We booked an excursion on the advice of rep Amy to a nighttime festival in Positano that had a firework display. It was heavily endorsed as the excursion to do with Amy saying that she wanted to go on it herself. We were told we were very lucky to have been there that particular week and should definitely go on the trip. We paid for a family of 4 £220. However the problems included: - the advert told us it was an open top boat called the Blitz. What turned up to take us was a ferry. - We stood around on the dock for an hour with nowhere to sit, before we could get on having been transferred far too early. - The ferry was cramped. There was indoor seating but the windows were too dirty to see out of and there were many elderly on the boat. - the outside standing areas were noisy, dirty, smelly and cramped. - the crew were under the influence of alcohol and brazenly drinking in front of us. - the toilet facilities were disgusting, no toilet paper or soap provided. - We arrived at the harbour of Positano one hour before the firework display and left standing on the boat. - the display lasted 10 minutes. - there was no commentary to explain what the festival was about. - the return trip was 45 minutes yet we'd been kept on this ferry for 3 1/2 hours unnecessarily. - we learned that there had been fireworks in Sorrento that night as well which we cold have watched for free. This makes the excursion seem even more of a ruse to just make money out of us. On return Amy (who did not join the trip and instead had chosen to watch them from her flat in Sorrento!) admitted that we had been missold a product. Despite this excursion being run for the first time there was no Thomson presence on it, nor it would seem had anyone thoroughly looked into the planning and execution of this trip beforehand. There was a lot of confusion when we got back to shore about which bus we should go on. We were moved from one bus to another and then back again! The excursion was a massive let down for our family. We work hard and save hard in the year in order to be able to enjoy our holiday. Normally we are happy with the service Thomson provide. This was one of two excursions we bought from you. I know that there is considerable mark up on excursions when we buy from you. I know for example that the other tour we bought from you at a total of £360 could have been purchased at £200 directly in the town of Sorrento. But I accept that in return for higher price comes the the promise of a good trip. In this instance it has not proved to be. The timing of the excursion also put it at the centre of our week in more ways than one. Because of the cost and late hour of the trip we decided on the day of it to have a quiet day at the pool, followed by another one the day after. The impact therefore on our holiday was more than just financial but took a chunk from our week long holiday. We also had no more money to pay for other excursions having spent what we had saved. I am concerned that when we first raised this issue (as did many others) with Amy, she kept saying that it was not Thomson's responsibility. Furthermore, when we visited your office in Sorrento to express this concern, my wife was put on the phone to talk to someone called Kate. When my wife explained that we were put on the ferry and we knew we should have had the Blitz, at first, Kate denied there being another boat, it was only when we said we had taken a picture of the poster advertising it that she admitted that there should have been an open air boat, that they had sold too many tickets due to the interest in the trip and they had changed the boat at the last minute. It is concerning that you are working with dishonest operators. Also, why were tickets continued to be sold by Thompson, when knowing that the people could not be properly accommodated? Clearly the only concern here was to make money and not great family memories. Thomson's name was on this, it was in your literature and we would like you to take responsibility for it. Therefore I am asking for a full refund not to just cover the cost of the evening but because of the upset caused during the one week of the year we can afford to go abroad