Royal Caribbean to invest in Silversea Cruises.

Oh dear. Another line to be downgraded? Probably. We will see as we have enjoyed Silversea.

That was my first thought..,Royal C via LLP has certainly downgraded X fairly quickly,....yet charging more than ever before,...

I don’t see them amalgamating the two lines. They attract different cruisers, have different price points, and could easily both serve the expedition market or the Caribbean market or the European market or anywhere they choose to schedule their ships.

And what does this mean for Azamara? Aren't they considered the luxury branch of RCL?

Looking more broadly, I think it is a direct shot across the bow of Viking Ocean.

But look at the bright side...

A whole new cruise line for you to complain about! :D

Don’t need another cruise line, there’s more than enough to complain about with this one.

And what does this mean for Azamara?.

I have always wondered why the Celebrity Xpedition ship's weren't transferred over to Azamara...they have nothing in common with Celebrity's mainline fleet. Much closer to Azamara, IMHO....

And what does this mean for Azamara? Aren't they considered the luxury branch of RCL?

 

Looking more broadly, I think it is a direct shot across the bow of Viking Ocean.

Azamara and Silversea don't compete. Azamara isn't luxury. They compete more with Viking in the smaller ship premium sector.

Phil

I think this is a smart business decision as it gives them a true luxury brand to go head to head with NCL (Regent) and Carnival (Seabourn). RCCL now have a brand (or multiple brands) in all 3 major market segments.

I always break down the major players as follows:

Ultra Luxury/Luxury: Regent, Silversea, Crystal, Seabourn

Luxury Light/Ultra Premium: Viking, Oceania, Azamara, Cunard

Mainstream/Premium: Royal Caribbean, Celebrity, Holland America, Princess, NCL, P&O, MSC

Mainstream/Budget: Carnival, Costa

There are a number of more niche lines, or regional players, that I left off of the list as they have very specific market demographics or marketing focus.

Silversea is is one of the last bastions of the strictly enforced dress code. All public areas after 6pm. I wonder if that will go?

Also, we liked the fact that there was no distinction between guests depending on which suite they were in, which seems to be creeping in on other lines. Everyone used the same facilities and had the same incredible quality of service from the happiest crew we have ever encountered on many cruise lines.

You need to be good at entertaining yourself, as the ships are smaller and do not have the facilities for wall to wall activities.

We will be watching with interest. Hopefully not much will change. I think there is always a place for something a bit special.

Will this mean that the Celebrity fleet will be "Silverized"?:D

No it means that the Silver Seas web site will soon turn to crappola.

I would suspect that the Silversea CEO's total compensation would be tied to performance as in Celebrity's case. Bet they start using "double double" at Silversea. Of course whatever they do will be for the benefit of the passenger.

I would say that the CEO’s compensation has always been tied to performance. It is not a nonprofit charity organization.

I would say that the CEO’s compensation has always been tied to performance. It is not a nonprofit charity organization.

Lots of tax-exempt, so-called "non-profits" executives are paid very well. In our mid-sized town, there are dozens of these supposed "charity" groups paying their administrators $200-300K a year. Plus, plus!!. Not many newspapers report on those little "details". Slightly off topic, but thought I would chime in with a reaction.

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

Enjoyed a 14-day, Jan. 20-Feb. 3, 2014, Sydney to Auckland adventure, getting a big sampling for the wonders of "down under” before and after this cruise. Go to:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1974139

for more info and many pictures of these amazing sights in this great part of the world. Now at 204,110 views for this posting.

Thinking out loud, both Celebrity and Silversea have expedition ships.

 

 

What are the chances of both being comboned or at least have their itineraries coordinated to cover more of the world?

I would say slim and none since each line is limited to 164 passengers total among all of their ships in the Galapagos.

I think this is a smart business decision as it gives them a true luxury brand to go head to head with NCL (Regent) and Carnival (Seabourn). RCCL now have a brand (or multiple brands) in all 3 major market segments.

 

I always break down the major players as follows:

Ultra Luxury/Luxury: Regent, Silversea, Crystal, Seabourn

Luxury Light/Ultra Premium: Viking, Oceania, Azamara, Cunard

Mainstream/Premium: Royal Caribbean, Celebrity, Holland America, Princess, NCL, P&O, MSC

Mainstream/Budget: Carnival, Costa

 

There are a number of more niche lines, or regional players, that I left off of the list as they have very specific market demographics or marketing focus.

Royal tends to be more mainstream budget. NCL is kind of split personality Haven is main stream premium, but everything else on an NCL ship is main stream budget. Royal NCL and Carnival are also grouped together because they tend to be aimed more at families than the Mainstream Premium lines.

Silversea is is one of the last bastions of the strictly enforced dress code. All public areas after 6pm. I wonder if that will go?

Also, we liked the fact that there was no distinction between guests depending on which suite they were in, which seems to be creeping in on other lines. Everyone used the same facilities and had the same incredible quality of service from the happiest crew we have ever encountered on many cruise lines.

You need to be good at entertaining yourself, as the ships are smaller and do not have the facilities for wall to wall activities.

We will be watching with interest. Hopefully not much will change. I think there is always a place for something a bit special.

We had looked at booking Silversea and Regent in the past. We have done one Azamara cruise. It is the dress code is the sticking point for us not cruising on Silversea. I do hope that the swimming area and gym are exempt from long pants and jacket after 6pm.

As we have done 50 cruises and 60 years old is knocking on my door it would be nice to cruise to some different ports. What we do now is land trips before and after our cruises.

I don’t see them amalgamating the two lines. They attract different cruisers, have different price points, and could easily both serve the expedition market or the Caribbean market or the European market or anywhere they choose to schedule their ships.

Maybe,and hope that is the case for their loyal cruisers, but that's what they said about Celeb and Royal...At this point there is more that is the same than we ever imagined! It's the management that sets the style and tone...