Limited choice

[Vitalsign]

Thankyou Okavango 

[okavango]

1 hour ago, nancyneptune said:

 

 

 

Yes Okavango,  Canaries from Glasgow and Edinburgh.  Apart from three or four options to the Caribbean throughout the whole season that is the only option we  in Scotland have in the winter season.

 

Far East and Middle East cruises including re-positioning cruises to and from these destinations are 14 / 15 nights with the exception of Ancient Shores which is eight nights, so they wouldn't need to fill a plane every week. 

 

In the past and as recently as winter 2016 we cruised to the Middle East with TUi,  flying in and out of Aqaba, Jordan and also Dubai on the Dreamliner.  Flights were full.

These cruises are now only available from Gatwick, Manchester and Birmingham as are cruises to the Far East.

 

Several other re-positioning cruises , Med. and Caribbean  are also not available from Scotland any more and we have been on many re- positioning cruises over the years with Thomson.

 

In the past with Thomson we had a choice of lots of destinations.  Tui seem to be consolidating flights to many cruise destinations to Manchester, Birmingham and Gatwick only.  Reducing the number of regional airports on both sides of the border. 

 

To put it another way.  Lets assume Tui are introducing cruises to USA and Canada.  Flights would be from Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Glasgow.  Would you be happy with that ?

 

One thing people seem to forget is cruise passengers are only a small fraction of the total passengers tui fly in a week ,they have got to utilise airport slots to their best advantage ,they could use say a slot from glasgow presently used to fly to malaga to fly to say barbados but if they havent a spare slot at barbados they would have to use the slot that say gatwick was using, you cant just fly willy nilly where and when you want ,no allocated slot no flight ,when monarch airlines went bust their only real asset were their slots ,seem to recall worth something like  £17 million auctioned between other airlines looking for extra slots.

I know things is frustrating but i always try to look at the practical side of things ,are marella struggling to fill ships-no so why would they change things.

Just for the record i live in scotland and glasgow is my nearest airport only 100 miles away

1 hour ago, nancyneptune said:

 

 

 

[nancyneptune]

3 hours ago, okavango said:

One thing people seem to forget is cruise passengers are only a small fraction of the total passengers tui fly in a week ,they have got to utilise airport slots to their best advantage ,they could use say a slot from glasgow presently used to fly to malaga to fly to say barbados but if they havent a spare slot at barbados they would have to use the slot that say gatwick was using, you cant just fly willy nilly where and when you want ,no allocated slot no flight ,when monarch airlines went bust their only real asset were their slots ,seem to recall worth something like  £17 million auctioned between other airlines looking for extra slots.

I know things is frustrating but i always try to look at the practical side of things ,are marella struggling to fill ships-no so why would they change things.

Just for the record i live in scotland and glasgow is my nearest airport only 100 miles away

 

 

 

So what happened to the slots from all the regional airports that Thomson had when we flew to Jordan and Dubai a couple of years ago ?

 

Tui stated recently that they had suffered losses in some part due to overcapacity in the Canary Islands.  So lets make that about the only option for people travelling from regional airports. If they don't have a choice they will book the Canaries. 

 

No Marella aren't struggling to fill ships yet but when they start to lose loyal customers to other lines they may well do. 

 

They don't seem to really know when their slot is as they keep changing flight times ( and planes )  very often these days.  I don't remember it happening with Thomson.

 

 

[Vitalsign]

Due to extensions being done at Leeds/Bradford TUI have moved some flights to Doncaster where they haven't flown from for some time

[okavango]

3 hours ago, nancyneptune said:

 

 

So what happened to the slots from all the regional airports that Thomson had when we flew to Jordan and Dubai a couple of years ago ?

 

Tui stated recently that they had suffered losses in some part due to overcapacity in the Canary Islands.  So lets make that about the only option for people travelling from regional airports. If they don't have a choice they will book the Canaries. 

 

No Marella aren't struggling to fill ships yet but when they start to lose loyal customers to other lines they may well do. 

 

They don't seem to really know when their slot is as they keep changing flight times ( and planes )  very often these days.  I don't remember it happening with Thomson.

 

 

Where did they fly from to jordan and dubai ?

Wish they would struggle to fill ships,it would get the price down

[okavango]

2 hours ago, Vitalsign said:

Due to extensions being done at Leeds/Bradford TUI have moved some flights to Doncaster where they haven't flown from for some time

When had they stopped flying from doncaster ,certainly not last year.

[Vitalsign]

As far as I was aware they pulled out of Doncaster after the first few years and put more flights on from Leeds/Bradford I have been told they moved back to Doncaster due to extensions to Leeds/Bradford airport Doncaster wasn't available for cruises on the website list  that I could see in the last few years otherwise I would have used it. I'll check it out somewhere and report back

[Vitalsign]

http://flydsa.co.uk/2018/03/26/tui-uk-launches-ambitious-summer-2019-programme-from-doncaster-sheffield-airport/

from the above it would appear that most of the flights from Doncaster were holiday based and not cruises and they did not pull out but probably stopped cruise flights They are now doing long haul from there and increasing the number of flights which is probably why cruise flights are now listed for 2019 and 2020 but they are decreasing the number of flights from Leeds/Bradford

So Sorry you were correct about TUI always flying from Doncaster Okavango since the airport opened

[okavango]

1 hour ago, Vitalsign said:

http://flydsa.co.uk/2018/03/26/tui-uk-launches-ambitious-summer-2019-programme-from-doncaster-sheffield-airport/

from the above it would appear that most of the flights from Doncaster were holiday based and not cruises and they did not pull out but probably stopped cruise flights They are now doing long haul from there and increasing the number of flights which is probably why cruise flights are now listed for 2019 and 2020 but they are decreasing the number of flights from Leeds/Bradford

So Sorry you were correct about TUI always flying from Doncaster Okavango since the airport opened

 Can't recall them ever stopping cruise option flights from donny ,its always one of the airports i check when looking for the best deal,good if they are getting more use out of it,being ex military its got a long runway so can handle any large long haul aircraft , great little airport and only about 4 hours drive from home , looks like you are right about LB , looks like they are only going to use it in summer ,maybe too many aborts in winter which become a logistical nightmare ,its another good little airport ,used it 4 times last year to malaga but i would never risk it in winter even if it was available.

[nancyneptune]

23 hours ago, okavango said:

Where did they fly from to jordan and dubai ?

Wish they would struggle to fill ships,it would get the price down

 

 

Thomson flew from several airports to Aqaba in Jordan and to Dubai and the Emirates to join the Celebration in winter 2016 / 17.   We had overnight in Dubai and visited Abu Dhabi and Oman   We  flew on the Dreamliner from Glasgow.  

The re-positioning cruises to the Middle  East were originally advertised as flying from the UK to Sharm el Sheikh in Egypt but was changed to Aqaba in Jordan  for the re- positioning cruises as they had stopped going to Egypt due to security risks at the airport in Sharm. 

 

By the way Fred Olsen have several cruises to Portugal and the Azores and Portugal and  Cape Verde sailing from Liverpool.

eg.

Islands of the Azores & Cities of Portugal on the Blackwatch 13 nights on May 11th.  from £1499 pp.  Three days in the Azores,  one day each in Lisbon and Oporto before sailing back to Liverpool.  All tips paid and £200 excursion voucher when booked with an independent T A. 

 

Yes I also wish they would struggle to fill the ships, especially from Glasgow which sell out quickly and therefore the prices remain  high.  Sometimes the price difference between Glasgow and Gatwick can be as much as £200 - £300 on some cruises but there is not a lot be gained from travelling to Gatwick when you add in the cost of travel, hotels and meals on the the outward and return journeys.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited March 2, 2019 by nancyneptune

[Eglesbrech]

We used to travel virtually every winter with TUI and have now moved on to other companies as they have pulled so many Scottish flights not only for cruises but for land based holidays as well. (They have also pulled many of the summer flights and you get pushed onto easyJet or some totally unknown airline as part of your package or the flight times change etc).

 

P&O have also reduced flights from Scotland for the Caribbean over winter.

 

As long as they fill their ships they don’t care, it is business but it does seem unfair that the cuts always seem to be in the North of the UK. Any winter flights we were on were always full so it begs the question why?

 

They have lost my business until this changes back (if it ever does).

[Vitalsign]

Thanks for the info on Fred Olsen Nancy but having looked at the cruises they do to Cape Verde they are long cruises and seem only to sail March and October so Okavango is probably right about the winter seas as they avoid Dec/Jan/Feb

[nancyneptune]

6 hours ago, Eglesbrech said:

We used to travel virtually every winter with TUI and have now moved on to other companies as they have pulled so many Scottish flights not only for cruises but for land based holidays as well. (They have also pulled many of the summer flights and you get pushed onto easyJet or some totally unknown airline as part of your package or the flight times change etc).

 

P&O have also reduced flights from Scotland for the Caribbean over winter.

 

As long as they fill their ships they don’t care, it is business but it does seem unfair that the cuts always seem to be in the North of the UK. Any winter flights we were on were always full so it begs the question why?

 

They have lost my business until this changes back (if it ever does).

 

 

For years we have cruised with Thomson three times a year, spring , summer and winter. 

 

With rising prices and so many cut backs and reduced regional flights they may well lose our business too.

The only way we would cruise with Tui now is if we got a good late deal, but they are few and far between now, unless you fly from Gatwick. 

 

We have experienced some awful flights when they changed our flights from Tui to Alba Star and one other airline, can't remember the name but the plane was old, dark, dull and depressing with poor service and we were only allowed 5KG hand luggage compared with Tui's 7KG.  

 

 

[nancyneptune]

5 hours ago, Vitalsign said:

Thanks for the info on Fred Olsen Nancy but having looked at the cruises they do to Cape Verde they are long cruises and seem only to sail March and October so Okavango is probably right about the winter seas as they avoid Dec/Jan/Feb

 

 

Still it would be a nice change Vitalsign.   I have seen a few 14 night cruises departing Liverpool, a few sea days with these cruises but may suit some people as it would be relaxing and the food and service on Fred is excellent.

[Eglesbrech]

2 hours ago, nancyneptune said:

 

 

For years we have cruised with Thomson three times a year, spring , summer and winter. 

 

With rising prices and so many cut backs and reduced regional flights they may well lose our business too.

The only way we would cruise with Tui now is if we got a good late deal, but they are few and far between now, unless you fly from Gatwick. 

 

We have experienced some awful flights when they changed our flights from Tui to Alba Star and one other airline, can't remember the name but the plane was old, dark, dull and depressing with poor service and we were only allowed 5KG hand luggage compared with Tui's 7KG.  

 

 

 

Yes they are using Alba star et al a lot and they are dire.  Not in the same league as TUI planes, old, dirty, poor service, no space and limited baggage.

[Vitalsign]

We've flown from Leeds/Bradford a number of times on Sunwing planes instead of TUI and they are old and we have to l listen to the safety talk in French as well as English as they are Canadian planes with Canadian pilots The cabin crew are TUI employees.

Edited March 3, 2019 by Vitalsign

[2BACRUISER]

For the med this May we had Choices of all London airports, Brum,  Manc, Newcastle and Doncaster. A lot of Scots go thro Newcastle. We live nr Middlesbrough so Newcastle for us and good flight times too. 

Edited March 6, 2019 by 2BACRUISER

[nancyneptune]

On 3/1/2019 at 11:22 PM, okavango said:

 Can't recall them ever stopping cruise option flights from donny ,its always one of the airports i check when looking for the best deal,good if they are getting more use out of it,being ex military its got a long runway so can handle any large long haul aircraft , great little airport and only about 4 hours drive from home , looks like you are right about LB , looks like they are only going to use it in summer ,maybe too many aborts in winter which become a logistical nightmare ,its another good little airport ,used it 4 times last year to malaga but i would never risk it in winter even if it was available.

 

 

Hi Okovanko,  so you live 100 miles from Glasgow airport and only a four hour drive to Doncaster airport. Go on give us a clue.

 

Agree with you not worth the drive in winter.  Was just thinking of that today when we woke up to snow again.

[okavango]

53 minutes ago, nancyneptune said:

 

 

Hi Okovanko,  so you live 100 miles from Glasgow airport and only a four hour drive to Doncaster airport. Go on give us a clue.

 

Agree with you not worth the drive in winter.  Was just thinking of that today when we woke up to snow again.

15 miles south of newton stewart

[ollienbertsmum]

On 2/24/2019 at 3:47 PM, nancyneptune said:

Looks to be the way Tui are going regarding regional flights.  Why do they assume we want to keep going to the Canaries every winter season.  If you want to cruise for 14 nights on the back to back cruise the ports on the second week are almost the same as the first week.  Done both itineraries five times already and Caribbean four times.  We were so looking forward to going to the Middle East or the Far East with Tui.

 

Tui change the flight times so often it's not easy trying to make extra  travel arrangements and book hotels before and after your flight from Gatwick when you live so far away either.  Flying to Birmingham from Scotland is actually more expensive than flying to Gatwick.  That's good that you are not so far from Gatwick.  

 

We are looking at going with CMV in 2020 so haven't really thought too  much about Tui for next year apart from noticing how expensive they have become. 

 

We had some lovely driving holidays in Wales when our family was young.  Long drive but worth it.

 

 

 

 

 

I am new to Marbella , just trying to decide if to book next year from Malaga. 

 

Can an you not book a cruise-only price and make your own travel arrangements from whichever airport you want?

[Pensioncruiser]

Yes you can book cruise only.