MEDITERRANEAN RENAISSANCE About us This was our second cruise, our first was on RCCL Navigator Of The Seas in June 2007.

I am 43 years old and my DH is 48. There were just the two of us travelling without children and we flew from Southampton airport to board the ship in Majorca. Initial Thoughts When we arrived at the docks (after sorting out our booking hiccup, as explained on the forum), we boarded and wandered around the ship.

Our first thoughts were that the ship seemed quite dated and small as we only had the Navigator as a comparison. Cabin/s The first cabin we were given was an outside with a porthole on deck 1. We were then upgraded to a suite on deck 8 which was absolutely stunning. This had a proper king size bed, mini bar, two large picture windows, separate seating area with sofa, two comfy armchairs and a coffee table. Bathroom had a full size bath with shower, nice shampoo, conditioners, body lotions etc were all supplied. Towels were changed twice a day. There were two large double wardrobes, plenty of drawer space and room under the bed for the suitcases to fit so they were out of the way. Large TV cabinet with a big TV and all British channels, a decent hairdryer and nice fluffy bathrobes provided. With the suite there was a free laundry service if used within the first 24 hours of three items cleaned per cabin and one free continental breakfast in bed per week. We didn’t use either of these facilities.

Our cabin steward Angela, kept the room lovely and clean and told us to let her know if there was anything at all she could do or arrange for us and she would do her very best to help. We couldn’t have asked for more, she kept the ice bucket topped up, made us lovely towel animals and left lovely choccys on our pillows every night when she came in to turn the beds down.

Sailaway Party

We sat in the alfresco area of the Lido Restaurant (aft) and the crew and entertainment team were introduced. The party got under way with the entertainment team dancing and singing and everyone was had a great time. We sailed out of Majorca past the beautifully lit cathedral into lovely calm seas.

Onboard Facilities
Pools
There are two pools on the ship, these were never busy although that may have been due to the weather which sadly was a bit overcast on our cruise. We did go into both pools during the week. They were both kept very clean, nice and deep pools and room to have a swim in. There was also a child/baby pool and a Jacuzzi - Jacuzzi was lovely, very warm like bath water and very refreshing. Plenty of comfy sun loungers and padded mattresses were available with space inbetween so you didn’t feel at all crammed in. If the pool decks were quite busy which they never really seemed to be, there is a top deck where at times you may find you have the whole deck to yourselves even on the hottest day. it’s a bit of a hike to the top but well worth it if you want a nice quiet sunbathe/sleep.

Restaurants
There are three restaurants, The Lido Buffet Restaurant, The Compass Rose - Main Dining Room and Sirocco’s - a la carte. There is also a grill area outside the Lido Restaurant and a room service menu available. Lido We had all of our meals in the Lido Buffet Restaurant as we decided to have a more casual cruise this time. There was a huge and varied choice of food and we never failed to find something we liked. They also had a Indian and Italian night which were both very nice and it was great to be able to take the food to an outside seating area and watch the world go by. The inside seating area was also a very good size and air conditioned. We never struggled to find somewhere to sit, even on the sea day. Tables were cleared very quickly and efficiently and waiting staff always quick to take drinks orders if required. Various teas, coffees and iced water were available free in the Lido which was handy as we used to pop back in on our way to bed and pick up some iced water to take back to our cabin.
Open 24 hours a day Compass Rose We never ate in here as we were happy in the Lido but we checked the menu everyday which offered a six course menu choice. The food looked fantastic and very well presented and we were told that the waiters in here were excellent. Open from 6.30pm for open seating Sirocco’s Again, we never ate in here as it was a bit too “a la carte” for us. Sirocco’s has a cover charge but the people we spoke to who did dine here said it was fantastic and well worth the price. Dining times to be booked. Lido Grill Offers hamburger, hot dogs, pizzas, salads and chips and a chef on hand doing fresh daily specials such as Greek salad and Caesar salads etc. Also porridge, fruit and continental breakfasts available here, free teas and coffee’s. Open from 6.30am till 9.00pm

Bars/Lounges
There are five main bars/lounges onboard that cater for all tastes of music/relaxation plus bars within the restaurants and a cocktail bar outside the Lido. High Spirits - (Our personal favourite) This is above the Lido Restaurant (aft) and is a decent size with comfortable air conditioning.
Our favourite bar waitress Livia worked here and always greeted us with a beaming smile and asked about our day. I must say though that all of the staff onboard were so friendly and always wanted to help but Livia was our little ray of daily sunshine J We liked this bar best as there was an outside area with comfy wicker chairs and tables with a fab view. Also, as I am a smoker, it was a nice place sit outside and have a drink and a cigarette in the evening. A lot of the quizzes and games are held in this bar including Mr & Mrs and Miss Thomson Spirit etc. We also liked the music here as it was varied and the musicians “The Men In Black” also played live music throughout the week. Horizons We went here a couple of times (deck 9 forward), fantastic panoramic views and a great place to sit when you sail away from a port. Lovely bar staff and nice chilled out background music played here.

Raffles Bar/Casino
We never had a drink here although it did seem a popular place, we wandered through a few times though and took some photos of the bar, slot machines and gaming tables. Plenty of room to sit and some nice views with a piano player usually providing the music in here.

Explorers Lounge
This was classed as a tranquil lounge where a lot of people went to sit and read or just relax. With nautical memorabilia and background soft music played it’s a nice place to just sit and relax.

Broadway Show Lounge & Mezzanine
This is a two storey show lounge where the main shows, comedy nights and Captains cocktail party are held. We had a few evenings here including the cocktail party and the comedy show which we thoroughly enjoyed but “musicals & west end shows” aren’t our thing although others told us they were very good and from what we saw, the entertainment and production team worked very hard. Lido Bar This bar was at the back of the Lido Restaurant, very popular place to sit especially with the smokers as it was an outside bar with quite a large seating area and great views.

Cinema
I was amazed by the size of the cinema, I would say it was almost full size and plenty of seating with a decent size screen. Showing all recently released movies approx four shows per day. We went to see a film and there was only us and two other families inside. Had a great laugh with them asking the people twenty row’s in front of us to remove their hats because we couldn’t see LOL!!! When the third couple turned up, someone said they were cutting a bit fine to get a seat HE HE!!! Film didn’t turn out to be that great but cinema itself and fellow passengers were good fun.

Oceans Health Club Spa, beauty salon and gym - we used the gym several times (honest) and found the equipment to be good quality and there was usually someone on hand to help set up the equipment and show you how to use it. Never very busy in the gym but it helped to burn up some of those extra calories. We didn’t use the spa or the salon but we checked out the price lists and they all seemed very reasonable. Card & Reading Room Nice size quiet room where people played cards, scrabble etc and there were many board games and books onboard for passengers to use.

Internet Lounge

Unbelievably we didn’t use this although I kept thinking I would give it a try. It was never busy but when I used the one on the Navigator, I could never get a good connection so in the end I kept in touch with family by text when we could get a good phone signal. Prices seemed reasonable for internet use though. Sports Deck We used this to play basketball and football and there was also a table tennis table but we never played that. Nice size netted off area and never very busy. There are benches to sit on either side to chill out and get you breath back afterwards.

Shops
There are a few shops onboard, a general shop with basic essentials, a perfume shop and an electrical/watch & jewellery shop. They do special offers throughout the week on watches etc but we only brought a couple of essentials if we run out of anything. For gifts we found the best prices and choices in Mahon.

Children/Kidzone
There is great teenage lounge area nicely laid out with seating areas and computers and a kids club available for the younger ones. We saw some tots running around with painted faces after kids club and they were obviously having a good time. There is also a small games arcade but that never seemed to be very busy.

Laundry Services
There are a few self service laundry areas available on the ship. The washing machine is £2.00 per load and washing powder is provided free in these areas. Use of the tumble dryers is free and there is also free use of an iron and ironing board. Laundry bags are available in each cabin and this is done at fixed prices per item and delivered back to your cabin.

Entertainment
As I mentioned earlier, we don’t particularly like the Broadway/musical type shows but these are done twice throughout the evening to accommodate early/late diners and were apparently very good. There are quizzes, games, ice carving and cocktail making shows and during our cruise we had a guest comedian who was very funny.
We had the Captains cocktail party where everyone dressed up and had a photo taken with the Captain and free drinks and nibbles. There was also talent shows, karaoke and a late night disco in High Spirits bar. There was always something to do or watch if you wanted to but there was never any pressure to join in if you just wanted to sit back and relax or laugh at everyone else. It would be virtually impossible not to find something you enjoy entertainment wise on this ship.

Smoking
Smoking is permitted on all outside decks with wooden box ashtrays attached to the rails. There are also tables and chairs outside of High Spirits Bar and the Lido Restaurant (one side only of each) where you can sit and have a drink and a cigarette. Smoking is not permitted anywhere inside the ship so all of the bars and cabins are smoke free and the shops onboard did not sell any cigarettes or alcohol. High Spirits bar did sell individual packs of cigarettes at £2.50 per pack but they were not allowed to sell them to you in 200’s.

The best place for buying cigarettes during our cruise was when we stopped at Mahon. To the left of the steps that head into town (Thanks Millyman from the forum), there is a well stocked tobacconist. There are two others we found in the town itself all priced the same but they had huge queues and ran out of some brands due to demand.

Bar Prices
DH usually drank Stella which was £2.70 per pint and I mostly drank white wine at £2.20 per glass. There is a cocktail of the day which we usually tried offered at a reduced price and overall the prices seemed very good with a good range of drinks available.

Our Itinerary /Excursions
Day 1 Embark Ship Majorca
Day 2 At Sea
Day 3 Villefranche
Day 4 Livorno
Day 5 Civitavecchia
Day 6 Olbia
Day 7 Mahon
Day 8 Disembark Majorca

We did not book any of the ships excursions but those who did said that they were very well organised and reasonably priced.

Thanks to SueB, Millyman and others from the forum, we did our own trips with the info they provided.

Villefranche - Was probably our favourite as it was so pretty and very easy to DIY. We caught the train the Monaco/Monte Carlo which took about twenty minutes and then walked into Monaco which took about five minutes from the train station. We walked around the race circuit and through the tunnel, wandered around the marina there looking at all the very expensive boats/yachts and then took the lift up to the world famous Monte Carlo casino. DH fell in love with an Aston Martin that was parked outside the casino and wanted a go in a Ferrari that you could use to go once round the circuit for 89 euros. He decided not to in the end though as the repair bill might not have been covered by our holiday insurance LOL!!!!

We had been to Livorno and Civitavecchia on our cruise last year so gave those a miss and relaxed onboard.

Olbia - We were advised on the forum to book an excursion or DIY inland for this one but the excursions available didn’t really appeal to us . We were going to get a taxi and make our way to a nice little beach area but the weather wasn’t great so we ended up getting the free shuttle into town and had a mooch around the shops. There weren’t very many shops and after seeing a pair of flip flops in a shop window for 98 euros, decided that the shops were a bit pricey for our usual tacky souvenirs shopping so we jumped back on the shuttle bus and went back to the ship.

Mahon - Our second favourite stop on the cruise, try and be on deck when you arrive here as the views on the way in are lovely and its well worth having your camera ready. The ship docked directly opposite the foot of the steps that led into the town and there was a little market to the right of the steps. it’s a bit of a hike up the steps to get there but well worth it, plenty of shops and places to sit and have something to eat and prices very good.

Embarkation/Disembarkation
Other than a booking problem that we had which was not fault of the Ships, the embarkation and disembarkation were both very smooth and well organised. There was no queuing at either time and they had procedures in place that were obviously tried and tested and crew to show you to you cabin with cases arriving within ten minutes or so and vice versa on leaving the ship. Maintenance We had a problem with the WC not flushing and reported it to Reception who apologised and said it would be rectified immediately. Within five minutes two maintenance men arrived and sorted it out. Five minutes later a card was put under our door asking us to ring or pop into reception and confirm that the repair had been carried out to our satisfaction. Just a small point but I would like to highlight this as I felt that the repair service onboard was exceptional.

Overall Summary
After a somewhat iffy start (no fault of the ship) and our initial thoughts of the ship being too small and dated, we were amazed to find that although smaller than the Navigator and not as “Grand”, we fell in love with the ship, the crew and the whole experience on board the Thomson Spirit. There was always room to be alone and quiet, always plenty to do if you wanted it, lovely food, brilliant use of space and layout and just a general feeling of relaxation onboard.
As others have said in their reviews, there is a strange vibration in certain areas of the ship but you don’t really notice if after a while and it just becomes part and parcel of the charm. As tipping is not necessary on the Thomson Spirit, we thought that perhaps the staff /crew would not be so keen to help and make time for the passengers. How wrong could we be, they all worked really hard all the time and when we were in Mahon we saw many of the crew on a valuable day off actually walking up to passengers from the ship asking if they were OK and if they needed any help or directions etc.
We would also like to give a special mention to Sue Stewart - Charter Cruise Manager and Gosha Lee - Head of Reception, who helped sort out our booking problems and the lovely Livia - High Spirits waitress who made a huge effort and had time for everyone. These are the three that we named for Oscars when we left the ship. To anyone considering the Thomson Spirit we would say “go for it” If you can manage without a few of the fineries found on the more expensive ships, then we are sure you will enjoy the relaxed, fun and happy feeling on this ship. We will definitely go back on the Thomson Spirit (thanks to Wendylovescruising) for recommending trying a smaller ship - WE LOVED IT!!!!