, I guess that's why Thompsons have sold the ship on. 4)The restaurant service was good but the food was probably the worst quality Ive ever had the misfortune of trying to eat. Four days into the cruise I realised that the food was not going to get any better and I would look at the menu to try and decide which dish was least likely to be destroyed by their lack of skill/taste or understanding of what ingredients went into the dish. All the savoury food was over salted, perhaps this was a ploy to get you to buy more to drink. e.g a) the soup had always been stood for a while before being served and was sort of warm because there was always a substantial skin that had formed on the top. b) A lamb curry was mutton and not lamb, it had been made up by the cheapest cut of mutton. I separated out the 'meat' to demonstrate to head waiter the poor quality of the dish, 2/3 of the serving was made up of bones and fat quite inedible. c) Cheese and biscuits - A piece of cheese the size of your thumb;insulting to a mouse. d) Chocolate profiteroles void of cream but filled with a disgusting chocolate artificial thing ! I could go on as every dish placed before me was very very poor. e) You are allocated a table to sit at and you can not move. On the 'day' you can sit anywhere the waiters seat you table by table so as each table is full they move on to the next one so in actual fact no choice as to where to sit. This was the daily practice for breakfast and lunch in the Seven Seas Restaurant, you felt horded in to their convenience to make it easier on the kitchen/staff. You will sit here or you will get nothing to eat because that's how our system works. The ports of call. It would be very helpful to have made available a map for each Island visited and not just a map of the docks.Perhaps the information was limited because Thompsons wanted you to go on their organised trips? I was disappointed because there was never enough time to explore the islands with just enough time to get off the ship for a short walk and a coffee before having to go back on ship again. Entertainment It would also have been very helpful to have been given a comprehensive list of the activities for the week to enable guest to plan their week ahead rather than on a day by day basis. Overall it was a 2/3 star experience with a 4 star price tag.

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From traveling on many cruises with Thomson before , we thought lets go back and do the first one we did; again on the same ship ;As such , soon we were jetted off from Manchester under the care of the cabin crew and found ourselves at Palma airport, now for those who have been you will understand this, those that have not. Your time will come. You leave the plane and then make your way down to the baggage reclaim, but the airport is designed so that as you head towards the Spanish passport officers you have just skipped through a terminal departures area. Its does seem rather strange. When you arrive at the turntables you have to push and squeeze your way to find the bags you need. But that being said, its true of any tourist heavy airport. Our trip with a coach driver to the ship, Now nicked name "Scary-Mary" . Fraught with tension and a few hairy moments we arrived past all the very posh yachts. Very swish and elegant. MS Destiny just berthed at the back of the port, Rather overshadowed by Norwegian Jade. But still great customer service and a relatively speedy process through check in, Quickly run past the small man with a very big camera, Welcome aboard. Whisked away to our cabin. Continue through the day and its all very posh and with the constant smiles of the crew. One sad thing that was a slight annoyance was constantly being asked to attend a cruise excursion special. My view was if you want to go on an excursion then you will choose your own, its just a lazy guide to reading. But anyway, The cruise itself was very pleasant and indeed a great holiday. One thing that was done well was Dinner, A highlight on all cruise lines, Thomson all I can say is Well Done. One thing that could be bettered would be more activities to suit the younger but not so daft that people would see us young 18yrs to 25yr olds as culturally flat. Definitely worth the money you pay for the drinks package, Lots of people to say against it, But it just provides you with the security to say well you have food and drink, essentially you don't need to spend any money at all. Rated at 86 / 100 ,A few things need to improve the way the actual Experience is handled but apart from that Good Thanks AB

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I know the ship is no longer going to be in the Thomson fleet but thought I would give it one last glowing report. Recently spent a week on this ship with my husband- our first holiday without children - and had a wonderful time. I too read the reviews beforehand and was a little put off but quite honestly I have no complaints at all. The ship is clean and attractive, the cabins are perfectly adequate for your stay and the food is varied and delicious ( and constantly available). The staff are all friendly and are determined to make your stay an enjoyable one. We found most people very friendly and enjoyed sitting next to different people at meals. Basically its the sort of holiday that you can mix and chat with everyone or you could just keep to yourselves and have relaxing time. No pressure to do anything. We did 2 cycle tours - La Palma and Agadir, which were excellent and we did the Timanfaya tour at Lanzarote which was interesting. The rest of the ports were easily accessible on foot or on the hop on/hop off buses. We visited the port of Agadir which I had heard adverse comments about . We opted for the bike tour which was approx 18 miles long and thoroughly enjoyable. We cycled through the fishing port, passed the boat builders, through the posh designer area, along the promenade, into the town, round the suburbs, fought with the "Petite taxis" and visited the Souk. It was a great way to see this port. The beach is beautiful but you cannot swim in it. Plenty of restaurants and cafes along the front and prices very good. This port is popular with the French apparently. We were all a bit concerned about the Souk but it turned out to be fine and we were hardly pestered at all and able to buy a few things. You just have to be firm.The crossing to Agadir was Force 3 so no problems at all. If you are considering going on a cruise, don't spend anymore time thinking about it- just go ahead and book- you will not regret it!

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