Why MSC is defining the new cruise industry - opinion

[Deckhandoug]

...Except, apparently, not on the third major line...

 

Woot! Woot!

 

Third place!

 

7%!

 

We are changing the industry!

 

Please, a lower priced niche line it shall always be, pandering to groups to fill its ships.

[The_Big_M]

Woot! Woot!

 

Third place!

 

7%!

 

We are changing the industry!

 

Please, a lower priced niche line it shall always be, pandering to groups to fill its ships.

 

Well, 3rd place isn't that bad to be, out of about 20?

 

That said, I still agree with the thrust of your conclusion. It has a niche (like the other lines), it fills it. But that doesn't mean everyone's going to switch to it. And indeed, as it has tried to enter the established market, it has also made concessions (which allegedly increase the cost) to make it more like the others.

 

Like other industries, there are cheaper competitors. When they have less frills than the established operators though, they just stay in their niche. Only the sizes change.

[Skipper Tim]

Well, 3rd place isn't that bad to be, out of about 20?

 

That said, I still agree with the thrust of your conclusion. It has a niche (like the other lines), it fills it. But that doesn't mean everyone's going to switch to it. And indeed, as it has tried to enter the established market, it has also made concessions (which allegedly increase the cost) to make it more like the others.

 

Like other industries, there are cheaper competitors. When they have less frills than the established operators though, they just stay in their niche. Only the sizes change.

 

It is not a question of cruisers switching. There will be a significant number of those but overall that market is very small to MSC. No, it is the new market, the incomers, that MSC will attract.

 

MSC is far from a 'no frills' line like, for example, Easy Cruise was. The offering is sumptious, stunningly glamourous ships, seven courses at lunch and dinner, high art music performed live in several locations daily, the heaviest bath towels at sea and a pillow menu for every cabin including the lowliest inside which happen to be larger than the other mainstream lines too.

 

The frills are different, not fewer, and more appealing to many.

[rool]

I love these forums and the information and tips that so many users give freely but the single worst aspect, across the whole board, is the misguided snobbery from some when ultimately we are mostly all travelling on mainstream cruise lines that are pretty much accessible to all nowadays.

 

Makes fun reading though :D

[DutchBunny]

We are some of the people who MSC mean to attract. We like to be on a cruise but not as our main holiday. We love to travel around the world and do this every year once but we also like it to have a short trip on which we can just relax, do nothing but enjoy! And because MSC is priced very nice we can do this. Otherwise we would go to Spain or Greece for a week and now we do a cruise.

 

So this does not mean we have not much money to spend because we could easily afford any other cruiseline but we do not want to. And we also like it to be among people without an attitude. People who only act as they have money but are still cheap.

[AmoMondo]

My only concern is that one of the big two will purchase MSC and change the product.......surf and turf at gala anyone?

 

Shudders in horror at the very thought!

[Tatka]

We had s&t on Poesia.

It wasn't great though.

[cruisingcanadian]

We had s&t on Poesia.

It wasn't great though.

We had it great on Celebrity and RCL:D

[sidari]

"but the single worst aspect, across the whole board, is the misguided snobbery from some "

 

:D

[cruisingcanadian]

"but the single worst aspect, across the whole board, is the misguided snobbery from some "

 

:D

???:confused:

[All aboard??]

Surf & Turf reminds me of a pub meal or something you would get at a middle of the road steakhouse - most definitely not worthy of a Gala Dinner menu.

[Deckhandoug]

Actually surf and turf is served at some of the better restaurants, French laundry for example, but it's not one of my favorites, hard to pair my favorite wines.

[Deckhandoug]

Bastardized cruising experience

 

Going from Orchestra class to MSC Divina

 

Promenade deck has gone

Front observation deck has gone

Still no hydropool in spa

Some 4000 passengers are now squeezed into 139, 000 GT ship

 

Who bastardized cruising experience?

 

MSC Divina

 

Water slide

Domed pool

Midship isle superstructure with restaurants

Aft pool

 

From what bastardized cruise lines was this ”Italian identity” imported from?

 

 

 

Italian Identity

 

Ruby Princess was designed and built in Italy.

The Captain and most officers are Italian.

Princess pizza is considered “best at sea” (I cannot prove it as I don’t eat junk food on cruise ships – no pizza, no burgers, etc.)

Mr. Alfredo Marzi (Master Chef of Princess fleet) is an Ambassador of Italian Cuisine to the World – a title granted by the President of Italy.

 

Do we need Italian (French, German, Russian) “identity” of a ship to cruise in the Caribbean?

Isn’t it better just to sail on a more comfortable ship on a better itinerary?

 

 

 

Sold and lost heritage

 

Cunard Queens and Holland America Signature class ships are amazing floating exhibitions of Maritime Heritage.

Every square inch displays their identity and glorious history.

Their nautical décor tastes like classy sea travel, not like faceless glitzy party ship.

BTW MS Willem Ruys – the predecessor of MSC fleet can be seen on one of the paintings on board HAL Eurodam.

 

FYI – RMS Olympic and RMS Titanic were property of an American company.

Such a loss of identity and heritage!

 

 

Ok, all that "decor" means nothing, even though HAL is my favorite line so far, there's nothing Dutch about it, I don't care what paintings you hang on the wall.

 

I like it for the better food, service and no kids, so shoot me.

 

CCL, NCL, RCCL, the ships and procedures are so similar, I could cruise in the dark.

 

Most lines have various classes of ships with various features, but the core product is predictable and corporate dictated.

 

MSC does have a unique look, decor, style and atmosphere, love it or hate it.

[Tatka]

We had it great on Celebrity and RCL:D

 

Thank you. I sailed with these companies 7 times. I would say RCIs food isn't better than MSCs.

[All aboard??]

Actually surf and turf is served at some of the better restaurants, French laundry for example, but it's not one of my favorites, hard to pair my favorite wines.

 

On the Nieuw Amsterdam I decided to try the Le Cirque dinner - you can imagine my shock at the site of Mac n Cheese as one of the courses.

[Deckhandoug]

On the Nieuw Amsterdam I decided to try the Le Cirque dinner - you can imagine my shock at the site of Mac n Cheese as one of the courses.

 

Rouge ou blanc?

 

:p

[cruisetrail]

On the Nieuw Amsterdam I decided to try the Le Cirque dinner - you can imagine my shock at the site of Mac n Cheese as one of the courses.

 

Le Cirque Menu

 

[cruisetrail]

Ok, all that "decor" means nothing, even though HAL is my favorite line so far, there's nothing Dutch about it, I don't care what paintings you hang on the wall.

 

 

I did not say Dutch.

My emphasis is on Nautical Theme that makes ship a ship.

However, there is a lot of Dutch theme - from Rembrandt to Hudson.

A lot of Art Deco in smaller forms.

 

 

MSC does have a unique look, decor, style and atmosphere, love it or hate it.

 

 

Unique?

Not more unique than a face in a crowd. It's unique and generic at the same time.

It could be done this way or that way.

No matter.

Both OK.

 

As soon as design and decor reflects the cruise line history, maritime history and traditions (if they have ones!) it grows unique because the history is unique. There is no other history. No other traditions.

 

 

Carnival Ecstasy has its look, style and atmosphere.

So does Costa Magica.

Do I love it?

No.

Do I hate it?

No.

I don't care.:)

[Deckhandoug]

I did not say Dutch.

My emphasis is on Nautical Theme that makes ship a ship.

However, there is a lot of Dutch theme - from Rembrandt to Hudson.

A lot of Art Deco in smaller forms.

 

 

MSC does have a unique look, decor, style and atmosphere, love it or hate it.

 

Carnival Ecstasy has its look, style and atmosphere.

So does Costa Magica.

 

Do I love it?

No.

Do I hate it?

No.

I don't care.:)

 

I see your point, you didn't call it Dutch, somehow I got that impression when you rambled about heritage.

[All aboard??]

Le Cirque Menu

 

 

The menu I had was somewhat similar and different......I still remember it distinctly as my friends and I ordered it just for the laugh of it all as it was not quite the "fine dining" experience we were expecting.

[cruisetrail]

The menu I had was somewhat similar and different......I still remember it distinctly as my friends and I ordered it just for the laugh of it all as it was not quite the "fine dining" experience we were expecting.

Never heard of that.

Maybe a specal occasion? Were they expecting guests from MSC fan club?:)

[All aboard??]

Mea Culpa; I just worked out that the Mac n Cheese was on the usual Pinnacle Grill menu and not the Le Cirque menu......easy enough mistake to make; due to the dismal nature of the MDR after day three I decided to rather spend 11 of my 16 remaining dinners in the Pinnacle moving forward......and lets be honest the Le Cirque menu is not really all that which makes it easier to blur with the usual fare; would have much rather gone to Tamarind that evening.

 

Come to think of it, now that is good business sense; make your "included" product so dismal that people have no alternative but to spend an extra 15 - 25 USD per night just to eat something that should already be included in a 5 star line; flavorful food.

[cruisetrail]

One of the various options (changable) on regular PG menu was Lobster Macaroni and Cheese.

Something I would never order.

There are so many other options.

[Deckhandoug]

Cruise News

Home > Cruise News > Cruise Industry's Three Major Companies Volunteer to Report All Crime Data

 

July 24, 2013

 

Cruise Industry's Three Major Companies Volunteer to Report All Crime Data

 

(6:30 p.m. EDT) In a Congressional hearing held today in Washington, D.C., Royal Caribbean International C.E.O and President Adam Goldstein announced the three largest cruise operators-- Carnival Cruise Corp., Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. and Norwegian Cruise Line -- will begin reporting all crimes alleged to have been committed on all their brands' ships August 1.

 

Goldstein made the announcement in his opening statement during a Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee hearing entitled "Cruise Industry Oversight: Recent Incidents Show Need for Stronger Focus on Consumer Protection." Senator John D. Rockefeller chaired the committee and hearing. Other panel speakers included Carnival C.E.O and President Gerry Cahill, cruise industry critic Ross Klein, and two maritime experts.

 

"The public will find a compilation of allegations of crime that occur onboard our ships around the world, on all itineraries, by all guests and crew," Goldstein said.

 

The move is in keeping with the intent of the Cruise Vessel Security and Safety Act, written in 2010 to require the reporting of all crimes. But this never went into effect because language was inserted into the act shortly after it passed that allowed the FBI to reveal only crimes that are investigated and closed by the FBI. The lines now will disclose all reported crimes dating, regardless of status, to the last quarter of 2010, when the act was passed.

 

Goldstein also said by publishing this information, the industry will, for the first time, be able to compare apples to apples on crime with other sectors. "We are very confident that the comparison will be beneficial because we know crime is rare on our ships."

 

Goldstein also announced that several of the 26 members of Cruise Lines International Association are changing their passenger contracts to harmonize with the Cruise Industry Passenger Bill of Rights passed in May. Carnival, Cahill said, is among them.

 

"To the extent that there is any question, we would not as an industry have agreed to the Bill of Rights if we didn't expect it to apply in all instances," Goldstein said.

 

Several of the senators were reassured by the action, as they were worried the passenger contracts would take precedent over the Bill of Rights if an incident were to occur. Goldstein emphasized this will not be a problem once the passenger contracts have been rewritten to include Bill of Rights language, something he says the industry is in the process of doing. He didn't specify which lines are working on rewriting the language.

 

As part of their membership in CLIA, all 26 member lines are required to prominently display the Bill of Rights on their Web sites. Like Senator Blumenthal, Klein was skeptical over how the Bill of Rights will be enforced.

 

It's one thing, he said, to guarantee crew training. It's another to guarantee that training translates into competent action.

 

One of Klein's biggest concerns was over the lack of reporting when it comes to cruise crimes. But he did not respond to Goldstein's announcement the three major lines will voluntarily list all alleged crimes on their Web sites starting August 1.

 

Senator Rockefeller opened the hearing calling the cruise industry's promises of a hard internal review that would bring about safety changes from 16 months ago "empty" and accusing the industry of not taking passenger safety seriously.

 

Other highlights of the hearing include:

 

• Senator Rockefeller calling the Passenger Bill of Rights a "cynical effort to counter bad publicity";

 

• U.S. Coast Guard Rear Adm. Joseph Servidio telling the committee the Coast Guard's cruise ship inspection regime is the strongest in the world;

 

• The revelation Carnival Triumph failed an initial inspection upon its return to service and was detained by the U.S. Coast Guard for a day. The ship was detained because there were problems with the fire drills, fire detection system and fire sprinklers. All issues were rectified before the Coast Guard cleared the ship to embark passengers. Because of this initial failure, the Coast Guard will conduct more frequent inspections of Triumph over the next year or so;

[The_Big_M]

Cruise News

Home > Cruise News > Cruise Industry's Three Major Companies Volunteer to Report All Crime Data

 

July 24, 2013

 

Cruise Industry's Three Major Companies Volunteer to Report All Crime Data

 

(6:30 p.m. EDT) In a Congressional hearing held today in Washington, D.C., Royal Caribbean International C.E.O and President Adam Goldstein announced the three largest cruise operators-- Carnival Cruise Corp., Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. and Norwegian Cruise Line

 

It's a US congressional hearing - so who are the three largest operators in the US? The ones stated.

 

It doesn't mean worldwide.