Jon Ison
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| posted on 10/9/12 at 10:49 PM |
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Thomas cook rant............
Just looking online for a early family summer break taking our daughter aged 11 along with my step daughter & partner with their 2 kids aged 5
& 8.
Book just for us, £1734 avg £578pp one free child place. (2 adults one child)
Book just for step daughter £2738, avg 684pp 1 free child place. (2 adults 2 children) total booked separately £4472.
Book 4 adults 3 kids in one block booking £4956, avg 708pp how does this work ?
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ashg
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| posted on 10/9/12 at 11:05 PM |
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personally i would never ever book a holiday with thomas cook. your better off using expedia and booking just the flights and hotel you will save
quite a bit of money. just make sure you book using your credit card if it is not atol protected
Thomas cook is a very old fashioned business model when it comes to holidaying. with virtuallt every business on the internet these days its usually
far cheaper picking the area you want to go then finding a nice hotel on line by checking reviews etc.
Anything With Tits or Wheels Will cost you MONEY!!
Haynes Roadster (Finished)
Exocet (Finished & Sold)
New Project (Started)
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cliftyhanger
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| posted on 11/9/12 at 06:36 AM |
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There is one huge advantage to booking a package though.
If there is a cock-up anywhere (delayed flight etc) they are responsible for the whole thing.
If you self-book, if one flight is delayed and you miss the next etc, it can be rather more difficult. But is often a much cheaper way of
holidaying.
Anyway, I expect the package is one free kid per booking or something. Don't worry, just book the cheapest way.
If they are anything like the last travel agents we used, we got money off as our annual holiday insurance was cheaper than they quoted for 7 days (go
figure that one!) and a similar situation with car hire, they took money off because it was cheaper to book elsewhere. Took £100 approx off the
holiday.
Just be prepared to jump through hoops and play the game. It will all be fine..........
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Jon Ison
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| posted on 11/9/12 at 07:44 AM |
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Im happy enough to book, as we are dragging 3 kids along I would prefer the back up of a package deal and any mishaps been someone else's
problem ( my previous employment took me all over the world traveling independently) however their pricing just proves there is no such thing as a
"free" child place, the last price 4 adults, 3 kids allegedly includes 2 "free" child places.
I don't expect a discount booked all together but neither do I expect to be charged almost £100 per person more for a block booking, should be
same at best ?
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motorcycle_mayhem
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| posted on 11/9/12 at 07:55 AM |
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Sounds like an old-fashioned business model. For me, I'd just accept that to comply I need to make multiple/seperate/whatever bookings.
Thomas Cook (which is why you're using them) is actually a great place to get a cheap package, with no hassle and plenty of help when/if things
go bad. Just (as has been said) accept that some old fashioned hoops need getting through.
Personally, I love the Thomas Cook experience/pricing. I'm in a *totally* different situation though, going for anything that really is on
special offer, outside of the School holiday mayhem, wherever it's sunny when the UK is isn't. It's just the two of us, no kids.
Incredibly cheap deals, no hassle. The other year, booked a fortnight in the Canaries, S/C in November for the usual couple of hundred quid, Thomas
Cook coached us up to Stansted when Gatwick was snowed under, really fantastic service.
If I had kids, or had to go in the school holiday season, well, I wouldn't. I don't know how you guys can afford it, or realising just how
poor I am(!)
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franky
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| posted on 11/9/12 at 09:08 AM |
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Where are you going on holiday for nearly 5k?
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craig1410
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| posted on 11/9/12 at 09:30 AM |
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We have booked holidays with Thomson and Thomas Cook (the latter just this summer) and have always found them to be very good. In some cases you can
book separate flights and accom more cheaply and we have done that too, but we were unable to beat the deal offered by Thomas Cook to Tenerife this
past summer despite trying pretty hard. The combination of flights, transfers (depending on time of day can be expensive if done separately),
accommodation, all-inclusive food/drink and free unlimited access to a local water park was very difficult to beat. This was a family of 4 (2+2).
As others have said, the ATOL protection is good for peace of mind. Booking by credit card does give you protection against some problems but
certainly not all. For example, you might get your flight money back if the airline goes bust but you won't be able to cancel the accommodation
(and vice versa). In many cases you might then not be able to get to the destination at the right time via a different airline so you might lose part
of the holiday or have to stay in a different hotel for a day or two.
Sometimes giving customer services a call can cut through some of the issues you are having. Or visit a Thomas Cook shop.
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Minicooper
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| posted on 11/9/12 at 10:16 AM |
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I find Thomas Cook very good, phone them up, point out the inconsistancy's in pricing and see if they will do an additional discount on top,
done this several times with Thomas Cook for group skiing and it works everytime
Cheers
David
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sdh2903
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| posted on 11/9/12 at 07:16 PM |
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I used to work for Thomas cook and their systems are a complete mess. It's amazing they manage to organise everything that they do. If you are
having any issues though ring them up and they will sort you out, particularly in the current climate they Need your booking.
I now work for Thomson who are pretty similar however their web site is much better to use (I'm not biased at all!)
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sdh2903
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| posted on 11/9/12 at 07:17 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by franky
Where are you going on holiday for nearly 5k?
Have you seen brochure prices lately?
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Davegtst
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| posted on 11/9/12 at 07:53 PM |
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I quite like thomas cook. We've been on holidays most people could only dream of sometimes we've even had free ones.
Helps if your wife is one of the managers though, it's a perk as my mum says
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franky
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| posted on 11/9/12 at 08:00 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by sdh2903
quote:
Originally posted by franky
Where are you going on holiday for nearly 5k?
Have you seen brochure prices lately?
erm, I don't think i've ever looked at one, I couldn't afford/justify that sort of cash
I'm a tight sod, that's why i'm sat in centre parcs off peak
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zilspeed
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| posted on 11/9/12 at 08:39 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by franky
quote:
Originally posted by sdh2903
quote:
Originally posted by franky
Where are you going on holiday for nearly 5k?
Have you seen brochure prices lately?
erm, I don't think i've ever looked at one, I couldn't afford/justify that sort of cash
I'm a tight sod, that's why i'm sat in centre parcs off peak
A true tight sod (looks in mirror) would never venture near a centre parcs.
Way too expensive IMHO.
I'm in the middle of booking up for Lake Garda for next year.
All of my legendary bargain seeking skills are being brought to the fore.
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sdh2903
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| posted on 11/9/12 at 08:52 PM |
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You can get a cheap last minute all inclusive week abroad for less than center parcs!!
I did a quote for the 6 of us to go to Florida next year and it came out at nearly 8k. I'm fortunate and get a healthy discount and a free
allowance but I genuinely don't know how Joe public affords it (glass they do it i would be out of a job!), and this summer from Glasgow our
long haul aircraft have gone out full week after week.
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franky
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| posted on 11/9/12 at 08:54 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by zilspeed
quote:
Originally posted by franky
quote:
Originally posted by sdh2903
quote:
Originally posted by franky
Where are you going on holiday for nearly 5k?
Have you seen brochure prices lately?
erm, I don't think i've ever looked at one, I couldn't afford/justify that sort of cash
I'm a tight sod, that's why i'm sat in centre parcs off peak
A true tight sod (looks in mirror) would never venture near a centre parcs.
Way too expensive IMHO.
I'm in the middle of booking up for Lake Garda for next year.
All of my legendary bargain seeking skills are being brought to the fore.
What offers more for the cash for a family of 4(2.5 year old and 0.4year old)? Its about £125 per night.
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nick205
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| posted on 11/9/12 at 09:37 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by zilspeed
quote:
Originally posted by franky
quote:
Originally posted by sdh2903
quote:
Originally posted by franky
Where are you going on holiday for nearly 5k?
Have you seen brochure prices lately?
erm, I don't think i've ever looked at one, I couldn't afford/justify that sort of cash
I'm a tight sod, that's why i'm sat in centre parcs off peak
A true tight sod (looks in mirror) would never venture near a centre parcs.
Way too expensive IMHO.
I'm in the middle of booking up for Lake Garda for next year.
All of my legendary bargain seeking skills are being brought to the fore.
Too true, Centre Parcs are pricey. With 3 young kids we thought it might be the way to go for a summer holiday....hahahahahahahah.
If you want budget, get the tent out and get camping. Car ferry, south of France, spot on.
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TAZZMAXX
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| posted on 12/9/12 at 06:32 AM |
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My wife always books our holidays and follows the same format. Goes into travel agents and gets details of 2 or 3 locations, prices, departure times
etc, thanks them and says she'll discuss it with me. She then returns a couple of days later and tells them she has talked it over with me and I
like destination A, B or C but have found it cheaper on the internet for the same deal. They have a quick search and then agree to price match or
better it. That way you get the holiday for the price you want but with the backing of a reputable company. It's worked well for abou the past 7
years. At one point, they didn't even check the internet, just discounted it. Try it sometime.
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franky
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| posted on 12/9/12 at 07:17 AM |
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quote:
Originally posted by nick205
quote:
Originally posted by zilspeed
quote:
Originally posted by franky
quote:
Originally posted by sdh2903
quote:
Originally posted by franky
Where are you going on holiday for nearly 5k?
Have you seen brochure prices lately?
erm, I don't think i've ever looked at one, I couldn't afford/justify that sort of cash
I'm a tight sod, that's why i'm sat in centre parcs off peak
A true tight sod (looks in mirror) would never venture near a centre parcs.
Way too expensive IMHO.
I'm in the middle of booking up for Lake Garda for next year.
All of my legendary bargain seeking skills are being brought to the fore.
Too true, Centre Parcs are pricey. With 3 young kids we thought it might be the way to go for a summer holiday....hahahahahahahah.
If you want budget, get the tent out and get camping. Car ferry, south of France, spot on.
Thats why we're here out of school holidays. Nothing that offers a better balance of price/things to do around (for us).
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