General Chat

So glad you had a wonderful time Dee.I spoke briefly to my sister last night and she didn't want to come home either.She love d swimming with the dolphins and did it twice.She said they felt like the white of a hard boiled egg lol.
She said she didn't think she saw you but could have seen you putting on your flight socks in the loo for the flight home.
Her only little gripe was as you say the cabin was very small.
I will more about it when I speak to her later.
Helen x

Glad that you had a great time Dee. Reading this bought back memories of our holiday ( a caribbean cruise as well) just a few months ago.
Saving hard for the next one now LOL.



Love and Peace
Marianne.x

Continued........

The cabin maids worked none stop and long hours. As soon as we were up and gone to breakfast, they were in making our beds and changing the towels in the bathroom. In the late afternoon, they would go back in and clean. If the poolside towels had been used in the daytime and were wet, they would replace them. Then whilst at dinner, in the evening, they would turn back the sheets and leave a chocolate on your pillow, and sometimes they had folded your poolside towels into animals so that when you returned for bed after a great evening of entertainment, you ended the day with smiles. They always asked how you were when you passed them in corridoors and what you had been doing that day, or wishing you a good day/evening. We couldn't fault them.

All in all, we had no complaints whatsoever, as I said, the one problem we did have was taken respectfully and resolved extremely quickly. Don't know why other people thing that service was not good in reviews I had read, perhaps they were unlucky - or didn't approch staff politely?

The food. Spoilt for choice. Too much of it. 24hours. You could eat any time of the day, choose to eat in the restaurant or not where you are given waiter service, breakfast, lunch or dinner. Or you could it in any of the other areas...pool deck had grills where you could have burgers/sausages/chicken and chips BBQ style. The Lido cafe was our daily place. Buffet style, with plenty of choice and as much as you could eat! Very casual, and you didn't have to dress up. All they asked is that you covered up your swim wear to be respectful whilst people ate. At the back end of the ship, the views from the Lido cafe were lovely.

Bar waiters walked the decks day and night where all you had to do for a drink was get their attention as they walked past. Give them your order with your boarding pass and it was charged to your on board account. (no money changes hands on the ship, it is all charged to your account with your boarding pass and cabin number). So easy, and if you were at the side of the pool in bikini, no money to hand...it didn't matter.

We found the holiday, the best we had ever had and we would both love to do it again!

We would give Thomson Destiny a recommendation willingly. The organisation from flight to transfer to ship was very smooth, and once on board the ship, within 1/2 hour, our luggage was outside our cabin doors haveing last seen them as check-in at Birmingham Airport!

So you see why, we didn't want to come home.

Absolutely wonderful.......and now back to reality, sigh!!!!!

Hi All. I'm back!
I so didn't want to come home. The holiday was fantastic! Sue came over to introduce herself and we had a quick chat. Hope you enjoyed it as much as we did.

I've been asked which was the best bit of our holiday, and I can honestly say...I don't know! There was so much! Each Island was different and had something to offer.

We went swimming with the dolphins on Tortola, we enjoyed that, but it was over too quickly.

We did buggy driving and quad biking in Dominican Republic.

Limbo dancing on the Rhum Runner in Granada. This was our actual anniversary date and thought it would be a great party athmosphere. We weren't wrong! Lots of Rum punch and steel drums. I had a go at the limbo dancing and won a bottle of rum punch!

Once back at Tortola, we went flight seeing. A small 8 man plane taking us over the British Virgin Islands. The views were spectacular!

In St Maarten, we went in a Semi Submarine to see the sealife. So many beautiful fish... and a couple of turtles.

We went on a Champagne Snorkel. Snorkelling in reefs where a volcano had errupted and beneath the seabed, jets of warm air bubbles were released. It was like swimming in a warm bath with air bubbles! Never snorkelled before, but once I got the hang of it, the views underwater were wonderful, we got so close to the fish.

We did a jeep safari in Antigua. This was the only day it rained (all day), however, it was still 28c and the rain was refreshing, it didn't spoil our trip through the rain forests, and then onto one of Antigua's 365 beaches (yes they have 1 beach for every day of the year and they were all caribbean picture postcards). We went in the sea, which was wamer than sitting on the beach - and that wasn't cold. It was raining, so it didn't matter getting wet in the sea!

In Barbados, my husband got stung by a jelly fish whilst swimming in the sea - now he is telling everyone, he went swimming with the jelly fish, something noone else did! ha ha.

In St Lucia, we went on a catamaran which toured the coastline. They took us to a small picturisque bay where we were allowed to jump off into the clear turquoise water and have a swim. Tiny fish were swimming around us and the water was so clear, we could see the bottom at 15 ft!

We did much more, but too much to mention.

The Thomson Destiny ship was lovely. Having looked at reviews before we went, I'd like to put the record straight......

The staff were extremely helpful, if there was a problem - they soon put it right. After 24 hours on the ship, our cabin toilet decided it wasn't going to work. We reported to the reception on our way out to explore St Lucia, they appologised and when we returned, it was fixed! Try getting a plumber to come and fix things that quickly here!

They were extremely polite and couldn't do enough for you. The waiters in the restaurant entertained us with singing and Alan & I were seranaded on our anniversary evening which was lovely. They really made the holiday something.

The entertainment staff never stopped. Every night there was what I can only call a "west end show". Different every night for two weeks. The singing, acting and dancing were something else, and the costumes, wow! they were stunning!

For those who can remember the Grumbleweeds. We were entertained one evening by Morris Grumbleweed who was really funny. Then on the 2nd week we had Fogwell flax, he was also very good, but Morris was better!

The entertainment was none stop, day and night. Poolside parties, Music in various lounges.....Oklahoma lounge, Clipper bar, Blakes bar, Lido cafe. Something to suit all tastes.

As for the ship, it seemed big to us, until we saw other cruise ships from Ocean village to name one. They were so much bigger, however, they didn't get the entertainment we had on board the Thomson Destiny!

The ship was dated as it is one of the oldest ships Thomson have, however, It was extremely clean and well kept, maintenance was being done all throught the holiday. Painting, fixing of doors, they were always shampooing the carpets and cleaning the windows! The staff worked so hard.

Yes, the cabins were tiny. The best way I can describe them is liking being in a mobile caravan. Somehthing we have done a lot of so it didn't bother us. This was, I think, what most people didn't like, but as far as we were concerned, we only needed to sleep there as there was far to much to do on board. It was big enough to get changed and the ensuite was big enough to have one person showering whilst the other used the mirror in the bathroom. (on board joke about the shower curtain giving you cuddles!). There was plenty of wardrobe space, but very few drawers and not many hangers. I put a request into our cabin housekeeper (as they like to be called) and by the time I returned back to the cabin, she had given us a dozen more hangers! The cabin maids worked none stop and very long hours. to be continued...........

I want to know all about it .Have a Fandabidosy time.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Wishing you both a wonderful time................and Congratulations on your 25th:))

xx

Thank you. I write this with my feet up, breezer in hand and chilling....getting into the flow......ahhhhh.

Catch up when I get back.
Dee

Have a great time Dee have enjoyed reading Yours and Helens posts
Jenxx

Enjoy Dee! I'm very envious of you all .Happy Cruising xx

Thats it, I'm packed and ready to go! Will have a nice warm bath with a glass of wine tonight, to chill out and get in the mood.

I'm not far from Birmingham Airport, will take about 20mins at 7am. Packing almost done, just a few more things to iron. Leaving instructions for my daughters, you know, not to forget to lock up at night, dogs medication, close bedroom doors during the day etc etc.

Will do final packing tomorrow.

Don't worry, your secret will stay with me!

Probably won't be on GR after tonight, so I will let you know how the holiday went, when I get back.

Regards
Dee

Dee if you do find them don't say I said Mr.Bean Lol. he doesn't know we say that!!!.Where are you? they are Cheltenham.
Have you done your packing now??????

Will look out for them. Mr Bean. Lol!

Thanks Helen

They are staying at the Crown Plaza Hotel near the NEC tomorrow night rather than have to set off early on Sunday.
Calm down now Dee you'll be getting yourself in a tizzy !!!!!!!!!!!
Janice's hubby is tall and slim with very short hair (not bald).Sometimes we say he can be a bit like Mr.Bean LOL.
Have a fabulous time ,and a Happy Anniversary.
Helen x

"We're all going on a summer holiday, no more worries for a week or two, fun and laughter on a summer holiday"

Only two days to go. All exited now.


Thanks Sue. You enjoy yours too!


Thanks Blackrose.


Helen

Tell your sister to have a good time, I'll look out for her at the airport!

Dee

Have a wonderful holiday and enjoy every minute!

Yes, I have seen Jimmy Cricket on a video. He is good live.

looking at reviews of the ship, the entertainment is excellent! Thanks

I hope you have some good entertainers on board.I went to Norweigan Ffiords on a cruise and we had Jimmy Cricket,with his wellies lol.I thought he would be dreadful but in fact he was so funny we saw him twice.My OH was in tears and it's hard to get him to laugh .(I won't tell him I said that).

Keith

Lol....I'll add it to my list!

dont forget my postcard