Thomson, TUI, Marella Cruises New Name New Product?

[RiverSong 403]

Thomson was once a name in travel we all recognised, but it now ceases to exist.  In the ever-changing travel industry, we have seen the progression of this brand to TUI and now they’ve re branded their cruise ships as

“ Marella Cruises” “New Name, Same Friendly Welcome”

I’ve personally never been on a Thomson/TUI Cruise so know very little about them, will Marella be offering anything different?  What are the benefits of travelling with them compared to other lines.

[Furby 441]

I think the main benefit is having flights from regional airports, and of course they do have really reasonable prices

[afcandrew 352]

I don't know yet - but I'll tell you next February after I get back from my first Thomson Cruise (I can't be doing with these multi-nationals changing all our long-established names!) 

[Oldworldtraveller 2217]

Personally I see no point in becoming 'Marella Cruises'. The UK arm of the main company has become TUI UK so why not have TUI Cruises, the same as the other countries offering cruises under the TUI banner or is it they want to separate all the old ships that are coming to Marella from the new ones of TUI Cruises.

Thomson Cruises offered a product that was loved by some and disliked by others. As always, as with any cruise line, it's all about taste and expectations .

 

[*Dancing Queen* 394]

I agree OWT, with so much advertising that Thomson is now to be known as TUI unless people ( cruisers ) belong to forums like this Marella will mean nothing to them .. if I were a newbie I would certainly be looking for a name I recognised and it wouldn't be Marella.

[afcandrew 352]

They probably backed themselves into a corner over this.  Because so many people use the internet these days, they might be concerned about confusing results if people search for TUI cruises and find the German arm of TUI.  They should have just left the old Thomson name - and maybe added "by TUI".  Its the whole globalisation thing again.  I stopped in Gdynia on my Baltic cruise earlier this year and the first two things I saw when I arrived in the town centre were a Vue Cinema and a Costa Coffee.  Not what I really want to see in Poland thank you!

[lahrdeco 3]

Hi, 

I can also confirm that the 2 ships "Mein Schiff 1" and the "Mein Schiff 2" from the German TUI, who will be transferred to Mariella Cruises in 2018 and 2019 are great liners. A little bit old fashion, as they were former liner of Celebrity, once "Galaxy" and "Mercury". 

I cruised 3 times on them, and I find that the shape, the volumes are just fine, and not to compare with the huge American Liners with 4-5000 souls aboard. 

Happy Cruising with these 2 new "old" vessels. 

lahrdeco    

 

[afcandrew 352]

Thanks lahrdeco.  I am cruising with Thomson for the first time later this month.  I am on Discovery 2, which had a previous life as RCI's Legend of the Seas.  It will be a very different cruise experience for me... 

[iknowlescourier 207]

Just returned from a 7 night Canaries cruise on Marella dream. The ship is getting on a bit, but does it really matter. Smallest ship we have sailed on but everything we required to have an enjoyable holiday was there. Good food in the MDR, which was open every day for breakfast too which is rarity on some ships. Plenty of choices in the evening for either relaxing with a drink in small bars or being entertained in the show lounge. Disappointed with the theatre productions which for 6 nights was the Marella singing and dancing team which was a bit cringey for my tastes, and only 1 night with a guest entertainer. Had an inside cabin with plenty of storage space for three of us. If we were sun worshippers we would have struggled to get a lounger in the main pool areas, but we are not, so there was always space on the shaded promenade deck, which by the way, you can walk all the way round the ship on (hate it when I have to turn back at each end when on a fast walk lol). The drinks package costs £9 per person per day for a limited package, but most of what we like to drink was included in that. If you want the premium package to include fancier beers, wine, spirits etc the cost is £50 extra each per week. All in all, a well priced holiday to say it included flights and tips, would definitely consider Marella again.

[Ikea Logistics 12]

I see that all of there cruises will now be all inclusive

[afcandrew 352]

A little tip for any newbies to Marella - if you are asking for a spirit & mixer, ask for it by Brand Name - e.g. "Gordon's Gin & Tonic please".  If you don't, they will give you a cheap, nasty house-brand. 

[Oldworldtraveller 2217]

Ever wondered why so many Marella/TUI ships are ex RCI and Celebrity. Answer, Royal Caribbean have a 50% share holding in TUI Cruises.

[towny44 229]

30 minutes ago, Oldworldtraveller said:

Ever wondered why so many Marella/TUI ships are ex RCI and Celebrity. Answer, Royal Caribbean have a 50% share holding in TUI Cruises.

I imagine it was the German Mein Schiff cruise line that led RCI to invest in the joint venture, RCI needed a presence in Germany to counter the growth of Carnival's AIDA cruise line, and Marella is a useful home for the aged members of it's fleet. 

In fact AIDA seems to have become the real star of Carnival's P&O merger, rather than Princess which was the main reason for the takeover.

[Oldworldtraveller 2217]

2 hours ago, towny44 said:

I imagine it was the German Mein Schiff cruise line that led RCI to invest in the joint venture, RCI needed a presence in Germany to counter the growth of Carnival's AIDA cruise line, and Marella is a useful home for the aged members of it's fleet. 

In fact AIDA seems to have become the real star of Carnival's P&O merger, rather than Princess which was the main reason for the takeover.

Hi Towny44 

As far as I know the parent company TUI AG formed TUI Cruises in 2009 with RCI having a 50% stake. The German segment of the company was branded Mein Schiff whilst the English was Thomson Cruises. Still can't understand why they didn't just keep both segments as TUI Cruises. They also have 51% in Pullmantur Cruises another home for their older vessels.

Edited May 5, 2018 by Oldworldtraveller

[sammy sun 1084]

On 15 November 2017 at 6:45 PM, Oldworldtraveller said:

Personally I see no point in becoming 'Marella Cruises'. The UK arm of the main company has become TUI UK so why not have TUI Cruises, the same as the other countries offering cruises under the TUI banner or is it they want to separate all the old ships that are coming to Marella from the new ones of TUI Cruises.

Thomson Cruises offered a product that was loved by some and disliked by others. As always, as with any cruise line, it's all about taste and expectations .

 

Couldn't agree with this more. Talk about confusing your public! It just seems unfathomable why they would put so much into creating all the buzz around the change from Thomson to TUI only for them to then, almost instantly, change the cruise line name to Marella. It makes no sense to me. The advertising campaign they put together for TUI in the UK was brilliant and continues to air on tv's across the country most days of the week. So why the sudden change?

I do wonder if they believed there was a negative perception of Thomson Cruises derived from years gone by that they wanted to try and leave behind them. I would have thought the TUI change may have done the trick but they seem to want to separate the cruise brand entirely from that of the high street package operator. Perhaps it'll prove a good move in the future. Only time would tell but it did surprise me.

[sammy sun 1084]

Not overawed by the name 'Marella' to be honest either, which further makes me wonder why???

[cruise chef 865]

Probably someone has been paid a lot of money for this re-branding without any of us understanding the reason why, it does make you wonder if eventually they will split it to form a separate company away from the normal packaged holidays. I'm like everyone else though I cant see why they changed it as it will only cause confusion.

Look what happened years ago when Opal Fruits changed their name it was the death of the advertising catchphrase