Thomson Cruises, which is part of the TUI AG group, could base a ship in the UK year round from 2018 following the acquisition of Royal Caribbean's Legend of the Seas, Cruise Critic reports on its website.

Thomson Cruises' managing director Helen Caron said the extra capacity afforded by a sixth ship -- which will be renamed TUI Discovery 2 -- joining the fleet in 2017 will allow her "more flexibility" when deciding deployment.

"With Legend joining the fleet, it does give me more flexibility in terms of deployment and potentially we could look at basing a ship in the UK in 2018."

The company has stayed that the 1983 built Thomson Spirit of about 34,000 gross tons and the 1992 built Thomson Majesty that is measured at about 41,000 gross tons would leave the fleet at the end of 2017.

After this, Thomson Cruises will take delivery of two larger and newer second hand vessels: Mein Schiff 1 and Mein Schiff 2 will join the fleet in 2018 and 2019 respectively from the fleet of TUI Cruises in Germany, the report said. The two former TUI Cruises vessels are of about 76,000 gross tons and TUI Discovery 2 and TUI Discovery, which started life as Splendour of the Seas, are of about 69,000 gross tons. All four ships were built in the mid-1990s.

Thomson Cruises also operates the 1986 built Thomson Dream of 56,000 gross rons and the 34,000 gross ton Thomson Celebration, which is of the same vintage as Thomson Spirit that will be phased out next year.

TUI Discovery and TUI Discovery 2 have an adults only Solarium that has a sliding glass roof, which would be useful if either of the two ships would operate from a British port year-round.