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Thomsons All Inclusive Cruise On The Topaz 32 of 32 Ciao Users found the following review helpful
Rating from milmol 5 Stars ()

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All inclusive cruising on the high seas, a tour of the Canary Islands, and a chance to experience the Topaz before she retires from Thomson’s after years of loyal service, how could I resist.

I used to imagine cruises were for older, elitist couples, but friends and family persuaded me otherwise. The Topaz offers all inclusive cruises, drinks included, and on the recommendation of others we decided to try her before she is replaced this year by Thomson’s new ship, The Spirit.

With seven decks to explore, entertainment and 24 hour dining, it sounded too good to be true, especially as the prices were excellent. We booked last July from the teletext, using a company called Book and Go. Total cost including insurance and flight supplements from Manchester was £890 for two adults. I was stunned at this low price bearing in mind this was not a late deal, booked for January the 17th this gave 6 months notice.

Disaster hit however when Book and Go ceased trading last November. Although we had paid the balance to them, they had not paid Thomson’s, in fact we only found out they had ceased trading when 3 weeks before the holiday we phoned them to enquire where our tickets were. Panic stations were manned and the holiday looked like it might not happen, but luckily Thomson’s very professionally stepped in to rescue us. As an ATOL protected company we only had to prove we had paid for the holiday and they were happy to honour the agreement and claim the money back on our behalf, thank goodness for ATOL.

Flights ~ The 4 ½ hour flight to Tenerife left on time and an in-flight meal was provided. Apparently in the near future this meal will cost £10, I personally wouldn’t purchase it as I find the meals are usually not of a high standard but this is personal choice. The Britannia plane was clean with pleasant enough staff and in-flight entertainment. Headphones were provided free although on some flights I have known them have to be paid for. Duty-free was available and although perfumes were the same price as in the shops and on all the islands we visited cigarettes were cheaper on the flight than anywhere else.

Arrival and Transfers ~ The Thomson rep was easy to spot at arrivals and we were directed to a comfortable and newish looking coach. The transfer took about 1 hour to the port. Once there a member of the ship came on board and clear instructions were given for embarkation. A large tent type area was set up on the port and here we collected an envelope that contained various information including stickers bearing our cabin numbers. We placed these on our cases and they were then left with the cruise staff that would deliver them to our room. We were told this could take up to two hours but ours arrived within 30 minutes. We were greeted and welcomed onto the ship and once onboard went through the process of handing over our passports and collecting room keys etc. This was fast and smooth with the minimum of fuss. From there a member of staff showed us to our room and the cruise began.

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milmol

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Previous page Next page Page 1 of 7 | 1 - 5 out of 32 comments
  • solamarie 10/12/2005 23:27
    Rated this review as
    Very Helpful
  • silver_g18 15/11/2004 11:21
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  • MALDIVEDIVER 29/09/2003 20:32
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  • GentleGiant 11/07/2003 12:28
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    We've never had a chance to use Thompsons, coz my parents always drag me off to thed same spot in France every year! Matt

  • KarenUK 14/02/2003 14:38
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