What`s in a name…..whether it be Thomson, TUI or Marella?

Two big news stories emerged from the Thomson camp yesterday. The 1st was the unbelievable news that they were re-branding their cruise fleet, the 2nd was the exciting new ports of call for winter 2018. More about that later.

For years we all knew the Thomson cruise brand, and what it stood for, but over the last year or so, we had to get our heads around the news that it would be changing to TUI, in line with the rest of the business.

I`ll bet that I was not the only one who was gobsmacked when the news emerged in the last 24 hours that, instead of TUI, there would be a completely new name……..Marella?

A Celtic word, meaning “shining sea”, the name was chosen to make the cruise line ‘stand out in the cruise market’, And also to differentiate it from the company’s European cruise brand, Tui Cruises.

The direct quote from Helen Caron, Distribution and cruise director was “We don’t want British guests to be confused with the group’s cruise business in Europe. Marella Cruises will still have the Tui smile logo, but a new Marella Cruises logo in a blue box, similar to the way we would market Sensatori as part of the world of Tui.  The name was chosen to reflect the spirit of exploration and discovery across the seas.”

Well I love my Thomson cruises, so no matter what the name, as long as they still deliver the same service, food & entertainment, I will still happily continue to sail with them. Time will tell.

The 2nd piece of news was the announcement of a fantastic new homeport in Asia for winter 2018. The Discovery will sail from Lankawi to 18 new ports of call, featuring 14 adult-only itineraries, with customers also able to join from Bangkok. Some of the exciting ports of call include Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam, Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia, also Mumbai, Mangalore, Cochin in India and Colombo in Sri Lanka.

Now I have always wanted to visit the Far East, so, these ports of call, combined with the Thomson fleet, makes a mouthwatering prospect for us cruise-fanatics.

So what do you think of all this news? Do you like the new name, or do you think that Thomson have shot themselves in the foot? And what about the new ports of call in the Far East, do they excite you?

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