Thomson Cruises in the UK, which is part of the TUI AG group, will operate a 14 night Northern Lights cruise to Norway from Southampton on 4 October next year, the first such cruise offered by the company.

It will use the TUI Discovery as its UK based ship next year. Company officials have said that they would like to operate a ship from a port in the UK year-round. TUI Discovery will be the first Thomson Cruises’ vessel to use Southampton, the principal cruise port in the UK, for a series of cruises.

The current programme of TUI Cruises runs into October 2018 and it does not show whether the TUI Discovery will stay in Southampton after the Northern Lights cruise early that month.