Future of Celebrity

Marketing is a big part of any cruise line's business plan. Celebrity is simply being smart by hyping and promoting its new class of ship. And there are enough folks, who are into trying anything new, who are going to jump at the chance to try a new ship. But that initial surge does wear-off after a period of time and then reputation is what matters. A cruise line can demand very high prices for high quality (just look at lines like Seabourn, Regent, Sea Dream, etc that charge $1000 per passenger day). But when a line cuts-back on quality and service, and simultaneously raises prices, it is generally heading for future disaster. Eventually the public moves to the product that offers the best bang for the buck. Will Celebrity be able to attract enough younger (and new) customers to offset the losses they are now feeling as folks like me, turn to other lines/options? LLP is gambling that she can fill her ships with many new customers who are willing to pay more for less. Perhaps she is right.....and then again....perhaps she will become one of those CEOs who folks will say "do you remember when LLP ruined Celebrity?"

 

The industry is again going through a major period of change. But there are some new players on the block with deep pockets and interesting ideas. For example, MSC (which is essentially a family owned company) is rapidly expanding their cruise division. They have gone from a very small player (especially in the North American market) to a real player...and with another 10 new builds coming...will soon be a very big player. And now you have Richard Branson who is in the process of building his first "Virgin" cruise ship....which is going to target the 7 day Caribbean market. Anyone familiar with Branson's products knows they are generally high quality with excellent service. He is actually accepting deposits for the first Virgin cruises.....and folks are plunking down their money to try out a new cruise line/ship...before they even know the itinerary or even the dates. Viking is another relatively new player (not impacting the US market in a big way) who is easily filling their ships and getting many rave reviews. It is just a matter of time until Viking decides to make a major move into the lucrative Caribbean market.

 

Where does this leave Celebrity? Will it simply be RCI Lite...trying to survive on luring RCI cruisers to something different? My prediction is that Celebrity has made a mistake in their future pricing. When a line overprices its product they ultimately have to offer many incentives (pricing and amenities) to fill unbooked berths. Cruise lines cannot survive with empty berths..and they will go to extraordinary lengths to put bodies into every bed. From where I sit (as one who has cruised extensively for forty years), future Celebrity cruises are overpriced...for the product being offered. We have simply moved our future business elsewhere...have many of our cruising friends. Celebrity can certainly lure us back, but it will have to be with better deals and a decent product.

 

A few years ago, DW and I regularly cruised on RCI (our DD was Diamond by the age of 15). But one day we realized that RCI was no longer delivering the product we wanted so we simply moved on (and booked more cruises with other lines). A good friend said to us (about 6 years ago) that we would be back (to RCI) and we actually thought he was right. But since the time that we stopped with RCI we have never gone back on one of their ships and have no RCI cruises planned for the future (despite the fact that we cruise over 100 days in many years). Now, we are repeating that pattern with Celebrity (our last booked Celebrity cruise is in a few days) which we have already replaced with more cruises on other lines. What is interesting (to us) is that LLP was a key executive at RCI when we gave up on that line. Now she is at the helm of Celebrity...and we are quickly losing interest in cruising that line. Perhaps its a coincidence.

 

Hank

FYI: Viking has already made their move into the Caribbean. Will be on the Viking Sea on 1/6/18 out of San Juan for 11 day cruise of West Indies. Yes, Viking is more expensive however, all cabins are with balcony, all shore excursions are included, no charge for speciality restaurants and I'm sure the service and food will be a step ahead too, just as it was on my river cruise in Europe with them.

The major lines have over 50 new ships scheduled for delivery over the next five or so years. Unless a whole lot of new cruisers emerge this will force the cruise lines to compete harder for business. Will be interesting to see how X responds to an environment where they are no longer able to raise prices or cut services.

I wonder how many boomers world wide with disposable income will be retiring in the next five years?

I expect that the Reflection fans are like me and favor the pool being one deck higher. The top side flows better (front to aft) with it like that.

That' s why they make Chocolate and vanilla..

Reflection is our least fav of S class We find it crowded in many spots. Also dislike that spa and solarium are on diff levels, that the main lounge is on level with Solarium and has been truncated to add suites...& that the aft area bar set up makes it difficult to enjoy music ...Big fans of Equinox and Silhouette!

We are also looking at other lines but hate to start over..Azamara ships seem too small. Maybe Edge will be the answer???

We are also looking at other lines but hate to start over..Azamara ships seem too small. Maybe Edge will be the answer???

It depends on what you're looking for. Azamara's itineraries are the best of ALL cruise lines (and I research them all). The food is great, and the included wine is fine. Entertainment is ok, but that's not why we cruise. Itineraries trump everything else for us, although Azamara doesn't actually feel like a sacrifice in any other area.

It depends on what you're looking for. Azamara's itineraries are the best of ALL cruise lines (and I research them all). The food is great, and the included wine is fine. Entertainment is ok, but that's not why we cruise. Itineraries trump everything else for us, although Azamara doesn't actually feel like a sacrifice in any other area.

Geez, never thought I would disagree with MOD....but you know how it is with we contrarians :). I do like Azamara and was on that line soon after its birth. But I cannot accept that they have the best itineraries of "all" cruise lines. At this point in our life we primarily cruise for itinerary and use many different lines, HAL might be our favorite for itineraries...and because they have many more ships than Azamara they offer more itineraries. Oceania also has decent itineraries. And then we could get into the luxury lines which often have fantastic itineraries (with prices to match).

But we do agree that itineraries do trump (a dangerous word to use these days) all else. But in the interest of full disclosure we still like to do a a Caribbean cruise (2-3 weeks) every year (we may not even bother getting off the ship) and love to grab some bargain repo cruises where the itinerary does not matter. But when it comes to a longer cruise (and real money)....itinerary is king.

Hank

FYI: Viking has already made their move into the Caribbean. Will be on the Viking Sea on 1/6/18 out of San Juan for 11 day cruise of West Indies. Yes, Viking is more expensive however, all cabins are with balcony, all shore excursions are included, no charge for speciality restaurants and I'm sure the service and food will be a step ahead too, just as it was on my river cruise in Europe with them.

We leave out of Miami on December 10th on the Viking Sky. One long bus tour per port is free, others quite pricey. Yes the specialty’s are free but getting reservations not so easy. You forgot to mention final payment is due shortly (a couple of weeks) after booking and canceling, changing cruise date or upgrading to a better cabin come with a penalty charge of $100 per person.

We’ve had some frustrations with Viking and are going in with an open mind, but your confidence in service and food is a bit premature. In full disclosure, we travel in suites on Celebrity and that is a very nice experience. If you really want great food in specialty restaurants try Oceania, outstanding.

It depends on what you're looking for. Azamara's itineraries are the best of ALL cruise lines (and I research them all). The food is great, and the included wine is fine. Entertainment is ok, but that's not why we cruise. Itineraries trump everything else for us, although Azamara doesn't actually feel like a sacrifice in any other area.

Azamara might have great itineraries but prices are way above Celebrity particularly suites.

Azamara might have great itineraries but prices are way above Celebrity particularly suites.

I would agree, although there are still deals around if you look. Overall though I’d describe Azamara's pricing as ambitious. This has been a fairly recent thing. Also the small ship and cabin size can be a deal breaker for many thinking of them. Personally I have no issue and if it wasn’t for the fares being asked I’d cruise them in preference to Celebrity every time.

Phil

We leave out of Miami on December 10th on the Viking Sky. One long bus tour per port is free, others quite pricey. Yes the specialty’s are free but getting reservations not so easy. You forgot to mention final payment is due shortly (a couple of weeks) after booking and canceling, changing cruise date or upgrading to a better cabin come with a penalty charge of $100 per person.

 

We’ve had some frustrations with Viking and are going in with an open mind, but your confidence in service and food is a bit premature. In full disclosure, we travel in suites on Celebrity and that is a very nice experience. If you really want great food in specialty restaurants try Oceania, outstanding.

Viking will adjust this to 6 months out if you ask (still earlier than other cruise lines, but not crazy early like their default date).

Viking will adjust this to 6 months out if you ask (still earlier than other cruise lines, but not crazy early like their default date).

Thanks, good to know. What do other more expensive cruise lines do with final payment? I know Oceania doesn’t have these policies.