Newbuild debuts virtual reality experience and a new onboard Navigate app for passengers
By
Rebecca Gibson |
Thomson Cruises launched its latest cruise ship, TUI Discovery 2, in Malaga, Spain on 14 May.
TUI Discovery 2 boasts 915 cabins – 40% of which offer balconies – as well as several restaurants offering a variety of cuisine, bars serving premium drinks, an outdoor pool with a movie screen, a rock climbing wall, a mini-golf course and an indoor swimming pool and spa.
New entertainment options include theatre shows Brexfactor, Chaplin, Festival Live and Steel City, as well as a virtual reality experience where guests wear HTC Vive headsets to play games, make 3D paintings or explore universes. There is also an onboard photo booth with a green screen so passengers can take photos with various backgrounds.
In addition, guests will be able to use a new onboard Navigate app to view information about their onboard account, the ship’s facilities and entertainment schedules, and book extras such as spa treatments, excursions and tables in the a la carte restaurants. Free to use, the app is hosted on the ship’s network and will open on any browser so passengers don’t need to download it or purchase wi-fi packages.
Based in Malaga this summer, TUI Discovery 2 will sail to Mediterranean destinations, such as Barcelona, Valencia and Ibiza, Spain; Porto and Lisbon, Portugal; and Marseille, France. The ship will then reposition to Tenerife, Spain in September and visit ports in the Canaries, Morocco and Madeira. In December, TUI Discovery 2 will make her way to Montego Bay in Jamaica to begin a winter season in the Caribbean, visiting Cuba, Belize, Panama, Costa Rica and Colombia.
“We’re delighted to be launching TUI Discovery 2, the second in our pipeline of four new additions to our fleet,” said Richard Sofer, managing director of Thomson Cruises. “At Thomson Cruises, we’re committed to delivering unforgettable holidays that are personalised for each of our customers and TUI Discovery 2 will play a key role in that for us. There is so much for our guests to do onboard and our brand new app Navigate makes it all even easier, while they spend their time sailing between some of the world’s most exciting and exotic destinations.”
TUI Discovery 2 is the second ship to join the Thomson Cruises fleet in the past year, following the arrival of TUI Discovery in June 2016. The vessel’s name reflects the fact that Thomson Cruises will transition to TUI later this year. A third new ship, TUI Explorer, will join the fleet in May 2018.