Viking River Cruises give something back

I have just completed some additional reading about Viking River Cruises and it bought a smile to my face to learn that they sponsor two elementary schools in China along the Yangtze river.

The schools in the Jingzhou and Yueyang regions give children who due to their economic status would be unable to attend school without this sponsorship, the chance to learn. I think this is fantastic, as a company there is no benefit to Viking River Cruises in sponsoring these schools and it shows a respect for the countries and people that they visit.

Thomson cruises also give something back although they actually do it via their customers.  With every booking customers are given the opportunity to pay £1 towards a 'Worldcare Fund' which is used to fund projects overseas and help lead to sustainable tourism.

I would like to say well done to these two companies, I am not aware of any other companies that actively fund projects overseas or give to charities, as tourists we can cause quite a lot of destruction to an area and it is nice to know that people care enough to give something back.

Thomson Cruises - more generous than the other cruise lines

When it comes to booking 3 passengers in a cabin then Thomson Cruises win the prize for being the most generous. Not only do they give a very good 3rd adult reduction, but they will also allow all adults in a cabin to have the on board credit.

This is the only cruise line that I know of that do this, most restricting the on board credit to the first two passengers only. They may not have such new ships but you can see why they have such a loyal customer base.

Are Royal Caribbean really after the family market?

Having worked in the industry a long time I have seen cruise grow and grow, with selected cruise lines wanting to expand into the family market. Royal Caribbean are doing a fantastic job with flow riders, rock climbing walls kids clubs etc. But when it come to pricing the cruises I think they are either missing a trick or seriously taking the michael (to put it politely)


I have just priced a Christmas cruise on Independance of the Seas for 2 adults and a 13mth baby - the adult price was fantastic at £1800 for an 18night cruise in a high grade balcony cabin. But Royal's price for the baby meanwhile came in at around £800, the same price as a 3rd adult would have paid. This is ridiculous, what is the baby going to get for this? A free babysitter every night? 18 nights supply of nappies? I doubt it, in fact I doubt she'll even get a chocolate in her cot every night. Plus they have the cheek to charge her the full £117 gratuities for the cruise.

Maybe it's a ploy to discourage babies, and I quite understand this kind of pricing from cruiseslines that are not family orientated. But if they are trying to expand and take the family market from the likes of Thomas Cook and Thomson then they definitely need to address this.

How green are you?

The Tories are all over the news talking about Green Taxes at the moment and it's heading towards travel.
Within the world of cruise, Thomson are the only company who offer a 'Worldcare fund' of £1pp. This is to help with sustainable tourism and is an optional charge. I'm currently booking a family ski holiday and all the ski companies are charging £3-4pp as a Carbon Offset - no quite sure how my snowboard adds to the carbon footprint but I guess it's to do with the flight.

Anyway - my question is - do you think we should be paying an extra £4 each to save the world - would you pay more - or do you think that the cruiselines should be contributing in other ways?