Thomson to change their name in cruising

Thomson have announced they will be rebranding their products later this month.
You have probably seen in the press that they are changing their name to TUI instead of Thomson.
A lot of people have heard of TUI but not everyone and I can never understand why a company with such a high profile name would want to change their name.
After all Thomson is one of the biggest names in the UK travel industry. People trust Thomson as a brand and I often hear people choosing to travel with Thomson rather than some of the less well known tour operators.
I am sure everyone will get used to it and it will still be a well established name in future years.
What did surprise me even more is that they are changing the name of their cruise product to Marella Cruises.
They will still have the TUI smile logo on their ships but also a Marella cruise logo.
Thomson have said they don’t want to confuse people but it is bound to cause some confusion to begin with. The reason for this change is to open up the idea of this cruise brand to people who have may be put off from cruising with a tour operator cruise brand in the past.
What is exciting news is that they will be positioning a ship in Asia from winter 2018.
Asia is one of the most exciting cruise destinations with lots of cultural experiences along with relaxing days on beautiful paradise beach locations.
They will sail from Langkawi in Malaysia but guests will also have the opportunity to join in Bangkok.
This opens up lots of options for cruise and stay programmes as there is so much to see in Bangkok it is a shame to not extend your stay.
I was lucky enough to visit Langkawi a couple of years ago on a cruise. This place is stunning and I would love to go back. There is beautiful scenery, waterfalls and gorgeous sandy beaches. It is very cheap aswell so no need to be booking expensive shore excursions here.