We've just returned from a FABULOUS family holiday on the Thomson Dream. Hubby and I had an amazing time as did our children aged 10 & 15 - they loved the kids clubs and teenager zones - LOTS for children to do on this ship!!!. We flew from Newcastle to Palm in Majorca and check in, flight and transfers to the ship were quick and well organised. Embarkation took only 15 minutes - lots of drinks and seats available. Upon embarkation we were immediately impressed by the quality of service of the crew - this service was second to none throughout our cruise. Within 2 hours of being on board my 10 year old daughter declared that this was the 'best ever holiday she had ever had'! I asked why and she said that she had been made to feel like a Princess by all the crew - she continued to feel like this throughout our week's cruise and my hubby and I and son were also made to feel very very very special throughout our holiday. JUST WONDERFUL! A BIG "Thank You" to every one on board the ship as you made our holiday so wonderful!We booked a year before our cruise and we got the all inclusive drinks package for free - this was fantastic as there is an enormous range of drinks covered by this package including: a vast number of cocktails, mocktails (alcohol free cocktails), wine, draught beer, spirits etc. Even if we had to pay to upgrade to this package we would as we feel that it saved us several hundred pounds as I got hooked on 'strawberry coladas' and my son got hooked on mocktails!!!!The Captain has a great sense of humour and his daily stories are hilarious - especially his jokes and use of the word 'shitty'. We loved him!We had been VERY nervous about this holiday due to the 'bad reviews' we had read and seen on Watchdog but we really needn't have worried as the whole holiday surpassed our wildest expectations. I've tried to outline what we experienced with the cabin, ship, food, entertainment and ports of call below:CABIN:- We were shown to our cabin (outside plus on deck 6) and were delighted by what we found - as we entered the cabin there was a large wardrobe with digital safe (plenty of hangers) and cupboard on left hand side and bathroom with bath with shower over on right hand side. As we progressed into the cabin there was a long dressing table with massive mirror, lights, TV , minibar, drawers etc on the left and a bunk bed arrangement for the children on the right and then at the end of our cabin a massive double bed in front of the window. The room had obviously been overhauled as carpet and the fixtures and fittings looked new - the bath wasn't new but was perfectly acceptable as were all the towels (we had loads and they were changed as often as we wanted). The cabin was kept spotlessly clean throughout the week and we never encountered any sewage smells or problems!!!SHIP:- The ship is absolutely lovely - she has great character with real timeless elegance. She is kept spotlessly clean by the amazing crew. There is a fantastic choice of bars on board and a few shops. All the public toilets (there must be around 30 just on deck 8 itself - that's a guesstimate as I had no intention of counting them on my holiday!) looked brand new and we only once encountered one out of order toilet - which really wasn't an issue as there were so many more available close by (although this didn't stop some passengers moaning!!!!). There were lots of lifts available - I saw 2 out of order during the week but they were fixed very quickly. We smelt new carpet around the ship and suspect that other carpets will soon be replaced as a few were a bit 'shabby chic'. The upholstery on the seating in some of the bars looked new - once again I suspect that seats in other bars will be overhauled at some point as they also looked a little 'shabby chic'!!! We noticed one leak from the ceiling on deck 9 on the last day of our holiday - this was being worked on by engineers. There were plenty of sunbeds available although the pool areas became busy quite quickly. The pool areas were clean although they need a little TLC as a few of the mosaic tiles on the decks were missing BUT NONE OF THIS WILL HAVE ANY IMPACT ON YOUR ENJOYMENT ONBOARD THE SHIP!!!!!Food:- Food on this ship was amazing. Fantastic choice and great quality available throughout the day. My children can be picky but they just loved what was on offer. As well as buffets (both hot and cold options available) in the Lido restaurant and Sirens there were also pasta stations (lunch and dinner), pancake stations (breakfast) and outside grills for beefburgers, hot dogs, chips etc etc. There is also the Orions restaurant waiter service for breakfast, lunch and dinner and Sirens becomes the Grill for a la carte dining in the evenings. We breakfasted daily in Sirens - amazing choice and so much to eat!!! We had lunch (when on the ship) in the Lido buffet restaurant and had a 6 course evening meal every night in the Orion restaurant - the quality was superb and service out of this world - special thanks to Billy, Randy and Carlito!!!! Afternoon tea was available daily but we never needed it as we didn't want to put on too much weight! Before going on our cruise hubby and I had discussed upgrading to the a la carte restaurant for at least one evening meal(£20 per head) but once on board the food and service in Orions surpassed our expectations and we didn't feel the need to do this.Entertainment:- The variety and choice of entertainment was superb. Kids clubs ran up to three times a day and the evening session for my daughter (9.30 - 11pm) allowed hubby and I time alone to eat or watch the show which was a real bonus. In fact both my children enjoyed the cruise so much that we had to coerce them into spending time with us on board - sad but true! My teenage son made lots of friends and 'hung out' in the games room - there were activities put on for teenagers which they could take or leave. The kids loved the sports deck and enjoyed their independence on board as they could eat whatever they wanted whenever they wanted and they could order their own drinks with their cards. Entertainment ran throughout the day and there were choices that you could take or leave. We loved the pianist in the Delo bar, the classical music in the Argo lounge and the absolutely AMAZING shows in the Broadway theatre. There was also easy listening music in the Ocean bar, game and quiz shows in the Medusa lounge and a late night disco. Paul Snr is the cruise director and even the sound of his voice could make you smile - he's FAB as are the whole entertainment team and crew!Ports of call:- What a FAB itinerary we had: Cagliari (Sardinia), Naples, Civitavecchia, Ajaccio (Corsica), Palamos (Spain), Palma (Majorca). Cagliari in Sardinia is interesting although a little dirty in areas - we strolled around at leisure and went up the elephant tower - fab views. Pompeii was AMAZING - we took a guided tour which was FAB and we also hiked up vesuvius, not for the unfit BUT well worth the effort! Rome was just beautiful - we took a guided tour and went into the Colosseum and walked around the sights including Circus Maximus, the Roman Forum, the Spanish Steps, the Trevi fountain etc - FAB but exhausting! We wandered around Ajaccio and it was lovely. In Palamos we booked 'Barcelona on your own' and got the coach into Barcelona and saw all the sights using the metro (clean, quick easy and cheap!) and by walking around - well worth the visit. On our final day we spent the morning wandering around Palm - the area around the cathedral is stunning. The 'destinations team' on board the ship were FANTASTIC - they were really helpful and full of good advice. Tours weren't cheap but we felt that they were well worth the money.Well that about sums up our holiday. We really did have a fantastic time. We will now start saving as we would love to repeat this experience and will definitely return to the Thomson Dream as soon as we can.