Another Survey! Things you would eliminate from mass market cruising

Why not send this kind of customer interest to the cruise lines instead of
listing on this newsgroup ?

You would be startled to know how uniformed are the execs of the cruise
companies. As you can tell from experience, much of the event planning is
based on 30-year concepts from the hospitality industry - or self-fulfilling
"marketing" ideas that the execs use and "prove" by studying their numbers
and seeing that business is almost always good or improving.

The mass market lines are following the same track that retailers and auto
makers have followed which start with a premise that low price and junky
product will bring everyone to the party. It works to a degree - then K-Mart
and others find they are over-extended with too much to use and not enough
clients.

Even the airlines followed this approach - drop prices. Drop service. Folks
will line up.

Well, lots of folks can offer low cost flights or low cost cruises but
ultimately the profit margin per passenger has to increase - by including
some higher paying passengers (business traveller - veranda cruisers, etc.)

The mass market cruise line ultimately won't get the veranda cruisers at top
price because the ships are run like nursery schools and the
service/food/environment is worse than a tractor pull.

For the Carnival Crporation, the mass market lines (Carnival to start) will
turn very low margin per pax. The higher end lines (Cunard, Seabourn) will
yield better margin dollars per pax. In the long run, the mass markets will
be "loss leaders."

It's one thing to buy a loss leader toilet seat or jumper cable at KMart.
It's another thing to ride on a loss leader cruise ship.

When you hear from ship staff on the next to last day that the pax surveys
"must" be completed with "9 or 10" on the ratings, you know you're traveling
with a company who doesn't give a twit about your information, allows the
staff to pander for sympathy (and tips), and thinks you - the client - are a
stupid stiff.

Maybe you are.

If not, why not send Bob Dickinson a letter ?

Former TA in MN

On Fri, 12 Sep 2003 15:46:33 GMT, "JDB" wrote:

For the Carnival Crporation, the mass market lines (Carnival to start) will
turn very low margin per pax. The higher end lines (Cunard, Seabourn) will
yield better margin dollars per pax. In the long run, the mass markets will
be "loss leaders."

Hi my old friend,

In the case of cruise lines, the low costs (wages, etc) work against
your theory as compared to the high cost airlines. Carnival Cruise
Lines makes money while their high end brands (Seabourn & Cunard)
struggle to eke out a profit. It is kind of like the large high cost
trunk airlines vs the low cost rivals. The low cost brands are making
money while the high cost full service brands are struggling to
survive. One big difference is that the cruise lines do not have to
depend on the fare as airlines do. The cruise lines have got all of
those onboard revenue streams.

Best regards,
Ray
LIGHTHOUSE TRAVEL
800-719-9917 or 805-566-3905
http://www.lighthousetravel.com

SMOKING!

I'm with you! No matter where I go on board ship - someone's smoke is
blowing in my face!

On Fri, 12 Sep 2003, DaFlaBear wrote:

SMOKING!

I would still rather pay a bit more and have the corps pay the help a
decent salary and forget tpping.We don't tip any of the officers and tey
still manage to do a proffesional job.

~~DORIS~~ 2 more days

Grand Princess___9/14/03
Horizon___12/8/03
_______________________
***********************************************OUR JOURNEY TO SOUTHEAST
ASIA ON A 4 MASTED SCHOONER
a href=http://community-2.webtv.net/happypupsmomOURJOURNEYTO/a
*********************************************** PASSAGE TO PARADISE----
TAHITI
a href=http://community-2.webtv.net/happypupsdad/PASSAGETOPARADISE/
***********************************

The new cruisers seem to enjoy it when the waiters sing and dance. It
would be nice if they only did this once during a 7-day cruise.

One formal night is enough for me, but I believe the other passengers
enjoy it. The photographers are annoying, but as long as people keep
buying the photos, the cruise lines will keep taking the pictures.

Becca -----dislikes packing on the last day of the cruise...

Norwegian Dawn http://www.cruisemaster.com/dawn.htm
Sleazy3 http://www.cruisemaster.com/sleazy3.htm

On Fri, 12 Sep 2003 04:53:58 -0400, Howard Garland
wrote:

[snip]

Ice and fruit carving demonstrations, exhibitions, and parades.
These are pretty innocuous. In fact, I am barely aware that they take
place.

Those poor excuse for "baked" alaska parades.
Hmm, these don't bother me THAT much.

Constant advertising, whether on my stateroom loudspeaker or on (under)
my stateroom door.

Celebrity doesn't have them, and HAL eliminated them about two years
ago.

Cruise directors with loud, shrill voices.
OMG I agree 100%. The funny ones are pretty good, but the ones who
try to be funny and aren't are really truly irritating.

Cruise social staff who waste so much of my precious deck party time
trying to teach me how to have fun.
Again, like announcements, this is something that is different on
different lines.

Passenger talent shows.
This one, what the heck, you don't have to go. I assume these are in
the theater.

Hairy chest, sexy leg, knobby knee, and all other passenger contests.
I haven't seen one of these since (sorry) the last time I sailed on
Carnival, which was a LONG time ago.

Fashion shows by the pool.
I kind of like these actually

Waiters singing O Solo Mio, God Bless America, etc.
I kind of like this if they are any good, although, again, I rarely
see it on the lines I cruise.

I am interested to know what some of you would eliminate from current
cruise line protocol, if you could.

There's nothing I really want to eliminate, except maybe irritating
cruise directors. Possibly sales pitches from the Seidel people, but
they stop if you ask them nicely.

There are a lot of things I would add, though.

1) I wish every damn cruise line on the planet would add $20 per day
to their food budget.

2) I wish they'd give real prizes for contests, like trivia, name
that tune, etc. I really enjoy the blackjack tournaments because, if
you win, you get like $500.

3) I wish they'd keep the library open all day, at least until 6 pm
and preferably until 10 or so.

4) I wish they'd have better separation between smoking and
nonsmoking areas in the casino, and enforce it.

5) I wish they'd have more dance lessons.

6) I wish they'd slap some manners into the personnel at the front
desk. These are the only personnel on cruises I have found to be
frequently unknowledgeable, curt, unhelpful, or even downright rude.




Mason Barge

"If this is coffee, please bring me some tea. If this is tea, please bring me some coffee."
-- Abraham Lincoln

Becca wrote:
The new cruisers seem to enjoy it when the waiters sing and dance. It
would be nice if they only did this once during a 7-day cruise.

I agree, the first time it is fun, then it becomes boring.

Becca -----dislikes packing on the last day of the cruise...

I hate having to pack on the last day. It takes time away from doing
nice things and it means that the cruise is almost over.

sue

In article , Benjamin Smith
wrote:

I agree with these except I like the fashion shows.

The only fashion show I have seen on Galaxy. It was items from the
ships shops. Another revenue enhancer and a waste except that some of
the crew was nice to look at.

What I would like to see eliminated are art auctions where they display
auction items all over the atruim.

--
Charles

Howard Garland wrote:


I am interested to know what some of you would eliminate from current
cruise line protocol, if you could.

Two things.

Mickey Arison
Joe Farcus

--Tom