Over this past six years, we have seen an accelerated evolution of the cruise industry in my opinion. This has been caused by the plethora of new ships being introduced and a significant redefining of what the cruise experience is by the various cruise lines. Without question, perceptions of cruising by the public have conciously been reshaped by the cruise lines trying to reach out to families, and others who may not have previously considered taking a cruise. The idea of cruises being just for well-to-do older people who spent their time playing shuffleboard are becoming a thing of the past.
One byproduct of this evolution in my opinion is the gradual erasure of the line between the contemporary mass market and premium categories of cruise lines. Perhaps at one time a clear line might have defined the two categories including superior service, food, amenities and ship features. I simply don't believe that exists to any measurable extent anymore. Clearly there was some price differentiation between mass market and premium before, but many times we find lower pricing on the premium category for similar itineraries.
When you look at the major contemporary mass market brands of Royal Caribbean, Carnival, Norwegian and the ships they have built, the improvements in food, the amenities onboard the ships and emphasis on service (excluding the Norwegian Hawaii product) it is hard to see a measureable difference anymore. As Princess has tried to become all things to all people, as Holland America has attempted to redefine it's market and Celebrity has stumbled several times in the last year, I find it harder and harder to distinguish. Our customer satisfaction surveys find that the mass market brands regularly deliver a top notch experience. Over the past few years, we see more critical comments coming from the premium brands (maybe expectations were higher.)
We were recently on the new Norwegian Pearl and it was as beautiful, elegant and well designed as any premium, and most luxury ships out there. The food was exceptionally good and the service excellent. Likewise, we were on the Freedom of the Seas and while large, the ship is one of the finest built in my opinion. Again, service and food were certainly very good.
We have been on Princess and had mediocre service, Celebrity and had bland food with curious menus and Holland America with a lot of cranky older people even though the proclaim that is not their primary market today. In fairness, Holland America's Signature of Excellence program moved them a notch ahead of Princess and Celebrity in my opinion.
If anything, I have come to the conclusion that what differentiates the cruise lines is more a product of ship size than anything else. There still are some definite service standards that define luxury, but by and large you are looking at much smaller ships (exception: QM2) highly personalized service, more inclusions and more exotic itineraries. The degree of specialization for many of the luxury lines leaves a clear distinction I believe.
I am not necessarily suggesting this erasure of lines is a bad thing. Nor do I think that the premium category has had a major slide downhill. It is more that the contemporay mass market brands have taken a leap ahead. It just doesn't seem to me the premium category has the bragging rights they once did. In the end, the quality and value of the cruise experience is determined by the customer. Customers are clearly voting with their pocketbook and the contemporary mass market brand are certainly holding their own.
One byproduct of this evolution in my opinion is the gradual erasure of the line between the contemporary mass market and premium categories of cruise lines. Perhaps at one time a clear line might have defined the two categories including superior service, food, amenities and ship features. I simply don't believe that exists to any measurable extent anymore. Clearly there was some price differentiation between mass market and premium before, but many times we find lower pricing on the premium category for similar itineraries.
When you look at the major contemporary mass market brands of Royal Caribbean, Carnival, Norwegian and the ships they have built, the improvements in food, the amenities onboard the ships and emphasis on service (excluding the Norwegian Hawaii product) it is hard to see a measureable difference anymore. As Princess has tried to become all things to all people, as Holland America has attempted to redefine it's market and Celebrity has stumbled several times in the last year, I find it harder and harder to distinguish. Our customer satisfaction surveys find that the mass market brands regularly deliver a top notch experience. Over the past few years, we see more critical comments coming from the premium brands (maybe expectations were higher.)
We were recently on the new Norwegian Pearl and it was as beautiful, elegant and well designed as any premium, and most luxury ships out there. The food was exceptionally good and the service excellent. Likewise, we were on the Freedom of the Seas and while large, the ship is one of the finest built in my opinion. Again, service and food were certainly very good.
We have been on Princess and had mediocre service, Celebrity and had bland food with curious menus and Holland America with a lot of cranky older people even though the proclaim that is not their primary market today. In fairness, Holland America's Signature of Excellence program moved them a notch ahead of Princess and Celebrity in my opinion.
If anything, I have come to the conclusion that what differentiates the cruise lines is more a product of ship size than anything else. There still are some definite service standards that define luxury, but by and large you are looking at much smaller ships (exception: QM2) highly personalized service, more inclusions and more exotic itineraries. The degree of specialization for many of the luxury lines leaves a clear distinction I believe.
I am not necessarily suggesting this erasure of lines is a bad thing. Nor do I think that the premium category has had a major slide downhill. It is more that the contemporay mass market brands have taken a leap ahead. It just doesn't seem to me the premium category has the bragging rights they once did. In the end, the quality and value of the cruise experience is determined by the customer. Customers are clearly voting with their pocketbook and the contemporary mass market brand are certainly holding their own.