My wife and I took the Thomson Celebration Colourful Coasts cruise, embarking 21 March 2014 and occupying a Deluxe Balcony Cabin on Deck 9 forward on the ship.

The cabin was indeed one of the high spots of the cruise. There was more space than in comparable cabins we have experienced with other cruise lines, with a large and comfortable double bed, table and chairs both in the cabin and on the balcony, separate his and hers wardrobes, both bathtub and shower in the bathroom, and a plentiful supply of toiletries. Our steward kept everything immaculate each day. One small niggle was that the toilets work on a vacuum system, and there were very occasional delays (up to 30 minutes!) before flushing! Another point to bear in mind is that, during stormy weather, a cabin such as ours, high up and forward on the ship, experienced a higher degree of pitching and tossing during stormy weather, although in the cabin position’s favour we did not experience any continual vibration or whining noise from the engines, as reported on many reviews about cabins located lower down and further aft on the ship.

The second high spot of the cruise was the evening theatre performance: many reviews have commented on the professionalism of the performers and we have no need to comment further. Read more