What's a Thomson cruise like?

Todays post will be another entry into my current series of blogs, introducing the different cruise lines for first time cruisers. That's not to say more experienced cruisers might not also find this of some use, especially if you've never cruised with Thomson, but it's primarily designed for people looking to take their first cruise.


So who are Thomson cruises?
They're another of the great 'British cruise lines' providing tremendous value for money for a lot of cruisers.
They have four ships...

Thomson Dream - (Which is the biggest)
Thomson Destiny
Thomson Celebration
Thomson Spirit.

I know some cruisers can get a bit snobby when you mention a Thomson cruise, thinking them somehow inferior to other cruise lines. Whilst they might not have all the bells and whistles that say, a Royal Caribbean cruise might have, for the money you pay they are tremendous value.
You may or may not know that on our website we have a voting system where people can rate their favourite cruise ships, (click the highlighted line to see it).
 Here's how Thomson score, (and bear in mind this is out of all the cruise ships out there, including the 6 star luxury cruise lines).

Entertainment on board - First!
Staff onboard - Second
Best shore excursions - Third
Best ships at sea - Fifth
Best cabins - Ninth
Best overall cruise line - Fifth
Best food - Sixth
Best for children - Fourth
Best onboard activities - Sixth

Not bad going for a cruise line that some people refer to as a budget cruise line is it?
As well as all that though there are several other reasons that make Thomson worth thinking long and hard about.
Being a British cruise line their drinks prices are very reasonable and you can pre-purchase an all inclusive drinks package before you leave, (if you book far enough ahead they'll normally give this for free).
Again, being a British cruise line tipping isn't compulsory or even expected.
Having their own airline also comes in handy for them as they offer regional flights on all their cruises from 20 different UK airports. That's more than any other cruise line out there. There luggage allowance is also very generous at 27kg per person. And because they have their own airline they're great at offeing last minute bargains as well.
Next year they have also extended their cruise to include sailings leaving from the UK. They'll be departing from Harwich and Newcastle, (handy for any Northerners not happy about the journey down to Southampton).

So, have you ever cruised with Thomson? What did you think of them? Did they live up to what our passengers have said of them?
Let me know here.

Happy cruising.