Naughty Thomson. 13 Dec Pride of Panama NOT

Bit of a rant I'm afraid. Just looked at my booking so I could sort out the Airport parking and, shock horror, it's not the ports that I booked.

If you're on Thomson Dream, Pride Of Panama, Dec 13th you probably chose it because of the advertised itinerary. Montego Bay >At Sea >Puerto Limon >Panama >Cartagena >Santa Maria >At Sea >Montego Bay. Yes, it's advertised as that on the web but I think you'll find that's NOT where it's going!

My booking confirmation, you know, that long email that we don't read because we trust Thomsons and it's only confirming what we just spent an hour working through on the web, well anyway, my booking says that I'm not going to Columbia. Apparently I'm going to Montego Bay >At Sea >Panama >Puerto Limon >At Sea >Grand Caymen >Falmouth (Jamaica) >Montego Bay.

As it happens, I've been to Grand Caymen and have no ambition to go again. I also liked the 2 Columbia stops and I've paid extra to select my cabin based on the advertised route. And why on Earth would I want to go to Falmouth which is a 30 mile taxi ride from Montego Bay!

I've had a long chat with Thomson who say that they can change an itinerary for operational reasons. Now, I fully agree that ships do have to make a change sometimes and I've experienced a boiler shutdown while at sea so of course it can happen. What makes me cross is that Thomson are advertising and selling one holiday but delivering something so different.

It's not a change to the itinerary, it's a different one. I just checked the web site again and they are still taking bookings based on the wrong ports of call.

I'm so very, very dissapointed that such trickery can be allowed. I wonder how many people are in for a shock when they get on board. Until now, I've always trusted Thompson but this just smells like a con.

Have Thomsons given a specific reason for the identified changes which are so far ahead of the cruise date ?

The standard small print "for operational reasons" needs more explanation.

Hi WeeCountyMan,

Thanks for the reply and no, what they say is that it was listed in my booking. If you search the website for Carribean cruises in December 2016 it now quotes the revised ports in the summary screen for Dec 13. It was not like that when I booked because we would not go back to places where we've already been.

When you click the more details button it shows the ports that appealed to us. Just spoken to Thomson again and the lady obviously saw the problem because she said she would have to pass the matter upwards and call me tomorrow. I'll be posting their comments.

They have done exactly the same with our repo cruise in A April on the Dream and its still showing conflicting port's,change of three port's😣

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Bit of a rant I'm afraid. Just looked at my booking so I could sort out the Airport parking and, shock horror, it's not the ports that I booked.

 

If you're on Thomson Dream, Pride Of Panama, Dec 13th you probably chose it because of the advertised itinerary. Montego Bay >At Sea >Puerto Limon >Panama >Cartagena >Santa Maria >At Sea >Montego Bay. Yes, it's advertised as that on the web but I think you'll find that's NOT where it's going!

 

My booking confirmation, you know, that long email that we don't read because we trust Thomsons and it's only confirming what we just spent an hour working through on the web, well anyway, my booking says that I'm not going to Columbia. Apparently I'm going to Montego Bay >At Sea >Panama >Puerto Limon >At Sea >Grand Caymen >Falmouth (Jamaica) >Montego Bay.

 

As it happens, I've been to Grand Caymen and have no ambition to go again. I also liked the 2 Columbia stops and I've paid extra to select my cabin based on the advertised route. And why on Earth would I want to go to Falmouth which is a 30 mile taxi ride from Montego Bay!

 

I've had a long chat with Thomson who say that they can change an itinerary for operational reasons. Now, I fully agree that ships do have to make a change sometimes and I've experienced a boiler shutdown while at sea so of course it can happen. What makes me cross is that Thomson are advertising and selling one holiday but delivering something so different.

 

It's not a change to the itinerary, it's a different one. I just checked the web site again and they are still taking bookings based on the wrong ports of call.

 

I'm so very, very dissapointed that such trickery can be allowed. I wonder how many people are in for a shock when they get on board. Until now, I've always trusted Thompson but this just smells like a con.

Hi Mick.

I'm on this cruise on the 13th.

We booked a year ago. It was advertised as Costa Rica, Grand Caymen and Falmouth. Not Colombia.

But I have seen it a couple of times in the last couple of months advertised as going to Colombia but didn't think anything of it.

Hi rams1976.

My gripe is that they advertised Columbia and, if you go to More Info, they still do. When you actually look at the ports listed in the summary they are correct but when you click the More Info button it shows the ports that include Columbia. Acyually, if you do the same for many of the Pride of Panama cruises, the summary never agrees with the more detailed info.

I'm sure you'll have a great time in Caymen and I recommend swimming with the sting-rays but we've been there, done that. I seem to recall that Caymen is owned by the US and that might have been where a small bottle of Coke was $7 and that was many years ago.

When we booked, the front summary screen (where you search for available Caribbean cruises in a particular month) definitely said the ports that we thought we were calling at so I await their phone call and hope we can resolve things by maybe getting switched to the Jan 10th cruise - that is IF it's calling at Columbia...

Hi Pensioncruiser I'm on Dream TA in April and haven't heard of the port changes please advise thanks

Hi rams1976.

My gripe is that they advertised Columbia and, if you go to More Info, they still do. When you actually look at the ports listed in the summary they are correct but when you click the More Info button it shows the ports that include Columbia. Acyually, if you do the same for many of the Pride of Panama cruises, the summary never agrees with the more detailed info.

I'm sure you'll have a great time in Caymen and I recommend swimming with the sting-rays but we've been there, done that. I seem to recall that Caymen is owned by the US and that might have been where a small bottle of Coke was $7 and that was many years ago.

When we booked, the front summary screen (where you search for available Caribbean cruises in a particular month) definitely said the ports that we thought we were calling at so I await their phone call and hope we can resolve things by maybe getting switched to the Jan 10th cruise - that is IF it's calling at Columbia...

I agree that Thomson should make sure their info is correct - as you say it is still wrong on the detailed part for several cruises all the way through to end of March. Just a point - Cayman is British lol My family live there. However, you are correct about the currency their exchange rate is tied to the US dollar and it is one of the most expensive places I have visited, £12 for a box of cornflakes the first time we went about 13 years ago - I was in shock:eek:. If you want any ideas of what else to do there let me know how long you are in port for and I will post some ideas on here.

Hi fragilek.

Ooops, better apologise to Her Majesty for giving her land away. Yes, lovely place but expensive and we've been there in the past. Also, now that we're older, we're not overly keen on going ashore by tender.

Anyone going should swim with the Sting Rays but be sure you don't tread on them!. If you can't get the onboard trip, there's loads of locals touting for business on the quayside and ours was far cheaper than the ships tour price (P&O). We found a guy called "Duncan" and what a star he was. His knackered, old J4 van was full of rust with missing parts, a sliding door that didn't (stuck open) and cracked windows. Then his old wooden boat was beaten and battered but we couldn't have had a better day out and wouldn't have met such a lovely, happy man who kept us entertained the whole time. He probably retired years ago but he remains a fond memory in life's rich tapestry.

Hi Pensioncruiser I'm on Dream TA in April and haven't heard of the port changes please advise thanks

Sorry vitalsign getting my booked cruises mixed up:( we have no problems, at the moment, with our April cruise on Dream, its our September cruise on Discovery, Mediterranean Secretes section that they keep changing, I now have three amended bookings with four different ports in one week and as I say its still different on the front page of the web:eek:

But I think we all appreciate the Thomson IT department:rolleyes:

For us this issue has become a deal breaker with Thomson. In January 2016 wen booked the Cuban Revolution cruise because it had 3 ports of call in Cuba. Subsequently Thomson changed the itinerary with only the brilliant Havana being visited for a day and a half. The way customers were dealt with regarding these changes was nothing short of diabolical. When on board the captain was asked in a Q&A session why we were not calling at the 3 original ports and his answer was that Thomson Dream could not dock at 2 of them and Havana was not easy. Presumably this was the operational reason or "lack of infrastructure" as we were told on the itinerary change letter.

In May we booked a stay and cruise for June 2017. The ports on the internet were different to the brochure. I telephoned Customer Services who said the brochure was correct and they they would get the internet page corrected. It was changed months later but still a discrepancy. Other customers have similar issues with 2017 cruises they were looking to book. Thomson seem to use past other itineraries details with the same title.

A few months ago the stay part on the internet map part was not Mallorca but on the Spanish mainland!!!! It's now been corrected.

As at today the itinerary on our booking confirmation, identical to the written brochure, is the same as the online front page but different to the online day by day detailed map. Fingers crossed where we eventually end up visiting. We try to avoid there issues spoiling our cruise but it is very frustrating when the key factor in booking is the itinerary.

Rant over

Len

Thanks Pensioncruiser glad no changes so far However I don't think we'll go to Amber Cove as we didn't last year and end up in La Romana again P and O berth in Amber Cove and my friends who only sail with them say it's lovely. Let's hope this time people will be able to get off in La Romana without being sent back by the police telling them it's too dangerous in the town - glad we did a beach trip. Also if you look at the trips on line no trips yet for the Dominican Repulic which again makes me think Amber Cove will be changed - probably too expensive for Thomson. The other worrying point is if it's true La Romana will be a home port for one of the ships 2017/2018

We have docked at La Romana and had some lovely trips one on a paddle boat which was unbelievable, I would have no concerns about going again, but would only do Thomson excursions.

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Last year even the crew were told to return to the ship and had to spend the day on board only those who'd booked trips were able to see anything of the town The year before some people were mugged so it's not a safe port

That's a shame, but it has been many years since we went, the good old Destiny days.

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Thought I would check ours.....7th March 2017 and guess what? Yes, the booking page is different to our confirmation and excursion details. The booking itinerary gives 2 ports in Columbia whereas our confirmation states Cayman and Falmouth. Mystery tour?

Edit: that result was for a 1 week cruise beginning 7th March 17. However, when I checked a two week cruise 28th February to 14th March, the Panama part of the cruise from 7th March is a different itinerary .....the one on our confirmation. The mystery thickens!!

To be honest, at our age, we are not concerned which port we stop at because we just love cruising and have been to most of them anyway but Thomson must understand that they are selling a product which is no longer available which must be miss selling and a real problem for customers planning a particular cruise. Come on Thomson just SORT it out.

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Seems like our itinerary has changed as well (Arabian Nights - 31 Jan). I've just been looking at the excursion planner and was confused as the itinerary was different to that when I booked. So I went on the Thomson Cruise website and the original itinerary is still there!! Now that's naughty, and not even so much as a courtesy email from Thomson to let us know.......how rude!! As a first time cruiser with Thomson, my confidence is fading fast! :mad::mad::mad:

Just phoned them again, the 4th or 5th call, and I'm told it has been passed to Cruise Operations and it takes 4-5 working days for them to respond. Can I phone Cruise Operations? No.

I'm getting more angry by the minute. I'm pretty sure the law says you can't mis-sell a product but it seems Thomson don't agree.

Would I have booked it if they advertised where it was actually going, no. Is it going to places where I don't want to go, yes. And I'm supposed to accept that?:mad:

I've been speaking to my travel agent this afternoon and she has been great, she has spoken to Thomson and the explanation given for our change is acceptable in that they are the same ports of call, just the excursion website showing different days to the original itinerary. Her explanation has allayed my previous concerns. Do you have a TA who could contact Thomson on your behalf, or did you book your own on line? Very frustrating for you!!!

Hi Motownjules.

Glad you're sorted. No, I did it over the web and it's their web site that shows wrong info when you look at the cruise in detail. Life is supposed to be simple, they offer a cruise of start and finish ports plus 4 stops that include 2 in Columbia, I buy it and find that they've deleted two and added two others where I don't want to go. That's a 50% change! Just can't be right, can it?

I don't see how it can be "For Operational Reasons" when it's in advance of the cruise. Thomson's Operational Reasons obviously include sailing a shorter distance to use less fuel and docking at ports where the port fees are lower.

Bah humbug...

We visited La Romana on our first ever cruise.

Overall impressions - no thanks.

If I ever had the misfortune to have to call in there again I would stay onboard.

We heard that a recent excursion from a cruise ship had been held up at gunpoint - not sure how accurate that was, so don't quote me.

Hi Mick

That really is not good and I can fully understand why you are angry and upset, I would be too if I were in your shoes!! Let's hope that when you get on the cruise you have a fabulous time. Might be worth trying to get some form of compensation off them, it could ease the pain, (albeit only slightly!!). Chin up Mick. ...everything crossed they'll get loads of grief off their passengers and rethink their strategy of changing itineraries in the future!!

Update: Nothing, diddly squat, de nada, silence. A week in and still waiting for an answer. I can't see me ever dealing with the company in the future which is a shame because I've had good holidays with Thomson but that's irrelevant if they can't be trusted. It's their error and they should have put it right immediately, but the call centre staff don't have the authority and whoever does have it can't be contacted so they are either swamped with complaints or they're downright deceiptful.

Pride of Panama 13th Dec now reduced to £710 Very cheap compared to the other 6 cruises in December and showing new itinerary. Strange that you can do a weeks cruise 13th and 20th Dec but no 14 day back to back starting 13th Dec showing at all