tfred

I used to work with a film mfg company that did work with onboard concessionaires on cruise lines - SB was at one time one of them. Also a few other biggies. Been on more ships and shipyards than you can imagine. Every aspect of spending on board spending is examined and it is a numbers game. More people = more spending. It is measured by gross revenue but also passenger per day, day of the week etc. 7 day cruises, 14 day cruises and longer. It is all looked at. Profit comes from add on purchases. The cabin fare basically covers overhead. RCL Group is overjoyed since their occupancy fleet wide is over 100%, meaning that there enough cabins with 3 and 4 people in them.

We are Elite and are at the 250 night level and cruise Silversea at the end of August. We received the upgraded champagne - it was nice. As stated above, the laundry is by far the best part. We sent out laundry every day at 9 am and it came back by 5 pm You can reply cut back on what you bring We really liked Silversea. The food is uniformly excellent especially La Terrazzo - Italian. You should try to make reservations here ahead of time.

I think they (and other lines) are doing exactly that by eliminating many solo fares or making it financially impossible to choose. the lines know the math that one person just isn’t going to spend at the amount of 2 people in one cabin. There may be some cruises that selling out is difficult. On these they may offer some solo fares just to put someone in the cabin but that isn’t there first choice.

They want to keep the “presently profitable “ loyal pax. Pax that just pay the cruise fare are not profitable unless they pay for add ons - better wine, spa, excursions. the cruise fare is “low margin “, it is the add ons that drive profit SB knows the habits of pax and what they buy. 21 day cruisers that only buy one spa treatment in that time is not a customer that they “ love”. My guess is that spending on board flattens on longer cruises as a rule. Solo pax are in the same category as they are only one person in a cabin that can hold 2 and could spend for 2.

I don’t think they are assuming anything on a whim. I wish Celebrity still had Macallan as the house whisky. I can drink Alberfeldy and enjoy it. Saying that everything offered now is there forever is also my going to happen. Midnight buffets are the way of the dodo i was on a recent Silversea cruise. Reading that CC board would make one think that the “experience” is gone. In talking to enough first and second timers on Silver Moon, they were overjoyed over the cruise experience. Couldn’t get any better. it was a great cruise. Things will change. Some big, some small. SB will look for the needs of the new incoming pax and will ever so turn in that direction. The new crowd is coming from high end resorts and that will be what those new folks use as a frame of reference

I would think that SB is trying a few things Royal Group is trying to offer a path from Royal ships tp Celebrity to Silversea. Good, better, best Start with Chevrolet when you are young, buy Buick and then Cadillac Pick your analogy. Ccl is thinking the same way Sooner or later HAL cruisers will look for something "better" and why not keep them in the CCL family? Using some of the same terminology is an easy one. Some of the same programs are another SB is also looking for new customers and they now have plenty of competition these days The term I have heard is "working wealthy" as that is customer that lines want. There are many more of those than retired folks who can take 3-5 weeks off. The rise of 7-12 day cruises is a response to this. The most time I could ever take off when working was 2 weeks an that would include travel time to and from They want to get land resort people to try cruising as SB can't survive just by poaching other cruise pax from luxury lines. That means that some resort hotel like features will creep in Along the way some things will disappear that don't really add to the total experience but cost decent money. Among those would be tea everyday, cognac selection and wine list. Doesn't mean that SB is in the toilet. The same discussion is going on over at Silversea board.

no people come and go. It's a job, not a calling.

she didn't write it. Some marketing person who has never been on a ship

The logistics of UAL supplying the same wine out of a dozen hubs (as evidenced by the pre printed wine card) can't be any worse than Silversea provisioning ships Celebrity Retreat suites are no different than Silversea in wine selection - maybe it is a corporate thing. There is some real plonk - Publix level- that is served We did have some good wine in SALT that was local to the cuisine on Moon. At least make it Whole Foods level as a general rule

Xcel in January 2026. We usually take a cruise after the holidays since we live in Fort Lauderdale area. Easy to get to as I can leave the house at 10 am and be the Retreat lounge at 11 am. I just hunt for good fare as it doesn’t really matter what islands we go to as this stage.

The bean counters are there on Crystal - just like every other hospitality business. They are probably still evaluating the value proposition of all the pieces. Everything costs money and it takes time to see what is worth it to offer

Explora has got to get more pax on the ships. There are a number of small lux ships out there now. They can only poach so many pax from the other lines so they have to look for new customers and that is from the luxury hotel category The term that I read somewhere is that lux lines are looking for the "working wealthy" who can take 7-10 day cruises That probably means Caribbean and Mediterranean for the most part since those ports have easier airports to get to . There are literally thousands of present day non-cruise potential customers to go after. Other existing pax can do back to back Bora Bora for the 21 day extravaganzas. The new prez coming from that level of hotel is meaningful. They want the standards that group/chain has and to bring that consistency to Explora There are many things that the potential customers really don't care about since they never had it at the high end hotels they have vacationed at

assuming Fort Lauderdale, arrive at the port at 10:30. Hang out in the lounge next to the shipp Board at 11 am

This service can really cut down on what you pack especially on a 10/12 day cruise. we were on the Moon for a rather warm Adriatic cruise recently. We had laundry done everyday and it was a game changer. We changed and showered twice a day and were going through casual clothes at a pretty good clip.

Desperate? Doubt it. They just want to offer an upgrade path to RCL group pax who didn’t know that Silversea existed. what exactly are silversea pax actually losing on ? The only thing that I get is free laundry now and that doesn’t affect anyone. Silversea may want to correlate a pax spend and nights. Nights only doesn’t allow for big spenders.

X an RC are different animals compared to Silversea. Pax would only go “Down “ when with adult children or grandchildren

The celebrity program has accelerators for staying in a suite “The Retreat”, so it is more than just nights A few cruises in an X suite and you can be at 250 days the Silversea status match is really just to keep celebrity pax from drifting to Seabourne et al when moving up.

Just off the Moon and was given upgraded champagne in the room. the laundry benefit is the real extra. Laundry in at 9am and back at 6 pm same day. On hangers and pressed small items wrapped in paper.

The danger is what has happened to airline lounges - overcrowding. What used to be a pleasant experience while at the airport has descended into lines to get in, limited time inside and only certain times (generally only departure) I don't care about the other benefits that don't take up physical space in The Retreat. Special breakfasts, cocktail hours in a private room - all great. "How many Pinnacles can there be ?" or "its a limited amount of pax" is usually underestimated. It also starts the "how come those Ps got in and not us?", "I got in last time, so I should get in this cruise!" The space available part is just going to upset those Ps that can't get in Something that started out as a plus for them will just be an annoyance.

be prepared for "No" with the request for tonights menu from Blu. The two kitchens aren't close an requires someone to stop what they are doing and come back 10 minutes later with lukewarm food might be better to look at the menus along the way and decide which restaurant to eat at that night

We have been in Luminae a few times and enjoy it. Self entered reviews are always skewed to people who like to write and that isnt an accurate representation of actual people on board There are certainly people on board who wish Luminae had more options but that isnt going to happen. The menu is the menu and it seems to be popular when we are on board Edge class ships. There is also an plain everyday menu as well as kids Some people are very "selective" eaters and only like what they like The plain menu is for them Luminae will attempt to feed you what you want (within reason) and with proper notice. Ordering from a different restaurant 8 decks below and on the other end of the ship isnt one of them.

Pretty sure that X has more data than you could imagine on who buys what on board. They can slice it every which way and have probably figured out that two people together in a room will spend more than one person in that room Not sure that X is penalizing solo travelers nor restricting them maliciously. There are just few discounts (at the moment) for solos to drive X revenue.

You answered the solo question in your first paragraph. You don't drink, gamble or buy merchandise on board. You don't take excursions. This means are reduced/low or no profit customer. Not a target market. You may not be the "typical" solo traveler but there is something to be said about a double occupancy driving extra revenue. "let's do this fun activity together!" may not be something that solos would say.

a Bahamas stop almost always is Nassau. It is overrun with 20k pax at any given moment It has all the charm of Canal Street in NYC. The other islands are beautiful but generally off the radar for a cruise ship pax

Bahamas has one of the highest percentages of pax not getting off ship. Once you have been there you know why.