A matter of trust

[kruzseeka]

A matter of trust

We have just resolved our ‘problem’ with Thomson regarding the very significant change to the itinerary we booked for June 2011. But I can’t say it’s been satisfactorily solved; there are some unpleasant underlying issues which I believe Thomson need to think very hard about – and resolve for the future.

For anyone who has already read about my moan, sorry to regale you with it again but it does exemplify what I consider to be a worrying trend with Thomson.

We booked the Aegean Adventure in April this year particularly because Skiathos and Thessaloniki were included in the itinerary. When the updated brochure was released in early September I couldn’t believe that this itinerary had changed beyond all recognition. Three ports out of five had altered (I’ve discounted Marmaris, the base port for the season, on the basis that presumably it would be almost impossible for even Thomson to change that!).

Skiathos and Thessaloniki had gone, Istanbul had appeared (but then it is also in the second week of the b-2-b so we were going there anyway) and Dikili which is a poor destination by most standards was included. We quite simply would not have booked a cruise with this itinerary.

For over six weeks we received no communication from Thomson regarding this 60% change to week one of our cruise although our TA did her very best to try to find information and help.

Eventually we decided to cancel the holiday through out TA who couldn’t believe we still had received no notification of the changes. She was very good and negotiated on our behalf but no deposit refund was being offered! :mad: They magnanimously said we could transfer to another holiday/cruise without an administration charge! I should hope so! It would never have occurred to me that they could even consider charging us after they had caused the problem for us in the first place!!!!!!!!!!!

We have in fact re-booked a different cruise (just hope that doesn’t change before we go too!). It is very much a second choice as compared with what we originally thought we were doing AND the free AI we secured by booking early in April has gone and they will not transfer it to my new booking.

Now, I know there is small print in the contract we agreed to with Thomson when we booked and of course that is what they are hiding behind.

But if this were legally challenged, could Thomson really get away with changing so much of the itinerary for issues which don’t seem to be related to war, political issues, strikes or emergencies etc? I suspect it would have difficulty in defending its stance in law – surely there is some protection for the customer!

Thomson says that it will not be able to berth at Skiathos and Thessaloniki because of the number of ships in port and will therefore have to tender. I accept that passengers for whom tendering is a problem would be seriously affected by this situation and have sympathy with that – they presumably wouldn’t have booked such a tender intensive itinerary.

But is Thomson seriously telling us that it published a brochure without first having ascertained that it would be able to dock at these ports (since it doesn’t wish to tender)? Surely if Thomson had secured berthing then it couldn’t just be ‘bumped’ by other cruise lines. Or has the price gone up? Whatever the reason, Thomson don’t come out of it well.

So we come to the question: Can we any longer trust Thomson:-

a) To deliver what we’ve booked? (Barring changes due to unforeseen issues)
b) To advertise and accept bookings for an itinerary which is not going to be significantly changed in the next issue of the brochure?
c) To be fair to their customers and at least return their deposit when significant changes have been made?
d) To notify customers of these changes? (People who don’t check the internet itineraries or read forums may still be in the dark!)

We have done many Thomson cruises and have had changes to itineraries in the past due to mechanical breakdown, weather and operational problems and have never complained accepting these were unavoidable and reasonable. Even occasional changes to a port pre-departure, whilst sometimes disappointing, have been taken philosophically and we’ve not dwelt on it.

On this occasion though I am totally disillusioned with Thomson, feel extremely let down and they have quite simply lost my trust.

Thomson appears to put great store by ‘loyal customers’ but it occurs to me that loyalty should work both ways – it seems as though Thomson thinks it can act in this cavalier way and get away with it.

Well, I for one will never book early again with Thomson – why should I? If I do I run the risk of:

- paying my money and waiting to see where Thomson decide to take me
- losing my deposit if there isn’t an alternative holiday I want
- losing the AI I thought I’d secured by booking early
- having to re-book six months down the line at less preferential prices/no incentives/reduced choice of cabins/choice of departure airports etc. (i.e. lose all the ‘benefits’ which are put forward to encourage you to book early!)

I hope you’re reading this Thomson.

You have now lost the faith of a loyal customer and advocate - I no longer trust you.

I shall look around for deals with other operators - my early booking incentive has disappeared in this debacle.
I will never book early again as I must allow you time to decide where an itinerary will take me – if I leave it to the last minute perhaps I stand a better chance of going where I have chosen to go.
And I shall be very reluctant to hand over a non-refundable deposit in the future for what could turn into a ‘mystery tour’ cruise.
Choosing a cruise is always a compromise – I’d be the first to admit there are pro’s and con’s to travelling with Thomson but not getting the itinerary you book is a compromise too far. This will send me to other cruise lines if it continues to be a feature of Thomson’s operations.

What has happened to Thomson this year?

First we had the fiasco of the AI changes at the beginning of this season, now apparently random itinerary changes which no longer resemble the cruise people book and with no deposit refund.

Something is very wrong at the management level. How can a company such as Thomson think it can get away with not delivering what people have in good faith paid for?

I believe I am fair minded and try to adopt an objective view on situations but in this instance I can only come to the conclusion that Thomson are riding rough-shod over their customers and are showing them no respect.

Thankfully for us, a forum such as this allows us to keep ourselves and others informed of such practice.

Quite honestly, if this is the new Thomson approach to customer relations, I fear they could well be losing a great deal of goodwill - and customers!


P.S. Hope you had a great cruise John - have you had your letter from Thomson yet? I guess I won't get one now we've cancelled this cruise.

[Beckyfaye-2008]

Kruzseeka,
I think you have explained your feelings and disatifaction re the changes extremely well, and I would feel the same should it have happened to me. On my cruise with Thomson, we did in fact have one port of call (Country) changed at short notice.
I would find out out who the top guy in Thomson's is and write to him explaining your dissatisfaction, the same as you have done on here, and demand a reply.
The people in the office, are only giving standard replies, I would want answers from the top.

[Rebel Rouser]

Well said kruzseeka,

How do you think I feel now, after Originaly booked the Island Escape for November 19th then hearing off these forums that she will still be in dry docks so with the Help of our Travel Consultant (she was brilliant) we then manged to get another date of December 10th for another Cruise and yet again I hear off these forums that the Island Escape will now not be out of Dry Dock Until Febuary at least? are they selling the name of the Island Escape to get other ships full?????

Come on Thomson, be up front.

As you can see below we have travelled on the good ship IE many many times, we don't deserve this underhand dealings.

Angry RR

[ekco]

Well said Kruzseeker. We had been looking at the same cruise you booked, thank god we didn't go ahead as the ports we wanted have gone. It's about time holiday companies were brought under consumer law about their descriptions of holidays. If they are already they certainly don't abide by it, after all if you purchase a white sofa you don't expect to receive a red one do you? AND expect to be grateful for it.

Thomson are good at playing with words, we recently had a holiday where Thomson stated that the hotel was exclusive to Thomson customers. This is always total rubbish, it means that no other British companies are using that hotel. There were 95% Germans at our hotel with TUI (I know this is Thomson's mother company) and the rest were with a Russian travel company, leaving about a dozen British customers. We knew about this but other Brits assumed it was a totally British hotel, whereas the staff could barely speak a word of English.:)

Jan

[davecttr]

It appears to me that Thomsons head office operation is approaching a shambles, a perfect example of how NOT to deal with your customers. The parent company TUI are probably considering Thomsons as a cash cow, squeeze every euro out of the british while spending heavily on extensively refurbished ships for their german market.

Consider this, why do we accept accomadation standards which are less than you would find in a modern national budget hotel chain? Then there is the standard company denial when anything goes wrong. I for one are trying a different company next year and if it suits me it may well be bye bye Thomsons.

[Len Baker]

Well said Kruzseeka. I believe Thomsons are exploiting customer 'loyalty' to their advantage. Lets face facts that unless customers are prepared to consider alternatives then they will concentrate their marketing strategy on attracting 'new' customers. If customers want lower priced cruises & adult only hotels then Thomsons have a market advantage over their competitors. Their service to 'loyal' customers will only improve if Thomsons think sales are down due to poor service to 'loyal' customers.

Regarding the changing of pre-booked itineries Mrs B & I booked the Gems of the Aegean cruise followed by a week at the Marmaris Imperial Hotel (ex Club Magic Life) for 20th June 2011 in July 2010 to secure our first choice package. Already on the cruise Izmir has been replaced by Kusadasa & now Thomsons website says the hotels 2 a la carte restaurants are not included in the All Inclusive package whereas the brochures did when we booked.

The internet may be incorrect and/or we may have the retaurants included because of being cuise customers. Who knows, we will have to see when we get there. I will raise any practical issues with the hotel at the resort & then follow the formal complaints procedure on return. I have to watch I dont spoil our holiday by getting too intense over these matters.

Given the 31st October news reports of a suicide bomber in Istanbul there may be more changes if all cuise lines avoid certain ports for security reasons. These cannot be avoided. I think we should enjoy ourselves come what may.

Thank you for raising these issues Kruzseeka. We are looking at a P&O cruise for 2012 or a Thomas Cook beach holiday.

[kruzseeka]

Thanks all for your sympathetic responses. :)

As regular forum members will know, I'm a fan of the 'Thomson product' and have had many super cruises when the service, friendliness, hygiene, entertainmnent has been excellent. Hence the reason for being repeat customers.

However, it isn't the product which I feel is failing me (and other customers here) but mis-management and failures in the advertising, booking, communications and customer service aspects. Head Office you need to note where the problems are!

I don't wish to do a hatchet job on Thomson - I just want them to get their act together and understand that these issues are bad for their customers AND for their business!!!

[ekco]

Hi Len

I was shocked to hear about Club Magic Life as we were there on a cruise and stay last year and what a beautiful place it was. We were recently at Club Magic in Kemer and got friendly with one of the Brazilian dancers. We told him that Club Magic in Marmaris was so much nicer and he should go there but he insisted that it was finished. I actually went on the internet there and could have booked in then with Thomson with the same AI as this year under the name of Club Magic. I've just had a look at the Marmaris Imperial and couldn't believe how many facilities have gone. Not only the a la carte but most of the activities. No mountain biking, nordic walking, banana, water skiing, free diving lesson, I could go on. Check out the Club Magic web site where incidentally you can book direct to stay at one of their other clubs with airport transfers for a fee. We were hoping to return there but not on those conditions, I dread to think what the beautiful grounds are going to be like as Club Magic operate an environmental policy with no machinery and recycling bins everywhere they even have a cat cafe where they look after the local cats and have little cat kennels. As for the a la carte, although the food is lovely they are set outside and unforunately the restaurants are plagued with wasps which make it impossible to eat. The only bad point of the holiday.

Jan

[john_l]

Kruzseeka,

I have been on to Cruise Deals who have phoned Thomson up and they told me that no changes have been confirmed and when and if they do I will recieve a letter.

I explained this is not the case because the website and brochure has changed and includes the new itinerary. However, they say they cannot do anything because the "booking changes" department at Thomson are saying no changes:mad:

So I have phoned Thomson direct who confirm the changes to me but say they are "small changes" and if I want to change it will cost £35 person:mad:

So when I phone Cruise Deals back they repeat what they said originally, that as far as they know there is no changes and they cannot do anything until they recieve notification !!!!!

So I am stuck and do not know what to do.

I have paid £750 deposit but at the moment don't even feel like traveling with them again whether it costs £35 per person or is free. I feel betrayed and like you say have lost trust with them.

I don't know what to do. I think I will just try to calm down and sleep on it for a few days so I don't make any decisions I regret later.

The Adriatic cruise was so-so. The ports where great and we loved Venice, Kotor and Dubrovinik but the weather was grim. We got a nice Sunny day at Sea but most of the rest of the Holiday was heavy rain :(

I will stick to summer cruises in future and will definitely visit that area again. The people and scenery were fantastic.

I will keep you informed of how I get on with Cruise Deals.

[ROSEBASKETS]

Don't they know who you are? :mad: Write to the head of Thomson Cruises and tell them!. Tell them you're KRUZSEEKA, their number one supporter on Cruise Critic and tell them that thousands visit this forum every week and tell them to read your posts and how loudly you've praised them in the past, remind them that loyal, supportive customers are hard to find these days and if all else fails tell them to shove their ships up their ar...(sorry dry dock), failing that cross over to the dark side and cruise with P&O in future......... I have, and I'm not that evil (yet!) :D




There are barges and there are THOMSON barges!:eek:

[screwbas511]

KRUZSEEKER

I have been following your posts about Thomsons since I booked to do the Tropical Transatlantic this December on the Destiny departing from Lisbon in Portugal.I booked in March and like you I was delighted with the itinerary,especially the first stop in Madiera.

By reading these boards I discovered that the Itinerary had changed.
Now we depart from Tenerife after a night on board and head all the way to Dominica non stop,then visit the islands in a different order and with the addition of St Kitts.
There are good reasons for the changes and I accept this had to be.


However trying to get confirmation from Thomsons about the change of circumstances proved impossible.No-one knew anything.
I eventually(after 3 weeks of uncertainty) recieved notification of the changes.

I had also booked and paid for Premier Service and selected and booked the seats on the Thomson extras site for outbound and homeward journeys.

My local shop now says the upgrade will only be one way-returning from the Dominican Republic.I have booked BOTH journeys,even phoning Thomsons is a nightmare,the call centre staff are clueless.

I'm looking forward to this holiday and will not let anything spoil my enjoyment but I do not have much faith in the overall competence of Thomsons.

[ekco]

Don't they know who you are? :mad: Write to the head of Thomson Cruises and tell them!. Tell them you're KRUZSEEKA, their number one supporter on Cruise Critic and tell them that thousands visit this forum every week and tell them to read your posts and how loudly you've praised them in the past, remind them that loyal, supportive customers are hard to find these days and if all else fails tell them to shove their ships up their ar...(sorry dry dock), failing that cross over to the dark side and cruise with P&O in future......... I have, and I'm not that evil (yet!)


Lol, Rosebasket, you're so funny.:D:D I'm just picturing Kruzseeker at her desk, pen in hand, writing "Do you know who I am?" to Thomson. I'd love to see their faces when they read that, lol.

Jan

[john_l]

Why has my reply to Kruzseeker been deleted? I never wrote anything controversial?

I will try again:

kruzseeka,

I feel the same way as you. Let me tell you about my experience. I phoned up Cruise Deals to complain about the change in the itinerary .They phoned up Thomson’s “Changes” dept who told them nothing had been confirmed yet and when and if it does I will receive a letter. Cruise Deals told me that because of this they could do nothing to help and if I wish to change me holiday it would cost £35 per person. £140 in total.

I then phoned Thomson up direct who told me there had been changes but they were “small changes” and as such I would have to pay to change my holiday and they would not be prepared to cancel it.

So I phoned Cruise Deals back who just repeated their original comments that they cannot do anything unless I have confirmation from Thomson that there have been changes.

So I am stuck between a brick and a hardplace !

I too feel that now I have lost trust with Thomson, which is hard because we have a lot of loyalty to their product and will be sad to move away. At the moment I have decided to just leave it for a few days so I calm down before making any rash decisions that I will later regret.

At the moment I do not feel like paying anymore money to them and may decide to just cancel the holiday even if it means losing the £750 deposit I have already paid. Like I said though, I need to sleep on it first.

The Adriatic cruise was So-So. The holiday itself and the Ports we visited were first class. Venice, Dubrovinik and Kotor were fantastic along with the staff on board and the people in the ports we visited. However, the weather was dreadful. We had a sunny day at seas but then heavy rain for the rest of the week. We never let it spoil the holiday though and I have to admit that visiting Venice along with heavy rain and a high tide was a experience as the place flooded and we had to walk around using the raised walkways because St Mark's Square was under water.

I will keep you informed of any further developments regarding Cruise Deals.

[kruzseeka]

Hi john,

Yes, I'm very bemused (and somewhat concerned) that your post was pulled - I did read it before it disappeared. I also responded - and that has gone too!!!!!!!!! :confused:

I don't think anything you have written could possibly infringe the rules as you are merely reporting the facts as they are - and isn't this the place for letting others know of some of the issues which are arising? It's not as *amning as some of the posts we read about the Dream in its early days and they weren't removed!

Anyway - to continue with the debate;

I'm so sorry the weather was so unkind to you, but you are right the ports are fabulous. I hope you will be able to visit again at some point.

I can understand your frustration with the situation you are faced with. It really isn't good enough - there appears to be a refusal to be up-front with customers here - either that or a completely chaotic management system such that one hand doesn't seem to know what the other hand is doing.

Like you we are reluctant to 'give up' on Thomson as we have had many great cruises with them and enjoyed everyone. Their product suits us. But, that's got to be backed up with honest, transparent advertising, booking conditions and a willingness to be fair when things are not 'as sold'.

I can't believe a 60% change in one of your chosen itineraries can in any sense be considered to be a 'small change' - and the reason given (on the 'erratum' section of the new itinerary as published on the cruisedeals site) is that they are unable to berth at Skiathos and Thessaloniki.

Well..................... does this mean they published the brochure in April without knowing if they could berth? If so, incompetence! Or has there been and increase in charges............???????????????

Either way, passengers are being messed about - for Thomson's error or cost cutting issues. At the very least you should not be financially disadvantaged. If you choose not to go on the cruise because of THEIR SIGNIFICANT CHANGES you should at the very least get a deposit transfer WITHOUT an admin charge. You wouldn't be changing if it weren't for them! It's not not on! In fact in all honesty and good faith I would expect them to give you your deposit back (although we were told we couldn't have ours back either).

On the plus side, john - although we chose to cancel and rebook another cruise, if you haven't done that part of the world before, there is a lot to attract. (We'd done almost all the ports before hence going to Thessaloniki and Skiathos was the main draw.)

There is plenty to do in Istanbul - certainly worth two days (it would have been our 4th time there - and still more to do!), Bodrum, Rhodes, Mykonos, Marmaris are fab and we love just pottering around the Plaka in Athens. Kusadasi is a decent stop and very handy for Ephesus which is well worth a visit if you haven't been there before. Mytilene looks interesting and Patmos is a pretty little Greek island - we did a lovely trip there. Dikili is not a good stop - but the itinerary has quite a bit to offer. (Unless you really wanted to go to Izmir - that's not a huge loss to the itinerary.) It's just the principle of not getting what you'd signed up for though isn't it? And then being given the run-around.

Anyway, good luck with your deliberations and with your negotiations with Thomson. :)

[Beckyfaye-2008]

When we travelled on Thomson Spirit in March, I found out on this Forum that one of our ports of call had been changed, last minute from Latakia, Syria to Alanya, Turkey.
I rang Thos Cook our T/A and visited the local Thomson shop, neither of them knew anything about it. We later got a letter confirming the change.

[rookery]

When we travelled on Thomson Spirit in March, I found out on this Forum that one of our ports of call had been changed, last minute from Latakia, Syria to Alanya, Turkey.
I rang Thos Cook our T/A and visited the local Thomson shop, neither of them knew anything about it. We later got a letter confirming the change.

We were on the Spirit a couple of years ago and I believe it was Thomsons first time calling at Latakia. Immigration caused huge delays of several hours and I think that Latakia was pulled from the ports of call for the rest of the season soon after. To be honest, I was surprised to see it back on the agenda.

[Cruise Anorak]

We were told nearly 3 weeks ago that we would be receiving a letter from thomsons about the changes. Well no letter arrived. Contacted the TA (Thomson shop) again and they are getting back in touch with the cruise dept to find out where the letter got to. Still waiting.

We were on the Spirit in March and had a letter 6 days before going to say there was a change. We spoke to TA and they didn't know about it. The day after we arrived home from that cruise Thomson cruise dept telephoned us and explained the reasons for the change and to check this hadn't wrecked our enjoyment of the cruise. The reason was that Syria wanted copies of all passenagers passports before docking would be allowed and had only told Thomsons at the beginning of March.
That excuse was better than not being about to dock as too many ships!!

[jenny wren]

We too were on the Spirit in March and were never told about the change of itinerary by Thomson.....we found out from this website so did know about it but the first Thomson told us was a standard letter on the ship.....:(

Kruzseeka ....I wonder if the earlier posts were pulled because there was mention of a Travel Agent's name....:confused:

[kruzseeka]

We too were on the Spirit in March and were never told about the change of itinerary by Thomson.....we found out from this website so did know about it but the first Thomson told us was a standard letter on the ship.....:(

Kruzseeka ....I wonder if the earlier posts were pulled because there was mention of a Travel Agent's name....:confused:

That could be it jenny - I've done a copy (and john's!) and kept them as a Word doc so if it 'disappears' again we could try adapting the offending bits and re-post. It's just that I feel quite strongly that these issues should be well and truly aired - and hopefully make Thomson think about their procedures and how it impacts so negatively on their customers.

[Host Caroline]

I've read back in this thread and it is against CC guidelines to use travel agent names in terms of asking for information regarding a travel agent, advocating a travel agent, discussing merits of your TA etc. As long as this thread remains about Thomson specifically and relating what various agencies have told you about this "matter of trust" I will leave it but if it gets into a discussion of why one's TA is better source than another and that sort of thing, then you will need to take that discussion to email! Also if you have concerns regarding board moderation, feel free to email me but discussion of why posts may /may not have disappeared and board moderation also against guidelines

Thanks for your cooperation! :)

[kruzseeka]

I've read back in this thread and it is against CC guidelines to use travel agent names in terms of asking for information regarding a travel agent, advocating a travel agent, discussing merits of your TA etc. As long as this thread remains about Thomson specifically and relating what various agencies have told you about this "matter of trust" I will leave it but if it gets into a discussion of why one's TA is better source than another and that sort of thing, then you will need to take that discussion to email! Also if you have concerns regarding board moderation, feel free to email me but discussion of why posts may /may not have disappeared and board moderation also against guidelines

Thanks for your cooperation! :)


Thank you, Caroline for your post and explanation. :) I have sent you an email.

[ROSEBASKETS]

I would like to thank the moderator for the explanation, on other boards posts have been removed and no explanation has been given, thank you for taking the time to explain :):):)

[Host Caroline]

You're quite welcome!

As a former TA and now travel/art writer in addition to this gig (my retirement "hobbies") I find this matter quite interesting... looking forward to seeing how it plays out.

[kruzseeka]

Although no-one yet seems to have received a letter from Thomson regarding the itinerary change I thought it may be of interest to those still waiting to read this from the cruisedeals site (the on-line travel Agency arm of the TUI/Thomson organisation). It has this 'Erratum' on the details of the itinerary for the dates we'd booked for:

Copied from cruisedeals site:

"Other info / errata: Itinerary Change - On this occasion, we’ve changed three ports on your first week due to berthing issues. From time to time, popular ports become congested making it difficult to get a good berth. On this itinerary, we could only get anchor positions in Thessaloniki and Skiathos, meaning we would have to tender to shore. We decided it would be better if we didn’t have two tenders so close together after a day at sea, so we’ve amended your itinerary instead. First of all, we’ve replaced Thessaloniki with Istanbul. One of the best-know cities in the Eastern Mediterranean, it’s your gateway to sights like the Blue Mosque, Topkapi Palace and Hagia Sophia. So you now get two chances to tick these must-sees off your to-do list. Next on the list is Dikili, which appears in the place of Skiathos. This bayside port town is perfectly placed for visiting Pergamon – once one of the finest cities in Ancient Greece. Finally, we’ve swapped Kusadasi for Patmos, where picturesque villages and cave monasteries vie for your attention. We’ll have a full line-up of trips and tours available in every port. And it’s easy to get out and about under your own steam, too. On your second week, meanwhile, we’ve chosen Kusadasi as a replacement for Izmir. The two ports are quite close together, so a lot of the trips and tours you can do from Kusadasi are the same as Izmir’s line-up. The big plus point being that Kusadasi is much closer to Ephesus – 10 miles as opposed to 60 – so it’s much easier to get to. We can also offer a wider range of trips from Kusadasi, things like quad biking and waterpark visits are also on the menu." End quote.

Presumably this will be the line Thomson will take once they deign to write to their customers and officially inform them of the changes. (I bet there are loads of people out there who, as yet, have NO idea how their holiday has changed!)

But given this is on their OWN website - how come cruisedeals is telling john they have no confirmation yet? Or that the Thomson 'Changes' dept say nothing has yet been confirmed? How much confirmation do they need? It's been changed in the brochure (fairly obvious then - wouldn't you say?) and the new itinerary is as clear as day on the Thomson and cruisedeals sites too!

It's just so insulting to be played like this. These are all departments of the same company. Why don't they know? Of course they know - it's just that someone hasn't given the approval to send out the letters yet - but they've already posted the reasons for the changes (as above) - at least cruisedeals have, but Thomson haven't. Can't they see how chaotic it all appears?

It beggars belief!

(P.S. I do concede that two tender ports after a day at sea is not good - some people with mobility issues could end up with three consecutive days on board - and that would be a very different cruise to what they believed they'd booked too - and not reasonable. But it begs the question though why Thomson originally included these ports and published a brochure to that effect without having secured berthing. It doesn't add up imo.)

[marylizcat]

To substitute Dikili to avoid tendering is somewhat odd, since we tendered in Dikili on our Thomson cruise earlier this month!

[john_l]

Update.

Thomson are doing a 3 day Spirit cruise on the 3rd December, so I decided to attempt to swop our deposit over for this short pre- christmas cruise which would mean I would not waste any of the deposit money. How wrong I was. They are insisting on the £35 per person charge to change bookings, and because I wanted just the 3 of us to go on the cruise( My son cann't make it) they want a additional £150 for loss of deposit for my son from the original cruise. £255 in total just to change the cruise !!!


As you can imagine this has completely ruined my trust in Thomson as a company. I have emailed Trading standards for legal advice and will mull over my options once I recieve guidance.

I imagine they have enough small print in the T&C to cover their backs, but like I told them on the telephone they will be losing someone who has spent close to £30k over the last 4 years with them to save a couple of hundred pounds.

What is the point in booking in advance? You might as well just book a mystery cruise because what they are telling me is that they can, and do make these changes regulary.

My blood is boiling, and I think the only thing that will calm me down is taking a long relaxing ( non- Thomson) cruise somewhere hot and nice :):)

I will keep everyone updated.

[kruzseeka]

Update.

Thomson are doing a 3 day Spirit cruise on the 3rd December, so I decided to attempt to swop our deposit over for this short pre- christmas cruise which would mean I would not waste any of the deposit money. How wrong I was. They are insisting on the £35 per person charge to change bookings, and because I wanted just the 3 of us to go on the cruise( My son cann't make it) they want a additional £150 for loss of deposit for my son from the original cruise. £255 in total just to change the cruise !!!


As you can imagine this has completely ruined my trust in Thomson as a company. I have emailed Trading standards for legal advice and will mull over my options once I recieve guidance.

I imagine they have enough small print in the T&C to cover their backs, but like I told them on the telephone they will be losing someone who has spent close to £30k over the last 4 years with them to save a couple of hundred pounds.

What is the point in booking in advance? You might as well just book a mystery cruise because what they are telling me is that they can, and do make these changes regulary.

My blood is boiling, and I think the only thing that will calm me down is taking a long relaxing ( non- Thomson) cruise somewhere hot and nice :):)

I will keep everyone updated.

Oh John, that's dreadful. :mad: Can't they see what they're doing? You have my sympathy and I hope you get some satisfaction from Trading Standards. Thomson would surely have to defend their reasons for the change - and it doesn't really add up does it?

Needing to tender is only on account of not having a berth - why haven't they got berths since the brochure was published so long ago. And as someone else pointed out they are introducing another tender port as replacement for one of thiose which disappeared! I still think it's a cost cutting measure and as such it's deplorable that you should suffer financially for their gains.

At the VERY least, they should waive the transfer fee. I can't believe this. It's TERRIBLE P.R.

I know you feel as though you'll never travel with them again, but rather than lose money, would you not consider the revised itinerary? And THEN never travel with them again! (I'm feeling so angry on your behalf now!!!!!!)

[smiffy1951]

I have always booked well in advance if there is a cruise I fancy to get the perks of free or reduced AI upgrades, as well as not having to worry about whether I will get what I want when I want it.

However, this thread has made me think twice. I know the new brochure came out yesterday and although I will probably pick one up, I doubt that I will be in any hurry to book anything for late next year or early 2012.

I have my Caribbean cruise already booked for March 2011 (hope there are no changes to this that I am unaware of) and was thinking about another one later in the year. I may now wait and try to get a late deal. At least I will know where the ship is visiting (hopefully) and although I may not get the cabin I want and a cheap AI at least I will not be worrying about whether the itinerary will change:eek:

Thomson are really not giving acceptable customer service in this matter and although I have only cruised with Thomson, I may start looking at other companies as I have lost a lot of trust in them.

Janet

[kruzseeka]

I have always booked well in advance if there is a cruise I fancy to get the perks of free or reduced AI upgrades, as well as not having to worry about whether I will get what I want when I want it.

However, this thread has made me think twice. I know the new brochure came out yesterday and although I will probably pick one up, I doubt that I will be in any hurry to book anything for late next year or early 2012.

I have my Caribbean cruise already booked for March 2011 (hope there are no changes to this that I am unaware of) and was thinking about another one later in the year. I may now wait and try to get a late deal. At least I will know where the ship is visiting (hopefully) and although I may not get the cabin I want and a cheap AI at least I will not be worrying about whether the itinerary will change:eek:

Thomson are really not giving acceptable customer service in this matter and although I have only cruised with Thomson, I may start looking at other companies as I have lost a lot of trust in them.

Janet

Hi Janet :),

Yes, it does give pause for thought doesn't it? There's john, you and me - all regular, loyal customers who are questioning Thomson's business practices of late and potentially changing allegiances. :(

We have changed the cruise we'd booked - and actually Thomson have lost out! The replacement is significantly cheaper!

And what's more, if I booked the original cruise now I could get it £200 p.p. less than the price when we booked in April. There's no AI of course, but £400 would cover our bar bill and who knows, perhaps it will be cheaper still as the departure date approaches.

I just hope Thomson are taking note of the negative effects of their actions and will be careful to ensure such drastic itinerary changes aren't a feature of next season's cruises! They surely don't want to earn a reputation of the 'Mystery Tour' cruise line.

I've not totally given up on them just yet but am much more actively looking at other cruse lines - and will definitely wait for later deals with Thomson so that I can have more confidence in what I'm signing up to.

As for not being prepared to give john a free transfer of his deposit is morally reprehensible!!!!!! Like us, he wouldn't be wanting to change if Thomson hadn't significantly changed their side of the bargain.

They are profiteering out of an issue which they ought to be playing down and trying to do their best to minimise. This kind of debate on here cannot be good for them. How much better for posters on here to say - 'I was disappointed with the changes, but Thomson have allowed me to change at no additional cost'. What DOES it cost Thomson to transfer a booking - a few minutes of their operatives' time who are being paid anyway!

At the moment they really do need to restore customer confidence and to them, a very small gesture of waiving an admin fee would seem to be a step in the right direction and cost them little. You can't put a price on goodwill. Come on Thomson, play fair!!!!!!!

[davecttr]

The Dream winter 2011/12 pricing is now available and single supplements have jumped from about 30% to 50% :mad:

I intend to wait until the rest of the itineries are announced in December then decide on what to do for Janauary 2012. P&O are getting my custom next autumn on Ventura with a well located cabin booked well away from any source of noise. OK, it is a couple of hundred more than the Thomsons equivalent but the booze is cheaper, the ship is newer, there is no flying etc.

I have found I quite like sea days as I can stay up late in the casino :eek:

After next spring I will have done all the Thomson itineries so find no need to fly for two weeks of relaxation. Destinations are not THAT important and one blackjack table looks pretty much like any other :D

The only destination involving flying that appeals to me for the future is a cross Pacific segment of a round the world cruise.

[john_l]

Oh John, that's dreadful. :mad: Can't they see what they're doing? You have my sympathy and I hope you get some satisfaction from Trading Standards. Thomson would surely have to defend their reasons for the change - and it doesn't really add up does it?

Needing to tender is only on account of not having a berth - why haven't they got berths since the brochure was published so long ago. And as someone else pointed out they are introducing another tender port as replacement for one of thiose which disappeared! I still think it's a cost cutting measure and as such it's deplorable that you should suffer financially for their gains.

At the VERY least, they should waive the transfer fee. I can't believe this. It's TERRIBLE P.R.

I know you feel as though you'll never travel with them again, but rather than lose money, would you not consider the revised itinerary? And THEN never travel with them again! (I'm feeling so angry on your behalf now!!!!!!)

Kruzseeka, I have had big news tonight, and people are currently in the process of sorting all this mess out for me as I write this. I cannot say much at the moment except to say that I am happy with the outcome.

Sorry for being a bit fague, I will post all details once the deal is completed. Suffice to say though that it always best to go direct to the top in any organisation. ;););)

[kruzseeka]

Kruzseeka, I have had big news tonight, and people are currently in the process of sorting all this mess out for me as I write this. I cannot say much at the moment except to say that I am happy with the outcome.

Sorry for being a bit fague, I will post all details once the deal is completed. Suffice to say though that it always best to go direct to the top in any organisation. ;););)

So pleased things look to be moving in the right direction for you! :) Will be pleased to hear of the resolution to your problem in due course. Have a good weekend - I'm sure you will sleep a little easier tonight. ;)

[john_l]

I will not mention any roll or person by name in this explanation to keep things confidential but below is a brief explanation of how my issues where resolved:


After attempting to switch cruises and being told it would cost me £35 per person: £105 for the 3 of us, plus another £150 for the loss of deposit for my son from the original cruise, I told them this was unacceptable. I wrote a civil email to the customer support team explaining that I was a loyal Thomson customer, had taken 7 cruises in the last few years, and had spent close to £25K in the process and that I did not think it was fair that I was being treated like this.

The response I got back surprised me to say the least. Very short and to the point, saying, "There was nothing they could do" and pointing me to small print in the T's & C's. It also asked matter of factly if I was I going to take this cruise next year or cancel and lose my £750 deposit.

This made me livid, so I spent a fair amount of time and effort and discovered the personal contact details of a senior Thomson executive and wrote to him. I forwarded the email I received from this lady at "customer support", explained everything again, told him I was upset at my treatment, and injected a bit of humour into the email as well, and asked him not to condemn me to a life sailing the seven seas as a Cunard or P& O passenger but to sort it out and let me remain a loyal and Happy Thomson customer.

Well I don’t know who he contacted or what he did (he has not emailed back) but it feels like he must have threw a grenade into the organisation. My Telephone has not stopped ringing. I have had Managers and customer support personal phoning and rearranging things at all hours. They were even calling me from home last night and sending me their personal mobile numbers to phone and sort it all out ASAP. They have been back in touch this morning and rearranged everything.No charges and switched over onto the short 3 day Spirit cruise in a few week

I hope Thomson have learned from this and realise how easy it is to lose loyal and valuable customers and how near they came to losing some of their loyalist customers on this board. We are loyal, and advocate for Thomson and send other passengers their way, but are not daft and do not blindly follow them or allow our loyalty to be taken advantage of.

I am happy at this outcome but it does not answer Kruzseek’s main point about booking in confidence in advance. I understand organisations make changes and when they are significant changes like with this cruise, passengers should be able to cancel or transfer without and charges or loss of benefit such as AI etc. If not, there is simple no point in booking in advance. Like Kruzseeka says you might as well just book a “Mystery cruise” because you will never be sure where you are going to end up when you sail.

Anyway, all sorted and a new cruise to look forward to in a few weeks. Should relieve the stress of Christmas and sorting all this out.

Thanks Thomson for resolving everything and thanks Kruzseeka for letting me know of the changes or I might have never found out.

[kruzseeka]

I will not mention any roll or person by name in this explanation to keep things confidential but below is a brief explanation of how my issues where resolved:


After attempting to switch cruises and being told it would cost me £35 per person: £105 for the 3 of us, plus another £150 for the loss of deposit for my son from the original cruise, I told them this was unacceptable. I wrote a civil email to the customer support team explaining that I was a loyal Thomson customer, had taken 7 cruises in the last few years, and had spent close to £25K in the process and that I did not think it was fair that I was being treated like this.

The response I got back surprised me to say the least. Very short and to the point, saying, "There was nothing they could do" and pointing me to small print in the T's & C's. It also asked matter of factly if I was I going to take this cruise next year or cancel and lose my £750 deposit.

This made me livid, so I spent a fair amount of time and effort and discovered the personal contact details of a senior Thomson executive and wrote to him. I forwarded the email I received from this lady at "customer support", explained everything again, told him I was upset at my treatment, and injected a bit of humour into the email as well, and asked him not to condemn me to a life sailing the seven seas as a Cunard or P& O passenger but to sort it out and let me remain a loyal and Happy Thomson customer.

Well I don’t know who he contacted or what he did (he has not emailed back) but it feels like he must have threw a grenade into the organisation. My Telephone has not stopped ringing. I have had Managers and customer support personal phoning and rearranging things at all hours. They were even calling me from home last night and sending me their personal mobile numbers to phone and sort it all out ASAP. They have been back in touch this morning and rearranged everything.No charges and switched over onto the short 3 day Spirit cruise in a few week

I hope Thomson have learned from this and realise how easy it is to lose loyal and valuable customers and how near they came to losing some of their loyalist customers on this board. We are loyal, and advocate for Thomson and send other passengers their way, but are not daft and do not blindly follow them or allow our loyalty to be taken advantage of.

I am happy at this outcome but it does not answer Kruzseek’s main point about booking in confidence in advance. I understand organisations make changes and when they are significant changes like with this cruise, passengers should be able to cancel or transfer without and charges or loss of benefit such as AI etc. If not, there is simple no point in booking in advance. Like Kruzseeka says you might as well just book a “Mystery cruise” because you will never be sure where you are going to end up when you sail.

Anyway, all sorted and a new cruise to look forward to in a few weeks. Should relieve the stress of Christmas and sorting all this out.

Thanks Thomson for resolving everything and thanks Kruzseeka for letting me know of the changes or I might have never found out.

Excellent! :D I've been on pins waiting to hear how you got on! And pleased too that our exchanges on here have helped high-light the issues.

I'm delighted that this has been resolved to your satisfaction and that Thomson have, at last, woken up to the damage their poor customer service has caused. It really does make you wonder whether those 'at the top' are actually aware of what the situation is at the 'coal face' or how things are being (badly) handled.

At least you feel someone has taken notice and done the honourable thing.

If you would like to email me, I can offer you some info which MIGHT just avoid such a nightmare of communication issues in the future - although with a 'hot-line' to those who seem to be able to sort things out properly perhaps you won't need it!!;)