Why do people book with Thomson?

[campolady]

Reading so many negative posts on here recently I really wonder why so many people book a Thomson cruise?

 

You get what you pay for (cruise, level of cabin, All Inclusive pakage or whatever) and - in our humble opinion - Thomson still offer good value.

 

Think its time I stopped reading these forums LOL!

[Little Nell]

Reading so many negative posts on here recently I really wonder why so many people book a Thomson cruise?

 

You get what you pay for (cruise, level of cabin, All Inclusive pakage or whatever) and - in our humble opinion - Thomson still offer good value.

 

Think its time I stopped reading these forums LOL!

 

I book a Thomson cruise because I enjoy them. However, that does not mean that I will say that everything is perfect when it clearly isn't.

 

I think you hit the nail on the head when you said "in your humble opinion".

 

That is exactly why we are on a forum in the first place, to express our opinions and if that means to express concerns about a particular ship or a change to AI or whatever, that is our perogative. It does not mean that I am right and you are wrong or vice versa but we are both entitled to our opinion.

 

One thing I am clear about is that I do not come on here to give free publicity to Thomson cruises. They pay people plenty to do that. I come on here to express an honest opinion and to learn from others' experiences.

 

Interestingly, I too have recently thought about quitting this forum because there seems to be a mindset where criticism is viewed as "moaning".

[campolady]

<<One thing I am clear about is that I do not come on here to give free publicity to Thomson cruises>>

 

And nor do I!!! I have recently posted considerable criticism of Thomsons so called customer service - especially as the price of our cruise dropped considerably within a week of us booking with Thomson saying tough luck when we moaned. A couple of weeks later they had the cheek to send me an email offering a sale price discount of €100 on new bookings!

 

<<if that means to express concerns about a particular ship or a change to AI or whatever, that is our perogative. It does not mean that I am right and you are wrong or vice versa but we are both entitled to our opinion.>>

 

Of course you are right - and of course I didn´t man that people shouldn´t voice an opinion. I just felt that recently many people seemed to be expecting too much for what they have paid.

 

I´ll shut up now LOL!!!

[Little Nell]

Oh please do not shut up!

[whistlerbc]

I book because I like the itineries and minimal sea days, far better than other cruise lines in my opinion. So yes I find the cruise price is value for money and its what I want. I also love the atmosphere onboard the Thomson ships, relaxed, friendly and clean. Biggest annoyance with Thomson are the 'extras' most just do not offer value for money. And, poor customer service once booked including telling white lies to try sell you a poor value extra really lets them down!!

 

From the business side Thomson do let themselves down by not marketing and selling the extras correctly, appropriately or in a fair manner. There is literally £1000s slipping through their fingers. But, Thomson do also get lots of things right and on the whole these expensive extras will not make my holiday brilliant but could've possibly made it a little better had I been so daft to pay the extortionate price for it

[gizzie4]

I agree with Whistle. I thoroughly enjoyed my cruise, what i don't like is the way Thomson paint things to be better than they are, this is rather misleading, it's like being told something is gold, when in fact it is gold plated. Selling things in this way is unfair and people will not trust Thomson if they continue to paint things to be better than they are, i have found this on their package holidays too, having been led to believe something is really super only to arrive at our destination to find it's not quite as described . Having said that, i still enjoy myself, and this is usually helped by the people who work on the ship or in the hotels. Let's face it, They are hardly going to say in their description, spacious shower room, but please excuse the cracked and mouldy tiles are they! ;)

[glittergal1]

Reading so many negative posts on here recently I really wonder why so many people book a Thomson cruise?

 

You get what you pay for (cruise, level of cabin, All Inclusive pakage or whatever) and - in our humble opinion - Thomson still offer good value.

 

Think its time I stopped reading these forums LOL!

 

After our Majesty Cruise I feel We definitely DID NOT GET WHAT WE PAID FOR and that it was most definitely not good value for money . I am very hesitant to even book a Thomson Cruise again especially as the reviews of the new "platinum" ships has been quite poor .

My next cruise is with NCL a first time with them and a very much cheaper cruise so it will be interesting to see the comparison.

[geomagot]

'Thomson paint things to be better than they are, this is rather misleading, it's like being told something is gold, when in fact it is gold plated. Selling things in this way is unfair and people will not trust Thomson if they continue to paint things to be better than they are'

 

agree fully with this gizzie4, its all in the wording that they use and they must stop! they are behaving like a 1980's estate agent, they ahve said it themselves 'ats all about expectations' people are set up for disappointment and there is no need to try to gloss it up, most people enjoy their thoms cruises despite the misleading blurb

 

'From the business side Thomson do let themselves down by not marketing and selling the extras correctly'

 

agree with this too whistlerbc....thoms do let themselves down in this department especially with cruises

 

i believe the ta/cs staff are resort holiday trained and cruise (especially long haul) is a niche hence the often conflicting information

 

tbh, you have more chance of getting up to date info re cruises from this forum than you have from thoms customer service

 

thoms have said that they are ramping up training and ship visits for their ta's

 

if they are cold calling you with upgrade offers they should have their facts straight

 

personally tho, our thomson shop is fantastic, there are good ones out there...i reckon she must read this forum rather than the memos from thoms

[kruzseeka]

I book a Thomson cruise because I enjoy them. However, that does not mean that I will say that everything is perfect when it clearly isn't.

 

I think you hit the nail on the head when you said "in your humble opinion".

 

That is exactly why we are on a forum in the first place, to express our opinions and if that means to express concerns about a particular ship or a change to AI or whatever, that is our perogative. It does not mean that I am right and you are wrong or vice versa but we are both entitled to our opinion.

 

One thing I am clear about is that I do not come on here to give free publicity to Thomson cruises. They pay people plenty to do that. I come on here to express an honest opinion and to learn from others' experiences.

 

Interestingly, I too have recently thought about quitting this forum because there seems to be a mindset where criticism is viewed as "moaning".

 

Agree!

 

I book with Thomson because I like the itineraries, fly cruises (few sea days), port intensive, local airports departures, usually good pricing but above all for the excellent atmosphere on board, superb crew, great attention to hygiene and good entertainment – and passengers the vast majority of whom I really like, feel comfortable to be with and can relate to! :)

 

I have been on one of the big American ships and did have a lovely cruise and enjoyed it but it didn’t live up to our overall experience of Thomson. So until we have a disappointing experience with Thomson and they can offer itineraries we want to do at a price we feel we’re prepared to pay – then we’re happy to stick with them. That’s not to say I don’t keep an eye on other cruise lines and if something I fancied came up I’d have no qualms about travelling with someone else.

 

But I do agree with Little Nell and other posters. I think we need to be careful to make distinctions between moans/complaints/ comparisons/facts and opinions.

 

Moan/complaint:

If I say I don’t like the charges for safes................

 

That is a definite moan

 

or say that there are examples of misinformation/errors which emanate from admin and Thomson employees……….

 

That is also a moan and a complaint.

 

Comparisons:

If I say the standard double cabins on Majesty are very small – smaller than the other equivalent cabins on the other Thomson ships and

The Dream pool deck is more spacious than the other ships.................

 

These are comparisons based on fact

 

Opinions;

If I say I thought the food on Majesty was perhaps the best we’ve had on Thomson

and the entertainment on Majesty in the show lounge fell short by only being Concerto style – no issue with the standard just the variety (in the early days when we were on board – I know this has now changed)..........

 

These are my opinions and as has been said – surely we can express those without rancour and should be accepted as what they are – one person’s thoughts about their holiday experience and that will differ for everyone.

 

 

I find it very sad that sometimes genuinely held opinions (the reasons often being justified and explained) can be challenged and the poster criticised for being a ‘moaner’ just because the reader really doesn’t want to read anything they construe to be a criticism of their favourite ship.

 

I lurve chocolate – but I prefer dark chocolate to milk (reason: I prefer the bitter after taste than the sweetness of milk choc). I’m sure no one would take exception to that – it’s my honestly held and explained preference.

 

But were I to say I prefer Thomson ……… to Thomson ………. (substitute whichever ships that may be) it staggers me that some responders seeing such comparisons can be so aggressive and judge opinions as complaints. It’s no different from the chocolate comparison. It’s an opinion expressing a preference which others may find useful if they know the other ships and may therefore help them make informed decisions. It’s as though in the minds of some having said something negative makes you into an unreasonable, miserable, complaining person.

 

Fortunately this doesn’t happen often but I do really think we should take care not to read too much into opinions and comparisons - by all means challenge inaccuracy (facts incorrectly reported) but use opinions as intended – to add to our information bank on Thomson and their ships to inform fellow cruisers. (IMHO – of course! :D:D)

[mickey89]

You say 'people get what they pay for' or should you say 'people get what they deserve'. If you pay for Rump Steak don't expect Fillet.

 

At the end of the day Thomson Cruises are vastly overpriced use ships that are past their sell-by date as they are the cast-offs from other cruiselines.

[CRUISIN LINDA]

Well said Kruzseeka. Spot on as usual :)

 

I lurve dark chocolate too :) But i know a lot of people turn their noses up when you say you like it! Horses for courses eh :D

 

Now I really am off to do the ironing!!!

[Red Scorpion]

I book with Thomson because despite all their faults they give me the best holidays I have ever had. I also think their merits far outway their faults. That doesn't mean we shouldn't mention their faults. My biggest beef with Thomson is that the orange juice they serve is just terrible. When you offset that with the amazing entertainment, lovely food and great friendly crews on their ships it isn't much.

 

This forum reminds me very much of the forum on the web site of the Rugby club that I support. We may criticise a bit but it's only because we care and we certainly wouldn't go anywhere else without a great deal of provocation.

[Jakanne1]

I book with Thomson because despite all their faults they give me the best holidays I have ever had. I also think their merits far outway their faults. That doesn't mean we shouldn't mention their faults. My biggest beef with Thomson is that the orange juice they serve is just terrible. When you offset that with the amazing entertainment, lovely food and great friendly crews on their ships it isn't much.

 

This forum reminds me very much of the forum on the web site of the Rugby club that I support. We may criticise a bit but it's only because we care and we certainly wouldn't go anywhere else without a great deal of provocation.

I agree with you .

 

Over the years we have booked land based holidays mainly through Thomson because when we have used other tour companies they have IMO not been as good as Thomson when things have gone wrong. Thomson looked after us well during the Ash Cloud compared with other friends caught up in it.

 

It seemed natural therefore when we decided to try cruising to try Thomson first. We liked the ports of call (Aegean) and the flight from our local airport and the fact that we did not have to cross the Bay of Biscay. Also we were attracted by the fact that we could have a weeks stay in our favourite village in Corfu.

 

We enjoyed the idea of cruising and Majesty was fine....not perfect by any means....but good enough to book 2 more cruises. The next one in March and another one on 6th September to the Adriatic because so many people on our Aegean cruise doing a bdb said they had enjoyed it. See you are on the same cruise!

[geomagot]

We may criticise a bit but it's only because we care and we certainly wouldn't go anywhere else without a great deal of provocation.

 

yep, Well said, Hear Hear

 

BTW now serving orange juice from cartons:cool: & Pineapple & apple & grapefruit and would be tomato if they hadn't of run out!......really needed those bloody mary hangover cures with my breakfast:o

[vwgolf]

I've cruised with two other companies - NCL and P&O - and I definitely prefer Thomsons. Whilst there is no doubt the other cruise lines have the better, cleaner and more modern ships, they did not match Thomsons on either the friendliness of the crew nor the quality of the food. I'll also agree that Thomson's entertainment can be a little tacky and "in your face" but this is easily avoidable, and definitely not as cringe-worthy as it is on some US ships!

[Cappers]

I'm going to book another Thomson cruise for many of the reasons others have already mentioned,,the point about not having to cross the bay of biscay is very high on my list of reasons!

[jake 26]

When will I learn??

 

We are P&O regulars, and enjoy the product. However we have got a bit fed up with the BoB Atlantic coast trek.

 

We prefer fly cruises and have undertaken several P&O world cruise sectors by flying to our chosen departure point. Fantastic value and great memories.

 

So we saw that Thomson were upgrading 2 ships to Platinum. We've stayed in Platinum hotels with Thomson and found them very good. We thought the ships would be good too and sell well.

 

We looked at the Thomson Cruise brochure and saw the prices and offers, so last August we booked a deluxe cabin for 14 nights next September on the Celebration, but then got talked into a suite for not a lot more. Paid our £350 deposit.

 

Recently , talking to friends about our plans with Thomson we opened the Thomson Cruise website with them. To our horror we saw our cruise value has been reduced by £800+ already. So we realised that we must accept it, or cancel and rebook at the new price, thereby losing the £350 but overall gaining £450, or cancel and write the £350 off.

 

Our thinking is that the cruise will possibly fall in price further as obviously the demand is not as great as we had expected so we have cancelled and walked away, having lost confidence in Thomson (& £350), having read some of the latest reviews re Platinum on the Dream.

 

We will now look to get a late booking with one of the major lines so we won't encounter this large scale price cutting to our disadvantage.

 

Yes we were happy with the deal we got at the outset but I think its a late bookers market now. Seeing the £800 reduction with still 8 months to sailing does not inspire confidence.

 

Hopefully I' ve learnt my lesson.

[Jim The Scot]

Yes we were happy with the deal we got at the outset but I think its a late bookers market now.

 

Hi Jake,

 

Not always a late bookers market however Thomsons prices due fluctuate more than the stock market

[3globetrotter3]

When will I learn??

 

We are P&O regulars, and enjoy the product. However we have got a bit fed up with the BoB Atlantic coast trek.

 

We prefer fly cruises and have undertaken several P&O world cruise sectors by flying to our chosen departure point. Fantastic value and great memories.

 

So we saw that Thomson were upgrading 2 ships to Platinum. We've stayed in Platinum hotels with Thomson and found them very good. We thought the ships would be good too and sell well.

 

We looked at the Thomson Cruise brochure and saw the prices and offers, so last August we booked a deluxe cabin for 14 nights next September on the Celebration, but then got talked into a suite for not a lot more. Paid our £350 deposit.

 

Recently , talking to friends about our plans with Thomson we opened the Thomson Cruise website with them. To our horror we saw our cruise value has been reduced by £800+ already. So we realised that we must accept it, or cancel and rebook at the new price, thereby losing the £350 but overall gaining £450, or cancel and write the £350 off.

 

Our thinking is that the cruise will possibly fall in price further as obviously the demand is not as great as we had expected so we have cancelled and walked away, having lost confidence in Thomson (& £350), having read some of the latest reviews re Platinum on the Dream.

 

We will now look to get a late booking with one of the major lines so we won't encounter this large scale price cutting to our disadvantage.

 

Yes we were happy with the deal we got at the outset but I think its a late bookers market now. Seeing the £800 reduction with still 8 months to sailing does not inspire confidence.

 

Hopefully I' ve learnt my lesson.

 

So sorry you have lost your deposit. I agree, Thomson 's pricing structure and the recent bad reviews regarding the so called upgrades have also put me off booking another cruise with Thomson.

There are five travel agents in my local shopping centre and Thomson and First Choice are the only ones who don't have any prices on display in the windows and haven't had for a long time. Recently they had a big poster in the window stating...Cruises... only available from Thomson. Very misleading as you could walk round the corner and book the same cruises at a much lower price with an independent TA.

[DebsLpool]

We booked our cruise with Thomson, this year, due to the itinerary, which was excellent, and only one sea day was an added bonus. However the cost was not much different to other Cruise companies but the product was slightly more basic.

 

Yes the staff are friendly, they are on all Cruise lines, the ship was clean but the food was average and the entertainment more suited to a holiday camp, although many on board loved it.

 

Would I go on a Thomsons cruise again, maybe if the itinerary suited me and the price was right, at least I know what to expect now and would not have such high expectations.

[Cymro1953]

We booked our cruise with Thomson, this year, due to the itinerary, which was excellent, and only one sea day was an added bonus. However the cost was not much different to other Cruise companies but the product was slightly more basic.

 

Yes the staff are friendly, they are on all Cruise lines, the ship was clean but the food was average and the entertainment more suited to a holiday camp, although many on board loved it.

 

Would I go on a Thomsons cruise again, maybe if the itinerary suited me and the price was right, at least I know what to expect now and would not have such high expectations.

 

Hi Debs and all,

We booked our 2 week Dream cruise last May for this coming May. With the current discussions re the Platinum Upgrade that turned out to be just a refurbishment I have been checking prices with an online cruise T/A.

I could get a Med fly cruise similar to what we are doing on the Dream with several of the big U.S. cruise lines for similar price or cheaper, on a mor modern ship.

As others have mentioned it is not a problem with the Crews, staff, entertainment teams on the ships but more the

misleading advertising and sales pitch by Thomson cruise management.

 

I know from experience that if you let it, onboard costs on the U.S. cruise lines can be much dearer.

But if Thomson's are not careful we will be voting with our feet and wallets and looking elsewhere for our cruises.

 

Berwyn

[Jim The Scot]

Hi Berwyn,

 

We booked last June for this coming May but it wasn`t because of the alleged Platinum upgrade.We actually paid less for this year than last..Number of reasons but in the main we`ve loved our previous 3 cruises on the Dream along with itinerary,preferred airport,selected cabin,AI,relaxed atmosphere,dress code and the friendliness of fellow cruisers.Its apersonal thing but no inclination to go on any of these new all singing,all dancing fandangled ships but there may come a time when I run out of intineraries with Thomson that I have to look elsewhere

[whistlerbc]

I've done the last minute Thomson cruise and did get a very cheap deal. Our forthcoming cruise was booked early because it happens to be over school holidays and I was very lucky to get that also at an excellent price, its just gone up and up since. I suspect that could be because it is a holiday time. It must be infuriating for people to end up paying hundreds of pounds extra for a cruise. Ripped off even!! I feel like that about the full price AI as I guess you will all know!!

 

Don't understand why Thomson don't operate a system like P&O where onboard credit or upgrade is given. The company would still have your money but at least cruisers would get back to show for it. They may even choose to spend it on a drinks package!! :rolleyes:

[kruzseeka]

And let's face it some obc doesn't cost them nearly as much as the value to us! £100 'cash-back' on the basis of obc if spent on drinks in particular would cost Thomson much less than the face value - after all they do have a mark up on drinks sold. Perhaps those of you with more insight may be able to put a ball-park figure on it but if they have a 50% profit margin on drinks - then it will actually only cost them £50 to give you £100. I suspect the margin will be bigger but it illustrates the point. However, they do lose the profit they would have got had you been buying that £100 worth of drinks however with a £100 'bonus' I would probably spend more than usual as often happens when you think you've got a bargain! :rolleyes::D And there's no doubt it would be appreciated by customers - at least there'd be some sweetener when you see those prices plummeting!

[Cymro1953]

Hi Berwyn,

 

We booked last June for this coming May but it wasn`t because of the alleged Platinum upgrade.We actually paid less for this year than last..Number of reasons but in the main we`ve loved our previous 3 cruises on the Dream along with itinerary,preferred airport,selected cabin,AI,relaxed atmosphere,dress code and the friendliness of fellow cruisers.Its apersonal thing but no inclination to go on any of these new all singing,all dancing fandangled ships but there may come a time when I run out of intineraries with Thomson that I have to look elsewhere

 

Hi Jim, It was the same with us. we liked Dream last time we wanted to go back on her. We'd have booked her without the refurbishment anyway. We've done U.S. ships twice and dress code on them was just as relaxed as Thomson. Dress up for formal night if you want, or not and go to the buffet instead. Plenty of modern ships out there without all the bells and whistles like rock climbing walls, surfriders and ice rinks etc.

 

Like you we like Thomson but management's attitude towards us will push loyal Thomson cruisers elsewhere if they're not careful.

 

Berwyn