It was in 1998 that we became hooked on cruising after doing a cruise with Thomson’s. This Red Sea cruise was advertised so cheaply that we used it as a reason to see if what we enjoyed in 1998 still held good. Did it? Read on……………………….

On arrival on the quayside in Sharm El Sheikh the Thomson Spirit seemed very small compared with what we had become used to over the last 13 years and 30+ cruises. As we boarded we sanitised our hands and had our sea pass’s card scanned but not our hand luggage. The luggage scanner was unmanned and up against a wall. Personally I would have been happier to see hand luggage being scanned. Great however for anyone bringing their own booze on board.

On boarding the ship we were met by a ‘Greeter’ who asked us our cabin number and then escorted us to our cabin. This was a pleasant change from just being pointed in the right direction. The cabin was the cheapest inside grade situated on Deck C so our expectations were not high. It was therefore a pleasant surprise to enter a cabin that appeared spacious and which had more drawer and hanging space than we have had on any other ship. 4 wardrobes and 2 chests of drawers. More than enough space for a 2 week cruise let alone 7 days. The bathroom whilst small was in good condition with no signs of discolouration or mould as you might expect on a ship of this age. The downside was that there was no soap dispenser in the shower unit and no portable clothes line for drying swim wear or clothes that had been washed. Shampoo came in a small plastic bottle and the soap came in small tablets. Certainly a glimpse of the past when I would have thought that dispensers would have been more economically viable for the company. The beds were made as two singles with a drawer unit in between. On each side of this unit were the switches that operated the lights and television. In the dressing table drawer was a hand held hair dryer that worked well. Our 2 cabin stewards were wonderful. Certainly 2 of the best we have had. By the time we returned from breakfast the cabin had been done. Every night a different towel animal and the beds were properly turned down with chocolates.

Further along the corridor was a self service launderette with 2 irons and ironing tables. They worked very well and I had no problem ironing shirts or pressing trousers. There were also washing machines which required tokens that could be purchased from reception.

Everything seemed to be going well until we went to the main dining room which is the Compass Rose. On this ship they operate an open seating system and it was the first time we had been to dinner with this system in operation. It is fair to say that if this is what open seating is like we will be staying with the traditional system of a set table at a set time. We were shown to a table of 6 and given menus. The menu seemed very limited compared with what we have become used to. We then waited about 20 minutes before a waiter came to take our order. It was then another 20 minutes before the first course arrived. When we eventually came to our main course I asked for some mustard to go with my beef. I was given a plastic squeeze bottle of mild mustard. On asking for normal strength mustard I was told that they only had that which was in the plastic bottle. The food was luke warm and the vegetables tasteless. We left the dining room nearly 2 hours after entering. We were however prepared to put it all down to ‘First Night Syndrome’. Unfortunately this was not to be the case. Over the 7 days the service in the Compass Rose was a disaster closely followed by the food. The only night I found the food hot and appetising was on Gala Night when the quality and selection started to approach that of the larger cruise lines. My test of vegetables is if you mashed them up and were blind folded could you tell what you were eating? The answer was no. I also asked the restaurant manager about having a choice of mustards, i.e French and Full English. His answer was that they forgot to load it on board!!!!!!!! The wines also appeared to be on the expensive side.

It was therefore difficult to understand why it was that the food in the Lido Restaurant was so much better. The breakfast buffet here was excellent and certainly on par with other cruise lines. Great selection, well cooked and hot. The staff here were always very efficient, clearing away plates and trays and doing a great job. Lunch was also very good as was Dinner. It was always busy in the Lido and many people we spoke with said they preferred the food in the Lido to that of the Compass Rose.

The main show lounge is on deck 5 with a balcony on deck 6. We saw 2 shows. One was the comedian who we thought was very funny. Just goes to show that you can be funny without swearing. The other show was called ‘Africa’ and was put on by the singers and dancers. Personally we were very impressed with the performance on what is a fairly cramped stage. Beautiful costumes and professionally put together.

There are 5 bars on the ship. We thought that Raffles was the nicest for an early evening drink. It is Happy Hour 5pm – 6pm each evening with the exception of embarkation day and Gala Night. Drinks are reasonably priced with good measures. £2.90 for a spirit and mixer. There are also Happy Hours in other bars but at different times. Horizons is a popular bar at the front of the ship on deck 9 where you can relax over a drink and get good views of the coastline all lit up at night. Explorers Lounge is a lovely lounge but waiting for a waiter to come and take your drink order was like waiting for snow in the Caribbean. It had a grand piano being played by a lady who was accompanied by another playing a violin. They were excellent.

The card room is a room from the past that oozes quality. It perhaps gives an idea what the ship was like when first built. The library is small with not much of a selection of books. It is from here that you can collect the daily ‘Newspaper’. On most ships this consists of a leaflet style paper but on the Spirit it is a number of A4 sheets stapled together and only printed on one side. What a waste of paper. On several days they had run out of the newspaper by the time I arrived so I attended the reception for a copy. They said that they put out 90 copies each morning and requested people to return them when read. 90 copies for a ship having over 1200 persons on board???? Also, as the paper has a crossword in it who is likely to want it 2nd hand? They were however always helpful and used to print me a copy.

The ship although clean and tidy is starting to look very tired in places. Thread bare carpet in places on the stairs and some of the seats need recovering or replacing as the material is getting very thin from continual use. Some of the wooden decking needs sanding and resealing to restore its original colour. Mopping the decks with a bucket and mop really does not do the job. In the same way, wiping down the hand rails from one end of the ship to the other without rinsing the cloth does not do a lot of good either. There is a lot of vibration on this ship even when in port. Sitting in Raffles one evening my glass was on the table and you could see the ice cubes vibrating in the glass.
There are 2 pools that in fairness are more like large plunge pools. The water was always very cold and the sun seemed to have very little effect. Although passengers are requested not to reserve sun beds for more than 45 minutes very few people took any notice of this. This resulted in sun beds in the best locations having towels on them by 7.30am. Even when people were away from the ship on tours it was a case of hunt the free sun beds after 8.30am. When the ship was full on a sea day there just didn’t appear to be enough sun beds to go round.

The ports on this trip of which there are only 3 apart from Sharm El Sheikh are selected for their proximity to sights to see rather than their beauty. Aqaba although a commercial port is quite close to the main town and there is a shuttle bus that takes you from the ship into the town free of charge. You can then walk to the local beach in about 5 minutes. However Sokhna is well away from the town and Safaga is like a builder’s yard. At neither of these ports are there any shuttle buses so if you don’t take the tours you really have to stay on board.

This is a ship that is heading towards being 30 years old and therefore cannot compete with the modern resort style ships for size or amenities. It does however have a certain charm and we started to enjoy the compactness of a smaller ship. So did we enjoy the trip? For the price we paid it was a week in the sun and good value for money but had we paid the full price we would have been very disappointed. Some things are charged for which are free on the vast majority of cruise ships. Safe in the cabin, £12 a week. Breakfast in your cabin, £4.80 each. Bottles of wine we thought were expensive.
Would we go on this ship again? The answer is simply that it would depend on the price.