Caribbean 2011

[smiffy1951]

Hi all

 

Well I've done it. Booked the Coral Islands/Caribbean Gems 14 night cruise on Destiny again for March 27th 2011.

 

Went into my local First Choise TA and got £50 off the internet price plus half price worldwide insurance. I normally would book straight away on the internet but decided to do a bit of haggling and it paid off.

 

The Dream for a 14 night cruise would have cost us and additional £700 :eek:for an outside cabin and AI, as there is no discount on the AI and is £338 whereas it's only £98 on Destiny.

 

The manageress in TA had just returned from a week on the Dream in the Caribbean and she said it's a lovely ship, although it still has the Costa influence, with Italian staff etc. She said it will probably be several months before Thomson put their stamp on it (probably by changing the staff) so I'm glad we've stuck with the Destiny again as we all know (well us Thomson regulars anyway) what brilliant service we get from the Phillipino staff. We also find the eastern europeans good as well (well the one's we've met anyway).

 

Anyway it's another cruise to look forward to.

 

Anyone else done it yet????

 

Janet

[jojo67]

Dream is still sailing as Costa Europa, she doesn't start to sail for Thomson until next year!

[kruzseeka]

Hi all

 

Well I've done it. Booked the Coral Islands/Caribbean Gems 14 night cruise on Destiny again for March 27th 2011.

 

Went into my local First Choise TA and got £50 off the internet price plus half price worldwide insurance. I normally would book straight away on the internet but decided to do a bit of haggling and it paid off.

 

The Dream for a 14 night cruise would have cost us and additional £700 :eek:for an outside cabin and AI, as there is no discount on the AI and is £338 whereas it's only £98 on Destiny.

 

The manageress in TA had just returned from a week on the Dream in the Caribbean and she said it's a lovely ship, although it still has the Costa influence, with Italian staff etc. She said it will probably be several months before Thomson put their stamp on it (probably by changing the staff) so I'm glad we've stuck with the Destiny again as we all know (well us Thomson regulars anyway) what brilliant service we get from the Phillipino staff. We also find the eastern europeans good as well (well the one's we've met anyway).

 

Anyway it's another cruise to look forward to.

 

Anyone else done it yet????

 

Janet

 

Well done, Janet. At least you know what you're doing now and can look forward to it.

 

We're still debating - the lack of the AI has made us think twice in terms of early booking - although that may not be sound thinking unless there are some better late deals. Our May trip 2010 is about £150 p.p. more than when we booked in April this year - and there's no AI either so I'm pleased we jumped when we did on that one. It's a bit of a lottery!

 

But I know you'll have a great time doing this itinerary again - we enjoyed it so much last year. You never know - we might take the plunge yet! Anyway, enjoy your planning - at least you can relax now. :)

[steelerannie]

Great news Janet. Glad you got a good price from your TA. We went in to our TA on Sunday to pay for our cruise in Jan and she said they were surprised there was no free AI on the Caribbean cruises for 2011. She knows we always book really early, and said others had also decided not to book early while they have to pay for the AI.

 

We've decided to wait and see if we can get a bargain nearer the time either with Thomson's or with another cruise line.

 

Ann

[gavind]

Dream is still sailing as Costa Europa, she doesn't start to sail for Thomson until next year!

 

Yes i can vouch for that i saw the costa europa docked in naples last sunday when i was on the Destiny

[its,only,me]

We got free A/I when we booked for the dream for june next year :)

 

mrs.c

[cannockfrodo]

So is this the way Thomson Cruises is going ? Is the AI going optional ?

Can you haggle for it ?

We're looking at another Xmas cruise 2010, wondering now if we've left it too late or if we should if AI isn't included.

 

By the way any last minute tips on must see places or trips off the ship would be appreciated.

 

Thanks

[vwgolf]

"We're looking at another Xmas cruise 2010, wondering now if we've left it too late or if we should if AI isn't included"

 

We're thinking about a Christmas 2010 cruise. So far, I've only looked at Thomson's as that's who we've cruised with previously. I'm not sure if any other cruise lines will be as competitive. Any suggestions?

[Cymro1953]

"We're looking at another Xmas cruise 2010, wondering now if we've left it too late or if we should if AI isn't included"

 

We're thinking about a Christmas 2010 cruise. So far, I've only looked at Thomson's as that's who we've cruised with previously. I'm not sure if any other cruise lines will be as competitive. Any suggestions?

 

I'm not so sure, I've just priced up 2 weeks on Dream for Jan 2011, no free A.I. £3600 for 2 outside.

There was a cruise in the Sunday Express this week with Celebrity. 16 nights, starting in the Caribbean, full transit of Panama canal and up the Mexican Riviera to San Diego £3000 for 2 outside. (Can't remember the date).

I know the cruises are different and we should compare eggs with eggs, but with the age of the Thomson's ships the prices seem to be going up in comparison with others.

 

Berwyn

[vwgolf]

That's interesting - I'll have a look at Celebrity. We only want a week over Christmas as it has to fit in with the school holidays so we may be a bit restricted in choice.

[Cymro1953]

We had that problem for years. The wife was the school caretaker. They also had 14 nights in the Med on Queen Victoria for a similar price.