luckycruzer Posted April 3, 2008 #1 Share Posted April 3, 2008 to me today. I sent one to him in regards to my last cruise,and the staff members who made this particular cruise extra special for me as well as my Platinum one. It was late in coming as I have been pre-occupied with getting my new home in order. I suffered an apartment fire just 2 weeks previous to my January cruise, but didnt cancel it as It was my much needed reward!. He was very gracious and thanked me for the comments, and praising the staff members that stood out. I mentioned Cruise Critic as well. I think he is making strides for a better product, and I appreciate his immediate response. One of my friends on board was kind enough to procure his personal email addy. I am very impressed with Gerry Cahill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrendaB1 Posted April 3, 2008 #2 Share Posted April 3, 2008 Sorry but let me be the first one to disagree. I'm not impressed with him at all. Prices for single cruisers along with everybody have increased. Onboard amenties are less than before. I want Uncle Bob back. :D Seems like Uncle New Guy is just trying to show a big profit....at our expense. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wanman Posted April 3, 2008 #3 Share Posted April 3, 2008 Sorry but let me be the first one to disagree. I'm not impressed with him at all. Prices for single cruisers along with everybody have increased. Onboard amenties are less than before. I want Uncle Bob back. :D Seems like Uncle New Guy is just trying to show a big profit....at our expense. I have to agree. The higher cruise prices really hurt us singles. I do think he is beinging on some good ideas and improvments but I don't thinkg a single cruise gets a good deal anymore. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luckycruzer Posted April 3, 2008 Author #4 Share Posted April 3, 2008 And I pay single sup every time I cruise..and tip extra,buy drinks, pictures, shop.. and still manage to go 6 to 8 times a year..It's all in the priorities of my life. I'm sure a great deal of research is done befor new ideas, charges, or which beer they purchase. It is a business..they wish to show a profit, . We buy their product....or not Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wanman Posted April 3, 2008 #5 Share Posted April 3, 2008 And I pay single sup every time I cruise..and tip extra,buy drinks, pictures, shop.. and still manage to go 6 to 8 times a year..It's all in the priorities of my life. I'm sure a great deal of research is done befor new ideas, charges, or which beer they purchase. It is a business..they wish to show a profit, . We buy their product....or not You are right, but tell me, do you enjoy paying the higher prices since Cahill took over? Will I stop cruising? nope but I will have to not go as often. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wennfred Posted April 3, 2008 #6 Share Posted April 3, 2008 I have to agree with Brenda also, All I want you to do is ask the crew, no one is happy onboard carnival ships. Alot of the crew is leaving this year, most are jumping ship and heading to other cruiselines that has nothing to do with Carnival. This guy is a head hunter. I got a very good sense immediately from the crew when I talked to them. Oh and one last thing, check out the dining room the next time you go and see how thin its getting with less dining staff. These crewmen are working double shift because of cut backs. A letter written and sent by Gerry Staff is not going to change my mind about him. I didnt like this guy from day one, Uncle Bob was a people person, we really need him back. Fred Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skylock Posted April 3, 2008 #7 Share Posted April 3, 2008 Reminds me of the new administrator at a place I work. First day he got up there and gave a great speech. Well great to everyone except me. Because while he looked good and sounded good, if you broke down what he actually said, it was nothing. Just because the man took the time to thank you in an email means nothing. The changes he is making in the company is what counts and I think we can all see where that is going. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chigirlcruzin Posted April 3, 2008 #8 Share Posted April 3, 2008 As CEO, it is his responsibility to shareholders to increase profits. Given the economic transformation that we are in (which I feel is more relevant than any recession - this transformation is scarier because it won't go away), I don't know that Uncle Bob would have fared better. They are facing the same cost pressures that we are - increased fuel, food, etc. While I don't agree with some of the changes he's making (cutting DR staff for one, retroactive fuel surcharge was not his call), he's the victim of taking over during a rough economic climate, so therefore, he's getting the blame. I'm facing many of the same pressures in my job, and you really have 4 choices - reduce quality, reduce quantity, take an increase and pass it along, or take a cost increase and leave things as is. Obviously the last choice is the most appealing to consumers, but it's not going to help grow profits. Sometimes you have to do it if you've reached a consumer price threshold, but then something else has to make up for those lost profits. Believe me, I don't like paying any more than before, but I understand. And from what I understand, it's worse elsewhere...have you seen the RCI boards lately? I will judge for myself when I cruise in 10 days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chigirlcruzin Posted April 3, 2008 #9 Share Posted April 3, 2008 Increased fares? Where? I'm not seeing it. In fact, I just pretended to book the same cruise I took in October, and the price for both double occupancy and single occupancy is the same as last year plus the fuel surcharge. So I guess, yes, you can say the fares are increasing because of the fuel surcharge, but that $35 doesn't make a huge difference, and I can understand why it's been added. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cathyoo Posted April 3, 2008 #10 Share Posted April 3, 2008 And I pay single sup every time I cruise..and tip extra,buy drinks, pictures, shop.. and still manage to go 6 to 8 times a year..It's all in the priorities of my life. I'm sure a great deal of research is done befor new ideas, charges, or which beer they purchase. It is a business..they wish to show a profit, . We buy their product....or not 6-8 times a year... all I can say is you are one Dam# lucky cruzer... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tnsail Posted April 3, 2008 #11 Share Posted April 3, 2008 I don't envy the job Cahill has got.... On one side, he has customers (cruisers) who want status quo, "if it ain't broke don't fix it"... On the other he has investors that are screaming for increased profits.... Even where I work we are constantly going thru change, "Do more with less people", "Cut back on overtime", put off upgrading equipment, and the list goes on and on.... When a manager takes a look at the spread sheet there are many things that they can't control. The price of food, price of fuel oil, port cost, etc. (I would imagine that those are some of the items that he is looking at)... The one thing that he can control are labor cost... By cutting crew sizes and increasing the load that the remaining crew have to bear cuts cost. Do I think its right or fair, hell no, but then again I don't have managers of big mutual funds telling me that they are going to dump $4,000,000,000 worth of stock if they can't get more return on their money... The world of investments has changed before our very eyes... With all the 401K plans and everyone trying to get into the best (most profitable) mutual funds, the pressures on business are increasing by the minute.... Yes, we as cruiser are going to suffer in the end but only to the point where it becomes a better vacation to do some all-inclusive at a island or just not cruise at all, then the cruise business will transform again.... Now off my soap box....:o Joey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
inco Posted April 3, 2008 #12 Share Posted April 3, 2008 Maybe there should be a new type of cruise ship built - one geared to singles. No silly, not the Love Boat,:D The Lone Boat! :rolleyes: Seriously, there should be some way to modify the boats to attract that crowd. I'm not thinking young folks although it would suit older children well, but rather older adults who have lost their partners and still want to cruise. There are a lot of single seniors who probably would cruise if they didn't have to pay so much to be single. My .02.;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chigirlcruzin Posted April 3, 2008 #13 Share Posted April 3, 2008 Maybe there should be a new type of cruise ship built - one geared to singles. No silly, not the Love Boat,:D The Lone Boat! :rolleyes: Seriously, there should be some way to modify the boats to attract that crowd. I'm not thinking young folks although it would suit older children well, but rather older adults who have lost their partners and still want to cruise. There are a lot of single seniors who probably would cruise if they didn't have to pay so much to be single. My .02.;) Hey, I'm 31 and I've sailed solo a few times. I would love the idea of a lone boat lol:). It's so hard to get a group of friends together to cruise; I usually get frustrated and book on my own. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skylock Posted April 3, 2008 #14 Share Posted April 3, 2008 I don't envy the job Cahill has got.... On one side, he has customers (cruisers) who want status quo, "if it ain't broke don't fix it"... On the other he has investors that are screaming for increased profits.... Even where I work we are constantly going thru change, "Do more with less people", "Cut back on overtime", put off upgrading equipment, and the list goes on and on.... When a manager takes a look at the spread sheet there are many things that they can't control. The price of food, price of fuel oil, port cost, etc. (I would imagine that those are some of the items that he is looking at)... The one thing that he can control are labor cost... By cutting crew sizes and increasing the load that the remaining crew have to bear cuts cost. Do I think its right or fair, hell no, but then again I don't have managers of big mutual funds telling me that they are going to dump $4,000,000,000 worth of stock if they can't get more return on their money... The world of investments has changed before our very eyes... With all the 401K plans and everyone trying to get into the best (most profitable) mutual funds, the pressures on business are increasing by the minute.... Yes, we as cruiser are going to suffer in the end but only to the point where it becomes a better vacation to do some all-inclusive at a island or just not cruise at all, then the cruise business will transform again.... Now off my soap box....:o Joey Good points, BUT, Carnival's labor cost is the lowest thing they have going. They put it on the pax to pay the help so to speak. By cutting this low cost labor, they are cutting their throats if you ask me. If you are waited on hand and foot and in a timely manor, you don't miss some of the other things. And I think all of us that have cruised lately have noticed decreased service in the dining room. My last two cruises, the slide was open only for a very very short time. (No employee to spare there?) As for me, I will continue to cruise my short cruises because it is cheaper than airfare to where I want to go, but if the price gets closer together, I will definately do land vacation. My next AI in puerto vallarta including air for 2 is $2650 in June. And that includes EVERYTHING for 7 nights. Airport transfers, all meals. Up to 5 excursions, all tips, all drinks (alcohol too), water sports, nightly entertainment. spa treatments, daily activiries, the lot in a deluxe suite with balcony, 2 person jacuzzi bath, daily stocked fridge and stocked bar in the room plus 24 hour room service and it is right on the beach where there is drink/snack service (included). They bring you a bottle of wine to your table every night. All included. They even provide your personal items ie shampoo, toothpaste, toothbrush, lotion, sewing kit, house slippers, razors, shave cream, and more I can't even remember. I have no idea what that would cost me on a cruise, but I know it would be more than I am paying. When I want a really nice vacation, I will do AI in Mexico. When I want to go diving only I will cruise (if the price stays right). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DebBrown Posted April 3, 2008 #15 Share Posted April 3, 2008 Increased fares? Where? I'm not seeing it. In fact, I just pretended to book the same cruise I took in October, and the price for both double occupancy and single occupancy is the same as last year plus the fuel surcharge. So I guess, yes, you can say the fares are increasing because of the fuel surcharge, but that $35 doesn't make a huge difference, and I can understand why it's been added. I agree. We just booked a 7 day on the Victory and paid $800 each for a balcony and that includes the fuel surcharge. I thought that was a GREAT deal!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruisecastle Posted April 3, 2008 #16 Share Posted April 3, 2008 Sorry but let me be the first one to disagree. I'm not impressed with him at all. Prices for single cruisers along with everybody have increased. Onboard amenties are less than before. I want Uncle Bob back. :D Seems like Uncle New Guy is just trying to show a big profit....at our expense. The goal is reduce the number of solo cruisers as they cost the line revenues. Further, one of the goals is to try and change the "type" of person that cruises Carnival. For years Carnival has been frustrated that despite the changes they have made they can't shake the riff-raff/trouble making/white-trash/ portion of their passenger make-up. What they immediately learned when they started cruising in europe is that higher prices is the number one weapon to remove this element while not deterring the type of passengers they really want. In my opinion Carnival's prices are too low and an increase will only improve the overall cruise experience. The make up of the passengers on our Spirit cruise last week was the best I've ever seen on a domestic Carnival cruise and probably the ideal from Carnivals perspective. Further, the lies posted on here about more staff being unhappy is not true. Just off the Spirit last week and the crew was great, dining room service was superb and most crew members I spoke with were planning to re-up. Some people are basically being asked (via higher prices) not to come back and that is upsetting some and creating posters with an agenda/ax to grind against Carnival. The Carnival cruise experience is better today than it's ever been. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StrangeBrew Posted April 3, 2008 #17 Share Posted April 3, 2008 July 9th, 2007, 10:01 AM RjayB vbmenu_register("postmenu_10764553", true); Cool Cruiser Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Charlotte, NC Posts: 177 This is worse news than you may think: "Gerry Cahill, executive vice president and CFO of Carnival Corporation & plc, will assume Dickinson's responsibilities as president and CEO effective immediately so that there is an ample transition period." Gerry is a bean-counter. They are putting a bean-counter in charge of the cruise line!:( Do not be surprised if fares go up, "freebies" are discontinued, food quality declines, and service in general gets worse. Then again, perhaps I'm being too much of an alarmist...;) Looks as if he is a savant . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoinCruisin Posted April 3, 2008 #18 Share Posted April 3, 2008 The goal is reduce the number of solo cruisers as they cost the line revenues. Further, one of the goals is to try and change the "type" of person that cruises Carnival. For years Carnival has been frustrated that despite the changes they have made they can't shake the riff-raff/trouble making/white-trash/ portion of their passenger make-up. What they immediately learned when they started cruising in europe is that higher prices is the number one weapon to remove this element while not deterring the type of passengers they really want. In my opinion Carnival's prices are too low and an increase will only improve the overall cruise experience. The make up of the passengers on our Spirit cruise last week was the best I've ever seen on a domestic Carnival cruise and probably the ideal from Carnivals perspective. Further, the lies posted on here about more staff being unhappy is not true. Just off the Spirit last week and the crew was great, dining room service was superb and most crew members I spoke with were planning to re-up. Some people are basically being asked (via higher prices) not to come back and that is upsetting some and creating posters with an agenda/ax to grind against Carnival. The Carnival cruise experience is better today than it's ever been. Can you cite your sources for this info? The reason for the price increases brought up by both Bob and Gerry didn't echo this at all :confused: And it certainly doesn't explain the changes to the single supplement last year, since I would imagine that they have the least trouble from that demographic. This makes zero sense. As for the staff not being happy, the layoffs and increased hours is certainly making a lot of the staff uneasy and unhappy, not all, but many. I highly doubt a staff member is going to tell a passenger that they are uneasy, unhappy, worried, etc. I would have to believe the price increases were based far more on increased cost and demand than anything else. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snorkel2Much Posted April 3, 2008 #19 Share Posted April 3, 2008 The goal is reduce the number of solo cruisers as they cost the line revenues. Further, one of the goals is to try and change the "type" of person that cruises Carnival. For years Carnival has been frustrated that despite the changes they have made they can't shake the riff-raff/trouble making/white-trash/ portion of their passenger make-up. What they immediately learned when they started cruising in europe is that higher prices is the number one weapon to remove this element while not deterring the type of passengers they really want. In my opinion Carnival's prices are too low and an increase will only improve the overall cruise experience. The make up of the passengers on our Spirit cruise last week was the best I've ever seen on a domestic Carnival cruise and probably the ideal from Carnivals perspective. Further, the lies posted on here about more staff being unhappy is not true. Just off the Spirit last week and the crew was great, dining room service was superb and most crew members I spoke with were planning to re-up. Some people are basically being asked (via higher prices) not to come back and that is upsetting some and creating posters with an agenda/ax to grind against Carnival. The Carnival cruise experience is better today than it's ever been. ???? You take 1 Carnival cruise in the last 2 years and now anyone else who might have different experiences are liars and/or riff-raff/trouble making/white-trash? :rolleyes: please............ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoinCruisin Posted April 3, 2008 #20 Share Posted April 3, 2008 ???? You take 1 Carnival cruise in the last 2 years and now anyone else who might have different experiences are liars and/or riff-raff/trouble making/white-trash?:rolleyes: please............ LOL Snorkel, this poster generally calls at least one person a liar in all of their posts.. it's the norm. You have to take all of his/her posts with a grain of salt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L2J Posted April 3, 2008 #21 Share Posted April 3, 2008 As CEO, it is his responsibility to shareholders to increase profits. Yes but he's also a bean counter.:cool: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snorkel2Much Posted April 3, 2008 #22 Share Posted April 3, 2008 LOL Snorkel, this poster generally calls at least one person a liar in all of their posts.. it's the norm. You have to take all of his/her posts with a grain of salt. Interesting.... my ex-wife became (or revealed herself to be) a chronic liar, but was always lightning quick to accuse others of dishonesty. I wonder if she was a "one-off", or part of a trend? ;) :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruisecastle Posted April 3, 2008 #23 Share Posted April 3, 2008 Can you cite your sources for this info? The reason for the price increases brought up by both Bob and Gerry didn't echo this at all :confused: And it certainly doesn't explain the changes to the single supplement last year, since I would imagine that they have the least trouble from that demographic. This makes zero sense. As for the staff not being happy, the layoffs and increased hours is certainly making a lot of the staff uneasy and unhappy, not all, but many. I highly doubt a staff member is going to tell a passenger that they are uneasy, unhappy, worried, etc. I would have to believe the price increases were based far more on increased cost and demand than anything else. This is not something they announce but it's obvious if you look at what they are doing. The refurbishments that include the family waterworks etc.. They want to move Carnival to the "family choice". Regarding singles it certianly makes sense. They spend less on average while on a cruise so increasing the supplement just makes sense. Further they want families not singles. Further I think common sense tells you single cruisers are going to be more of the party mode than families so I think common sense tells you they probably have more problems not less with this type of cruiser Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruisecastle Posted April 3, 2008 #24 Share Posted April 3, 2008 ???? You take 1 Carnival cruise in the last 2 years and now anyone else who might have different experiences are liars and/or riff-raff/trouble making/white-trash?:rolleyes: please............ 4 in 4 years but who's counting. Further it's 2 in 2 years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snorkel2Much Posted April 3, 2008 #25 Share Posted April 3, 2008 This is not something they announce but it's obvious if you look at what they are doing. The refurbishments that include the family waterworks etc.. They want to move Carnival to the "family choice". Regarding singles it certianly makes sense. They spend less on average while on a cruise so increasing the supplement just makes sense. Further they want families not singles. Further I think common sense tells you single cruisers are going to be more of the party mode than families so I think common sense tells you they probably have more problems not less with this type of cruiser I hate to pop the bubble on your "facts", but Carnival owns several "upscale" cruise lines. If the exec's motives were as you imagine, they would be renaming the Fantasy class vessels as they rotate through drydock to the "Seabourne Inspiration" and the "Seabourne Imagination", etc. ;) :D Ever think about posting references to your "facts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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