RIP Thomas Cook

This is a very sad week for the travel industry as news emerged of the demise of Thomas Cook.

I spent almost twenty years working for and travelling the world with this once noble giant and made many lasting friendships. A lot of these friends now find themselves without employment amongst 9,000 others in the UK and many others worldwide.

Of course, it is not nice to have your holiday cancelled but your money is protected and you can re-book. If you are overseas, you will be repatriated.

Operating as a travel company since 1841, this is a name we all know and have grown up seeing. Once the leaders of the holiday business, I was proud to wear their uniform.

This is also bad news for the high streets with even more empty shops and inevitably will be bad news for holiday prices which are bound to rise.

The industry that I am proud to be part of has rallied round to help stranded customers and re-book future travel if Thomas Cook flights were involved. There are several stories in the press showing the dedication of these travel professionals in continuing to assist customers after losing their jobs.

RIP Thomas Cook

Update for P&O guests booked with Thomas Cook

We will be contacting all guests who have current or future P&O Cruises holidays booked through Thomas Cook. All P&O Cruises holidays booked through Thomas Cook will be going ahead as planned. Those travelling on Thomas Cook aircraft on our fly/Caribbean or fly/Mediterranean cruise holidays will also be updated as soon as we have confirmed alternative aircraft.

If you have booked through another cruise line then again you will find similar messages on their respective websites.

If you, or someone you know, has been personally affected by this then we recommend visiting the Thomas Cook CAA webpage. This site contains all of the information and advice that you will need to get through these tough times.