Just in case anyone had doubts about whom Celebrity are targeting with their "Always Included" &" New Luxury" branding

[LGW59]

1 minute ago, WonderMan3 said:

 

And getting upset on a message board isn't going to change who Celebrity is going to focus their time and ad dollars on...c'est la vie!

Clearly a 55+, 1,000 member club I'd want nothing to do with.  Again, why are your posts always so bitter?

[ChucktownSteve]

3 minutes ago, LGW59 said:

Clearly a 55+, 1,000 member club I'd want nothing to do with.  Again, why are your posts always so bitter?

 

because you obliviously have no clue what the club is about. There you go assuming again. Why do you feel the need to defend a post to wonderman3? he's old enough to speak for himself.

Edited November 15, 2020 by ChucktownSteve

[LGW59]

7 minutes ago, ChucktownSteve said:

 

because you obliviously have no clue what the club is about. There you go assuming again. Why do you feel the need to defend a post to wonderman3? he's old enough to speak for himself.

Nor do I want to know!  And because I choose to, it's an open forum, I can comment on whatever I want, as can you.  

[Arizona Wildcat]

2 hours ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

I've been saying for years that Celebrity no longer wants the Elite++ passengers who earned that by a slew of Inside cabins and no bar/casino/shorex spending.  The old model had the cabins priced below breakeven to be made up with onboard spending.  X lost money on everyone who just took the cabin.  This new model includes enough extras to make every cabin profitable.  And it also provides the level of amenities that Gen-Xers will be expecting.

Slightly disagree about the inside cabin comment.  Mostly Verandas.  But the Gen X crowd can only cruise during their vacations while Elites that are 65+ in a normal year would cruise multiple times.  DW and I averaged 3-4 weeks of cruising a year.  Would have been more if we lived in Florida.

Unless a lot more ships go to the breakers, Gen X cruisers won't fill the cabins.

[LGW59]

4 minutes ago, Arizona Wildcat said:

Slightly disagree about the inside cabin comment.  Mostly Verandas.  But the Gen X crowd can only cruise during their vacations while Elites that are 65+ in a normal year would cruise multiple times.  DW and I averaged 3-4 weeks of cruising a year.  Would have been more if we lived in Florida.

Unless a lot more ships go to the breakers, Gen X cruisers won't fill the cabins.

OK this will sound harsh, and I will replace "Elites" with boomers of which I am one (not every cruiser strives to be Elite, + or Zenith) we just want our annual cruise vacation that we spend handsomely on regardless of "status".  Note to selves, we will not be around forever, Celebrity knows this, as do each of us, I would think.  They have made a wise marketing decision to target a new audience.  They will of course continue to welcome us aboard as they will and should GenX or whatever generation.  Just go on vacation however works best for each of us, if it is on a new line just do it already.  

[tert333]

The whole point of Celebrity creating the all-inclusive pricing is to increase their revenue/passenger.  There are gen-x  people that don't want the all-inclusive pricing just like there are boomers that don't like it.  For those people that wanted it, they have had that option many years with Celebrity.

 

From traveling on Celebrity for many years, I think there has been a mixture of boomers as there have been Gen-x.   They should put a focus on getting ALL of their previous customers cruising again.  This company has approximately  1 year of cash burn before they run out of money.   I would not be picking and choosing the customers I want at this point. 

 

With all of the bad press that is out there, I think it will be very difficult to get people to cruise in the next year, who have not cruised before.  Celebrity's best bet would be to convince their existing client base back to cruising again(many of which like the base fees for cruising).   I would not want to jeopardize any group of customers at this time.  If, in 2 or 3 years they want to move to an all inclusive pricing model, then do it.   But, at least they will have the crisis behind them.

 

It does not seem logical to me that in the midst of the worst business crisis that the cruise industry is in, they would increase prices(or the perception of such).

[MarinerBoy]

This is a great move by CC, X-gens will embracing cruising, in this world you follow the dollar and the baby boomers are no longer in their sights.. a great time to be a x-gen and millennial, feels great. 

[Ashland]

2 hours ago, MarinerBoy said:

This is a great move by CC, X-gens will embracing cruising, in this world you follow the dollar and the baby boomers are no longer in their sights.. a great time to be a x-gen and millennial, feels great. 

As a boomer...the cruiseline doesn't need to put me in their sights...I've been in them a long time and Celebrity & RCI will take my many yearly bookings easily. They can put whoever they want in their sights...doesn't affect me and what I choose to book. 

[verizon]

I do like the business direction of  Celebrity is heading.

In future the ship will be less filled because there won't be many loyal cruisers cruising on.and the ship will feel more luxury with more space to enjoy.

 

[Ex-Airbalancer]

It all about bang per dollar 

if the price point is at one that I think is fair , I will book with Celebrity , if not I will look at RCL 

than other cruise  lines 

I could never figure why would you book a penthouse on Celebrity instead of booking on a small luxurious cruise line for same money 

[Orator]

The word is that Captain's Club will be calling Zeniths starting Wednesday. My guess is they will not be telling of additions to the program. They will do a Happy dance every time a Zenith leaves the program. The fewer people getting benefits the greater their profit.

 

[Spif Barwunkel]

If I spent all my time worrying about who wants my money and who doesn't, I probably would not go anywhere. Because I don't, I couldn't care less what age demographic Celebrity spends their advertising dollars on. The X brand still offers what I like and presents that offering in an attractive and satisfying way. Until that changes, I don't see me changing. I did, do and will continue to cruise with other companies, but for now X remains my primary choice. 

 

As a young senior cruiser, still several years away from oxygenarian status, I'll wear my millennial hat, my Gen X jacket and my senior suspenders when welcoming all to belly up to the bar. There, we will enjoy a good cup of warm milk infused with the necessary shots of good whiskey. It only gets better from there as we discuss the latest Celebrity marketing strategy.

 

Good times ahead, wouldn't you say?    

[alwaysonaship]

12 hours ago, ChucktownSteve said:

 

You have a misconception about older people.  Since I retired, I am spending much more on cruises than I ever did while working.  I'm also booking more cruises per year.

 

I'm booking higher categories and willing to upgrade to business class air without using points.  I booked Air Canada Business class to Athens next year for an Azamara P1 aft cabin cruise.  I did book my first suite on Celebrity this year.  Now I'm wondering if I made a mistake. So if I'm not good enough for Celebrity because I'm older, no prob. I don't have difficulty spending my money on their competitors.

 

I do like the Oceania and Azamara cruises I've sailed. I think I might even try Viking.  Guess Celebrity is now for the Gen Xers who believe Celebrity is the best at any price.

We have moved to Seabourn..yes we are older, but like the smaller ships, few if any children, all inclusive. Really dislike the giant ships Celebrity is pushing. Of course we have not cruised this year due to Covid-19, but when it is safe again we will be back. Who knows what that will be.

[terrydtx]

7 hours ago, Ashland said:

As a boomer...the cruiseline doesn't need to put me in their sights...I've been in them a long time and Celebrity & RCI will take my many yearly bookings easily. They can put whoever they want in their sights...doesn't affect me and what I choose to book. 

As a fellow boomer, age 70,  I agree and I will continue to book cruises. Thanks to aggressive saving, investing and now retiring, I have plenty of discretionary income and time to travel first class as we please. We will only book AQ class and above on X and only fly business class on any airline flight over 4 hours in length. We also will only book mainstream cruise with Celebrity. We may also be looking at more premium luxury cruises like Oceania and Viking in the future.

Edited November 15, 2020 by terrydtx

[TeeRick]

Threads with labels and generalizations always bring out the best in people.  Baby Boomers, Gen Xr's, Millennials, who really exactly fits those media and marketing made descriptions?  And who came up with the exact age ranges in these groups anyway?  As far as I can tell these categories are not a part of human genetics.  I do not have the Baby Boomer chromosome dictating all of my actions at my age.  Who cares if Celebrity comes up with marketing material outlined in post #1 of this thread? They will still happily take my money whether I am in their target focus group or not.  It is my choice not their choice.

[Cruise Raider]

17 hours ago, AtlantaCruiser72 said:

The below slide was on a travel agent webinar and describes who they will be "obsessively"  focusing on and marketing to with their new "Always Included" pricing structure and "New Luxury" branding.  It's Gen-X and they are not ashamed to admit that Baby Boomers are no longer the core demographic they want to attract or retain!  It's all about the $$$$, and they see Gen-X as more profitable per guest/day than any other cohort.

 

 

 

I don't necessarily think it is a bad thing to focus their marketing campaigns on younger generations, especially during the time of CoVid, which does tend to have a disproportionate impact on the health and outcomes in older populations.   We are both Baby Boomers but, don't place any blame on cruise lines taking whatever measures are necessary to remain financially stable.  Time will tell if their strategy works. 

I for one, love the all inclusive pricing.  Princess began offering it even before the pandemic for approximately $40 per day pp over and above their base fare, which is an excellent deal for us.  They still do offer a bare bones fare for those that don't want the all inclusivity, as does (or did) Celebrity.  It would be interesting to know how many bookings fall into each of these two pricing structures.  I'm sure Celebrity has done their homework on this.  I've filled out a few online surveys from various cruise lines over recent years with these very questions included.  The final price point (with gratuities, beverages, specialty dinners, WiFi, excursions, airfare, etc.) is most often the key factor in which itinerary and cruise line we book.  The all inclusive pricing is usually a much better deal for us.  

[C-Dragons]

11 hours ago, tert333 said:

The whole point of Celebrity creating the all-inclusive pricing is to increase their revenue/passenger.  There are gen-x  people that don't want the all-inclusive pricing just like there are boomers that don't like it.  For those people that wanted it, they have had that option many years with Celebrity.

 

From traveling on Celebrity for many years, I think there has been a mixture of boomers as there have been Gen-x.   They should put a focus on getting ALL of their previous customers cruising again.  This company has approximately  1 year of cash burn before they run out of money.   I would not be picking and choosing the customers I want at this point. 

 

With all of the bad press that is out there, I think it will be very difficult to get people to cruise in the next year, who have not cruised before.  Celebrity's best bet would be to convince their existing client base back to cruising again(many of which like the base fees for cruising).   I would not want to jeopardize any group of customers at this time.  If, in 2 or 3 years they want to move to an all inclusive pricing model, then do it.   But, at least they will have the crisis behind them.

 

It does not seem logical to me that in the midst of the worst business crisis that the cruise industry is in, they would increase prices(or the perception of such).

Totally agree.

[Welland]

11 hours ago, tert333 said:

The whole point of Celebrity creating the all-inclusive pricing is to increase their revenue/passenger.  There are gen-x  people that don't want the all-inclusive pricing just like there are boomers that don't like it.  For those people that wanted it, they have had that option many years with Celebrity.

 

From traveling on Celebrity for many years, I think there has been a mixture of boomers as there have been Gen-x.   They should put a focus on getting ALL of their previous customers cruising again.  This company has approximately  1 year of cash burn before they run out of money.   I would not be picking and choosing the customers I want at this point. 

 

With all of the bad press that is out there, I think it will be very difficult to get people to cruise in the next year, who have not cruised before.  Celebrity's best bet would be to convince their existing client base back to cruising again(many of which like the base fees for cruising).   I would not want to jeopardize any group of customers at this time.  If, in 2 or 3 years they want to move to an all inclusive pricing model, then do it.   But, at least they will have the crisis behind them.

 

It does not seem logical to me that in the midst of the worst business crisis that the cruise industry is in, they would increase prices(or the perception of such).

Could not agree with you more.   Now that is my personal opinion so for those reading this and don't agree please don't bash me.   You are more than welcome to state your opinion here as well.

[PTC DAWG]

17 hours ago, AtlantaCruiser72 said:

The below slide was on a travel agent webinar and describes who they will be "obsessively"  focusing on and marketing to with their new "Always Included" pricing structure and "New Luxury" branding.  It's Gen-X and they are not ashamed to admit that Baby Boomers are no longer the core demographic they want to attract or retain!  It's all about the $$$$, and they see Gen-X as more profitable per guest/day than any other cohort.

 

 

I’m 57, sounds like me, other than loves social media.  I post here and on one college football board.  

[C-Dragons]

30 minutes ago, TeeRick said:

Threads with labels and generalizations always bring out the best in people.  Baby Boomers, Gen Xr's, Millennials, who really exactly fits those media and marketing made descriptions?  And who came up with the exact age ranges in these groups anyway?  As far as I can tell these categories are not a part of human genetics.  I do not have the Baby Boomer chromosome dictating all of my actions at my age.  Who cares if Celebrity comes up with marketing material outlined in post #1 of this thread? They will still happily take my money whether I am in their target focus group or not.  It is my choice not their choice.

Well said.

I could care less about ads and marketing strategies as I can determine on my own what is worth spending my money on.

I also believe X will never really dissuade any customer. Specific demographics don’t matter, putting money in the bank does.

Edited November 15, 2020 by C-Dragons

[Ken the cruiser]

Hey, we're in our late 60s and as long as X continues to have great evening shows and plenty of things to do on sea days, they can target anyone they like.

[Pinboy]

1 minute ago, Welland said:

Now that is my personal opinion so for those reading this and don't agree please don't bash me.   

I hear ya --

Everyone on sites like this has opinions, however, there are lots who will challenge anything as they sit in their basements looking to stir ( you know what ) .  

I could care less who Celebrity is targeting . If what they offer suits us, we will continue supporting them as long as they don't cut out that one Free gelato or eliminate the golf putting contest.  I'm very anxious to defend my championship .

[ChucktownSteve]

I spent over 40 years in advertising/marketing to the consumer.  I understand what Celebrity is targeting and that is smart to try to create a new brand loyalty aimed at younger potential passengers.

 

That's not what I object to.  It's the things Celebrity does on board to attract them or cut corners that I may not necessarily like.  At some point it will reach my personal tipping point. That's when I will totally abandon them for the more upscale lines that I will get what I enjoy.  Until then, I'll continue to add Celebrity into the mix however I don't sail with them exclusively any more.

 

I too prefer the smaller ships with more personalized service and better food prep. That's why I have never sailed RCL.

 

 

[Host Jazzbeau]

28 minutes ago, ChucktownSteve said:

I spent over 40 years in advertising/marketing to the consumer.  I understand what Celebrity is targeting and that is smart to try to create a new brand loyalty aimed at younger potential passengers.

 

That's not what I object to.  It's the things Celebrity does on board to attract them or cut corners that I may not necessarily like.  At some point it will reach my personal tipping point. That's when I will totally abandon them for the more upscale lines that I will get what I enjoy.  Until then, I'll continue to add Celebrity into the mix however I don't sail with them exclusively any more.

 

I too prefer the smaller ships with more personalized service and better food prep. That's why I have never sailed RCL.

 

This is exactly what I think. I don’t care about their ads, because thanks to certain apps I never see them. But I do care about the onboard ambiance, and that has already changed. If this means it will change further, I’m done. 

[Ashland]

3 hours ago, terrydtx said:

As a fellow boomer, age 70,  I agree and I will continue to book cruises. Thanks to aggressive saving, investing and now retiring, I have plenty of discretionary income and time to travel first class as we please. We will only book AQ class and above on X and only fly business class on any airline flight over 4 hours in length. We also will only book mainstream cruise with Celebrity. We may also be looking at more premium luxury cruises like Oceania and Viking in the future.

Yes...I agree...time and money...life is great !!