Thomson Cruises is to open its ships on port days to give people on who have never cruised a chance to go on board and have lunch.
The “test-drive” lunch events launch in April 2010 and will be available to all Thomson and First Choice clients staying in hotels within easy distance of the ports being visited.
TUI director of cruise UK and Ireland David Selby said there will be a nominal fee for the lunch events to cover transfers to and from the ship and this will be redeemable against a future cruise holiday.
The test-drive lunches will not be available on turnaround days when the ship is in its home port.
The move is one of several developments at Thomson Cruises next year, with others including the creation of a passenger photo gallery, where guests can display their own photographs of the cruise, and the chance for passengers to offer unofficial dance lessons to others on board.
The cruiseline will also be trialing podcast guides of the major destinations for passengers who want to do their own thing on port days.
Pre-loaded MP3 players will be available for hire on board Thomson Cruises’ ships for free, but passengers will have to leave a refundable deposit.
Destinations being considered for the first phase of the trial include Barcelona, Roma, Pisa, Florence and Marseilles.