NY Times: Regent Targeting Millennials

I believe that would be 'Generation Snowflake'.

 

 

I'd expand that to say I have absolutely no problem with anyone of any age as long as they're not disruptive.

Love "Generation Snowflake"! I've been sitting her wondering if I should comment on your comment and decided to make a couple of soft comments about children. Yes - children can learn to be quiet but I cannot understand why any parent would want to keep their child quiet for a week or two. On the other hand, parents are now permitting their children to sit for hours on end with a phone or tablet in their faces - not communicating with anyone - not playing with other children..... very sad. What is even more sad is the damage this is doing to their necks....... it now has a name "text neck" (that is Googleable - a word I just made up).:halo:

fizzy: So, let me get this straight... you called trivia a sport because you think that I don't like sports? Why would you do that? BTW, to clarify your statement..... I did not say that I do not like sports but did say that I was against Regent spending thousands (perhaps hundreds of thousands) of dollars to show U.S. sporting events onboard their ships. I also said that I do not like football as I find it to be a very brutal and players end up with lifelong injuries. OTOH, I love baseball (do not expect the World Series to be shown on Regent) and enjoy basketball, golf and Olympic sports.

Sorry that the last paragraph was off topic. I guess some people would say that adults that yell and scream at their televisions during sports events are very disruptive, however, I think that all of us realize that there is a time and a place to have fun, laugh and be loud and a time when such behavior would be inappropriate. Children are still learning these things.

I believe that would be 'Generation Snowflake'.

 

 

I'd expand that to say I have absolutely no problem with anyone of any age as long as they're not disruptive.

Bill,

Speaking as a Millennial I can say I don't get them either. However, it may be better to use a less derogatory term such as Gen Z, Post-Millennials, the iGeneration, or Homeland Generation. Plus, if you don't you will start confusing (at least in the U.S.) the generational insults vs the political ones!

~Jar

Bill,

 

Speaking as a Millennial I can say I don't get them either. However, it may be better to use a less derogatory term such as Gen Z, Post-Millennials, the iGeneration, or Homeland Generation. Plus, if you don't you will start confusing (at least in the U.S.) the generational insults vs the political ones!

 

~Jar

Jar,

The generation labels are meant to help identify certain groups, not to offend anyone (and one could make the case that calling my use of the term 'Generation Snowflake' derogatory or an insult just drives home the stereotype of an easily offended group) - I don't even really think there are any real 'generations' to speak of, anyhow, since the definitions and ranges seem pretty arbitrary to me.

Regardless of what group anyone identifies with, you're always going to have some who live the stereotype and some who abhor the stereotype. It doesn't matter if you're a Boomer, X, Y, Z, Snowflake, Greatest, or whatever - if you're cool, you're cool. If you're a twit, you're a twit. It's time we start looking at the individual, not their 'group'. IMHO.

Bill,

 

Speaking as a Millennial I can say I don't get them either. However, it may be better to use a less derogatory term such as Gen Z, Post-Millennials, the iGeneration, or Homeland Generation. Plus, if you don't you will start confusing (at least in the U.S.) the generational insults vs the political ones!

 

~Jar

I don't even understand how these names (not sure who thought them up but they do identify groups of individuals born during certain years) can be construed as political. These terms, IMO, are neither positive or negative - they are simply descriptive.

I'm linking a couple of websites with their "take" on the different generations.

https://www.thoughtco.com/names-of-generations-1435472

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Generation#List_of_generations

http://www.marketingteacher.com/the-six-living-generations-in-america/

An interesting comment on Millennials:

"Why are Millennials getting so much attention now?

In the last two years, Millennials have become the largest generation in the U.S. workforce. Millennials are also the fastest-growing generation of customers in the marketplace, bringing the greatest lifetime value. In addition, Millennials exhibit different attitudes toward employment, sales and marketing, which are challenging many conventional strategies and approaches. No wonder everyone’s talking about Millennials—are they really different? How and why are they different? What can employers, marketers, politicians, educators, and parents do?

Now Millennials have something to look out for, too: the next generation. Known as iGen, Generation Z or Centennials, this new group of people are making big waves in all the ways a generation possibly could—including parenting, education, employment, entrepreneurship, sales, marketing, politics, religion and more. "

I find this stuff very interesting. And, as a proud Baby Boomer, we look forward (as a generation) to many more years of cruising. Growing up we always thought that we would be different than other generations. Whether we were successful is still a question. Without getting political - just something of interest....... Presidents Clinton, G.W. Bush and Trump are all Baby Boomers (and interestingly are all the same age -- within a few months).

I believe that would be 'Generation Snowflake'

And winter is coming.

I was just reading the Oceania board and they are calling the current generation the "cupcake" generation (no clue what it means but it is almost as cute as "snowflake".

AdoraBelle: Are you from Australia by any chance? My cousin in Melbourne just mentioned that the weather was getting colder as fall is approaching (and winter soon after).

Just dipping into the Regent board once again to see what's up. This top posting seems to be typical...way off topic, in this case whining about children, rather than how or should Regent attract millennials? Some 56 posts (and dominated by over-frequent posters) that don't carry the discussion forward. Also the NYT reporter said a 10-day cruise started at about $580/night per person -- or $11,600/couple for 10 days. From what I've seen, per diems on the Explorer quickly rise to about or above $1,000/day.

Just dipping into the Regent board once again to see what's up. This top posting seems to be typical...way off topic, in this case whining about children, rather than how or should Regent attract millennials? Some 56 posts (and dominated by over-frequent posters) that don't carry the discussion forward. Also the NYT reporter said a 10-day cruise started at about $580/night per person -- or $11,600/couple for 10 days. From what I've seen, per diems on the Explorer quickly rise to about or above $1,000/day.

That's the nature of the beast - some threads meander OT, and some come back. Some don't. In this case, it was a less-than-frequent poster who steered the conversation to kids on board.

And technically, the original post wasn't 'how or should Regent attract millenials', it was merely a link to what the OP said was an interesting article.

But you're correct about the fares; it's easy to crack $1K/day per person. Real easy.

Whether it be Millenials or Generation X Y Z, I would be surprised if Regent manage to attract many new cruisers to the line if they realise they will be up against angst from existing Regent long-term customers who only want to see "Regent regulars" on-board:

After reading about Caribbean cruises for the last couple of months, it will be refreshing to have the ship out of that area (and dare I say....... back to having more Regent regulars onboard to make comparisons with other Regent ships). I suspect that the next cruise will bring forth some interesting comments (many Platinum and Titanium's will be onboard). I especially look forward to the report from a poster that I believe is Titanium and has booked a "G" category suite for three people. It will either be the cruise from hell or, hopefully, it will prove to our TA and those of us that are avoiding those suites that they are better suites than we think that they are.

How can there be "assumptions" when comments are based on fact (experienced by you, me and many other Regent guests)? Parents who aware of their children's behavior know where they can or cannot take them without having others disturbed. It behooves parents to work with their children in terms of "public behavior". For instance, a lot of restaurant visits should happen prior to expecting any child to be able to sit for 2 hours in relative silence (or speaking with their "inside voice") And, why would you put your child in a situation where this is required for more than one day? I cannot say this enough...... let children be children (and I don't mean unsupervised monsters - just having an area to run around and play games is almost a necessity for children).

 

LynnRuns, targeting Millennials is not the same as targeting children (thankfully). BTW, other at least two of the three other luxury cruise lines (not naming names) are far more against children onboard than Regent is (and are much more vocal about it than we are) so Regent isn't losing any customers over children (nor is it likely that they will in the future).

 

In general, it seems that Millennials will give luxury cruising a try (or not - I would not have been interested in a luxury cruise line when I was in my 20's nor would I have sought a "party" ship). If they have a good experience, they will likely sail on a luxury cruise line again when they seek a sedate, adult experience. Should they want to travel with their children on a luxury cruise, the summer is a good option on luxury lines that encourage children (Regent being one of them). They will learn, however, that the "Regent Experience" is not the same during the summer as it is the rest of the year. They will choose which experience they prefer.

Travelcat: I am not sure why you're connecting my post to your big gripe with children. I was specifically asking how Regent is really targeting millenials as they typically want different things (eg, more adventure travel, constant connectivity, a lively nightlife, etc.) than Regent's current target market segment. There are certainly a few millenials like Emdee's daughter who would enjoy Regent, but the article which was the subject of the original post was about Regent targeting millenials, but would need to focus on the greater trends and expectations of that population.

This was my post in response Emdee's addressing millenials :

While that is certainly true for the longevity of the brand, the current customer group that has been a longtime stronghold market segment appears to find it a bit appalling the many things that a Gen X or millennial cares about or does not care about. So what should Regent do? Cater to their current clients or try to break out into new segments? They could risk alienating both segments by trying to straddle the market. Or they could alienate their current clients who are likely a steady revenue stream (that will ultimately wane of course). Regent (nor the other luxury brands) have figured out this generation. If they don't, they will lose us to other luxury vacation outfitters. It may not matter today, but I suspect down the road it will be a differentiator.

Whether it be Millenials or Generation X Y Z, I would be surprised if Regent manage to attract many new cruisers to the line if they realise they will be up against angst from existing Regent long-term customers who only want to see "Regent regulars" on-board:

And so this thread makes another turn (but not a bad one). Up until today, the majority of Regent passengers are over 50 (except during the summer and some Caribbean itineraries where there are younger people onboard). Still younger passengers have been increasing (a good thing) and many become Regent regulars (there are several posters in this category).

When the ship is 70-80% return guests (which is typically the case), IMO, these cruises are representative of the "Regent Experience". Either a newbie will like it, love it, or not. Soon, the younger passengers are a bit older - are part of the 70-80% return guests and more newbies start trying out Regent and it progresses from there.

Let's compare that to an Alaska cruise where there are 20% (estimate) Regent regulars - lots of families and children (not complaining about children - just stating differences). Again, in my opinion, someone new to Regent could go on an Alaska cruise and believe that all Regent cruises are similar. They have not had the opportunity to learn what a typical Regent experience is. This is really difficult to explain in writing but I'm doing my best. When we travel, we prefer to have more Regent regulars on board. Having said that, if Regent had 20% newbies on each cruise, they would be thrilled and it would not change the "Regent Experience" (note: "Regent Experience" was used in advertising before it was replaced with everything being "Free")

So, targeting Millennials is a good thing and will keep the flow of younger adults coming to Regent. However, I strongly feel that having seasoned Regent customers onboard is necessary for continuity of the brand.

For what's it's worth, I'm a car guy - I tend to prefer smaller, faster, lighter Eurpoean cars (but will drive just about anything, honestly) and there's a parallel in the car biz right about now, too:

Cadillac had evolved (devolved?) into a manufacturer of road barges - big, floaty, quiet isolation chambers on wheels. Although they had a loyal following for those types of cars, they realized that wasn't the future. You might have noticed the new Cadillac models have slowly shifted to a more compact, taut, sporty style of car. Although they've lost some loyalists, they've also brought in a bunch of newer buyers - younger, affluent, and looking for an American product that meets their needs.

The same has happened with Harley Davidson, Lincoln, even Rolls Royce to a lesser extent.

But while carmakers can introduce new models and keep some of the old ones around a bit longer, it's tougher for a cruise line to do that without major capitol expenditure, i.e. building separate ships (expedition types?) - so you pretty much have to choose your brand and stick with it. I think it's a fairly safe bet that today's generation in their 20s and 30s will quite probably be looking for a somewhat more sedate vacation in their 50s or 60s (or up). I know that in MY case, Regent wouldn't have appealed as much to me at age 25 as it does now at age 55. That's a function of age and maturity, not what generation you're in.

That's not to say I wouldn't like to see just a BIT more 'oomph' in Regent's bars after about 10:00 a few evenings...

Bill, I was thinking about you when I wrote my last post. You are definitely on the younger side (you look younger than your chronological age - thought you were in your 40's) and are a Regent regular. Obviously you were a newbie at one time (as was I). When we were newbies and completed our first "Radisson" cruise, we decided that we wanted to try another cruise (one that wasn't on a leased ship - the PG). Our second cruise was amazing but we were still a bit picky about small stuff that doesn't really matter in the long run. By our third cruise, we were solid Regent regulars and completely hooked.

From reading comments from newbies that sailed on the Explorer the last few months, there are some that will likely become regulars and others that definitely will not. Still, in the long run, Regent continues to gain customers which is the goal in the first place.

P.S. Appreciate you being so astute as to recognize who actually introduced children into this thread!

Bill, I was thinking about you when I wrote my last post. You are definitely on the younger side (you look younger than your chronological age - thought you were in your 40's) and are a Regent regular. Obviously you were a newbie at one time (as was I). When we were newbies and completed our first "Radisson" cruise, we decided that we wanted to try another cruise (one that wasn't on a leased ship - the PG). Our second cruise was amazing but we were still a bit picky about small stuff that doesn't really matter in the long run. By our third cruise, we were solid Regent regulars and completely hooked.

 

From reading comments from newbies that sailed on the Explorer the last few months, there are some that will likely become regulars and others that definitely will not. Still, in the long run, Regent continues to gain customers which is the goal in the first place.

 

P.S. Appreciate you being so astute as to recognize who actually introduced children into this thread!

TC, thanks. My wife was 39 and I was, ahem, still in my 40s when we first sailed Regent. It was our first cruise and we'd already booked our second cruise by about day three. We did a lot of research before deciding on Regent and we haven't regretted our decision yet. A lot of the things we didn't care for on the other luxury lines have changed since we first sailed, but by now we're so comfortable with Regent we don't see a need to change. We still shop around and honestly, if other itineraries on a competing line grab our attention, we'll probably give them a try.

But to try and stay at least somewhat on-topic, both of our daughters love to travel and although their careers aren't quite to the point that they can choose a Regent cruise yet, I'm sure when they're in that market they'll choose Regent because their first cruise was on Regent and that kind of set the bar for them. But if they chose another line, it wouldn't bother me in the least - it would be their choice, and choice is what it's all about.

It is interesting to see that the management of Silversea are taking the opposite view to Regent by not targeting "Millennials":

http://www.cruisecritic.com/news/news.cfm?ID=7711

Also Silversea are sticking to their dress code:

IMO it is good to see each of the luxury lines differentiating themselves; it gives us punters a more varied choice

It is interesting to see that the management of Silversea are taking the opposite view to Regent by not targeting "Millennials":

http://www.cruisecritic.com/news/news.cfm?ID=7711

Muckermann also emphasized that the line's key demographic remains Baby Boomers, i.e. those born between 1946 and 1964. "Our future lies with the Baby Boomers. The Boomers control 68 percent of the wealth in the U.S. and in 15 years will inherit $50 trillion," she said. "The millennials neither have the attitude, nor the money."

Also Silversea are sticking to their dress code:

Muckermann also ruled out Silversea moving to "country club casual" as a dress code, saying its passengers liked to dress up more than passengers on other luxury lines.

 

IMO it is good to see each of the luxury lines differentiating themselves; it gives us punters a more varied choice

As a Boomer and frequent Silversea cruiser, I agree with everything stated above. However, if Mr. Muckermann really believes this, then I wonder why Silver Muse is being built with a children's play room and adjacent outside deck. No other Silversea ship has such areas.

These are not for Boomer's children.

I suggest this is for multi generational cruising. This is becoming very popular. Baby Boomer pays for the family to come along, particularly to celebrate a special birthday etc.

As a Boomer and frequent Silversea cruiser, I agree with everything stated above. However, if Mr. Muckermann really believes this, then I wonder why Silver Muse is being built with a children's play room and adjacent outside deck. No other Silversea ship has such areas.

 

These are not for Boomer's children.

Shocked to hear about Silversea's Muse! Are they waiting for Baby Boomers to die? They may have a long wait since the youngest Baby Boomers are only 53 while the oldest are 70 (not about to keel over any time soon.

sanne: In terms of multi-generational cruising, IMO, any luxury cruise line is not the right cruise line to try. While parents/grandparents may love luxury cruise lines, children/grandchildren for the most part, do not (there are exceptions). Most children do not want to sit 2-3 hours at dinner - not moving from their seats and keeping relatively quiet. IMO, this is more of a punishment for children (unless they have been raised in that environment). OTOH, some parents/grandparents allow children to sit in the suite and watch films while dining on room service food (not much different than being at home).

The exception is during summer months when there are a lot of families cruising - particularly in Alaska. This is the only cruise where I find many children onboard and activities arranged for them. While this exists on some foreign cruises, generally, there are not enough children to have fun with and bored children can sometimes cause issues for passengers.

Will this change in the future? IMO, it is doubtful. Those of you raising children right now will likely want an adult experience when they go off to college. There are very few choices of cruise lines that give you that experience....... Regent, Silversea, Seabourn and Crystal provide it (except when school is not in session).

Younger people that can afford luxury cruising are already doing it (and get along just fine with Baby Boomers and those older than we are). Sometimes I wonder why parents who have multiple options for family cruising want to go on a luxury cruise line with children when, IMO, neither the children or the adults really appreciate having them onboard? Those wanting adult experiences have limited choice and the ships are small. Are we eventually going to have no place to go to enjoy ourselves once our children leave home?

Re: marketing to millennials....On our just ended Mariner cruise most of the evening music [Horizon]

was from the 60's and 70's. There was a pianist in both the Mariner & Observation. Live music ended by 11:30pm. Thereafter there was only a jukebox.....so their marketing strategy for the millennials in escaping me!

Shocked to hear about Silversea's Muse! Are they waiting for Baby Boomers to die? They may have a long wait since the youngest Baby Boomers are only 53 while the oldest are 70 (not about to keel over any time soon.

 

sanne: In terms of multi-generational cruising, IMO, any luxury cruise line is not the right cruise line to try. While parents/grandparents may love luxury cruise lines, children/grandchildren for the most part, do not (there are exceptions). Most children do not want to sit 2-3 hours at dinner - not moving from their seats and keeping relatively quiet. IMO, this is more of a punishment for children (unless they have been raised in that environment). OTOH, some parents/grandparents allow children to sit in the suite and watch films while dining on room service food (not much different than being at home).

 

The exception is during summer months when there are a lot of families cruising - particularly in Alaska. This is the only cruise where I find many children onboard and activities arranged for them. While this exists on some foreign cruises, generally, there are not enough children to have fun with and bored children can sometimes cause issues for passengers.

 

Will this change in the future? IMO, it is doubtful. Those of you raising children right now will likely want an adult experience when they go off to college. There are very few choices of cruise lines that give you that experience....... Regent, Silversea, Seabourn and Crystal provide it (except when school is not in session).

 

Younger people that can afford luxury cruising are already doing it (and get along just fine with Baby Boomers and those older than we are). Sometimes I wonder why parents who have multiple options for family cruising want to go on a luxury cruise line with children when, IMO, neither the children or the adults really appreciate having them onboard? Those wanting adult experiences have limited choice and the ships are small. Are we eventually going to have no place to go to enjoy ourselves once our children leave home?

In my experience, Regent is great for multigenerational cruising. My very first cruise was to Alaska on the Navigator for my parents 50th. There were nine of us including three kids. Other than the on meltdown by the youngest (he was about three). They loved it and we did too. It helped that there were almost 100 kids on board that particular cruise. But that led to the one downside. prime 7 didn't have a table to accommodate all of us at one time. Compass Rose and La Verranda each had one table for 10. As you might guess with a 100 kids there were several groups like ours and the competition for the large tables was fearce. And since then, I've never seen as many kids on one trip, but those I have seen have been very well behaved.

Re: marketing to millennials....On our just ended Mariner cruise most of the evening music [Horizon]

was from the 60's and 70's. There was a pianist in both the Mariner & Observation. Live music ended by 11:30pm. Thereafter there was only a jukebox.....so their marketing strategy for the millennials in escaping me!

'Paula' my better half has just been asking me / hoping that there is some sort of lively bar on board Mariner for late night music and the odd stumble around a dance floor and to be honest 60s and 70s suits me fine.

Any tips would be most gratefully accepted.

We've sailed on silverseas 4 times and found the late night bar fine until about 11 when invariably a 'dj' would take over and completely empty the place with tuneless noise, which I always thought was a cynical ploy.

Trying Regent for the first time Tuesday next as we've been told by several friends met along the way that it is more laid back, which very much suits me with a slightly younger demographic [says me at 63].

Back to my point, any places better or worse for a pair of retired duffers looking for a relaxed easy cruise on Mariner?

Thanks in advance :)

If you are on Mariner, you are in luck. Late night entertainment is provided by Kaisha and Boogie (the Spontaneous Duo), and they will get the place hopping every night.

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Based on our 365 days onboard Regent, I still feel that it is not about the ship or the group playing late at night. It is about the itinerary (whether it is port intensive or not). No matter what your age, if you are up 6:30 a.m. every morning for a 8:00 excursion that returns at 5:00 p.m. and you start the whole thing again, you are not up to being active late at night. This also assumes that you have to go back to your suite, shower, change, go to dinner which lasts approximately 2 hours, attend the show at 9:30 p.m., etc.

Some people are up to a late night even on port intensive cruises. Been there done that and it did not kill us.

If you are on Mariner, you are in luck. Late night entertainment is provided by Kaisha and Boogie (the Spontaneous Duo), and they will get the place hopping every night.

 

 

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Many thanks, BBWC. Looks like we will have some fun :)