Will MSC's New Luxury Brand Help to Lower Luxury Prices Company Wide?

[Homosassa]

1 hour ago, dexddd said:

Isn't it a moot point since you won't be sailing MSC anymore?   And let me put in a disclaimer...your opinion may defer from mine...

I guess I should have been clearer on my statement. However, the clause "at this point" in that post  should have indicated a finite timeframe.

 

I am not interested in rebooking my cancelled cruise on MSC at this point as I prefer vaccinated cruises. I am, therefore, looking at HAL in Alaska and Viking Ocean in Iceland for this summer.

 

I also feel that in the future that similar to the CDC mandated reporting and controls for the norovirus on cruise ships, we will find that procedures for Covid 19 and possibly other highly contagious respiratory disease (think flu or pneumonia), will become part of on board ship procedures and controls.

 

I was very impressed with the procedures on my March 2020 Armonia cruise which was before the availability of the vaccines. I am not sure why MSC decided against the further enhancement of their on board control by incorporating the protection of vaccines.

 

I will evaluate MSC, and any other cruise line that I may cruise on, in the future to decide if I will cruise.

 

The new Explora line doesn't cruise until 2023.  Who knows what procedures will be in place at that point. And, while this might offend some, there is a difference in passenger demographics in the luxury cruise tier.  It seems like passengers on those line have no problem understanding current public health recommendations and following them.   

 

I am flattered that my opinion may defer yours....

Edited June 11, 2021 by Homosassa

[Stockjock]

19 hours ago, Nunagoras said:

With Pullmantur out of business and Costa going out of their usual 3* experience level (at least on the new builds) MSC will in average to become perhaps the most budget line available with all the consequences, good and bad, for both the clientele environment and the company itself.

There is a chance Pullmantur will be resuming operations.  I'm told that some/many Pullmantur crew members may be offered a new contract on or about December 2, 2021.

If that were to occur it could mean one of several things:

A. Former Pullmantur employees will be redeployed on various Royal Caribbean/Celebrity ships.

B. A reemergence of Pullmantur from bankruptcy.  If that occurs, my bet is that the Celebrity Infinity and Celebrity Constellation get transferred over to them, but only time will tell.

[Hlitner]

Comparing the YC to a small/medium ship luxury line is apples to oranges.  We have cruised in the YC and live the experience but we also like the luxury lines.  Being in the YC gets us some luxury touches with the benefits of the amenities found on large ships.  Small ship cruising is also wonderful but different.  We will continue to book both and also some basic mass market cruises on Princess, HAL, and perhaps a few more Celebrity cruises.  Variety is fun and keeps everything fresh and exciting.

 

Hank

[WorldTraveler151208]

I heard that prices will start at 3700 Euro per person, per week, so it will definitely be much more expensive than Msc Yacht Club.  At the moment it is difficult to say if this is a lot, because we don’t know what the cabins will look like and what will be included in the price. I hope it will be an ultra all-inclusive concept like Regent.

 

I wouldn't compare Explora to Viking Ocean.  For now, the renderings only show the pool and the lobby, but I expect the decor to be much more opulent than the Scandinavian design on Viking. I also assume that Explora will offer a more elegant cruising experience than Viking, including butler service etc.

 

So far I really like this concept.  The demand for luxury cruises is growing and I believe it could be a great success. I’m just afraid that after the launch of this new cruise line, Msc Yacht Club will fall apart completely. The quality is getting worse already. I expect that the best crew members and the more demanding clientele will move to Explora, so Yacht Club will become a mass market products just like the rest of Msc.

Edited June 13, 2021 by WorldTraveler151208

[MotownVoice]

1 hour ago, WorldTraveler151208 said:

I expect that the best crew members and the more demanding clientele will move to Explora, so Yacht Club will become a mass market products just like the rest of Msc.

 I concur, that was exactly the basis on which my original premise was made.  Folks who want to separate themselves from the new money customers  will move to Explora, and Yacht Club will be rebranded to appeal to those of us who remain (many of which probably don’t actually have the real means to cruise but do it anyway because we love it that much).

[Nunagoras]

Problem is:: There is a big gap between YC and what by the few renderings seems to be Explora experience!... Explora seems far more opulent than Viking as some others have noticed!... Apart the few ones going on those few royal/owners suites on the YC, there is no way the clientele to be the same. On that the best butlers might to fly Explora, that is for certain, but on the clientele there won't be any changes at all! Distinct apples for distinct cruisers!...

 

So, now: What MSC needs is a mid priced product to cater for those of us for whom current MSC is too "poor" but whom doesn't have interest on small enclaves like the YC or don't want the more Americanized experiences provided elsewhere. Then yeah, that day, the YC could be rebranded to suit a newer generation and to be just another top mainstream experience.

 

I believe that a Princess like Italian flavored brand would to be more than accepted in the market. 100k GT ships with 3k guests, half inclusive, classical "old style" Affordable Elegant cruising experience, tweaked here and there to cope with the contemporary needs, at basically starting around, maybe little bit above current Aurea average prices would to be great! Some markets are having a surge on demand for upper mainstream, these days.

 

Have a nice day!...

[hamrag]

On 6/10/2021 at 8:29 PM, Stockjock said:

....I've harped on the lack of MSC customer service many times....

Hadn't noticed! 🙄

[sidari]

3 hours ago, Nunagoras said:

Problem is:: There is a big gap between YC and what by the few renderings seems to be Explora experience!... Explora seems far more opulent than Viking as some others have noticed!... Apart the few ones going on those few royal/owners suites on the YC, there is no way the clientele to be the same. On that the best butlers might to fly Explora, that is for certain, but on the clientele there won't be any changes at all! Distinct apples for distinct cruisers!...

 

So, now: What MSC needs is a mid priced product to cater for those of us for whom current MSC is too "poor" but whom doesn't have interest on small enclaves like the YC or don't want the more Americanized experiences provided elsewhere. Then yeah, that day, the YC could be rebranded to suit a newer generation and to be just another top mainstream experience.

 

I believe that a Princess like Italian flavored brand would to be more than accepted in the market. 100k GT ships with 3k guests, half inclusive, classical "old style" Affordable Elegant cruising experience, tweaked here and there to cope with the contemporary needs, at basically starting around, maybe little bit above current Aurea average prices would to be great! Some markets are having a surge on demand for upper mainstream, these days.

 

Have a nice day!...

Nuna ... The reality of the difference between the renderings and the actual product is often not always the same as was seen with the Deck 9 Aft side cabins which ended up as a poor relation to the renderings.

[CGTNORMANDIE]

5 hours ago, Nunagoras said:

Problem is:: There is a big gap between YC and what by the few renderings seems to be Explora experience!... Explora seems far more opulent than Viking as some others have noticed!... Apart the few ones going on those few royal/owners suites on the YC, there is no way the clientele to be the same. On that the best butlers might to fly Explora, that is for certain, but on the clientele there won't be any changes at all! Distinct apples for distinct cruisers!...

 

So, now: What MSC needs is a mid priced product to cater for those of us for whom current MSC is too "poor" but whom doesn't have interest on small enclaves like the YC or don't want the more Americanized experiences provided elsewhere. Then yeah, that day, the YC could be rebranded to suit a newer generation and to be just another top mainstream experience.

 

I believe that a Princess like Italian flavored brand would to be more than accepted in the market. 100k GT ships with 3k guests, half inclusive, classical "old style" Affordable Elegant cruising experience, tweaked here and there to cope with the contemporary needs, at basically starting around, maybe little bit above current Aurea average prices would to be great! Some markets are having a surge on demand for upper mainstream, these days.

 

Have a nice day!...

So far there has been no sign that YC pax would move to a Luxury small ship product.   The numbers of YC pax who also cruise on the Luxury lines are very few.  The MSC Luxury product will be competing with the other Luxury lines.  The MSC Yacht Club will remain a singular venue onboard the larger MSC ships and MSC customer service will continue to be problematic but slowly improving.  

[WorldTraveler151208]

5 hours ago, Nunagoras said:

I believe that a Princess like Italian flavored brand would to be more than accepted in the market. 100k GT ships with 3k guests, half inclusive, classical "old style" Affordable Elegant cruising experience, tweaked here and there to cope with the contemporary needs, at basically starting around, maybe little bit above current Aurea average prices would to be great! Some markets are having a surge on demand for upper mainstream, these days.

Yes, I agree. The differences in the cruise industry are growing.  Cruise lines like Carnival, Costa, Msc, actually also Princess build huge ships for mass market. On the other hand, the ultra-luxury market segment is developing very fast at the moment. Unfortunately, nobody wants to build new medium-sized ships. Maybe one exception is Virgin, but personally, I don't really like the design of their ships.

[Nunagoras]

16 hours ago, WorldTraveler151208 said:

Yes, I agree. The differences in the cruise industry are growing.  Cruise lines like Carnival, Costa, Msc, actually also Princess build huge ships for mass market. On the other hand, the ultra-luxury market segment is developing very fast at the moment. Unfortunately, nobody wants to build new medium-sized ships. Maybe one exception is Virgin, but personally, I don't really like the design of their ships.

Actually both the Virgin Scarlet Lady and all the newer Princess Royal class ships are nearly the size of the MSC's Fantasia class, but with less passengers! Virgin a bit shorter, Princess a bit larger, but in average, the same!...

 

Virgin is a very niche market that doesn't interest me by any means... Of course good for the ones wishing to go!... If those communities wanting such a product like that are big enough to make it profitable in the next years to come, great!... If not, there will be 4 wonderful relatively new ships on the 2nd hand market in a few years... Who knows, whom the heck will pick them, convert and rebrand!...

[Nunagoras]

18 hours ago, sidari said:

Nuna ... The reality of the difference between the renderings and the actual product is often not always the same as was seen with the Deck 9 Aft side cabins which ended up as a poor relation to the renderings.

Obviously renderings are renderings... But they give up an idea... And for me, while Explora ships are mande from the same Fincantieri prototype that boost the wonderful successful Viking ships with more or less same capacity; it seems clear that the product complexity runs more towards the likes of Silversea than the likes of Viking... It will to be interesting to see where Explora will and up price wise... Or is it only me; or as promised, MSC is creating here a real niche for their own!... My bet is for something in between Viking and Silversea market tag, or in other words: Silversea lite... Time will tell...

[scamper]

Pricing (starting at $4999 per for a seven night) seems a tad steep, even for a luxury line.  I realize fares are all very complicated and depend on a variety of factors, but pricing a rando seven night Caribbean cruise on Seven Seas Splendor is $4199 per couple (2 for 1), including domestic economy air in March, 2023.  It will be interesting to see where that goes, but if the fares remain fairly constant I would be perfectly happy staying with YC.

Edited June 14, 2021 by scamper
making it easier to read