Thomson Cruises
 | |
| Industry | Transport |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1973 |
| Products | Holidays, cruise line |
| Website | www.thomson.co.uk/cruise |
Thomson Cruises is a British cruise line operated by Thomson, that offers low-price cruises around Europe with ships from Louis Cruise Lines and Holland America Line.
History
The company had initially entered the cruise market in 1973, but due to rising fuel costs the venture was terminated in 1976. In 1995, Thomson restarted their cruise line after their competitor Airtours had made a successful entry in the cruise business under their Sun Cruises brand.
Thomson Cruises holds approximately a 1% market share of the worldwide cruise industry.[1]
Future
On April 13, 2016, Thomson Cruises announced the next addition to its fleet, the former MS Splendour of the Seas, would be named TUI Discovery as part of the re-brand which will see the whole of Thomson transition to TUI over the next eighteen months. TUI Discovery will be the first of the Thomson Cruises fleet to offer an all-inclusive drinks package as standard.[2][3]
Fleet
MS Island Escape was added to the Thomson fleet in April 2009, as a result of parent company TUI's acquisition of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd.'s share in Island Cruises that took place in 2008.[4] As of March 2013, Thomson operates the Island Escape under its all-inclusive Island Cruises brand.
In March 2015, Royal Caribbean International announced that they had agreed to sell Splendour of the Seas to TUI Cruises in the second quarter of 2016, and that TUI would lease the ship to Thomson Cruises to replace the Island Escape.[5]
In May 2015, TUI Group announced that as part of their modernization strategy, TUI Cruises' Mein Schiff 1 and Mein Schiff 2 would be transferred to Thomson Cruises over the next few years.[6]
In October 2015, the Island Cruise brand was discontinued after the sole ship Island Escape completed her last scheduled cruise with Thomson Cruises.
Current Fleet
| Ship | Built | Builder | Entered service with Thomson | Gross tonnage | Flag | Home Port | Notes | Image |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thomson Spirit | 1983 | Chantiers de l'Atlantique | 2003 | 33,930 tons |  Malta | Marmaris, Turkey until end of October 2015 | Previously Nieuw Amsterdam, Patriot, Spirit - Chartered from Louis Cruises until 2017. | .jpg) |
| Thomson Celebration | 1984 | Chantiers de l'Atlantique | 2005 | 33,960 tons | Malta | Dubrovnik, Croatia until end of November 2015 | Previously Noordam. |  |
| Thomson Dream | 1986 | Meyer Werft | 2010 | 54,763 tons | Malta | Palma, Spain until end of October 2015 | Previously Homeric, Westerdam, Costa Europa. |  |
| Thomson Majesty | 1992 | Kvaerner Masa-Yards | 2012 | 40,876 tons | Malta | Corfu, Greece until end of October 2015 | Previously Royal Majesty, Norwegian Majesty, Louis Majesty - Chartered from Louis Cruises until 2017. |  |
Future Fleet
| Ship | Built | Builder | Enters service with Thomson | Gross Tonnage | Flag | Notes | Image |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TUI Discovery[2] | 1996 | Chantiers de l'Atlantique | 2016 | 69,130 tons | Malta | Currently sailing as the Splendour of the Seas, she has been sold and chartered to Thomson for 2016 season to replace the Island Escape.[5] | .jpg) |
| Mein Schiff 1 | 1996 | Meyer Werft | 2018 | 76,522 tons | Malta |  | |
| Mein Schiff 2 | 1997 | Meyer Werft | 2019 | 77,713 tons | Malta | .jpg) |
Former ships
| Ship | Built | Builder | In service with Thomson | Gross Tonnage | Notes | Image |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SS Ithaca | 1956 | Deutsche Werft | 1973– 1976 | 8,977 tons | scrapped 2003 | |
| SS Calypso | 1955 | Harland & Wolff | 1975–1976 | 20,204 tons | scrapped 2004 |  |
| SS Island Breeze | 1962 | John Brown & Co. | 1996–1998 | 26,632 tons | scrapped 2003 |  |
| MS Sapphire | 1967 | Cantieri Navale Felszegi | 1996–2002 | 12,263 tons | scrapped 2012 |  |
| SS The Topaz | 1996 | Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering | 1997–2003 | 25,516 tons | scrapped 2008 | .jpg) |
| SS The Emerald | 1958 | Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock | 1997–2008 | 26,431 tons | scrapped 2012 |  |
| The Calypso | 1967 | Fincantieri | 2006–2009 | 11,162 tons | scrapped 2013 |  |
| Thomson Destiny | 1982 | Wärtsilä Hietalahti shipyard | 2005–2012 | 37,584 tons | Currently operating on 3/4-day cruises from Greece. | .jpg) |
| Island Escape | 1982 | Dubigeon-Normandie S.A | 2009 | 40,132 tons | Departed fleet on October 27, 2015. | .jpg) |
Accidents and incidents
- On 9 February 2013, five crewmen of MS Thomson Majesty were killed in Gran Canaria whilst checking a lifeboat. The lifeboat's ropes snapped and suddenly plunged 65 ft from the upper deck into the sea. It overturned as it hit the water, trapping them underneath. Three crewmen were taken to hospital, but five others - three Indonesians, one Filipino and one Ghanaian - drowned as shipmates attempted to rescue them.[7]
References
- ↑ "2012 World Wide Market Share". Cruise Market Watch. 2011-11-20.
- 1 2 http://www.cruisecritic.com/news/news.cfm?ID=6951
- ↑ http://www.cruiseindustrynews.com/cruise-news/14468-thomson-announces-summer-2017-deployment-tui-branding.html
- ↑ "Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. to Sell Its Interest in Island Cruises to First Choice Holidays Ltd.". Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. 2008-10-06. Retrieved 2008-10-07.
- 1 2 "Splendour of the Seas Sold to TUI for Thomson Cruises". cruiseindustrynews.com.
- ↑ http://www.cruiseindustrynews.com/cruise-news/12586-tui-thomson-to-get-mein-schiff-1-and-2.html
- ↑ "Thomson Majesty liner: Five killed and three injured after lifeboat falls into sea off Canary Islands cruise ship - Daily Mail Online". Mail Online.