As you can imagine this cruise was expensive as I paid for all the passengers to celebrate my 60th birthday. We did not know we were travelling until less than 24 hours before departing for the aiport because of the ash cloud. When arriving at the port we already knew that Thomson Dream had been involved in a serious collision when owned by Costa. We could see the damage to the hull caused by this collision. We had problems from the beginning right through to the end of this cruise and although it was the inaugral cruise for Thomson Dream I was of the opinion that the ship was not fit for its purpose throughout. During the cruise the problems encountered included damp carpets, sewage smells, air conditioning at fault, hot water problems, cold food, swimming pool with unclean water in it, open wiring and engines not functioning properly. We also encountered minor problems that were never dealt with e.g. not being able to open the safe, not being able to use The Grill restaurant because it didn't exist. Not being able to use the whirl pools as they were covered throughout the trip, not receiving my champagne that was bought for me etc, etc.

I have written to Thomson's After Travel Customer Support Team but am not satisfied by their response. I will therefore be taking legal action against Thomson/TUI UK Ltd.

We know of other sets of passengers on board who were very upset. We believe one set to be a lady who had taken her family on board and another family who were extremely upset because their children could not use the swimming pool. Read more