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Thomson unveils hotel and entertainment suppliers for new ship Discovery

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Thomson Discovery's exterior will sport a wave design
Thomson Cruises unveiled plans for its new ship, Thomson Discovery (currently sailing as Royal Caribbean's Splendour of the Seas), including multiple dining options, a sleek new design and the announcement of its entertainment and hotel providers.

The ship will have eight dining venues, including two new signature restaurants – Snack Shack and Gallery 47˚. Located on the pool deck and themed around brightly coloured, iconic British beach huts, Snack Shack is a fun, ‘festival-style’ eatery serving grill foods such as quesadillas, and nachos during the day and popcorn and cocoa on film nights.

The second signature venue is Gallery 47˚. Located in the upstairs of the main restaurant, this venue will serve contemporary Italian food, as voted for by over 4,000 customers.  

The ship’s exterior will sport a wave design.

PEEL Entertainment Group, which has been the line's entertainment partner since the launch of Thomson Cruises in 2003, was awarded the contract for Discovery and The Apollo Group will provide hotel operations.

The Apollo Group, with over 40 years of experience at sea, has been the hotel supplier on Thomson Dream and Thomson Celebration since November 2014.

Managing director of Thomson Cruises, Helen Caron, said: 'I’m really delighted to start unveiling our plans for Thomson Discovery as we are now just six months away from the launch. A big focus of our strategy is to modernise our on-board customer experience. On Discovery we’ll be offering our customers more choice and balance so they can really personalise their cruise with us.

'The contracts for both suppliers will also play a key role in delivering the modernisation and pushing the boundaries of the on-board customer experience with agreements for new shows and making changes to food and beverage,' she added.

Based in Palma from June 2016, Discovery will be the largest ship in the fleet with capacity for 1,830 passengers in 915 cabins. Almost 40% will offer balconies. The family-friendly ship has an outdoor movie screen, rock climbing wall and eight bars and lounges.

Columbia Cruise Services is confirmed as the technical manager of Thomson Discovery, due to join the Thomson Cruises’ fleet in spring 2016.