Transatlantic crossings

[nancyneptune]

I think Thomson are making a big mistake by reducing the number of flights available for the transatlantic crossings. That is obvious as the Transatlantic on the Dream in April has lots of cabins available at greatly reduced prices from Gatwick.

 

We would have loved to have booked this cruise but with extra flights, over night hotels, hauling luggage around at our age and my husband having a few health problems, we decided against it.

 

Thomson's big selling point was " Fly from your regional airport " That was one of the main reasons we started cruising with Thomson.

 

There is so much competition from cruise lines departing ports and airports down south that many operators are having to reduce their prices to fill cabins.

 

Good luck to those of you who can benefit from this. Who doesn't love a bargain. We would just be happy to pay the supplements and fly from our local airport.

 

Thomson should not forget their loyal customers up north. Many have already decided to jump ship to other cruise lines.

[Lucie14]

I am with you on this Nancyneptune. Hubby and I are in Aberdeen and would love to do a transatlantic and wouldn't even mind having to go from Edinburgh or Glasgow but there are no Scotland flights and we would have to go to either Birmingham or Manchester to try and fit in around other flight times and then maybe have to book a hotel as well!

[Julessmiles]

Seems a bit ironic really that they are basing the Celebration in the North next summer to accommodate those that live the the North of England & Scotland but they won't accommodate those wishing to do the TA in the winter / spring :rolleyes::confused:

[nancyneptune]

Wish Thomson would follow Fred and use ports from around the country for embarkation to Scandinavia and the Baltic. Would be much fairer to all. Other cruise lines do it. Newcastle is still a long way to go if you live in Aberdeen or the highlands and islands.

 

We have traveled down to Heathrow, Gatwick, Stanstead, Manchester and Newcastle over the years to join our flights and have embarked, disembarked at at Liverpool, Newcastle and Harwich in past years. Not as fit now, so have to put more thought in to it.

 

Many of Thomson's cruises have no flights from Scotland at all now. I hope they will reconsider this in the future. At the moment it looks like they are left with lots of empty cabins at greatly reduced prices.

[Jakanne1]

I agree with you Nancy Neptune, Thomson appear to be cutting back on using regional airports. For example, the 2016/17 Central American cruises on Dream are only serviced by 3 airports....Gatwick, Birmingham and Manchester.

 

The Thomson Celebration itineraries in summer 2017 from Newcastle Port of Tyne appeal to me, especially as Newcastle is only an hour away and I have yet to visit the fiords and Iceland. But I must admit, with our northern summer weather, I and I suspect many people would prefer to travel south for some (almost) guaranteed sun.

[Huddersfieldtourist]

I think Thomson are making a big mistake by reducing the number of flights available for the transatlantic crossings. That is obvious as the Transatlantic on the Dream in April has lots of cabins available at greatly reduced prices from Gatwick.

 

We would have loved to have booked this cruise but with extra flights, over night hotels, hauling luggage around at our age and my husband having a few health problems, we decided against it.

 

Thomson's big selling point was " Fly from your regional airport " That was one of the main reasons we started cruising with Thomson.

 

There is so much competition from cruise lines departing ports and airports down south that many operators are having to reduce their prices to fill cabins.

 

Good luck to those of you who can benefit from this. Who doesn't love a bargain. We would just be happy to pay the supplements and fly from our local airport.

 

Thomson should not forget their loyal customers up north. Many have already decided to jump ship to other cruise lines.

 

As most of Thomson cruise guests are from north of the Midlands it is often the case that Gatwick has the last minute deals and sadly there is not enough ship capacity to fly long haul aircraft from local airports and indeed not enough long haul aircraft available for this limited time window.

[nancyneptune]

Glasgow airport serves the whole of Scotland and the north of England. Flights book up quickly and there are very few late deals. Can't understand why Thomson have reduced the number of flights from this very popular airport.

 

Looking at the Transatlantic crossing on the Dream for November and it's almost £200 more to fly from Glasgow than it is from Birmingham, Manchester and Gatwick.

 

No flights at all from any Scottish airports for the Transatlantic on Discovery.

 

With only one choice from Glasgow perhaps Thomson think people will pay these ridiculous supplements. I think not.

[csmjfmbe]

Glasgow airport serves the whole of Scotland and the north of England. Flights book up quickly and there are very few late deals. Can't understand why Thomson have reduced the number of flights from this very popular airport.

 

Looking at the Transatlantic crossing on the Dream for November and it's almost £200 more to fly from Glasgow than it is from Birmingham, Manchester and Gatwick.

 

No flights at all from any Scottish airports for the Transatlantic on Discovery.

 

With only one choice from Glasgow perhaps Thomson think people will pay these ridiculous supplements. I think not.

I totally agree with this thread, we have done a couple of Carribean cruises with Thomson and getting flights has always been limited. We were looking at the Discovery next winter and there are only two flights from Glasgow for the whole winter season. It seems very surprising as the Scottish flights always sell out.

[nancyneptune]

Good news for Scotland with the proposed plans to reduce the passenger duty on flights from Scottish airports. This will encourage more airlines to fly from Scottish airports and increase the competition which can only benefit the passengers. As Thomson have reduced the number of flights from Scotland that's another big mistake on their part. Although they seem to be making it more difficult for people who wish to book cruise only by removing the option from their " new improved " web site.

[trishter]

We booked on the Dream TA in April as we were able to fly from Newcastle airport but this will be our last Thomson cruise on long haul flights as there are no flights from airports past Manchester as per normal everything is related to living in the south. we are having to fly from Heathrow for other cruises which are with RCI as we have cruised many of Thomson itineraries and wish to go Australia and the Far East

good news that the Celebration will spend summer 2017 from Newcastle that will be a possibility as only 30 minutes to the port from home.

We did the Arctic Circle cruise on the Spirit from Newcastle in July 2014 it was one of the best cruses ever and no flying so 2017 looks hopeful!

 

I totally agree with this thread, we have done a couple of Carribean cruises with Thomson and getting flights has always been limited. We were looking at the Discovery next winter and there are only two flights from Glasgow for the whole winter season. It seems very surprising as the Scottish flights always sell out.

[nancyneptune]

We booked on the Dream TA in April as we were able to fly from Newcastle airport but this will be our last Thomson cruise on long haul flights as there are no flights from airports past Manchester as per normal everything is related to living in the south. we are having to fly from Heathrow for other cruises which are with RCI as we have cruised many of Thomson itineraries and wish to go Australia and the Far East

good news that the Celebration will spend summer 2017 from Newcastle that will be a possibility as only 30 minutes to the port from home.

We did the Arctic Circle cruise on the Spirit from Newcastle in July 2014 it was one of the best cruses ever and no flying so 2017 looks hopeful!

 

Hoping to do the Baltic from Newcastle either with Thomson or Fred. Both small and friendly with good entertainment but Fred definitely wins with food. Food on Thomson has deteriorated both in choice and presentation over the past few years.