THOMSON CRUISES ADD NEWER, MORE AMENITY LADEN SHIPS IN 2017 AND 2018

As part of a large, perhaps long overdue expansion operation, Thomson Cruises are adding two large new ships over the next year or so, and shedding two much loved favourites. Thomson Majesty and Thomson Spirit will rejoin parent company, Celestyal Cruises, at the end of their current charters this coming November. While the former ship will redeploy to the Greek islands, new itineraries for the renamed Celestyal Spirit have yet to be released.

To replace them, Thomson has just taken delivery of the 70,000 ton TUI Discovery 2, the former Legend of the Seas of Royal Caribbean fame. She joins her twin sister, TUI Discovery (formerly the Spendor of the Seas) to form the other half of Thomson's twin spearhead for the 2017 UK cruise market.

Both ships will deploy to the Caribbean over the winter of 2017, where they will be joined by the smaller, 33,000 ton Thomson Celebration. The three ships will offer a series of seven and fourteen night itineraries from Barbados, Jamaica and Santo Domingo to the highlights of the Caribbean. The remaining fourth ship- the 50, 000 ton Thomson Dream- will sail seven night winter cruises to the Canary Islands, with embarkation possible in both Gran Canaria and Tenerife.

Next year sees the addiditon of a fifth ship, in the form of the TUI Explorer. Currently sailing as Mein Schiff, she was originally built for the very upscale Celebrity Cruises as the Galaxy in 1996. At 78,000 tons, she will sail from Palma de Mallorca on a maiden season of seven night Mediterranean cruises.

Her arrival will give Thomson Cruises a trio of larger ships will more balcony cabins, dining options and, overall, better on board amenities than the line's passengers have hitherto been used to. And, with a move to all inclusive on board pricing across these ships, there is a conscious attempt here to improve both the on board product and the range of itineraries offered across the entire fleet.

While prices for the new ships show some increase over those for the two original, remaining stalwarts, those increases are not massive. And, with long haul and local flights tied in to the line's own airline (which now includes many 787 Dreamliners) as well as a tempting range of cruise and stay options in both Europe and the Caribbean, Thomson Cruises has really come out swinging with both fists, seemingly intent on attracting passengers from more traditional UK based lines such as P&O Cruises.

Interesting times, for sure.