Thomson Cruises has set aside £5 million to tweak new ship Thomson Dream to make it more appealing to the British market, but will not decide how to spend the money until just before the vessel goes into dry dock in October.
Speaking on the ship’s inaugural five-night round-trip sailing from Palma last week, Thomson Cruises managing director David Selby said it was too early to say what changes should be made.
“My initial view was that the casino was in the wrong place and the space could be better used for more cabins, but on this inaugural passengers found it and were spending money in it,” he said.
“We’ll probably change the signs to the Tui blue quite soon as that doesn’t cost much, but otherwise I want time to see the ship operating full so we can see what areas work for Thomson passengers.”
Selby said one immediate change has been to make the à la carte restaurant more Brit-friendly with pasta, lobster, chicken and beef dishes on the menu. Last week, crew were painting the area around the pool roof Tui blue.
Thomson Cruises has taken Thomson Dream on a 10-year charter from Costa Cruises, where it operated as Costa Europa. Selby feared the deal was in jeopardy after the ship crashed into a pier in Sharm el-Sheikh, killing two crew and leaving a huge gash in the side of the ship.
He said: “It was a very serious incident and my initial thought was that it would take months to fix. In the end it took six weeks.”
As the repairs were completed, the ship was pulled hastily into service to rescue holidaymakers stranded in Palma due to all flights being grounded by the ash crisis.
Selby said both incidents led to teething problems on the inaugural but he was confident they would be fixed “in days”.
“I am confident this will be a good ship,” he said.
“It’s similar in look and feel to Thomson Spirit and Celebration but bigger. The cabins have been a real wow for passengers because of their size. High season has sold well, selling from the top down.”