A refresher in Thomson Cruises

During December as its one of our quieter months within the travel industry we often spend the time having refresher training courses on what each of the various cruise lines have to offer and what makes them different from each other, which then in turn helps us try to match the right cruise to the right people.

Having been lucky to have sailed on various cruise lines this year, I decided to switch my focus and update myself with what Thomson Cruises have to offer. I must admit I have never sailed on them and always had in my mind that the ships were old ferries and it was very much like butlins at sea, but since having done the training it seems that actually Thomson have a very good offering.

There is four ships in the fleet: Thomson Dream which is the flagship, Thomson Celebration – which will be adults only, Thomson Majesty and also the Thomson Spirit. Yes they are much smaller and don’t have things like flow riders, ice skating rinks or dodgem cars, however they do still have casinos, theaters/show lounges, and a la carte restaurants.

I knew Thomson flew from a few regional airports but I didn’t realise you can actually fly from 19 different airports from the UK to join their cruises. These include Cardiff, Doncaster, Leeds, Newcastle, Southampton and the list goes on.

The language on board is obviously English, the currency on board is English so no worry about converting currencies, and your gratuities and service charges are already included in the cost of the cruise – which is fantastic and saves any discussions about removing them or having to worry about taking extra cash to do your own. Also included in the cost of the cruise is the airport transfers where you will be met by Thomson representatives, and if you have opted to do a cruise and stay option then also the hotel is included.

The big thing for me I have learnt is just how well Thomson guests have rated their cruises  on board – 88% for their holiday overall, 89% for the quality of the food, 85% for the entertainment and 92% for the on  board service, and the great thing is if you should encounter a problem whilst on board Thomson have a representative on board who will be able to help.

One of the add-ons with Thomson is you can pre-purchase drinks packages, making your cruise an all inclusive experience and can pay for this before leaving the UK. You can also choose your cabin number at just £42.

One last plus for us here is we are one of the very very select agents who Thomson have agreed we can have the same prices as their website ! This is really big and exciting for us as we can now offer the same price and our customer service and expertise, whilst saving you money as you won’t have to dial an 0845 number to speak to them direct.

Did you know all of the above about Thomson and have you cruised with them – if so what was your experiences? I have learnt a lot about Thomson and will be looking forward to working more closely with them in 2015.