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best place to book thomson cruise ?

babysalem2007
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gizzie4

gizzie4

Posted
Posted
Hi there,

 

Just got back from 2 weeks on the Dream and it was brilliant but I think we paid too much, We went direct with Thomson through the Travel Agent. Can anyone tell me the cheapest place to book Thomson Cruises. ?? as we want to go again asap :D:D

 

Pleased you had a good time. We looked on line, then went to the TA, but they couldn't give us any more off the price. I guess it depends on the TA

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andypandy

andypandy

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Posted

Hi all,

I booked a 2 week cruise (on 27th Dec 2012) on the dream sailing 31-03-13.

I checked the online price and then phoned thomson and got a sightly better deal (-£10 pp).

I'm a bit disappointed that the online price has now dropped by circa £200 pp. they must be struggling to sell this cruise.

Its a gamble knowing the best time to book, its pot luck !!!! The £200pp would have paid for a few excursions.( never mind I might be lucky and get a cabin upgrade!!!!!)

Still looking forward to the cruise , i'm sure we will have a great time on the dream again.

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Tina.w12

Tina.w12

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Hi all,

I booked a 2 week cruise (on 27th Dec 2012) on the dream sailing 31-03-13.

I checked the online price and then phoned thomson and got a sightly better deal (-£10 pp).

I'm a bit disappointed that the online price has now dropped by circa £200 pp. they must be struggling to sell this cruise.

Its a gamble knowing the best time to book, its pot luck !!!! The £200pp would have paid for a few excursions.( never mind I might be lucky and get a cabin upgrade!!!!!)

Still looking forward to the cruise , i'm sure we will have a great time on the dream again.

 

I booked a b2b for the 22/12/13 on the dream, I booked it the day it came availible, if I booked today it would be £750 each more! I think it just comes down to luck and where you want to fly from. I'm flying from Manchester but if I flew from gatwick and I booked today it is the same price as I have booked at! There does not seam any rhyme or reason with Thomsons pricing system, you need to book at a price you can live with an accept that you may gain or loose

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tart6000

tart6000

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Posted

Hi,I booked with a local t.a and got free a.i and a £100 pp onboard spend on the caribbean transatlantic crossing in April.I did book early and got a really good deal as Thomsons never do free ai in the caribbean, its currently about £150 pp to go with Thomsons online.My advice would be shop around get the cheapest price then go to your ta and see if they can better it.

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Dreamgirl1957

Dreamgirl1957

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Posted (edited)
Depends on your TA - I got AI for free and pre-booked cabin for free from my TA

 

 

Your right highlandlassie it does.

I am an ex TA , worked in a Thomson /First choice franchise but each agent will have their own rules and believe me it can change from day to day.

Sometimes we were told we could discount up to a certain percentage then the next week it would change.

Each different firm either high street or on the net will have a certain % they earn on each Thomson booking. This really varies from one TA comp to another as each firm will have struck a separate deal with Thomson each year so thats why some can offer more discount its not that they are more helpful :rolleyes:

Don’t think that the Thomson shops will always be the best to beat the Thompsons net site, sometimes you will get better elsewhere.

Just rem to always compare exactly like for like, same date and ship (of course) but also either all inc or not , check if extra baggage inc or not on each quote.

All sounds very straightforward but each TA will want your business , they sometimes will tell you “they" have included something free that is perhaps a deal they have been told they can offer (some large chains get special promotions they can offer) which costs them nothing so you may still have been able to get more discount. Often things like all inc and OBC are included if you book on that date anyway (usually early bookings) which most will know but new cruiers wont so will think the TA has been really good to them, not often the case im afraid. Some TA's are very good, will give you free all inc when it is not included, they will do this instead of a discount as all swings and roundabouts etc. Make sure you know what is actually included free by Thomsons on the date you are being quoted on, you then know what you are dealing with , if your new you can easily think you have been given a far better deal than you have !

It’s nice to always deal with the same TA and I for one would always go out of my way for my regular customers but beware, lots of people who have checked in the past stop checking as they just presume their friendly TA will “look after" them , this isn’t always the case I’m afraid :(

I got my last cruise from a firm in Scotland, think of something in a pub …that’s in the title , as I know you can’t advertise on here ;)

I got it £100 cheaper than the Thomsons net price, believe me I shopped around and they were best but I had to push for it.

Of course any TA can only go so far, it still annoys me when people expect nearly all of the shops commission off their booking, how do they pay rent and staff when they give all their profit away??

All about striking a happy medium.

One firm people often quote on here with “deals" in their title is actually only Thomsons anyway, you will ring and usually just get one of the shops, they are owned by Thomson so they may vary in price but this is only as each shop will vary anyway if that makes sense.

E.G , even if you ring four diff Thomson’s shops will depend on the person you speak to, how low they are allowed to go, each shop will have different rules and at end of day usually up to each shop manager and also the experience of the person you are talking to etc as new staff will not have the authority to discount in most cases.

As a rule of thumb like most have said on here, check on net, print it off then first ring three or four of the big well known net firms, get a price exactly like for like, then same day ( or else is not a direct comparison) go into town and go into as many TA’s as you can ( I usually phone them as easier though) I am quite direct, I explain im shopping round, I don’t get drawn into the sit down and relax let’s see what we can do for you if I’m face to face , all takes too long , I just leave a copy of what I want and say I will give them half an hour and call back for their best price, its every TA’s dream to get you sat down and comfy, not many move on….kerching !!! :D

Get all the quotes, pick the cheapest, ring or go back, ask for a little more off to book there and then and ask for half price on the airport parking too (before you agree to book not half way through !) , you should get that too but if they really cant will mean they have given you all they can , its easy to tell , i think so anyway ;) and that should be a good deal! :D

Edited by Dreamgirl1957
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jsy44

jsy44

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Posted

I always book my holidays online but this time went into a Thomsons shop for inspiration and booked on the spot - big mistake to believe TA! Shore excursions much more expensive than I'd been led to believe. Realised I'd been charged extra for us to sit together on plane - who cares? I wouldn't pay for this. Final straw was phone call telling my to buy my holiday money from them as they'll 'look after me' as I booked my holiday through them. Said I'd check rates first elsewhere....guess what?Another attempt to rip me off. Look online for deals. This will be my first Thomson cruise. I normally go on 5 or 5.5 star ships for the price I've paid. Let's say my expectations aren't high...

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geomagot

geomagot

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As a rule of thumb like most have said on here, check on net, print it off then first ring three or four of the big well known net firms, get a price exactly like for like, then same day ( or else is not a direct comparison) go into town and go into as many TA’s as you can ( I usually phone them as easier though) I am quite direct, I explain im shopping round, I don’t get drawn into the sit down and relax let’s see what we can do for you if I’m face to face , all takes too long , I just leave a copy of what I want and say I will give them half an hour and call back for their best price, its every TA’s dream to get you sat down and comfy, not many move on….kerching !!! :D

Get all the quotes, pick the cheapest, ring or go back, ask for a little more off to book there and then and ask for half price on the airport parking too (before you agree to book not half way through !) , you should get that too but if they really cant will mean they have given you all they can , its easy to tell , i think so anyway ;) and that should be a good deal! :D

 

Dreamgirl....you really are a treasure....many many thanks from me for highlightingthese great tips (thumbup)

 

I'm still in deliberations over christmas 2013

 

so

 

bin on the phone today (most of the afternoon) and you are spot on (have so far bin offered all sorts of little perks and extras):)

 

still deliberating tho.... so far, I have got it down to between thoms & p&o for caribbean

 

btw...a travel agent in scotland?? things you find in a pub?? smoking ban/mates/glasses/log fire?? giss another clue please??

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Julessmiles

Julessmiles

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Posted
Dreamgirl....you really are a treasure....many many thanks from me for highlightingthese great tips (thumbup)

 

I'm still in deliberations over christmas 2013

 

so

 

bin on the phone today (most of the afternoon) and you are spot on (have so far bin offered all sorts of little perks and extras):)

 

still deliberating tho.... so far, I have got it down to between thoms & p&o for caribbean

 

btw...a travel agent in scotland?? things you find in a pub?? smoking ban/mates/glasses/log fire?? giss another clue please??

 

I couldn't work that out either Geo - Beer?! Cook ( they have cooks in pubs lol!)

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Julessmiles

Julessmiles

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I always book my holidays online but this time went into a Thomsons shop for inspiration and booked on the spot - big mistake to believe TA! Shore excursions much more expensive than I'd been led to believe. Realised I'd been charged extra for us to sit together on plane - who cares? I wouldn't pay for this. Final straw was phone call telling my to buy my holiday money from them as they'll 'look after me' as I booked my holiday through them. Said I'd check rates first elsewhere....guess what?Another attempt to rip me off. Look online for deals. This will be my first Thomson cruise. I normally go on 5 or 5.5 star ships for the price I've paid. Let's say my expectations aren't high...

 

Did they not go through a breakdown of costs with you before you booked it??? You don't have to have seats together on the flight, that IS an 'add-on' Surely when you booked it with them, you must have been happy with the price before you committed yourself??

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Dreamgirl1957

Dreamgirl1957

Posted
Posted
Dreamgirl....you really are a treasure....many many thanks from me for highlightingthese great tips (thumbup)

 

I'm still in deliberations over christmas 2013

 

so

 

bin on the phone today (most of the afternoon) and you are spot on (have so far bin offered all sorts of little perks and extras):)

 

still deliberating tho.... so far, I have got it down to between thoms & p&o for caribbean

 

btw...a travel agent in scotland?? things you find in a pub?? smoking ban/mates/glasses/log fire?? giss another clue please??

 

Hi geo, think of where you get served in a pub then add what's on your neck ( above neck has ears, noise etc ....) when you work it out ring and ask for Pamela in longhaul dept she promised me she would do a good disc for other cruisers, she didn't book mine but did an amendment she's very helpful.

With p&o no one can disc as they now only pay all agents 5% commission now so they just can't afford to knock any thing off. Best to book with a p&o specialist and if you book a vantage fare then you may get some money back as obc or a nice cabin upgrade if price goes down after you book, also get free parking at airport if caribbean and /or some obc when booking.

If Ventura or Azura then deck C cabins are brilliant as not most expensive but they have really big balconies :):):)

 

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2

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Dreamgirl1957

Dreamgirl1957

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Did they not go through a breakdown of costs with you before you booked it??? You don't have to have seats together on the flight, that IS an 'add-on' Surely when you booked it with them, you must have been happy with the price before you committed yourself??

 

How right you are Jules, you have to check before they complete the booking.

 

When I was ta we were targeted to see how many extras we could sell. Seats together, insurance, extra luggage ....you know the score .

Then there's airport parking and hotels, currency order etc etc....

As the agents earn less than they used to they need to sell these to keep going really so if you dont want them just say no, like you said you should check before you sign :rolleyes::rolleyes:

Having said all that most ta's do a fab job and look after their customers it's just they still have to make a bit to stay open :):)

Did you work out my clue.......;)

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2

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Julessmiles

Julessmiles

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Posted
How right you are Jules, you have to check before they complete the booking.

 

When I was ta we were targeted to see how many extras we could sell. Seats together, insurance, extra luggage ....you know the score .

Then there's airport parking and hotels, currency order etc etc....

As the agents earn less than they used to they need to sell these to keep going really so if you dont want them just say no, like you said you should check before you sign :rolleyes::rolleyes:

Having said all that most ta's do a fab job and look after their customers it's just they still have to make a bit to stay open :):)

Did you work out my clue.......;)

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2

 

Ha ha, no still not got it lol!!! I used to be a Travel Agent, too - used to work for Lunn Poly then went to work for a smaller agent in the West Country that got bought out by First Choice eventually! Glad I am not in the business anymore (apart from the educationals which were good ;)). It all got too competitive & very sales orientated for me - I'm not a "pushy" enough person & used to hate selling lol!!!!!

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Dreamgirl1957

Dreamgirl1957

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Ha ha, no still not got it lol!!! I used to be a Travel Agent, too - used to work for Lunn Poly then went to work for a smaller agent in the West Country that got bought out by First Choice eventually! Glad I am not in the business anymore (apart from the educationals which were good ;)). It all got too competitive & very sales orientated for me - I'm not a "pushy" enough person & used to hate selling lol!!!!!

 

Ah brilliant Jules we've got something in common! Where I worked it was a First Choice /Thomson franchise. Really enjoyed it actually worked there on three diff occasions over the years. Left and tried other things but got lured back each time after a couple if years as I really loved it and I'm afraid I did like the selling lol, got to say I was a smidge competitive! !! :D

 

Always put the customers interest first though unlike some of our competition, we only had a small branch but huge customer retention and the other girls were all great too. I was cruise mad and during my last two years was the official cruise expert of the branch lol, even had a special badge, hilarious, but I was so into it ! P&O were my favourites to sell :cool:

 

Although we were owned mostly by Thomsons towards the end the Thomson cruise training in branch is almost non exsistant . It's just on line with a film to watch and it teaches you nothing really . Until I'd done one I was selling them in the dark really like the others, in fact when people on here say they've booked in store to get help and advise I cringe, :eek::eek: very few ta's have a clue about Thomson cruise's and only know the real basics I'm afraid :(

 

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2

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skioncruises

skioncruises

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They don't give discount after your first booking.:( Needless to say we said "Baaaah" and took our custom elsewhere. We have found in recent years we don't need the "services" of a ta as we seem to know more than they do and reading some of the things that people on here have been told by them makes me shudder.:eek::)

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kalos

kalos

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Posted (edited)
I got my last cruise from a firm in Scotland, think of something in a pub …that’s in the title , as I know you can’t advertise on here ;)

 

 

I think i would Head for the Bar if i was in a Scottish pub but not in that order :rolleyes:

 

Just love pub quizzes ;):D:D

 

Its like charades this! I imagine the company you are all trying to guess has the sound a sheep makes, followed by the teacher in charge of a school.

 

Like it Grez :D

Edited by kalos
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