Briefly: four adults and a twenty month baby, the holiday of a lifetime, cost >£8,000. Booked through Thomson Travel. Assured that ship's problems highlighted on BBC Watchdog programme, had all been resolved. First sight at Kingston was a disappointment. Ship was advertised as Thomson's latest cruise ship did not mean NEW. We discovered later that the ship was 25 years old. It looked worn and tatty and smelt of rotten vegetables.

Our first nigh on board, one of the ship's engines caught fire. It was a terrifying experience to lie in bed and listen to the instructions to the crew, to put out the fire.

The rest of the trip was ruined by 1] the severe list due to the ship running on one engine. 2] this meant that the air conditioning in the cabins and through much of the public areas did not function. Numerous complaints and the attentions of an engineer did not fix the lack of ventilation/ air conditioning. Read more