As many cruise lines slash fares to keep passengers vacationing at sea, it has become more and more confusing to determine the brand differentiation especially for the first time cruiser. While there are plenty out there who say "A Cruise Is A Cruise", I do not prescribe to that nor does the individual cruise line that has spent billions of dollars on branding and building specific types of ships that cater to different types of lifestyles, needs, and vacationers.
I did a cruise show this week and was horrified to find the number of brand samplers who have cruised the gambit from Carnival to Holland America and could not really determine what their own niche was nor did they feel they had proper advice on qulifying experiences to better enhance their vacation.
The cruise industry executives repeatedly tell me that there is a trend among internet purchasers of cruises to just buy cheap. This means in many cases the vacationer has no real guidance to qualifying their experience or finding the right choice. While some of you might say, I know what I want and can figure it out negates the true experience of an experince unbiased travel professional who has a career learning the ins and outs of the cuise busines and really understands the individual brands to help the guest make the right vacation, destination, and cabin choice for his vacation. By the way, the advise is usually FREE and much better than an online biased opinion or a direct cruise line booking who has one single agenda-sell that brand only.
I am going to talk about three large ship categories today. They are the Contemporary (mass market), Premium (upper market), and Luxury (high end), large ship experience and the lcruise lines in-order of quality (my opinion).
I will cover the nuances, strengths, and weakneses of each so here goes!
Contemporary-Mass Market Cruise Lines
Carnival-The Fun Ships
Strengths- affordable, relaible, excellent food, service, and entertainment, very good Camp Carnival for kids, always fun and vibrant with great live music onboard and fun casinos
Weaknesses- caters to a party crowd with many smokers especially on shorter cruise itnieraries, fleet is not consistent and has many older ships (Fantasy Class),
Best Ships To Sail On: Conquest Class or Spirit Class and the NEW Carnival Dream
Rating: 3-4 Stars
NCL-Freestyle Cruising
Strengths- Freestyle dining with many alternative fee based options, incredible suites and penthouses, spotlessly clean ships, fun atmosphere, chic Vegas style decor, and affordable
Weaknesses- service can be spotty, some of the older ships have tiny cabins and awkward layouts, entertainment varies from ship to ship.
Best Ships To Sail On: The Jewel Class and the New Norwegian Epic
Rating: 3-4 Stars
Princess- The Love Boat
Strengths- overall decor is consistent throughout the fleet, large ships with varied entertainment programs, affordable long cruise itineraries, food in alternative venues is excellent, Movies Under The Stars
Weaknesses: spotty service and food, some older ships need refurbishment, used to be a premium cruise line but lowered itself to compete directly against Royal Caribbean creating massive ships with up to 3600 passengers.
Best Ships To Sail On:The Coral or Island Princess and the smaller Princess ships (ex: Rennaissance Class)
Rating: 4 Stars
Royal Caribbean-The Nation of Why Nots
Strengths- excellent ship design, architecture, and layout, incredible facilities and array of cabins, best contemporary branding giving the impression of upscale for the mas market, excellent childrens programs, past passenger program, and untouched exciting onboard cruise atmosphere..Caters to all age groups
Weaknesses- some older ships are worn and tired, food is inconsistent ship to ship, company management is very arrogant and elitist-sorry!
Best Ships: Voyager and Freedom Class, and NEW Oasis of the Seas
Rating: 4-Stars
Premium- Upper Market Cruise Lines
Celebrity Cruises-Starring You
Strengths-gorgeous marine architecture, contemporary style, innovative cuisine, personal service, lots of fine attention to detail, constant refinement of product
Weaknesses-older ships are worn, brand gets confused often with parent company Royal Caribbean, and prices are often too low for quality product offered
Caters To: a more mature crowd 57+
Best Ships: Solstice Class and Millennium Class
Rating: 4-5 Stars
Holland America Line-A Signature of Excellence
Strengths- reinventing a traditional company into a relevant leader, warm and gracious service, excellent food, spacious cabins, well appointed, decorated, and quality enrichment programs like Culinary Arts At Sea, Onboard Lectures, Microsoft Digital Workshop,
Weaknesses- older ships needs refurbishment but works are underway, ships are too low key at night, entertainment is spotty, sometimes language with Asian staff can be a barrier, and prices are too low for quality given driving in a lesser caliber crowd at times. This causes the brand to suffer from differentiation.
Caters To: a more mature crowd 60+
Rating: 4-5 Stars
Luxury Cruise Lines (The Ultimate Experience for the Sophisticated Traveler)
Regent Seven Seas-Luxury Goes Exploring
Strengths- large ships catering to only 500-700 passengers in all-suites, all inclusiveness, open seating, elegant atmosphere, multiple dining options, casual country club dress code, high crew to passenger ratio, attempt to deliver a most personal guest experience. Equates to a Four Seasons Hotel and is expensive.
Weaknesses-service is sometimes spotty, ships seem like a ghost town at night due to large public areas and few passengers, and entertainment is VERY low-key
Caters to: 65+ and affluent to wealthy
Best Ships: ALL three are superb!
Rating: 5-stars
Crystal Cruises-The World's Best Cruise Line
Strengths- overall winner of top luxury awards in the entire travel industry for more than 15 years, superb food and service, large ships catering to well dressed crowd, exceptional alternative dining venues, the BEST enrichment program of any cruise line, excellent entertainment options, ships are spotlessly clean, very high crew to guest ratio. Equates to For Seasons/Ritz Carlton crowd and is expensive.
Weaknesses- standard cabins are smaller than competition, two seating’s for dinner, some itineraries are redundant to high number of repeat guests but this is due to it being only a two ship operation.
Best Ships: All-there are two and they are excellent
Rating: 5-6 Stars
Friday, May 22, 2009
Monday, May 11, 2009
I Went to Mexico During The Swine Flu...
It was perfectly fine. I flew to Cancun to head down to the Riviera Maya, a newlt developed stretch of beach with upscale resorts about 20 miles South of Cancun. The noticeable difference was lack of tourists and an empty flight from Houston. Nobody on my plane wore a mask but I did see hand sanitizer. I left in the height of the flu pandemic as the news got worse on a daily basis from the WHO, the news from Mexico became less intense with far fewer deaths and cases than were initally reported. The disparity of reporting was so off the wall, I did not trut anytihng being said. The lack of cases in the US also caused me to wonder if this was really all that bad...
So, Bravely off to Mexico we went to samply the new luxury resort-Banyan Tree at Maykoba. This new resort is the first by the Asian chain of smal all villa resorts built in North America. Acapulco is opening soon... The Banyan Tree is Thai run and designed with only 132 villas ranfing from 1150-3000 square feet each. Each villa has a courtyard with a private pool and is situated on a natural mangrove offering a truly unique setting. This is not a typical resort. You get to your villa by boat, electic cart, or personal use bicycle. The resort is spread over a huge area and is part of a 600 acre larger resort that currently include a much larger Fairmount property, a Rosewood Resort, and a a World Class golf course. It is set in a dense natural jungle with mangroves teaming with wildlife and all resorts have beachfront access with swimming pools, restaurants, beach clubs, and glorious poweder sand beached no longer found in Cancun to the North!
The resort as all in the area had less than 10% occupancy. I was told tourism died overnight throughout Mexico with the closing of all bars, clubs, and most restaurants. The US government request for non-essential visits to Mexico did not help. There was alos not one confirmed case of swine in the Yucatan. The cruise ships, tourists, and everyone else stayed home... This recent flu event has caused catostrophic economic impact Worldwide as commerce slowed or stoped in many places across the globe due to the media fear created over false information.
So, all of this aside, I enjoyed the most glamerous resort with personl service, gourmet food incuding a fabulous Thai Restaurant sitting on a mangrove with crocodiles-ooh!, A stunning beach club for sunning, excellent shrimp tacos, a fantastic Thia spa with gorgeous Thai attendants, bicycle rides from my villa to the beach, walks along the beach at sunrise and sunset, naps in the pavilion next to the private plunge pool, and more gourmet dining-enough to satisfy the most discriminating palate. All in all it was a perfect 10 for a resort stay and NO SWINE FLU!
I encourage travelers to make the trek back and support Mexico whose economy has come to a halt. Go to their safe and hospitable resorts, stay away from those border towns though... PErhaps take a Summer cruise to the Yucatan to experience the beauty of Mexico's beaches and Mayan culture...
It was a wonderful stay for 5 days during a World Crisis....
So, Bravely off to Mexico we went to samply the new luxury resort-Banyan Tree at Maykoba. This new resort is the first by the Asian chain of smal all villa resorts built in North America. Acapulco is opening soon... The Banyan Tree is Thai run and designed with only 132 villas ranfing from 1150-3000 square feet each. Each villa has a courtyard with a private pool and is situated on a natural mangrove offering a truly unique setting. This is not a typical resort. You get to your villa by boat, electic cart, or personal use bicycle. The resort is spread over a huge area and is part of a 600 acre larger resort that currently include a much larger Fairmount property, a Rosewood Resort, and a a World Class golf course. It is set in a dense natural jungle with mangroves teaming with wildlife and all resorts have beachfront access with swimming pools, restaurants, beach clubs, and glorious poweder sand beached no longer found in Cancun to the North!
The resort as all in the area had less than 10% occupancy. I was told tourism died overnight throughout Mexico with the closing of all bars, clubs, and most restaurants. The US government request for non-essential visits to Mexico did not help. There was alos not one confirmed case of swine in the Yucatan. The cruise ships, tourists, and everyone else stayed home... This recent flu event has caused catostrophic economic impact Worldwide as commerce slowed or stoped in many places across the globe due to the media fear created over false information.
So, all of this aside, I enjoyed the most glamerous resort with personl service, gourmet food incuding a fabulous Thai Restaurant sitting on a mangrove with crocodiles-ooh!, A stunning beach club for sunning, excellent shrimp tacos, a fantastic Thia spa with gorgeous Thai attendants, bicycle rides from my villa to the beach, walks along the beach at sunrise and sunset, naps in the pavilion next to the private plunge pool, and more gourmet dining-enough to satisfy the most discriminating palate. All in all it was a perfect 10 for a resort stay and NO SWINE FLU!
I encourage travelers to make the trek back and support Mexico whose economy has come to a halt. Go to their safe and hospitable resorts, stay away from those border towns though... PErhaps take a Summer cruise to the Yucatan to experience the beauty of Mexico's beaches and Mayan culture...
It was a wonderful stay for 5 days during a World Crisis....
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Alaska-Is the Cruise Industry Coming To A Slow End
2009 will prove to be the worst year for sales and revenues for the once incredibly popular Alaska cruise and tour business. While this is shocking, the reason is obvious. The great citizens of Alaska voted a per passenger head tax into existence two years ago with give intent to improve the ports, roadways, and infrastructure for tourism, however, that has not come to fruition. What has happened is that the cruise lines have incurred a huge tax burden which has cost them on the operating side and also have passed on a significant cost to the traveler. A 7-day Alaska cruise has taxes and government fees nearly twice that of any other destination. After a full year of this exorbitant taxing, business has slowed to a crawl... Cruise lines have had to drop prices to an all time low making an Alaska cruise less expensive than virtually ANY Summer Caribbean cruise. The demand is equally soft on the ever popular cruise tour (land and sea) portion of the cruise business too. The taxes have had such an impact on sales and revenues that all cruise lines with the exception of NCL have pulled a ship out of the market for 2010. It is expected that in 2011, capacity will be again reduced due to this pending tax crisis. I don't blame the cruise lines or the consumer for holding back. When shopping for cruises today, everyone is looking at the bottom line. When taxes are so disproportionate to other destinations, the decision for the guest to decide on other places to cruise or travel becomes easier. Oh, don't forget that reduced capacity creates business downturn for the Alaska ports-of-call, local business, tour excursion operators, and major ports like Seattle and Vancouver... Shame on Alaska for its greed and non-use of the taken tourist tax funds...
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
MSNBC Cruise Report-Good or Bad?
I am amazed how many comments I had today about how people thought that the MSNBC Peter Greenberg report about the state of the cruise industry, filmed onboard the Norwegian Pearl, was actually a bad reflection of the industry. Actually, I felt differently. I felt it showed the business was run like a business with revenue goals to achieve profitability (smart move), a business that admitted its errors and losses with the Hawaii project (smart move), a company that showed a detailed behind the scenes look at a well run product (smart move), and a company that showed people have a great time and receiving GREAT VALUE for what they paid. The guests were HAPPY...Isn't that what counts too? In the end, my impression is that this cruise industry is a business for profit, it is faring better than many industries, and the revenues generated onboard help create profit and offset the sometimes very low cost of the cruise. The onboard selling of bingo, drinks, art, gold by the inch, etc. is nothing new. This practice has been around since cruising started. Nonetheless, I applaud NCL for opening themselves to most everything the media wanted for this "expose" and for showing a well run onboard product in the contemporary market. They also finally explained that Norvirus is a flu introduce by unwell passengers boarding a ship and spread 23 million times a year on land and not a cruise ship bug...Happy Cruising!!! It's still the best vacation!!!!
Monday, March 23, 2009
Of “Epic” Proportions
With the announcement and unveiling of the massive superliner Oasis of the Seas coming this Winter, the cruise industry is seeing a radical change in maritime design and innovation. While this beomoth promises to be something unlike any cruise ship we have even seen, it creates a whole new window of opportunity for today’s traveler. It also sends experienced cruisers looking for intimate vacations to smaller cruise products like Azamara and Oceania Cruises where guests can travel with less than 700 passengers vs. the Oasis nearly 6000 passengers…
Today’s blog focuses on another superliner that will no doubt capture the public imagination as it offers a truly resort like atmosphere and also takes maritime design to a whole new level. The very innovative NCL has been unveiling its plans of the last several months for its forthcoming “one-of-a-kind”, 150,000 ton, Norwegian Epic. This 4200 passenger vessel is already taking the industry by storm by introducing a cabin concept that goes outside the traditional box. The new “wave” concept gives a curve to every cabin giving the appearance of more space. The ceilings are taller with a domed and back lit effect which also enhances the spacious feel. The “Wave” gives a very interesting look from a contemporary design flow and will undoubtedly be an exciting change for the cruise industry. Moreover, the traditional box like bathroom will be reintroduced into three separate components with a curved opaque glass wall with a shower stall on one side of the cabin and the toilet in another compartment on the opposite side. The sink will be in the cabin in an open area away from the bed and living area. While this is quite unconventional, it is becoming popular in new hotel room design around the World. The most interesting aspect is that this new design creates a far more spacious feel to the overall cabin upon entering.
The most interesting fascinating introduction will be a new very small 100 square foot Studio Stateroom that features ultra contemporary design , amenities, and mood lighting. These 128 studios feature a large porthole onto a cabin corridor and allows these budget conscious guests access to a 2-level “Living Room “ that has a concierge, special room service offerings, and more…
The newest feature of the Norwegian Epic is its new Ship within a ship sitting high atop the bridge called the Courtyard Villa. 60 exceptional villas and suites will have a private dining room, pool, gym, spa, and sunning area away from the activity and bustle of the rest of this ship. While NCL introduced this concept on the Norwegian Jewel Class a few years ago, this is taking the concept to a whole new level. It will clearly offer a ship within a ship concept with a capacity of nearly 200 guests occupying this massive and specially dedicated suite space…
NCL is the pioneer of great innovation and I will assuredly be talking about the Norwegian Epic as more and more features are introduced over the next two-months…
Today’s blog focuses on another superliner that will no doubt capture the public imagination as it offers a truly resort like atmosphere and also takes maritime design to a whole new level. The very innovative NCL has been unveiling its plans of the last several months for its forthcoming “one-of-a-kind”, 150,000 ton, Norwegian Epic. This 4200 passenger vessel is already taking the industry by storm by introducing a cabin concept that goes outside the traditional box. The new “wave” concept gives a curve to every cabin giving the appearance of more space. The ceilings are taller with a domed and back lit effect which also enhances the spacious feel. The “Wave” gives a very interesting look from a contemporary design flow and will undoubtedly be an exciting change for the cruise industry. Moreover, the traditional box like bathroom will be reintroduced into three separate components with a curved opaque glass wall with a shower stall on one side of the cabin and the toilet in another compartment on the opposite side. The sink will be in the cabin in an open area away from the bed and living area. While this is quite unconventional, it is becoming popular in new hotel room design around the World. The most interesting aspect is that this new design creates a far more spacious feel to the overall cabin upon entering.
The most interesting fascinating introduction will be a new very small 100 square foot Studio Stateroom that features ultra contemporary design , amenities, and mood lighting. These 128 studios feature a large porthole onto a cabin corridor and allows these budget conscious guests access to a 2-level “Living Room “ that has a concierge, special room service offerings, and more…
The newest feature of the Norwegian Epic is its new Ship within a ship sitting high atop the bridge called the Courtyard Villa. 60 exceptional villas and suites will have a private dining room, pool, gym, spa, and sunning area away from the activity and bustle of the rest of this ship. While NCL introduced this concept on the Norwegian Jewel Class a few years ago, this is taking the concept to a whole new level. It will clearly offer a ship within a ship concept with a capacity of nearly 200 guests occupying this massive and specially dedicated suite space…
NCL is the pioneer of great innovation and I will assuredly be talking about the Norwegian Epic as more and more features are introduced over the next two-months…
Monday, March 16, 2009
Make It a "Great Day Houston" Cruise
We are launching a very exciting cruise today at CruiseCenter wherein the Channel 11-KHOU group will be filiming its daily TV show, Great Day Houston with Deborah Duncan, onboard the Carnival Conquest October 4-11, 2009. We are the exclusive event planners for this week long cruse that will feature and exceptional value added package that can only be purchased at CruiseCenter. The most excting part of this will be to be a part of the filming of 5 episodes filmed onboard and to be shown the following week in Houston, a series of private parties and funtions, VIP gifts, many opportunites to interface with Deborah Duncan and the cast of Great Day Houston, and much more... I will be on the Great Day show with my business partner this coming Friday to talk about the cruise so check us out. You can see more details on Khou.com and CruiseCenter.com...See you there!
A Bargain & Good Deal To Alaska This Summer
Imagine sailing on an all suite 700 passenger ship that includes everything such as your deluxe verandah suite, all meals, tips, all alcohol, beverages, and wine with dinner, all shore excursions, roundtrip airfare from most US gateways, transfers, and a $900 onboard credit on top of that! It is possible for thirty five hundred dollars on the 6-star rated luxury Alaska cruises of Regent Seven Seas Mariner on many sailings this Summer.
Some might think that is pricey at $500 a day. But this includes everything from soup to nuts. Kids even sail for FREE. Compared to a suite on Holland America, Princess, or Celebrity Cruises-These cruise lines charge the same rate (more or slightly less) but do not include anything else beyond meals, accommodation, and onboard entertainment. The biggest difference is that this Regent Mariner offers a luxury product with open seating, casual ambiance, large ship with few passengers (the other mentioned lines carry 1900-2800 passengers). Regent takes care of everything-imagin no lines, pampering service, dine when you like in an atmosphere that is like a fine restaurant rather than a large convention hall, not having to wait in lines..Ahhh... If this intrigues you and you are a luxury seeker, this is exceptional value in travel for the exciting 7-day one way itineraries that travel from Vancouver to Seward (Anchorage) and vice versa. This deals ends very soon so if you are a suite cruiser-this is a deal just for you....
Some might think that is pricey at $500 a day. But this includes everything from soup to nuts. Kids even sail for FREE. Compared to a suite on Holland America, Princess, or Celebrity Cruises-These cruise lines charge the same rate (more or slightly less) but do not include anything else beyond meals, accommodation, and onboard entertainment. The biggest difference is that this Regent Mariner offers a luxury product with open seating, casual ambiance, large ship with few passengers (the other mentioned lines carry 1900-2800 passengers). Regent takes care of everything-imagin no lines, pampering service, dine when you like in an atmosphere that is like a fine restaurant rather than a large convention hall, not having to wait in lines..Ahhh... If this intrigues you and you are a luxury seeker, this is exceptional value in travel for the exciting 7-day one way itineraries that travel from Vancouver to Seward (Anchorage) and vice versa. This deals ends very soon so if you are a suite cruiser-this is a deal just for you....
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