Marella Explorer, Thomson Cruises

This was my very first holiday on my own,and so it was with some trepidation that I set out. The flight and arrival were o.k. - the transfer to the ship without going through the airport was a surprise and very quick -, and the queue to collect the Sea Pass and lodge credit card details was not too long and I was soon on board. On finding my cabin there was a letter on the bed, inviting me as a solo traveller to a breakfast meeting the next day to meet the other solo's. After that, those who wanted to on any given evening met in the lounge before going into eat together. Having this connection allowed us to make our own arrangements to (e.g.) go to Nelsons Dockyard independently but together when we were in Antigua. Thanks must go to Amanda for arranging this. This really made a huge difference to my holiday. Another unexpected joy was finding there were ballroom dancing classes each day at 4 pm and then more social dancing each evening at 9 - led by visiting professional dancers. On the one hand I will say that it was a pity that there were not more people taking up this opportunity, but on the other hand I did get many hours of sometimes 1 to 1 tuition. Special thanks to Lisa and Phillip (week 1) and then Paul (week 2). I do hope that Marella keep this up. What excursions I took via Marella were well organised and I felt quite good value. It is not their fault that some of the islands (St Maarten in particular) are still in a poor state after the hurricane of 18 months ago. I mostly ate in the Latitude restaurant, where the food was good (although portion sizes were very variable), and service could sometimes be very slow. My cabin was a 'single' inside (with a massive double bed), more than ample storage space, but nowhere to read a book except to lie on the bed. Personally I would have preferred a smaller bed, leaving space for an easy chair. The steward kept it really clean and was really sweet. The main entertainment shows were not to my taste. The shows by the on-board company were very 'samey' in the style of the musical and dance content for each particular evening (although very competent and full of energy), and the visiting comedians (sons of one of either Cannon or Ball) were dire. I was not the only person who walked out. As I say, not to my taste, but it didn't matter too much because I could always go dancing! There were also lots of other things to do - films to watch, casino, various individual musicians in various bars (they were good), quizes, etc. etc. - so really everyone should have been able to find something they liked. The ship as a whole was fine - but then I only regard the ship as a means to an end. It is the destinations that matter to me when I book a holiday. Would I travel on this ship again? Yes - if it was going where I wanted to go!!

This ship and cruise was excellent value for money. I loved the all inclusive options. Had no reason to upgrade our drinks as the ai offered a wide variety of choice. Large balcony room was superb. Plenty of storage and the hammock was an excellent added feature.