This was a last minute booking for us so we didn't get to do a lot of research. We've cruised many times with larger cruise lines mostly American and family oriented. I am going to go over the first impressions first which weren't great but please read till the end. When we got to the ship we were really disappointed as it looked very dated. The cabins were small and my 14 year old daughter was upset as the average age of the vacationers on board was around 55 years of age. During the week we saw maybe 6 - 8 other kids who unfortunately were much younger. It was definitely an adult cruise. Not very kid friendly at all. No entertainment during the day or poolside. We initially considered leaving the ship before it left port and staying at a resort instead but that would have proved to be way too expensive so we stuck it out. I'm happy we did because we had one of the best experiences ever. The staff, the staff, the staff!!! I can not stress enough how amazing they were. From the waitresses, to the front desk, the waiters in the restaurant to the maintenance guys. Everyone was friendly, professional and helpful. They made us feel welcome and were there to help no matter what we needed. The big thing for me is that my daughter has a severe nut allergy. We are used to having to deal with this when we travel and when we mention it to those who deal with food services we get reactions from lack of understanding coupled with clumsy attempts to help to out right ignorance and lack of concern. This was the first time my wife and I were made to feel fully comfortable with entrusting the supervisors, chefs and food service personnel with the safety of our daughter. They asked the right questions, showed they were knowledgable and followed up with us daily on the breakfast, dinner and lunch menus. Making sure they made her food separately and had it preordered so there would be no issues. I want to specifically mention head waiter Svilin. Never has anyone done so much to make one little girls cruise go off without a hitch. In the end this ended up being one of our favourite trips and if they took this staff and transplanted them onto a more up to date ship this would have been a best cruise we had ever been on. Thank you Thomson staff and crew for saving our vacation. Other special mentions for excellent staff members our waiter Adan, Kadek his helper, our sommelier Alberto, our cabin man Yandy and once again the amazing incredible Svilen.