Thomson Holidays - a Review

In today’s depressing economy, many people think they’ll save money by by-passing the travel agent and planning a vacation themselves. However, nothing could be further from the truth. I have traveled extensively and have made hundreds of reservations myself only to find out years later that in most cases I could have gotten a better deals through a travel agent and saved countless hours on the phone or navigating websites. Such was the case recently with Thomson Holidays and our trip to Cuba.

I had been to Cuba once a few years earlier, but that was on a shoestring. Now I was planning a 10 day trip for my wife and I and I didn’t have a clue where to stay. Compound that with the fact that Cuba and Cuban hotels are a little bit behind the time with their ready information access via the web. We did know that we didn’t want to go to Varadero Beach because I had been there before and knew what it was like and we were looking for something a bit smaller and quieter. A friend recommended Cayo Coco as a possibility. The friend, a workmate from London, also recommended Thomson Holidays as an agent that could set the whole vacation up. She said they do it right and they do it all-inclusive and believe it or not they would be cheaper overall than making my own arrangements.

So I called Thomson Holidays and got assigned a very nice agent named Linda. I explained to Linda that we were interested in a holiday in Cuba, somewhere a bit quieter and that a friend had recommended Cayo Coco as a possibility. She got some information from me and said she would call me back. An hour later Linda rang back with several options, most of them all-inclusive vacation packages in Cayo Coco. She also had a couple of other options in Cayo Santa Maria and Cayo Guillermo. In the end my wife and I chose the Melia Cayo Coco because this hotels sounded the most like what we were looking for: beautiful uncrowded beach and sun, with a little bit of adventure.

Dealing with Linda the Thomson Holidays agent was a pleasure. She behaved professionally and made me believe that she, and they, wanted to give me the best service possible at the lowest price. She also informed me that Thomson has exclusive knowledge of, and relationships with ,many of the hotels in Cuba and can therefore offer travel specials not available to the general public, and their job is to pass those savings on to you. When all was said and done, I really doubt I could have beat the Thomson package deal that we got had I made each of the arrangements for plane, hotel, etc. myself. When you throw in the service they provide, and time savings, it seems like a no-brainer.

So what happens if you need special accommodations and don’t speak the language? A Thomson Holidays agent can help. Do you have meal requirements? Again, look to your Thomson agent to arrange any dietary needs. My wife cannot eat shellfish because of an allergy which always makes tropical vacations an interesting adventure in navigating around food. But the Linda the Thomson agent said they would handle it and they did. The staff at the Melia Cayo Coco went out of their way to inform us at every meal that my wife’s food had been prepared separately without any shellfish contact. I was actually surprised and quite pleased that Thomson and the resort delivered so completely.

Our all inclusive vacation from Thomson Holidays included much more than just transportation and lodging. Food, including snacks as well as gourmet meals, hotel-sponsored entertainment and activities, and most amazingly, all alcohol, (yes, I did say ALL alcohol), was included in the up-front price. Even though we don’t have kids, all-inclusive vacations have got to be fabulous for families with children. At the Meli Cayo Coco, adults can enjoy a pool-side bar while kids are engaged in table-tennis, snorkeling or any other activity you can think of. And all without having to dole out funds for hungry bellies! Kids simply order at any of the multitude of snack bars, and everything has already been paid for. We loved this ourselves – you don’t have to carry money around.

With departures from nearly anywhere in the United Kingdom, Thomson Holidays offers world-wide travel for land and sea, designed to accommodate all budgets, ages and activity levels. Your choice of destinations covers the globe, not just Cuba! But, they do a great job with Cuba holidays.

If you’re looking for something more specific, Thomson offers that too. If you have kids (we don’t) you can get a break from the kids and to re-charge those romantic bonds by choosing an adult’s only vacation. Imagine being in Tuscany, Mexico or Corfu, free from nappies, arguments and spilled cereal. Or for the truly indulgent, try a Thomson luxury get-away. First class service, food, accommodations and an array of exotic locations such as Kenya, Rhodes and Israel are the hallmarks of these memories-of-a-lifetime vacations. Oh boy, I think that Mrs. Kelso would just love that - a Thomson vacation enjoying spa treatments, tennis lessons, and her favorite read by the pool in some exotic location. I have spent plenty of time in Africa sleeping in a tent. I’d love to visit Kenya with my sweetie traveling the 5-star way next time I go to that continent!

Thomson also offers award-winning cruises. And a very cool feature is that they own some of their own boats. With five gorgeous ships in their fleet and plans for more, they offer exclusive ship-board vacations through the Caribbean, Baltic or Red Sea. While we have not been on any of the Thomson cruises yet, we would love to try them out for a Caribbean cruise. According to our Thomson agent, visitors can expect the same excellent service, food and ship accommodations as any Thomson land vacation. And they arrange for all types of activities from exploring ports of call to SCUBA diving to blackjack in the casino or disco dancing in the many nightclubs on-board.

Thomson Holidays is part of Thomson Travel Group, Europe’s leading travel organization. The Group has absorbed several companies, including what used to be Lunn Poly, the largest chain of travel agents in the UK, and Britannia Airways, now called Thomson Airways. Thomson Cruises recently acquired Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd ’s share of Island Cruises. With a wide net of mergers and acquisitions they seem on track to ensure that Thomson Holidays has the resources and experience to plan our next holiday.

Definitely Recommended.