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Birmanlady
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09-01-2008 12:38 PM
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Joined: 09 Jan 2008
Posts: 3
| I am booked to go on the Calypso on 5th May for the Crimean Discovery Cruise. Today I have had a letter saying that they are no longer calling at Canakkale but would now be calling at Mirini on Limnos. The reason given being that "customers on recent cruises who didn't want to see Gallipoli didn't enjoy Canakkale as much as we would have liked." From things I have read on this forum, I would have thought they would be dropping Constanza! My husband is particularly annoyed because he wanted to visit Gallipoli.
In another letter which arrived today we have been told that they are re-classifying cabins on deck 3 from Superior Outside to Standard Outside. I had pre-booked a cabin on that deck. Thomson's have refunded the fee for pre-booking and I have now pre-booked cabin 652 on the Calypso Deck free of charge. That cabin is now a Superior Outside but on the deck layouts it used to be a Superior Outside Plus. When I booked this cruise back in November, all the Superior Plus cabins were already taken. All very confusing.
Can anyone who has been on this cruise throw any light on why these changes have been made? Has anyone else who is going on this cruise had a similar letter?
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kate52
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09-01-2008 10:29 PM
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Joined: 15 May 2007
Posts: 26
My Profile
| Hi- sorry to hear of your disappointment about Gallipoli. We didn't go on the trip there when on the Calypso last year, but just ambled round Cannakale, saw the replica wooden horse, enjoyed the scenery. The trip was very well subscribed so I was surprised to hear the port was dropped. There are worse places to spend a Sunday on a cruise!! Will it be any comfort to your husband to know that some of the memorials are clearly visible as you cruise through the Dardanelles on the sea day? I must admit to being moved by the translation of the large Turkish memorial. We were on Calypso deck, 652 looks a good choice.
Will be very interested to know what Mirini is like, as we are going again in the summer, and were quite pleased to see a new port.
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My Latest Review: Aug 2007 Thomson Calypso Cruise Ship (9/10)
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mtek
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10-01-2008 08:35 PM
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Joined: 26 Jun 2007
Posts: 43
My Profile
| Hi Birmanlady,
I also received this letter. I was on the Calypso for 2 weeks last September/October and on return booked for next June doing the Aegean and Ionian (I wanted to cruise through the Corinth Canal and see Delphi etc). I booked through the Thomson call centre as I live in Ireland and the website will not process bookings from Ireland as the field for post codes will not accept the equivalent in Ireland.
My letter was in an envelope addressed in very childish/immature/unformed handwriting and not properly addressed - its lucky I even received it. Inside was a standard letter from cruisedeals.co.uk - who are they - I didn't book through them. Then there was this letter and the date and booking reference were correct but the letter suggested that I was going on the same cruise as I had done last year. This letter was from Thomson and dated 3rd January and closed with looking forward to seeing me on board NEXT year????
No doubt Contantta will be dropped by the time you go - last year it was also on the cruise I booked but was dropped due to customer feedback - apparently it held nothing of interest for those who did not want to go on a trip so they did an overnight in Istanbul. I had been to Istanbul before and it is a fascinating city but I really wanted to do a trip to the Danube Delta from Contstanta.
Gallipoli from Canakkale was the highlight of my trip last year. I had seen some of the memorials the previous year on the Emerald as we passed by but we only saw the big monuments. The graves, the scenery as we drove from one graveyard to another, the guide (he had guided Bill Clinton, the Prime Ministers of a number of countries) were wonderful - very moving, not rushed and that trip was well subscribed.
Thomson pulled a similar stunt two years ago when their firist trip to Libya the previous years was a disaster because they had not notified clients that they would not be able to have a drink for 2 days because Libya is a "dry" country - this prompted a "riot" on board the Emerald. The following year it was down to one day - I cancelled that cruise because it was also supposed to stop in the Lebannon and there was conflict there.
I would not worry - I did't see cabin 652 but I did see a number of similar cabins and they were fine. My guess is the cabin classification has something to do with the Emerald going out of service - after next season (rumours) and so a lot of people want to cruise the Eastern Med/Black Sea so Thomson see the Calypso as a big revenue generator. The ship is half the size of the Thompson and so in the new brochure they can charge more for cabin upgrades. The Calypso is a very good product and youl will have a wonderful cruise - I know I had. What I think your poor disappointed husband must do is look to the future - Gallipoli will still be here and there are cruise ships who will stop off at Canakale - thats what I am doing in relation to Libya - at the moment its looks like it will be a Costa cruise that will get me there.
My own issues over the letter which mght send me on cruise I have already done will be dealt with over the next couple of days. I think the barely literate writing on the envelope is what annoyed me most.
Have a great cruise. Thomson do provide a good cruise experience at a competitve price and even if you don't get what you want you will have a great time on the Calypso.
Regards, Marie
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Birmanlady
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10-01-2008 10:28 PM
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Joined: 09 Jan 2008
Posts: 3
| Thanks Kate52 for re-assuring me. Husband not quite so annoyed now!
mtek ...the description of your letter compares to mine. Envelopes handwritten, postmark Manchester but letters headed with Coventry address. Mine dated 7th January and ended with the same wording...welcoming me on "onboard the Calypso later next year"!
Out of interest, this afternoon I downloaded the Thomson 2008 Cruise brochure and see from the deck plans of the Calypso that they have changed the grading of the cabins. Suites and Superior Outside Plus have disappeared. The suites are now Premier cabins and the Superior Outside Plus have become Superior Outside cabins. Even more confusion when I decided to look at the pages showing the flights. We are flying from Birmingham. In the brochure it says we are flying to Halkidiki!!! I received the amended invoice today which confirms we are flying to Thessaloniki. Despite all this, I am really looking forward to this cruise.
Does anyone know if the Calypso is undergoing some sort of refurbishment during the winter?
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catkinx
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10-01-2008 11:48 PM
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Joined: 06 May 2007
Posts: 18
My Profile
| I think the reason for your letters being handwritten and coming from different addresses is that Thomson do not now use a central call centre. If you ring Thomson direct the call is routed to any Thomson High Street shop that is free at the time. I have booked direct for two cruises next year, the first confirmation I received was from Dorset, the second from Newcastle, both were in reply to my call to the main Thomson call number, and the girl confirmed that that is how the booking enquiries are answered now.
As far as the Calypso is concerned, I think maybe the cabins are being re-classified also due to feedback. I don't think the suite we stayed in on the Calypso was up to the standard of the suites we have stayed in on both the Spirit and Celebration. The Emerald doesn't have suites, just Premier cabins and the Calypso is more related to the Emerald than it is to the Spirit or Celebration.
Hope this helps, and I'm sure you will enjoy your cruises, I think Thomson has good value for money cruises.
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My Latest Review: May 2008 Thomson Spirit Cruise Ship (9/10)
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mtek
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14-01-2008 09:26 PM
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Joined: 26 Jun 2007
Posts: 43
My Profile
| Hi Birmanlady - The brochure does say Halkidiki but that is the nearest resort to Thessaloniki. You will be flying into Thessaloniki - last year the check in staff at Luton airport and the reps at the airport were talking about Halkidiki as well.
Cabins on the Calypso are fine - on the Emerald they did this upgrading a couple of years ago. The cabin we had sailed in that year was a superior outside. When I looked at the previous years brochure it was designated as standard outside and year or two afterwards it was superior outside plus. As I said Thomson seem to re-grade the cabins depending on the demand for a particular ship. As the re-graded cabins command more of supplement my guess is this is a practice which will continue.
The thing to do is remember that you don't spend any time in the cabins (apart from changng and sleeping) so unless its a ship with balcony cabins there is minimal difference between grades of outside cabin. Just as long as it is not over a disco (which the Calypso does not have) you will be fine. I go for an inside cabin as I travel alone, love to cruise and this is the only way I can afford to do so. But on the Calypso there are no single cabins so I had a twin cabin last year which was almost twice the size of the one I had on the Island Escape earlier in the year and much better lit and laid out.
Enjoy your cruise.
Marie
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jumboj
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20-05-2008 01:37 PM
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Joined: 20 May 2008
Posts: 1
| Dear Birmanlady
We are setting off on the Caqlypso for the identical cruise to you on 26 May 2008 so please let me know what you thought of it.
Like you, we are on Calypso deck but are worried a little, about size of cabin as there are 3 adults sharing - the cost of a single occupancy cabin was just too much.
Hope we can get ice in the cabin to enjoy a "duty free" drink before dinner.
How were the shows ?
Hope you hgad a good time.
Broadoaks48@aol.com
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Birmanlady
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23-05-2008 09:21 PM
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Joined: 09 Jan 2008
Posts: 3
| Hello Jumboj
Unfortunately I did not go on this cruise. I had to cancel on 1st April because my elderly mother was taken ill so my husband and I could not leave her. She is now, thankfully, better, but we lost our holiday. I cancelled on 1st April and asked Thomsons if I could take the holiday later in the year. They said we could bring it forward but not postpone. I did point out it was one of the first cruises of the season so we could not bring it forward!! We are now doing battle with the Insurance firm to get our money back.
I came onto this site because I thought that by now we might have some comments about the Crimean Discovery cruise on 5th May, but no-one has posted anything yet. I hope they will let us know how it went and if they enjoyed the new port of call. Hopefully someone will answer your questions too. I hope you enjoy yourself. Please let us have your comments when you return.
Birmanlady
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