Things long gone

[John&LaLa]

I am not sure what 9/11 has to do it but as you say the cruise lines have cut staff numbers to keep cruise fares down and that means the remaining staff have to do more.

 

The cruise industry in the US was really diverse and expanding. The issues caused by 9/11 forced a number of the smaller players out of business and prices were stagnant for a long time. To survive, cuts had to be made. Just about the time things picked up, the 2007/8 financial crisis hit. Great fares, but lots of cuts.

 

Now prices have come up, fuel has gone down, but the cuts remain because we accept them.

[MicCanberra]

The cruise industry in the US was really diverse and expanding. The issues caused by 9/11 forced a number of the smaller players out of business and prices were stagnant for a long time. To survive, cuts had to be made. Just about the time things picked up, the 2007/8 financial crisis hit. Great fares, but lots of cuts.

 

Now prices have come up, fuel has gone down, but the cuts remain because we accept them.

 

Thanks.:D

[Beachdude]

I am not sure what 9/11 has to do it but as you say the cruise lines have cut staff numbers to keep cruise fares down and that means the remaining staff have to do more.

 

John&LaLa explained it well, thanks.

 

Up to 9/11, the cruise industry was growing pretty fast with the growing American economy even under the higher prices at the time. At the time, excepting for Carnival, cruising overall was still considered a luxury experience for those with money. 9/11 hit the industry hard and the majors had to decide how to proceed. They could either cut back and try to survive with their present luxury levels of services and costs, or cut prices to attract new low price customers as well as bring back the ones they lost.

 

Carnival at the time was considered the bargain cruise line. They had grown as the party cruise experience and developed that reputation. What folks didn't realize at the time was the Carnival was also the primary cruise line bringing in new customers for the industry as a whole. They catered to a lower cost demographic, of which many got hooked and jumped to the higher cost lines to feed their passion. Even the general CC Forum membership was different then. After 9/11, the other major lines realized that to survive, they also needed to pull in more new customers. To do that, they cut cost; and more importantly to this discussion, they cut quality and service to save profits.

 

Ironically at the time, Carnival cruisers on the forum were called Walmart cruisers because they were cruising at Walmart rates in Walmart style. This discussion is kind of profound because the experiences most cruisers have today aren't even to that Walmart level of a cruising experience.

 

By the way, Carnival is still the leading cruise line that pulls in new customers. That is important to know because the hit they took when with the engine fire in 2013 reverberated through the whole industry. As much as the major cruise lines want to compete with Carnival, they need the line to feed in new customers.

 

To be fair, Carnival before 9/11 was changing away from their "party cruise" reputation by adding family cruise itineraries. We tried Carnival back then and felt they were the hidden jewel for family cruises.

 

I can't say if cruising would have eventually hit a bubble without 9/11 and would be forced to change to the cruising experience we have today. Who knows, but we sure enjoyed the elegance of cruising before 9/11.

 

Burt

Edited December 7, 2016 by Beachdude

[MicCanberra]

Thanks, it explains it well.:D

[gumby1224]

All the things we miss , I don't miss the prices. My first cruise in the early eighties cost us over$1000 EACH for 3 in an inside cabin. I gladly give up some of the extras for the lower prices.

 

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