My friend is going on this cruise in September and when another friend wanted to join them she was quoted over £100 each for the AI.
Is the £49 being offered in Travel agents or on their website?

I looked at cruises on the Thomson Website last night and the AI drinks package was £49 on there. Dont Know about in TA though, as have not got that far yet unfortunately. The AI drinks package is well worth the money if you are drinking quite a bit both alcoholically and non..

enjoy your cruise, - wish i was going!!

I booked via the website so don't know if the agents are offering it. Interestingly when I looked at the cruise before Christmas, the AI package was as its regular price over around £149.

we are hopefully going to book a cruise to the caribbean in march. it's currently £338 for the drinks package per person for two weeks.

£338 for two weeks is around £24 a day. Drinks on Thomson ships are around the £2 to £3 mark so unless you are big drinkers, that seems like poor value to me. Not forgetting, of course, that on some days you will probably not be on the ship and any water you buy to take out with you will be chargeable.

I would say £338 is quite expensive for a drinks package myself..
Thomsons is usually around £140 - £180 as previous posts have said so £330ish does seem extreme.

M

Thinking of booking a Thomson cruise ,what ship is the best for taking our 12yr old grandson on
Aug 2009
thanks ann

from what i have read on Thomson cruises you cant go far wrong on any of them really. Having only been on the Spirit i can recommend this one, i went on it for my very first cruise and absolutely loved it.
hope this helps

Thanks Martyn are there any clubs for children?
ann

i think there's only a dedicated kidzone on the destiny isn't there?

yeah thinking about the drinks package £338 for two weeks is £48 per couple per night but we will easily drink a bottle of wine with our evening meal plus cocktails at the bar and coffees/softdrinks throughout the day on/off.......i dunno we might break even on it. i'm really vexed they aren't throwing in the package this time although the saving at the moment is £820 on that particular cruise with a further £240 off for booking online so when you look at it in that respect i suppose it's quite a good deal - just looks expensive!

Suzanne, there is no doubt you could get a better ship for the kind of money quoted! Certainly would not be paying that for a Thomson cruise. There are better options with Celebrity, Princess and Royal Caribbean all of which are at least 4 star compared to Thomson which is 3 star at best.

i'm not too keen on formal stuff though tbh.....also aren't the drinks really really expensive on those ships? and do you have to tip all the time?
maybe i've just heard too much about the others which has put me off? or mabye i'm just nervous! been with thomson......liking to stick with what i know etc! ?
i'll check out the others though just to see what sort of prices they are. thanks

The drinks are slightly more expensive, because a 15% gratuity is automatically added. Royal Caribbean has a fantastic party atmosphere without going OTT, and is the best for children and the under 60's. Probably too "noisy" for retired folks and older! A typical 14 night cruise would have 4 formal nights and the others smart casual. Norwegian is another line to consider, and there are no formal nights with them, smart casual is the dress code. Tips are normally added to account at a rate of about £5 per day, but can be removed although we have always paid over as the service warrants it. You need to build that into your cost comparisons.

We are early fifties, cruised for the past 5 years with Island, Thomson, Cunard, HAL, Royal Caribbean, Celebrity, Norwegian, and P&O. Whilst there is nothing really wrong with the Island or Thomson product, we would not cruise with them again simply because there is better value around i.e. better, and newer ships at the same price...a no brainer really for us. It is important that you think it all through and make the right decision though, as some people love the Thomson product and would not be comfortable elsewhere.

Just spent 15 minutes checking out what is around. The difficulty you have with your date is that the end of your fortnight runs into Easter weekend! For instance iglucruises gives availability for 7 nights Thomson leaving on the 29th, but nothing for 14 nights probably because the following week i.e. 5 April for a week or a fortnight is fully booked with Easter in the middle of that particular fortnight.

There is nothing else available in your short window for Caribbean at sensible prices. Even looking at the cruise only websites where prices seem fair, the flight costs over this key Spring/Easter period would be prohibitive. My comments in the previous posting about other lines still stands but, because you are looking at Easter, you may be best to book the Thomson one ASAP as you may end up with nothing else available to you!

Would have to agree with previous posts. As Far as i know, all the Thomson ships have a kidszone of some sort dont they? If i am wrong please correct me! lol.
the £48 drinks package per person is for the week isnt it, rather than per day?
in this case the thomson drinks package is easily worth the money as i personally would drink £40 worth of drinks in a week on soft drinks alone!

As for the Thomson and other liners, i agree with previous posts, once you like something you tend to stick to it - or is that just me??

I am looking for another Thomson Cruise deal and am certainly going to consider the drinks package as to me it is a fantastic deal!
each to their own!!

yes we have been quoted £338 EACH for the fortnight.
we might just about break even so i don't think we'll be including it with the holiday cost at that price.
what's the chances of thomson bringing then cost down to like £100pp if we book it as an add-on around a month before we go?

Just looking at the bar menu prices from our cruise on Destiny in July 08. We had the AI package. Unfortunately I dont know how to scan it and paste.
Anyway
Pint of Beer £2.95
Gin £2.50 my tipple
Soft drinks £1.08
Cocktails £2.95
Glass of Wine £1.50
Even if you were a non drinker and only drunk soft drinks and non alcoholic cocktails, you could soon run up a large bill.
My daughter who is 10 never had a soft drink out of her hand so her bill alone was quite high - Had we have been paying.
Dont think I had a drink (Soft or not out of my hand also)
The heat always drove me to the Bar !!!!!
Take my advise if your getting the AI cheap then take it. Peace of mind really. Saves getting a
large bill put under your door on the 2nd last night.
Ive booked the Destiny for a 2 weeker back to back for the 30th July 09. Got the AI thrown in free because we booked early. Yippee
Regards
Colin B Coleraine N.I

Have been looking on the thomson website and the all inclusive package is still around £48. agree that it is well worth it.. Colin, where did you book the cruise? was it with an agent? how long ago??
sorry to ask so many questions..

the AI package cost depends on what holiday you are booking. the cruise we're looking at is definitely quoting us £338pp for the fortnight.

does anyone know if you can buy it onboard?