What’s wrong with Thomson?

Often, during the course of my work I have customers contacting me who haven’t decided on a specific cruise and ask me to search for a deal. I have to establish what their requirements are and many times customers specify NOT to cruise with Thomson.

Now I know that some people prefer bigger ships and some people like lots of facilities such as ice skating rinks, climbing walls etc. Although they are modernising the fleet with the recent purchase of 2 ships from Royal Caribbean, some of the Thomson ships are certainly older and smaller than many other cruise company’s ships, however the size of the ships does give them an advantage. When you look at some of their itineraries they offer some really different and interesting ports. Yes – they offer some of the more traditional places, but are also able to dock in some of the smaller ports. Here are some of the slightly more unusual itineraries:

• TREASURES OF THE MEDITERRANEAN
• Palma, Majorca
• Trapani, Sicily
• Sorrento, Italy
• Civitavecchia (for Rome), Italy

• Propriano, Corsica
• Mahon, Menorca
• Palma, Majorca

TIMELESS TREASURES

• Limassol, Cyprus
• Haifa (for Nazareth and Galilee), Israel
• Haifa (for Nazareth and Galilee), Israel
• Thira, Santorini

• Marmaris, Turkey
• Alanya, Turkey
• Limassol, Cyprus

AEGEAN SHORES

• Corfu Town, Corfu
• Argostoli, Kefalonia
• Istanbul, Turkey
• Cesme, Turkey

• Thira, Santorini
• Kalamata, Greece
• Corfu Town, Corfu

Thomson have the winter season covered with ships based in the Canary Islands, Dubai and the Caribbean. Being a British cruise line Thomson have also been able to sail to Cuba over the last few years. They offer overnight stops in Havana giving passengers 2  days to explore the city. It’s a great time to visit Cuba. Now that they have made friends with the USA I envisage that things will change in this beautiful unspoilt country.

The reviews that we get about Thomson are generally excellent with comments like “Well that’s it for me looks like I am hooked on cruising with Thomson”. ” I absolutely thoroughly enjoyed myself and can’t wait to go on a Thomson’s cruise again next year”. Entertainment, food & service are highly praised. Click here to read the latest reviews.

Selling cruises purely for the UK market means that the food and entertainment on board the ships are tailored to British tastes. I recently went on a Royal Caribbean cruise and the comedians on the ship went down like a lead balloon. The UK passengers just didn’t get the American humour.

The other good thing about Thomson is that they fly from 22 airports , so you can fly from your doorstep. They also have the odd sailing from Newcastle up to Northern Europe in Summer which is a refreshing change for northerners.

In summary you’re not going to get skydiving and dodgem cars on these ships. You are going to get a good value informal cruise on a smaller ship with prices on board in British Pounds, good food, great entertainment and no tips forced upon you. If you do your homework before you go you won’t be disappointed. For more info on Thomson click here.