Cruise line also reveals that it will be visiting 15 new ports and offering 12 new itineraries in summer 2018
By
Rebecca Gibson |
Thomson Cruises has extended its agreement to continue chartering Thomson Spirit from owner Celestyal Cruises until October 2018, enabling it to cater to customer demand for next year’s cruise season.
Built in 1984 as Holland America Line’s Nieuw Amsterdam, Thomson Spirit has been chartered to Thomson since May 2003. The ship is expected to homeport in Palma, Spain in April 2018 and then move to Malaga between May and October.
“The extension of the Thomson Spirit charter is yet another endorsement of the quality of services and a testament to the trust TUI Travel plc and other global tourism leaders have in Celestyal Cruises,” said Kyriakos Anastassiadis, CEO of Celestyal Cruises. “We’re pleased that Thomson Spirit is so popular with passengers in the UK market. Thomson Cruises has been a trusted, valued partner for over two decades, and we look forward to extending our relationship further.”
Thomson Cruises has also revealed that it will be visiting 15 new ports of call – including Monaco, Ancona and Skiathos Town – and offering 12 new itineraries in summer 2018.
TUI Discovery will homeport in the UK for the first time from May 2018, sailing out of Newcastle to destinations such as the Norwegian fjords; Stockholm, Sweden; Tallinn, Estonia; Reykjavik, Iceland; and St Petersburg, Russia. In a first for Thomson Cruises, the ship will then move to Southampton in September 2018, where she will sail four itineraries – Fantastic Fjords, Baltic Treasures, European Experience and Seeking the Northern Lights.
Thomson Celebration will move to Dubrovnik, Croatia for summer 2018, operating two adults-only new itineraries. The first, ‘Sail Three Seas’, will take guests to Valletta, Malta; Messina, Sicily; Kefalonia; Igoumenitsa, Greece; and Kotor, Montenegro. The second, ‘Greek Mystique’, will visit Chania, Crete; Piraeus, Greece; Kalamata, Greece; Corfu Town, Corfu; and Kotor, Montenegro. A third adults-only itinerary named ‘Venetian Vistas’ will enable guests to spend full days in Bar, Montenegro; Korcula, Zadar and Split, Croatia; and Venice and Trieste, Italy.
Making her Corfu debut, TUI Discovery 2 will sail four itineraries in the Eastern Mediterranean, and Thomson Dream will be based in Palma, Majorca. Meanwhile, Thomson Cruises’ newest ship, which is currently sailing as TUI Cruises’ Mein Schiff 1, will homeport in Palma.
“We have a fantastic range of destinations on offer, with a real focus on hidden gems in the Mediterranean and a little closer to home in northern Europe,” said Richard Sofer, managing director of Thomson Cruises. “The move to bring TUI Discovery to both the north and the south of the UK also shows our commitment to offering choice and flexibility to our customers, giving them the opportunity to sail from a region close to home, as well as offering flights to other destinations from local airports.”