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Island Escape cancelled for November

Stevio

By Stevio,
in Island Cruises

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Stevio

Stevio

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Hi Guys,

 

We just got the news yesterday that our fun filled weekend has been

cancelled. Eight lovely ladies were all ready to go on a the mini cruise

on the 19th November. Thomsons are not being very helpful and

have cancelled our holiday with no alternative other than refund. You guys that have been transferred to Destiny have got a good deal, but

they won't entertain us because it's the the first three day of exactly

the same cruise. :mad:

There were 7 day cruises starting 19th Nov’ from Tenerife & 22nd Nov’ from Madeira & it was between these dates they had your 3 day cruise. I had not noticed before but it appears both the 22nd Nov’ and 29th Nov Madeira sail dates have vanished from the Thomson site. This does not bode well for those with any length holidays from those dates.

Why they should cancel the 3 day cruise when their planes are already booked & the itinerary of the ship remains the same. Especially as this Destiny ship has so many single bed outside cabins that they will struggle to fill, is a mystery. And very MEAN

If I were you I would try contacting some higher Thomson manager & keep using the name Anne Robinson & BBC. …. Hope they come up with something good for you.

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girlcruisers

girlcruisers

Posted
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Yeh have been down that line already with them, they are sticking to the

line of that if they allocate cabins for us for three nights then they

are losing out on the other four nights accomodation, but from our point of view that may have happened on the other ship anyway as there is no

guarantees that they would have people embarking at Maderia. Our problem is it was such a good deal (or so we thought at the time) that

to try and match a like for like even on shore is difficult. Really frustrated

by the whole episode. I love my cruises but don't think I'll entertain

Thomsons for anything again.:(

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Stevio

Stevio

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Aha methinks I begin to see the Thomson cunning plan for those that booked on the I.E. for November...Force as many as possible to accept the new Tenerife Destiny cruise on their correct date, while selling a full range of cruise cabins on their web site at full price for the same cruise then cancel the following Madeira cruise offering them the spaces left behind on the earlier date, leaving the 3 day cruisers to swing in the wind.

None of this could have been foreseen at time of I.E. booking of course, & it was just sheer luck Thomsons had a spare £multimillion fully crewed ship hanging around in the right area for a couple of months to fill the breach.

So this leaves some people who want to cancel unable to & others who desperately want to have a holiday cancelled… As it seems I am one of the few remotely happy with the deal I got, I feel very fortunate but I am doubtful to travel with this crowd again as they appear to be involved in more dodgy deals than an episode of the Onedin Line.

Well done Thomsons what a public relations coup.

By the way is there anyone with a November 22nd or 29th Madeira 7 day start heard what is happening to them yet?

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Rhanna

Rhanna

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The Destiny is not the Island Escape and never will be :D I think Rhanna will back me up on that ;)

 

Eagerly awaiting for the postie this morning to see what he brings :mad:

 

 

 

RR

 

Will back you up 100% RR. We love Island Escape. We did try Ocean Village and although the cabins were streets ahead of IE it lacked that certain ambiance, friendliness and of course AI.

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Stevio

Stevio

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We haven't accepted there refund yet, and suppose we are hoping

that they would get fed up listening to me complaining that they would

offer us our 3 day cruise, but I don't think thats going to happen. Anyone

any suggestions

 

Hi girls

I traditionally go in all guns blazing… which gets me nowhere.

I was wondering if you booked your holiday by phone or online, as if you have to deal with Thomsons by phone it can be very difficult to get past the call centre script of “no” …They’ll probably have to say it a lot over the next few weeks.

I think “First Choice” travel agents are part of the same TUI group as Thomsons so was wondering if there was a branch near you, they could help explain what options may be available as they tend to have the phone numbers that get through to the people who know what is going on.

I suppose your best chance on this cruise is some kind of “standby deal” where you get to go if they can’t sell the cabins. But either way an agent may be the best way to go …especially if you swamp his shop with 8 distraught & tearful ladies in one of his busy periods. …Seriously though some of these agents can be very helpful at creating a holiday to fit the time & funds available.

Hope to see you on the Destiny.

Stevio

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girlcruisers

girlcruisers

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Posted

Hi

 

We booked on phone with Royal Bank of Scotland Royalties, so they need

to act as our agent. Staff there have been really good, but again are tied

with what thomsons are offering. I managed to get through to Thomsons

and spoke to very nice lady - not, and when I tried to put the pressure on

for them to transfer us to Destiny it was definate no, because it was just

the three day, reason given was they would be loosing the other four nights cabin space. I then said to the very nice lady Hmm can I just have moment to think about that you loose four nights cabins space - we loose

our full holiday - there was a deathly silence and then well I'm sorry but

all we can give you is a refund, so doesn't look like we can meet you on the Destiny - Shame.

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Rebel Rouser

Rebel Rouser

Posted
Posted

I think the logistics of this is:

 

Passengers:

 

Thomson Destiny 1450

Island Escape 1741

 

So if all the passengers that were booked on the IE that leaves a short fall of 291 that Thomson have to either cancel or try and redistribute to an other ship at a later date (fingers crossed)

 

So that's why they have done away with the 3 day mini cruses..my thoughts only :D

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Stevio

Stevio

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Agreed that the Destiny has less cabins, but they currently have four grades of cabin for the 19th Nov cruise, from decks 2/3 inside up to a suite available on their site. Must be particularly annoying for the Girlcruisers as they can see their cancelled holiday for resale. (Ok I know they are going to cancel the 3 day if they can make more money by selling the same cabin for 7 but I still think it looks bad).

I guess it depends on how well the new Destiny cruise sells that will determine how many confirmed Island Escape cruisers will be allowed to cancel or take another date, which is another bone of contention as the advance booking final payment date was the 24th September. It would appear they may have been taking money for the I.E. & planning to cancel at around the same time.

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Stevio

Stevio

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:D:D

 

Managed to get on the Island Escape for 10th December :p they have agreed to my demands, sorry Stevio, you will not be able to buy me a drink on the Destiny after all :D

 

 

RR

 

Well negotiated that man. We shall have to drink to each other on the A.I. on our respective cruises. Just think how shiny & new the Escape will be by December. Couldn't follow you even if they let me as my time off work can't be moved. But I am determined to see the Escape sometime and experience all this ambiance I keep hearing about.

Well that’s two of us satisfied ... Anyone else?

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moto9

moto9

Posted
Posted
:D:D

 

Managed to get on the Island Escape for 10th December :p they have agreed to my demands, sorry Stevio, you will not be able to buy me a drink on the Destiny after all :D

 

 

RR

 

Well done RR! :D Look forward to hearing what the changes are. My brother & sister-in-law go on her in December. I'm not sure of their date. It will be their first time on I E.

Regards. Mo. :)

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Stevio

Stevio

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Have decided to bite the bullet and go for the Destiny. Not able to change our holidays. Will book IE probably for May next year.

Hi Rhanna

Glad to hear that there will at least be a couple of us aboard the Destiny on Nov’ 19th. I will be the grey haired one wearing the Ocean Village lanyard. The few reviews I have seen about the Destiny are mainly positive, but I especially take heart from the couple of derogatory ones referring to it as “Butlins at sea” …that’ll do for me then. Like you my holidays can’t be moved & have already booked a non refundable airport hotel deal. We have never sailed a Thomson ship before and find that we are beginning to look forward to it. If we can get on with their style of cruising they have a good range of itineraries on their ships. And if we don’t like it we will still have the Island Escape to explore in the future, before we are forced back permanently to N.C.L. (nice informal ships but no atmosphere at all & very expensive).

See you aboard the Destiny.

Stevio

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  • 2 weeks later...
Rebel Rouser

Rebel Rouser

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Got my letter today to cancel my 1st cruise :D ...thats a tad late init :p especially as we were originally going on the 19th November, but to be fair they did offer us an alternative date which we already have done thanks to the heads up from stevio.

 

PS have a drink on me Stevio :D

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Stevio

Stevio

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Got my letter today to cancel my 1st cruise :D ...thats a tad late init :p especially as we were originally going on the 19th November, but to be fair they did offer us an alternative date which we already have done thanks to the heads up from stevio.

 

PS have a drink on me Stevio :D

 

Thanks for that RR. I got a good deal on the original booking with A.I. included free, so I shall drink to you & all the good people here next month on the Destiny.:) Will definitely try to get an Island cruise in next year.

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  • 2 weeks later...
Jim The Scot Holiday Sharing Rare

Jim The Scot

Posted
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as we are still looking for a replacement for the Ocean Village we may as well give this a try.

Stevio

 

Thomson Dream

 

:D:D

 

Managed to get on the Island Escape for 10th December :p they have agreed to my demands, sorry Stevio, you will not be able to buy me a drink on the Destiny after all :D

 

 

RR

 

You still owe me one from this year :D

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