The Thomson announcement which has shocked the travel industry and customers alike!

It’s old news by now that Thomson are changing to TUI.  The latest news this week however is the re-branding of Thomson cruises to Marella cruises.  The name Marella which in Celtic means ‘shining sea’ was chosen by Thomson in order to help their British brand stand out from the European brand TUI cruises.    They advised that the name reflects ‘the spirit of exploration and discovery across the seas’.  The ships will now be called the following:

-Marella Explorer

-Marella Discovery 2

-Marella Discovery

-Marella Dream

-Marella Celebration

–Thomson Majesty will remain under the same name until she leaves the fleet at the end of the season on 19th November 2017

–Thomson Spirit will be named Spirit until her last voyage on 21st October 2018

Take a look at our news page for more information:

Thomson Cruises To Be Rebranded As Marella Cruises: Everything You Need To Know

What do you think about the new name?  I must admit personally I don’t love it and comments coming from agents and customers seem to be mainly negative.  There are comments describing Thomson as having an identity crisis and many people preferring the old name.  This new name seems to be having anything but the positive impact that Thomson were looking for with the move!

Thomson have made another announcement which also seems to have split the world of travel.  The new Marella Discovery will be cruising from Asia from 2018.  This will allow their customers to travel to some exciting new destinations such as Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand!  I’m sure not too many people will be upset by this.  The announcement that this will be a solely all-inclusive ship has however upset some cruisers as the price tends to go up comparatively and some customers would rather stick to the full board prices and have the choice to add on drinks if they wish.

I know you can’t please everyone but when nearly everyone has something negative to say then surely some notice should be taken of that? I’d love to hear your view on this.