My Wife and I, along with another couple have just returned from a Thomsons cruise and stay holiday, the first part of our holiday was onboard the cruise ship Thomson Celebration, cruising the Eastern med Ancient Wonders. The first thing to say is if you are looking for a cruise that has wall to wall formality, fancy fixtures and fittings , %15 added to every drink you buy, gratuities automatically added to your cabin every day, then this is not the cruise for you. But if you are looking for a choice of formality or the totally laid back approach with first class entertainment and service from all the staff that I have never seen the equal of, and the added bonus of no gratuities, this is the cruise for you.

This ship is not the most modern you will see and tiny in comparison to some of the modern ships, but this is only a minor distraction you will receive the best service from the staff that I have ever seen on a cruise ship, the service staff are mainly from the Philippines and Indonesia all giving service with a smile and a great deal of them add that little extra, e.g. in the piano bar playing card tricks, serenaded while having dinner in the Lido Restaurant plus many more talented people. The entertainment staff provided a fantastic package throughout the day and into the early hours, with a wide variety that would cover all tastes, the crew show was excellent and the main band Top Man were superb. The food on board was good plenty of choice with a number of places to dine and different themes . One item you need pay attention to is the drinks package, before you decide whether to take up the offer you need to carry out a calculation, we were on the ship 7 nights with 4 in our group and we paid almost '£800 for the drinks package, most drinks were priced at £3.70 each therefore you would need to drink 54 drinks each over 7 days before you get value for money, also you need to be aware of what is available if you do not state what drinks brand you require you will be automatically be given Local Spirits , it was two days before we found out what the range of branded drinks were that you could have, but all in all a great cruise. We then moved on to the Club Turban in Marmaris were I will leave a report on the hotels home site