We chose this cruise because of the itinerary - seven countries, Germany, Denmark, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Russia and Sweden, stopping off in places we'd never visited before and always wanted to see, particularly St Petersburg. It was our second sailing with Thomson Spirit, having done a week's long cruise with them before to the Norwegian fjords in 2009, so we knew what to expect. However, we were led to believe that the ship had had some sort of refurbishment following that trip which was why it had been taken out of service; frankly, we couldn't see it. The ship still looks old and worn in places, the tint was peeling off the windows in the Lido restaurant, there was a dent in our cabin roof, and the lifts were slow and forever breaking down, but for all that, the ship is spotlessly clean. There is always someone going round cleaning and vacuuming and the cabins are immaculate, though basic. Hand cleanliness is mandatory before going on board and entering eating areas as everyone is required to sanitise with alcoholic gel.

Embarkation at Newcastle was stress free and the muster drill wasn't as dreadful as first time around because we knew what to expect and how to put on our life jackets, the only problem being we had to assemble on Deck 6 The Promenade Deck, so me and my feller had to take the stairs not the lifts from our cabin in C Deck 1 (the bowels just above the engine room): in the event of a real emergency heart failure from the effort of climbing stairs will get you before the sea would! Also it was nice not to have a camera shoved in our faces showing us looking like idiots in our life jackets. This had been a real irritation on the Norway cruise where photographers even followed us on the excursions and it was nice to be able to CHOOSE when to have your picture taken this time, even on the gala evenings. There is, however, a photo taken of you before you board for the first time, so just smile and get on with it.

The ship is cashless: you pay for everything with a card which is charged to your debit/credit card and which is also used as your check-out check-in card when you leave and re-board the ship. When paying for drinks make sure you get the right card back! One evening the drinks waitress gave us someone else's card until another passenger spotted the mistake. Read more