Q&A Discussion

[Sailaway487]

Happyv pointed out on the other thread regarding the fact that we can't really agree or discuss any of the questions being asked on the main Q&A forum, so I thought I'd set this thread up.

 

On here there can be general discussion regarding any of the questions that have been submitted. You can say if you agree on any of the questions, disagree, or perhaps just want to talk about a topic that has been mentioned.

[happy v]

O.K I'll start.

The questions I would also most like the answer to are:

 

Online cabin selection

 

Havana again

 

Dreamliner new cruise areas

 

Newcastle 2014 (although I admit this is not really important, just personal interest).

 

These are not the only questions I agree with but if we had to limit the amount I would choose these to be answered.

[happy v]

:eek::eek: I almost forgot about the NEW SHIP but we don't really believe that do we :rolleyes: :D???

[Sailaway487]

O.K I'll start.

The questions I would also most like the answer to are:

 

Online cabin selection

 

Havana again

 

Dreamliner new cruise areas

 

Newcastle 2014 (although I admit this is not really important, just personal interest).

 

These are not the only questions I agree with but if we had to limit the amount I would choose these to be answered.

 

:eek::eek: I almost forgot about the NEW SHIP but we don't really believe that do we :rolleyes: :D???

 

Definitely want answers to the online cabin selection, Dreamliner cruise areas and also Newcastle 2014. And of course the new build ship!!! :D

 

Be interesting, particularly those on future proposals, if Ellacott will answer them properly or go down the route of, 'We're always looking at new ideas for the future...' Hopefully we'll get some proper answers.

 

Also interested to hear the response for Thomson Destiny's return, loyalty schemes (that I think is something that needs desperately to be introduced) and also whether they'd consider looking at more 14 night one off itineraries, as those Itinerary Challenges certainly proved that these are a big hit with people.

 

Be very interesting to see what responses we get. So far, quite enjoying adding questions, although I think I need to stop for a bit! Got a list of a few more I'd like to ask after looking through some old threads but think I might wait for a bit. We have got over a month after all... :rolleyes:

[happy v]

I must admit I'm finding it very interesting, however I'm having to fit it in with searching for a new cooker. Which for obvious reasons has to take priority.

[Sailaway487]

I must admit I'm finding it very interesting, however I'm having to fit it in with searching for a new cooker. Which for obvious reasons has to take priority.

 

Who needs a cooker when they can go on a cruise! :D ;)

[Grez]

Somebody (Sailway I think) asked a question about Celebration refub logistics. I think it is out of service for a week beginning. 1 Nov when the bulk of the work will be done on the public areas.

http://www.mivan.com/projects/item/484/thomson-celebration

[Sailaway487]

Somebody (Sailway I think) asked a question about Celebration refub logistics. I think it is out of service for a week beginning. 1 Nov when the bulk of the work will be done on the public areas.

http://www.mivan.com/projects/item/484/thomson-celebration

 

Thanks Grez! :D

 

Saw that week it wasn't sailing, but thought that it wasn't going to be done until later on in the season. So that will mean that it will kind of be Platinum then for the winter season. I guess the only difference will be no tea and coffee making facilities in the cabins at this point. So we'll see Celebration's refurbishment before Dream's then.

 

Not long a week really is it to do all that work. I noticed that it says that most of the work will mainly be decorative and soft furnishings. A new stainless steel buffet area though to be added in the Lido? I wonder if the Lido Restaurant is going to have a new layout, or perhaps it is just the bit that is outside as seen on the picture.

[geomagot]

Can I just say on the Q regarding water dispensers?

 

The water in the tap is perfectly pure and safe to drink

 

You don’t need to buy bottled water, just refill your bottle from the tap

 

 

On the Q of cabin safes

 

Also agree that cabin safes should be provided free of charge, so that most people can comply with their travel insurance

 

 

On website booking issues

 

Yep, The charge for excess baggage should not be preselected

 

Also the ability to book your cabin/select your seat during the booking process would make the whole process a lot more seamless and save on admin at the call centre too....after all you have the ability to order flowers why not be able to prebook cabin

 

The ability to pay the balance online would be helpful too

 

 

On the Q regarding Havana

 

Would also love to go back to Havana and Montego bay.....I hope it wasn’t a one off, never to be repeated, for one season only

[kruzseeka]

I agree about safes - it is quite annoying especially when you consider the insurance aspect and the fact that it's a standard provision by many cruiselines.

 

I would guess that £5 p.p./week 'hidden' extra in the cost of the cruise wouldn't be noticed by customers and would probably generate as much income (£10 per cabin/week) if not more when you consider that lots of people may not bother to 'buy' the safe. It would be interesting to know the % up-take on safe charges and how much of a price increase would cover it.

 

It seems to me that by overtly charging for safes Thomson are falling into a category characterised by certain airlines and surely for customer relations and for their perceived image it would be far better to scrap this charge even if it means a few quid extra on the price of the cruise. (I did say a few quid extra though!)

[Grez]

Thanks Grez! :D

 

Saw that week it wasn't sailing, but thought that it wasn't going to be done until later on in the season. So that will mean that it will kind of be Platinum then for the winter season. I guess the only difference will be no tea and coffee making facilities in the cabins at this point. So we'll see Celebration's refurbishment before Dream's then.

 

Not long a week really is it to do all that work. I noticed that it says that most of the work will mainly be decorative and soft furnishings. A new stainless steel buffet area though to be added in the Lido? I wonder if the Lido Restaurant is going to have a new layout, or perhaps it is just the bit that is outside as seen on the picture.

I think that there's going to be something like 300 workmen on board, 24 hours a day! How accurate that is I don't know.

[Grez]

Can I just say on the Q regarding water dispensers?

 

The water in the tap is perfectly pure and safe to drink

 

You don’t need to buy bottled water, just refill your bottle from the tap

 

I'd just like to agree with the above regarding water from the tap. Also, it is no problem getting water from the bars. By removing the dispensers they do also remove a potential source of Norovirus - I wonder if that was a consideration?

[geomagot]

tbo, I would be more wary of water dispensers, you see them in hospitals, people fill up all manner of receptacles from them, god knows where those receptacles have been?.....then they wipe the spout with their sleeve:eek:

 

stick to the tap in the cabin at least only you have used it and it will be kept spotlessly clean

 

the water on ships is as pure and as safe as the water you would find in any city at home

[davecttr]

I agree about safes - it is quite annoying especially when you consider the insurance aspect and the fact that it's a standard provision by many cruiselines.

 

I would guess that £5 p.p./week 'hidden' extra in the cost of the cruise wouldn't be noticed by customers and would probably generate as much income (£10 per cabin/week) if not more when you consider that lots of people may not bother to 'buy' the safe. It would be interesting to know the % up-take on safe charges and how much of a price increase would cover it.

 

It seems to me that by overtly charging for safes Thomson are falling into a category characterised by certain airlines and surely for customer relations and for their perceived image it would be far better to scrap this charge even if it means a few quid extra on the price of the cruise. (I did say a few quid extra though!)

I agree that any image update MUST include moving away from a 'that airline' image. Cabin reservation fees are another example. If Thomson don't want to be seen to be a cheap cruise line they should stop behaving like one.

[Julessmiles]

tbo, I would be more wary of water dispensers, you see them in hospitals, people fill up all manner of receptacles from them, god knows where those receptacles have been?.....then they wipe the spout with their sleeve:eek:

 

stick to the tap in the cabin at least only you have used it and it will be kept spotlessly clean

 

the water on ships is as pure and as safe as the water you would find in any city at home

 

They no longer had water dispensers on the Celebration this year when we travelled.....

[CRUISIN LINDA]

I'd just like to agree with the above regarding water from the tap. Also, it is no problem getting water from the bars. By removing the dispensers they do also remove a potential source of Norovirus - I wonder if that was a consideration?

Quite agree! We were amazed at people buying water from the waiter one lunchtime on the Eclipse. Some people went to a lecture on how the ship works and were told it is the same water used in the restaurant, showers, taps and loos. Apparently they said you could actually drink the toilet water :eek::eek: don't think I would go that far though :D:D

[Sailaway487]

Just been having a look at the view counts of the Q&A questions. I know it isn't the most accurate of ways to judge how popular topics are, but it seems that the top issues that people are looking at are: loyalty schemes (which is most definitely ahead by quite a way), including other drinks in the All Inclusive package, new destinations with the Dreamliner and special one off cruises seem to be the most popular.

 

I also like Grez's idea of Cruise Ambassadors where customers like us lot can answer questions that people might have on an 'official' Thomson Cruises forum. I certainly would be up for that one! :)

[geomagot]

I also like Grez's idea of Cruise Ambassadors where customers like us lot can answer questions that people might have on an 'official' Thomson Cruises forum. I certainly would be up for that one! :)

 

Really like this idea, there are so many really clued up cruisers on here...perhaps cruise ambassadors as an extension to the Thomson cruises website:cool:

 

Personally, I would much rather ask a Q of real cruiser than ask the TA who may not have had any experience of cruising at all

[geomagot]

Quick rundown for Mr Ellacott

 

So Far:

 

We'd like to see some sort of loyalty benefits for returning clients and some sort of price promise as is offered by other cruise lines

 

We'd like the Thomson's booking website to be a given an all encompassing make over with the ability to do more on-line such as book cabins and pay the balance, would also like to see the excess baggage option to be 'unpreselected' (is that a word?) and the ability to search for cruises over a range of dates

 

We don't want to lose the unique British on board ambience which we believe is Thomson's crowning glory

 

We're very interested in the future direction of Thomson Cruises, i.e, new build ships and what will happen when majesty & Spirits contacts are up?

 

We'd be very interested in new destinations, most notably: The Far East, The Black Sea from Bodrum, & the return of Havana, La Spezia, the return of embarkation in Madeira on the colourful coasts itinerary, the north cape sometimes embarking in Harwich as well as Newcastle and substituting Naples for Sorrento

 

We'd like to see Margarita Island and Agadir dropped (like a ton of hot bricks)

 

We don't want to pay for safes and feel that our security should be supplied de facto

 

There are some access issues for the disabled which need addressing

 

We care about the ships crew and would like to be reassured that they all have good working conditions

 

We'd like little more insight into the Dream and Celebration refurbishments if poss

 

We'd like to see the ai expanded to include various tailored drinks packages available to purchase on board and we'd like the premium coffee and bottled water to be included in the ai

 

The provision of gluten free meals should be standardised across the fleet

 

We'd like to see more interesting and varied cruise lengths from short cruises to mid 10 day cruises and longer one off cruises maybe even a world cruise

 

We like the entertainment just as it is, apart from the quizzes and game shows which need to be altered week by week to prevent the previous weeks guests winning them all?

 

We want the ticket booklets back

 

Some of us are interested in offering advice to new cruises and acting as cruise ambassadors on-line for free (or maybe for points towards the loyalty bonuses)

 

More flights from Scotland

 

It's time to bin the Dolphins

 

And stop the hard selling of aggrieving salon products (that'll keep ms magots onboard bill down)

 

have I covered most of it?

[happy v]

Got it in a nutshell, well done:D:D.

[kruzseeka]

Excellent summary. ;) Won't it be interesting to get some answers too?

 

I just hope they're not bland generalisations without actually commiting to anything. I can see that Mr Ellacott will have to be circumspect in terms of how he responds after all he is in business and we can't expect to be party to management decisions which are sensitive - and we're not on the board of directors or anything. But it's a fantastic opportunity for him to get a feel of the issues which matter to us and as past and potentially future cruisers he needs to know what we want. Moving the company forward is a good thing but there is always the danger of throwing the baby out with the bath water. Hopefully taking note of the ideas, requests and suggestions we have made will help shape the product (and future ships!! ;) ) so that it benefits both Thomson and their customers.

 

I'm really looking forward to reading the responses!

[geomagot]

I just hope they're not bland generalisations without actually commiting to anything. I can see that Mr Ellacott will have to be circumspect in terms of how he responds after all he is in business and we can't expect to be party to management decisions which are sensitive - and we're not on the board of directors or anything. But it's a fantastic opportunity for him to get a feel of the issues which matter to us and as past and potentially future cruisers he needs to know what we want. Moving the company forward is a good thing but there is always the danger of throwing the baby out with the bath water. Hopefully taking note of the ideas, requests and suggestions we have made will help shape the product (and future ships!! ;) ) so that it benefits both Thomson and their customers.

 

I'm really looking forward to reading the responses!

 

Yes, I conmpletly agree with this

 

it stands to reason that Mr Ellacott can’t really make any ground breaking new changes/announcements regarding future directions (unless there are some ground braking new announcements due to be announced shortly?)

 

They keep announcing that they are going to make an announcement? And the suspenders is killing me (Damn spell checker!)

 

Thomsons can’t give away their future plans/ideas in an open forum like this, most likely the competition are looking on? What if some of those new ideas cant (for one reason or another) be fulfilled? ....I can already see the landslide of disappointed comments on here starting with the words 'But you said'

 

also until we have all had a proper opportunity to comment on posters Q's we cant really get a true representation of what the general Thomson cruiser would like/would not like to see happening, some may agree wholeheartedly, some may disagree totally, and the q's so far really only represent a dozen or so individuals with no opportunity, yet, to discuss

 

So far, all are expert representations imo but cant really be a true representation of the masses yet

 

of course Thomsons are looking for feedback and this should be applauded...it is very difficult for a big company like Thomsons to get good feedback from their clients, most times they will only hear from their clients if they have had either: a bad experience or if they have had such a good experience it prompts them to go to some effort to let the company know about it,

 

the vast majority don’t ever let the company know one way or the other, (personally I have only ever written to Thoms after the disastrous Cuba cruise and I think you can guess what that was about) so any feedback at the end of the day only reflects the best and worst opinions and isn’t great for figuring out the true customer metrics

 

at the mo all we can do is fill in those end of cruise questionnaires, but we all really know what those questioners are really for don’t we? (why else would they want to know when your house insurance is due?) and I don’t believe that a fair proportion of their clients actually fill them in (they take ages to do and then you are spammed to death in the weeks after)

 

Even so,

 

I do believe this is a brilliant opportunity for us, the customers, to put our comments/praise/grievances straight to the horses mouth and it is very laudable that Thoms have promised to listen (and maybe even consider some changes) and also very heartening to know that they do indeed read and enjoy our discussions and do seem to want to make the product better not just for them but for us too,

 

its very important that we get a good, broad discussion going across a decent range of opinions here, so whatever your opinions however pressing or insignificant its right to just jump right in and express them now....I don’t believe we will get an opportunity like this again

 

Its very admirable IMO that a company boss (and a big market leader company to boot) will come out of his corner office and engage directly with the ordinary Joe in this way (I was completely gobsmacked!)

 

I'm heading for retirement next year, a couple of years ago when I was given a desk job, I was told, 'It’ll be great! you can sit behind your desk looking very important!' personally, I just wanted to get back on the parade ground and I think Mr Ellacott does too

 

so

 

I am am greatly looking forward to the discussions (although, Its ironic, that I will be away on a family holiday in that time frame) I promise to think of you all when I am on the beach:)

[kruzseeka]

You are quite right Geomagot - an excellent opportunity for us to interact with the man who has some influence and could make a difference. And yes, we are only a small group but I believe that the views and shades of opinion expressed on here are pretty representative of the people I've met on board. We may have different views on AI/tipping etc (and have healthy but usually respectful discussions on that) but there's a fair measure of agreement on this forum about the 'big' issues which we value about the Thomson product and what marks it out as being something special and different from many of its competitors. And I really hope those issues which are coming through as being important are protected and developed and not lost.

 

But we do have to acknowledge that his hands will be tied to an extent for all the reasons you mention and I hope there won't be too much disappointment if he can't/won't promise too much.

 

The fact that he is prepared to read our views and hopefully take on board even some of the issues is really good news and a feather in his cap. At the very least we have the hope that with this will shape his decisions.

 

You're going to have some serious reading to do when you get back from holiday Geomagot. :eek: Have a good holiday and I'll look forward to reading your responses and excellent contributions then. :)