Is Celebrity Changing Its Marketing Strategy

[Jack Horner]

Is Celebrity Changing Its Marketing Strategy – see trackref’s full review http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=247007

 

I Quote: At our Cruise Critic Meet and Mingle, I had a chance to ask the Silhouette Cruise Director about the A Capella group which was conspicuously missing from the Daily Program. She advised me and my family that there was a new Celebrity slogan, 'Modern Luxury', and that A Capella groups were being phased out across the fleet because they did not meet 'Modern Luxury'. She suggested that if we wanted A Capella we should sail Holland America.

 

 

After reading this review I dread to think what is meant by Celebrity’s definition of “Modern Luxury” I am under the impression that this was Carnival’s Billy whack with loud music piped into all the public lounges & bars together with incessant public announcements informing everyone that either the hairy legs or belly flop competition was about to start at the pool. From my perspective reading some of the reviews lately there seems to be a definite change in Celebrity’s strategy I am hoping this impression is wrong/mistaken – Funny but I have been thinking after our next TA in April with Celebrity we should try Holland America as flippantly suggested! :confused:

[hulamoon]

I missed the A Capella group. To me it was luxurious to hear voices harmonize throughout the day.

[yogimax]

The A Capella groups were a joy that brought an upscale element to the Celebrity experience.

 

Hope Celebrity haven't hired some washed up Carnival execs!

[kitty9]

Crystal cruises, a very luxurious line, has A Capella groups on many of their sailings. I would have asked that person to define modern luxury. My guess is, Celebrity desperately wants to cater to a much younger clientele, as evidenced by her HAL comment. But if they think blaring loud techno music is going to attract 20 and 30-something's, they need to think again. Celebrity needs to wake up and understand their niche has been defined for many years, and they're not going to change that perception by dumping musical groups and blaring silly music.

[cruisinggran]

Cunard also has A Cappela Groups. We enjoyed them on our last cruise. I hope what I am reading on the boards regarding DJ's and loud piped in music is not what Celebrity thinks is Modern Luxury. I think not...

[ghstudio]

On one side we have celebrity reducing costs....Aqua spa cafe changes, fewer sommeliers and so on. On the other side, marketing has coined a meaningless, but nice sounding phrase...modern luxury...which defines less as somehow more. The loud music was finally viewed as a negative...Thank g-d. There is more they can and will take away...eg the string trio/quartet, a Capella groups, sushi is likely on the list. Reduce cost wins as long as the ships are full and the profit per sailing rises. The jury is out on higher prices...but raising the price and giving away drink packages is surely a profit gain....sold as a luxury discount.

 

Ultimately celebrity's problem in attracting young moderns is the very customer set that fils their ships...us older folks who can cruise any time. If 75% of your passengers don't participate in night events and don't like noisy activities around the pool, thats a problem in attracting younger folks.

 

IMHO, they should focus on being the best in the market niche they have so successfully created instead of trying to change their target audience. Don't compete with rcl...each should focus on their market segment.

[TxnAquarian]

Crystal cruises, a very luxurious line, has A Capella groups on many of their sailings. I would have asked that person to define modern luxury. My guess is, Celebrity desperately wants to cater to a much younger clientele, as evidenced by her HAL comment. But if they think blaring loud techno music is going to attract 20 and 30-something's, they need to think again. Celebrity needs to wake up and understand their niche has been defined for many years, and they're not going to change that perception by dumping musical groups and blaring silly music.

 

 

I believe Celebrity's marketing tactic is actually working. It seems as if they are targeting the upper-middle class 30-and 40-something's with disposable income who stay at W Hotels or other modern upscale hotels. My partner and I fit this description and we have primarily converted over to Celebrity exclusively. We have sailed Crystal and HAL and were bored out of our minds. I don't think I've ever heard loud techno music blaring anywhere on an X ship. In fact on our most recent cruise, I heard a lot of uptempo music around the ship, a 1970s night, etc. I think cruise lines like X and Crystal realize that the clientele who have been their bread-and-butter in the past, are getting too old to travel, and they have started targeting a younger demographic - X with it's "Modern Luxury" tag and Crystal with it's shorter cruises and more port-intensive itineraries. I'm I not here to debate what "Modern Luxury" consists of, but I can say that those who are part of my demographic would not find Acapella groups a big draw, nor do we find loud, abrasive music appealing - and we are the up and coming demo with the money and desire to travel that the cruise lines know will keep them in business for many years. We have been very happy with Celebrity and only stray now for itinerary.

 

 

Michael

[Redtravel]

My last Celebrity cruise on the Infinity was different from previous cruises. Loud entertainment especially near the pool was the norm. Lots of guest participation stupid games. I just pop in my earplugs and listen to my music. It cuts down on chair hogs. People fled. There was also pool games. Belly flop junk. That drove me away. I would not classify it as luxurious. It was obnoxious. Fortunately there are many places to enjoy quiet time away from the noise. I don't know what the definition of modern luxury is. I will bet it doesn't include stupid games. It is obvious that Celebrity's new idea is to change from the past. Unfortunately, I was happier before the changes. I miss the Chandris touch. Celebrity is still nice. It is not as classy as it used to be. The new powers that be ought to poll guests about what they like and dislike.

[JJPacer]

On our last X cruise (Dec. 2013) there were as many 'elderly folks' with wheel chairs...walkers....etc. on the ship as we've ever seen on HAL. It does not bother us one bit. The 'elderly' demographic appears to be a significant segment of X clientele. It would be a marketing disaster if they attempt to exclude this vital group.

[Gran2five]

My last Celebrity cruise on the Infinity was different from previous cruises. Loud entertainment especially near the pool was the norm. Lots of guest participation stupid games. I just pop in my earplugs and listen to my music. It cuts down on chair hogs. People fled. There was also pool games. Belly flop junk. That drove me away. I would not classify it as luxurious. It was obnoxious. Fortunately there are many places to enjoy quiet time away from the noise. I don't know what the definition of modern luxury is. I will bet it doesn't include stupid games. It is obvious that Celebrity's new idea is to change from the past. Unfortunately, I was happier before the changes. I miss the Chandris touch. Celebrity is still nice. It is not as classy as it used to be. The new powers that be ought to poll guests about what they like and dislike.

 

Reading your description of the pool scenario reminds me of our first two cruises on RCL - then we discovered the Meridian - such a difference, classy, better food yet not old and stuffy. We did land trips for a few years and then came back to Celebrity when we wanted to resume cruising. We'll see what happens over the next year as we are booked on Reflection early next year. Hopefully Celebrity comes to their senses and finds a happy medium. They will lose a lot of loyal followers if they don't.

[C 2 C]

The trick for Celebrity is to appeal to the younger crowd at the same time as keeping the large number of satisfied older cruisers who have been sailing with them for the last 20 years.

 

We have never been fans of the A'cappella groups but do object to overly loud music of any type. We are happy as long as there is a choice of venue with different options.

 

We were very happy with our Constellation cruises that ended on Dec. 9th, so much so that we booked a bunch of cruises on similar ships.

 

Of course younger people have to be attracted to account for "natural attrition" and for people migrating to other lines more in tune with their tastes. We started cruising with Celebrity 20 years ago and we're still happy.

[NLH Arizona]

The trick for Celebrity is to appeal to the younger crowd at the same time as keeping the large number of satisfied older cruisers who have been sailing with them for the last 20 years.

 

We have never been fans of the A'cappella groups but do object to overly loud music of any type. We are happy as long as there is a choice of venue with different options.

 

We were very happy with our Constellation cruises that ended on Dec. 9th, so much so that we booked a bunch of cruises on similar ships.

 

Of course younger people have to be attracted to account for "natural attrition" and for people migrating to other lines more in tune with their tastes. We started cruising with Celebrity 20 years ago and we're still happy.

Totally agree. There has to be a balance. Celebrity has to market to us older cruisers, who many have cruised with them for years, while marketing to the younger customers. Celebrity could not stay in business if they just appealed to one age demographic. There has to be varied entertainment around the ship, so that all passengers get to enjoy something that they like. There will be some things some people like and some they dislike, but they have to remember that they are not the only passengers onboard. Unfortunately, most people don't like change, but there has to be change for a business to survive and grow.

[richsea]

But those of us who like, for example, the accapella groups are now on the older side of Celebrity's target market. They are not changing their target of 40-55, but many here on the Celbrity boards are the 40-55 year olds of years ago. In other words, it is US that that are outgrowing celebrity's target group. If the changes that Celebrity is instituting do not appeal to some, perhaps it IS time for those people to try Holland America.

My local oldies radio station is now playing songs that to me, are not that old. While they used to play 50s & 60s music, they now play 70s & 80s music.. Still oldies, just not OLD oldies.

As long as I enjoy the cruise experience that Celebrity provides, I will try to embrace the changes, & if I find that I don't enjoy the changes, I guess I'll just move on, perhaps to holland America. It's just the way it is

[Host Anne]

I'll be paying very close attention on our upcoming Equinox cruise to the things I found very annoying on our recent Reflection cruise. I'm all for change and won't hesitate to change our cruise line of choice if Celebrity is no longer appealing to us. Companies make decisions all the time to determine what is best for their bottom line. When that doesn't fit to the kinds of things we enjoy, we go elsewhere.

 

I will never understand how music so loud that you can't talk to someone sitting at a cocktail table with you is "Modern Luxury" but if that's Celebrity's new direction, we have plenty of other options to spend our disposable income.

[Orator]

Celebrity's marketing strategy has been undergoing change since Bayley became CEO.

They attempted to first answer the question:Who are we? Their answer was that they are an Anglo American Company. This has been discussed in other threads. They then did some statistical analysis in order to determine what geographical areas they should target. I believe they decided to focus on 10 target markets and did enhanced advertising in those areas. You'll. find in Philadelphia and other areas large Celebrity ads in sports stadiums. The large "X" logo an be seen behind the goals at the Wells Fargo Center. Just received a copy of a Boca Raton magazine and there is a full page ad for Celebrity on the back cover. Appears that they have now looked at the age demographic in order to determine what would help them to expand sales. If the changes work my stock will increase in value. If they don't heads will probably roll. Hope it all works out.

[C 2 C]

Just received a copy of a Boca Raton magazine and there is a full page ad for Celebrity on the back cover. Appears that they have now looked at the age demographic in order to determine what would help them to expand sales.

 

How will advertising in that region change the demographic on X? ;)

[ghstudio]

How will advertising in that region change the demographic on X? ;)

 

someone has to buy the suites :)

[NLH Arizona]

someone has to buy the suites :)

And spend a lot of $$$'s while onboard.

[C 2 C]

someone has to buy the suites :)

 

One may only rent them, but yes, point well taken. ;)

[welshfamily]

Our last Celebrity cruise, a 12day Med. Cruise in AQ at the height of the summer season had no live music except for the party band. We found this a great disappointment. We too are worried about the way Celebrity are heading. DJ's, playing recorded music or load piped music are no replacement for live music. How can this be considered Modern Luxury. To me it's more 70's disco theme.

We don't want silly games around the pool area but we don't mind watching officers -v- passengers dancing or volley ball games which are usually short lived and seemed to be popular with many other cruisers. We prefer a more 'classy' atmosphere or we would cruise with other companies.

In the interests of this debate I will give a short description family and our spending habits.

We are a family whose ages range from 19 though to 55. We take 3 to 4 holidays a year. We typically take 4 staterooms and use the Spa, a mixture of private and Celebrity excursions. We use the speciality restaurants and treat ourselves to nice wines which are usually not included in the packages.

Of course we should all remember that Caribbean cruises are very different to Port intensive Med. cruises and this should also be taken into account.

Why would Celebrity management think people in their 40's are preferable to our families wide age range ?

Unfortunately I don't think Celebrity Management know who they are trying to attract and that is the problem.

[Orator]

How will advertising in that region change the demographic on X? ;)

 

Arno:

I'll defer to Host Andy to answer that.

[chamima]

Our last Celebrity cruise, a 12day Med. Cruise in AQ at the height of the summer season had no live music except for the party band. We found this a great disappointment. We too are worried about the way Celebrity are heading. DJ's, playing recorded music or load piped music are no replacement for live music. How can this be considered Modern Luxury. To me it's more 70's disco theme.

We don't want silly games around the pool area but we don't mind watching officers -v- passengers dancing or volley ball games which are usually short lived and seemed to be popular with many other cruisers. We prefer a more 'classy' atmosphere or we would cruise with other companies.

In the interests of this debate I will give a short description family and our spending habits.

We are a family whose ages range from 19 though to 55. We take 3 to 4 holidays a year. We typically take 4 staterooms and use the Spa, a mixture of private and Celebrity excursions. We use the speciality restaurants and treat ourselves to nice wines which are usually not included in the packages.

Of course we should all remember that Caribbean cruises are very different to Port intensive Med. cruises and this should also be taken into account.

Why would Celebrity management think people in their 40's are preferable to our families wide age range ?

Unfortunately I don't think Celebrity Management know who they are trying to attract and that is the problem.

 

 

I'm certainly not "in the loop" but that's the feeling I get also.

Throw out a wide net, keep moving it around and see who falls in.

[NLH Arizona]

Why would Celebrity management think people in their 40's are preferable to our families wide age range ?

Unfortunately I don't think Celebrity Management know who they are trying to attract and that is the problem.

I didn't take it that they thought people in their 40's were more preferable to families or older cruisers, I take it that they want to increase their consumer base. They have a good amount of passengers in their 50's, 60's and 70+ and they want to expand their product to those younger. If they didn't, when those of a certain age stop cruising or can't cruise anymore, the company would not be able to fill their ships. I don't think Celebrity will ever become a "party" line; just a line that has a wide variety of ages cruising on them. I've never seen any pool games that are usually seen on other lines on Celebrity. I did see Zumba classes at the pool, which had passengers of all ages participating.

 

I'm one of the "older" cruisers (not quite on Medicare, but close) and I enjoy the loud music, I enjoy more up-to-date music and a more lively experience and I would call all of this modern luxury from my perspective. I don't enjoy classical, jazz or, what I call, sleepy music, but I do understand that many do. I wouldn't expect that Celebrity should stop playing those musical genres for me or others like me, I'll just move to another location on the ship so that those that enjoy those types of music can enjoy them. I would expect the same for those that don't like the kind of music I enjoy. Instead of people thinking that their way is the only way, how about compromising and let everyone enjoy their cruise. Celebrity should have different music in the various venus throughout the ship....in other words, something for everyone.

Edited January 5, 2014 by NLH Arizona

[Holly g]

Is Celebrity Changing Its Marketing Strategy – see trackref’s full review http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=247007

 

I Quote: At our Cruise Critic Meet and Mingle, I had a chance to ask the Silhouette Cruise Director about the A Capella group which was conspicuously missing from the Daily Program. She advised me and my family that there was a new Celebrity slogan, 'Modern Luxury', and that A Capella groups were being phased out across the fleet because they did not meet 'Modern Luxury'. She suggested that if we wanted A Capella we should sail Holland America.

 

 

After reading this review I dread to think what is meant by Celebrity’s definition of “Modern Luxury” I am under the impression that this was Carnival’s Billy whack with loud music piped into all the public lounges & bars together with incessant public announcements informing everyone that either the hairy legs or belly flop competition was about to start at the pool. From my perspective reading some of the reviews lately there seems to be a definite change in Celebrity’s strategy I am hoping this impression is wrong/mistaken – Funny but I have been thinking after our next TA in April with Celebrity we should try Holland America as flippantly suggested! :confused:

 

Funny you say that as we have decided to switch back to Celebrity from HA.

We really liked everything about HA but the average age was just too old for us, guessing at about 80? The bars and lounges were dead at 10:30 pm! Very excellent cruise but just not much going on after the last show lets out.

Haven't been on Celebrity in two years but we are looking forward also to a TA the end of April. I must say, however, that I am a bit concerned about the piped in

Music I am reading about. Not sure who at Celebrity actually thinks that is something to be considered "luxury", modern or otherwise! Maybe someone at the top should look that word up for some tips on what that really means? We absolutely think CD Paul Baya is an excellent cruise director and am hoping he will be the CD on the Reflection this April. Now that would be fun!!!

Edited January 5, 2014 by Holly g

[crazee4cruzin]

Here are my thoughts, when you purchase a cruise they know your age. Does Celebrity, or any other cruise line use this information to their advantage? Do they update the activities and music based on range of ages on that particular cruise? They should. It would be wise of them to be flexible on their daily activities, music, etc.

 

I must admit that on my last cruise with Celebrity the daily activities were less than interesting to me but that is my opinion. The one thing I really enjoy was missing which was the Caribbean Steel drum music. I look forward to hearing some on an island cruise.