We chose this because the itinerary listed ports we had not visited before and also because it returned to Port of Tyne (nearer home). We have been on Thomson ships before & enjoyed all of them. However this was very disappointing. The ports used were obviously the cheapest option for Thomsons, away from any nice areas & f you wanted to go into towns/sightseeing,the only option was to pay extra for an organised trip. Some ports had a payable shuttle (very few were free) In Le Havre , we all waited patiently in the heat (after paying ) only to be herded like cattle onto a bus that had few seats but plenty of standing room! We were packed like sardines for both journeys! As some of passengers were elderly,this was an absolute disgrace. We paid to go into Bruges as the port was Zeebrugge (awful),only to arrive & have a 45 minute walk from the coach into Bruges! (and back! ) We were not impressed with the "destination staff" Who trains them?.They were self absorbed,with with a lack of basic good manners or courtesy with ,poor knowledge of areas visited & often giving wrong info.but were totally uninterested in the Thomson customers !No social skills ,passing passengers without a "Good morning " etc. Entertainment was poor,singers loud but off key/ toneless.Come on Thomson All these people are REPRESENTING YOU! Is this the image you want to project? The icing on the cake was the " shuttle bus" from Newcastle port to the rail station,what a farce,again poor info,waited an hour ("half hourly service")!Ha ha! No area seemed assigned for the hundreds of passengers waiting,having been told to be out of our cabins at 7 am! We eventually boarded after no room on the 1st bus that turned up,another came after 20 minutes! We later saw that the buses were also PICKING UP from the Station & that was why we were waiting so long,Wronginfo again! advised by aThomson staff member outside, "I,ve been told there, s only 1 bus, but you say there are 2? " Communication! Does nobody talk to each other when things are arranged? I felt that Thomsons have lost respect for the customers & are only interested in making a quick buck, do they treat all customers like this.? As this was a Special Birthday treat I was really disappointed & now feel reluctant to use Thomson again The only good memory is our cabin steward, ,Rappesh ,a real star,they should all be like him!