NEWS YOU CAN USE — CRUISE NEWS
CRUISE NEWS YOU CAN USE
Thomson Discovery to spend debut season in Palma
Hollie-Rae Merrick Thomson Cruises’ new ship will be called Thomson Discovery and will be based in Palma when it launches in June 2016. The vessel will be leased from
Royal Caribbean International, for which it will continue to sail as Splendour of the Seas until next April. Before setting sail for Thomson,
the vessel will undergo a rebrand and refurbishment. Thomson will operate the ship with 1,830 berths, making it the largest in the Thomson Cruises fleet. Forty per cent of cabins will have balconies. Thomson Cruises managing director Helen Caron said the ship was “just the start” of the line’s transformation plans to expand in the UK market. “The introduction of the ship is
Thomson Discovery will sail in the Mediterranean in 2016
40% Proportion of
part of our ongoing modernisation and transformation strategy, which has included recent investment in our other ships,” she said.
cabins on Thomson Discovery that will have balconies
“The newest addition is larger than the others in our fleet, but still fits with our strategy of operating smaller ships with must-do itineraries.” Thomson
Discovery will offer
four itineraries: Highlights of the Mediterranean,
Cosmopolitan Classics, Mediterranean Secrets and
Magic of Spain. Ports of call will include Villefranche, Barcelona, Cadiz and Livorno. Tui UK and Ireland boss David
Burling highlighted how the merger with Tui AG had helped to secure the new vessel for the company’s UK cruise brand. He said: “It would have been
incredibly difficult for us to deliver what we have done with Splendour of the Seas without the help of Tui Cruises [the line’s German sister brand]. “This is a really good example
of how the new bigger Tui group is helping us, and we’re seeing benefits at Tui UK and Ireland. It’s helping us deliver things very quickly. The merger is helping us in the UK and it’s happening quickly.”
thomson.co.uk/cruise
Line to base fleet in Europe next summer
Thomson Cruises’ five ships will sail in Europe in summer 2016. New ship Thomson Discovery will be joined sailing out of Palma by Thomson Majesty. Discovery’s itineraries will begin
every Saturday, while Majesty guests will embark on Tuesdays for western Mediterranean cruises featuring evening stays in Ibiza and Barcelona. Thomson Spirit will be based in
Malaga. The ship will offer four itineraries, with new ports of call including Vigo and Marseille. Helen Caron, managing director of Thomson Cruises, said Thomson Celebration would continue to sail from Dubrovnik next year after this year’s itineraries had proved the line’s most popular. Thomson Dream will be based
in Corfu and will call at ports such as Mykonos, Santorini and Syros. Caron added that pre and post-cruise stays in homeports had been added for next summer.
Waiting to hear from Hollie about pic or more copy
Thomson Discovery
30 •
travelweekly.co.uk — 23 April 2015
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