This was our first cruise and after reading the other 2 reviews on the same cruise I felt that it needed a positive light thrown on it. We completely and utterly enjoyed the experience on the Thomson Dream. We tried to go on the trip without any pre conseptions of what to expect. Yes we read the good reviews and the bad but we always like to look at holidays from our own perspective. The ship - if anyone were to do their research it would tell them it is an older ship but we found that the cabin was v nice and modern and a decent size. I would agree with comments that the look around the rest of the ship was a little more dated but feel that it suits the age of the ship. Ultra modern wouldn't fit. The entertainment was on the whole very good and if anyone saw the Stephen Guy late night songs thing, I thought he was exceptional. The food on the ship was very good, you could choose the way you wanted to dine whether it be buffet or a sit down meal which gives u plenty of choice. I don't think there was any food that I put on my plate that didn't get eaten and my wife, who can be one of the pickiest eaters in the world, even enjoyed it. I think you have to remember that if you eat at the buffet you have to rate the food against other all inclusive resorts and for me it is right up there certainly comparable with the 5* Awali Heritage in Mauritius we stayed at last year (comparing the buffet restaurants). Just a note with the sunbeds if your up and about before 9 you shouldn't have a problem getting one, we didn't.Excursions - now I know these will come down to what if affordable and they things you like to do but for me these made the Holiday extra special and meant we got to see the islands. We did river tubing in Grenada, 4x4 tour in Aruba, Jet ski Adventure in Curacao and the Dunns river falls with zip line and bobsled. We had looked up before we went to what excursions could be done and budgeted for them. We did however overspend but we are so glad we did. The views, experiences and fun we had will live long in the memory.In summary I'm sure if like with any holiday if you look hard enough you can find problems and issues but for me this was certainly one of the best holidays I have been on!!