Cruise Lines

I was relieved that the one change that Thomson Cruises made as a matter of urgency on the new Thomson Dream, which it started operating last week, was in the speciality restaurant.

The uncooked egg and slimy snails that were served as specialities when I was on the ship when it was Costa Europa last November have gone (I ate neither but I did see the faces of those who did!), replaced by some more palate-friendly items.

In Thomson's speciality Grill (£25pp) I had Peking duck crepes followed by a spicy pasta main dish, and there were also plenty of fishy things as well as beef and chicken. All the food turned up at the table cooked! And mine was very tasty, which was a pleasant surprise.

The ship, which has been chartered from Costa Cruises, had a bit of a nightmare birth into the Thomson Cruises' fleet. There was a fatal accident in Sharm el Sheikh about six weeks before Thomson was due to take delivery, when the ship crashed into a pier and three crew members were killed.

Just as the hole was patched, the volcano ash crisis struck and Thomson Dream was pulled into service to rescue holidaymakers stranded in Palma. It meant any tweaks Thomson had planned to make before it sailed its inaugural cruise as Thomson Dream had to be dropped.

The name was changed, the funnel got a smiley face, some areas have been painted TUI blue and that speciality menu has been changed, but that's it so far. David Selby, Thomson Cruises managing director, is now going to wait and see how the ship, the largest in the Thomson fleet, sailing from Palma this summer, beds down before deciding what other changes to make when it goes into dry dock in October.

Generally the ship is looking nice if a little old-fashioned in places (others call it stylish!), with large public rooms that give the ship a feeling of space. It's one of the ship's big selling points, along with a sliding roof on the main swimming pool that can be closed in bad weather.

You can see more of the ship on my video here.

The Medusa Lounge, which spans the width of the ship, will always be popular as they're going to use it for cabaret acts and games, and I think the Ocean Bar will become a favourite (it was certainly mine) as it's smaller and has a more intimate feel.

The speciality restaurant, once dressed up for the evening, looked very smart, as did the main dining room. It's open dining, which is another great selling point in my book.

Personally I'd get the rather dull-looking signage changed as a matter of urgency, and give the public rooms some sparkling new names at the same time.

And can I put in a word about the shower in my otherwise-lovely suite (very spacious, with a big balcony), which was not really fit for purpose - namely showering (and I'm assuming the showers in the other suites were the same).

Thomson also somehow needs to create a second servery or separate stations in the buffet as the queue was horrendous on the last morning when I went down there, causing tempers to fray.

There's just one counter with everything on it, so even if you only want a bread roll, you have to queue with everyone else picking up bread, yogurts, fruit, fry-ups and so on (and Thomson cruisers want the lot, believe me) unless you are bold enough to barge your way though the line.

Given the disquiet in the ranks as I joined the queue, I decided such a manoever could spark a riot so I decided to wait patiently. Well wait anyway.