We had read all the reviews regarding flooded cabins on the Dream and although we have sailed on her 6 times previously we did set off to the airport with a little fear and trepidation. Check in at cruise terminal was very swift - maybe because we were on a late afternoon flight and the main "rush" had already occurred. We always book a cabin on deck 10 as it is handy for Sirens for breakfast and then off out to the sundeck, plus as there aren't too many cabins on deck 10 the corridors are usually quiet at night. We had prebooked cabin 1020 knowing it was an obstructed view but it was fine, you could look down past the lifeboat infront of the window and see the sea, or upwards to see the sky and judge the weather. Cabin it's self was huge, large double bed, 4 seater settee, plenty of wardrobe/drawers etc. Bathroom the usual set up with half bath and shower over. (one fixed and one shower head you could unclip and move around). The only problem we encountered with the bathroom was the bath/shower water was only lukewarm in the evening at best, one night it was stone cold. I had rang Reception for the first 4 nights to report it and each night they had said they would send a technician but we never saw him. On the 5th night I rang and was told by the receptionist that I should have my bath before 5pm or after 7pm.....I got a bit cross then ! And lo and behold a technician/plumber appeared, fiddled round inside a box of pipework outside our cabin and we had roasting hot water for the rest of the cruise ! To give reception their due they did ring us the next night to check we still had hot water and also gave us two free meals at The Grill as compensation. Thomson also recognised us as "repeat guests" by leaving us a bottle of chilled fizz and chocolate dipped strawberries in our cabin on the second Saturday of cruise.

We mainly ate our evening meals in The Orion restaurant and found the food to be much improved from previous cruise, especially in temperature. We had sat at Richie/Seigfred table on our first night and the service from them both was excellent. With Seigrfred as wine waiter our glass was never empty (we did have the AI drinks package) and the food was served quickly. We would ask to sit at a table within their station when going into the restaurant each night and were mostly accommodated. We ate at the Grill on 2 nights, service is very attentive and food is good, although I have to say my fillet steak was better in the Orion Restaurant (£9.95 supplement) On one occasion in the Grill we were seated by the window, I would not recommend it ! The aircon for the whole room is piped down channels by the window and we were so cold my husband had to nip back to the cabin to get our cardigan/jumper (not a good look with a posh dress) as it was so cold it was spoiling the whole experience. Next time we visited the Grill we put on our booking to be seated away from the window !

The entertainment team were also much improved to our last cruise. Some good shows and some repeats from previous years. The Queen and Michael Jackson shows were great, shame they repeat the Quenn one on the Saturday though when you are on for 2 weeks. Also loved the pirate show. Brandi and Max really have wonderful voices and the Classical sail away they did one afternoon on the Sirens pool deck was fab. The UK guest comedians were ok but not side splittingly funny. To get a good seat in The Broadway Show Lounge you had to be in there a good half hour before the show though and service from the bar staff was very slow once the crowd started to build up. Service in most of the other lounges seemed quicker. Read more