CCL's target customer base ?

[halos]

[quote name='tak81288']I agree with penny pincher and [COLOR=red]honestly there is nothing wrong with that.[/COLOR]

.[/quote]


I agee. :)

[quote name='big_duck']Certainly a far cry from Bob Dickenson's vision of Carnival ... I miss those days.[/quote]



I agree with this as well.

[CruisingLPN]

I have to be a penny pincher to afford our one cruise a year. The first 2 years, we cruised CCL because it was the cheapest and we liked it. This year we are trying NCL because when we booked it, it was about $500 cheaper. Hopefully it will also seem like a good value. I'm not embarrassed by comments like "penny pinchers," I'm proud. Just like I'm proud that my S&S has been under $50 both times.:)

[bunchesofun]

We decided to look into going on a cruise. I checked another line first and was thinking of their 5 night cruise. It had to be out of Baltimore or another port that we could drive to in around 10 hours or less. Then I checked Carnival and they had one for 7 nights that was cheaper than the 5 night on the other line. Needless to say we booked Carnival. After the fact I've read the Cruise Critic boards back to about last October learning everything I could and I don't think that we will be disappointed.

[ottasha]

Well, I have been on RCCL, Carnival, NCL and Costa. I don't think I'm a penny pincher at all. I tend to be an impulse cruiser. Most of our cruises have been booked 2 months out or less. My favorite lines are RCCL and Carnival. I have happened to been on Carnival more mostly due to ports and departure ports. I also like Carnival because I have always had fun anytime I've cruised whether it be in September or in the midst of spring break. I will admit our next cruise is on the Allure but thats mostly because I want to see what all the fuss is about. But we also have a cruise on Carnival again next year already booked.

[halos]

[quote name='bunchesofun']After the fact I've read the Cruise Critic boards back to about last October learning everything I could and I don't think that we will be disappointed.[/quote]

You've done your homework, so you should not be disappointed :)
You know what to expect.

[new orleans cruiser]

I take two vacations a year and can afford to go just about anywhere anyway I want to and I just love carnival. I have also cruised on NCL (Big Suite, Butler etc.) but came back to carnival.

[firefly333]

[quote name='big_duck']No self-respecting penny-pincher would fork out the dough for a monkey head.

Just sayin.[/quote]

I won a baseball hat and tee shirt from the gamblers whatever in the casino and traded it for a coconut monkey head.. I am not sure I like the monkey, but the tee shirt didnt fit and I dont wear baseball hats.

I now have one of those darn monkey heads in my living room on a shelf.

[richstowe]

[quote name='rlthomas7']Well I guess I fit the demographic to a T:

1) I shop at Target
2) I eat at Macaroni Grill
3) I am a first-time cruiser (we leave on Sunday!)
4) I have a young child
5) I am a bargain shopper. I rarely buy something if it's not on sale or I don't have a coupon.

But I do NOT eat at Golden Corral![/quote]

[SIZE=3]Darn ! You stole the words from my brain .;)[/SIZE]

[SIZE=3]Planning on my 2nd cruise and my kids are no longer young[/SIZE]
[SIZE=3]and Golden Corral is a dump (OK -not so bad for breakfast/brunch),[/SIZE]
[SIZE=3]but the rest fits.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=3]My biggest problem with Carnival may be thinking I'm better then the rum runner, I can wear [/SIZE]
[SIZE=3]what I want crowd. And I am not.:o[/SIZE]

[momof4boys]

[quote name='stewpapa']The idea of the article, that Carnival is the cheapest cruise line, which is the truth in most cases, gets across with the snarky comments, but in reality they don't pan out and are not truthful.

A true [B]penny pincher[/B] will never go on a cruise because they THINK it's too expensive. The rum runners are not penny pinchers, they love the thrill of sneaking something by. They also blow money on other drinks and in the casino without a second thought. Penny pichers, no way. Wanting the best deal for your cruise, doesn't make you a penny pincher.

We have a [B]Golden Corral[/B] and the comparison is not even close, food or service, not even at the buffet. Silly thing to say.

Although there are many new cruisers on all cruise lines, I think they all try to get you to love it so you come back again and again, thus all of the multi cruisers on these boards and on all the cruises we've been on. The [B]first time cruisers[/B] don't keep them in business, we do, and they know it.

By the way, I am not a Carnival cheerleader, as I prefer RCI. I have said several times in other posts that RCI is not any more expensive than Carnival and it hasn't been for us. It just isn't available year round for us, and Carnival is the next best thing. ...Oh, and Carnival is nothing like going to [B]Wal Mart[/B] either. Everyone goes to WalMart, but only the lucky go on cruises. Such comments like those in the article are easy to say to get a rise out of someone, or to feel that you got in a zinger, but there is not an ounce of truth to any of it. Every cruise we've ever had, whether Carnival or RCI, has been like a dream come true, and you don't get that feeling from Wal Mart or Golden Corral.[/quote]


Well said. :) Although in truth, I don't care what anyone says. When I sail, I take my entire family and our friends take their kids and their families. We usually have 7 rooms between us. DH and I pay for 5 rooms-- with the two of us having always booked a grand suite--"the meeting place." I want a large enough space for all of us to get together and visit, play games, or just relax. You can bet we look for the best value when we book 5 rooms...and if we could find it somewhere else, that is the line we would use.

Fiscally conservative, frugal, or penny pinchers--who cares! Sail what you like and don't worry about what others think. :cool:

[momof4boys]

[quote name='stewpapa']The idea of the article, that Carnival is the cheapest cruise line, which is the truth in most cases, gets across with the snarky comments, but in reality they don't pan out and are not truthful.

A true [B]penny pincher[/B] will never go on a cruise because they THINK it's too expensive. The rum runners are not penny pinchers, they love the thrill of sneaking something by. They also blow money on other drinks and in the casino without a second thought. Penny pichers, no way. Wanting the best deal for your cruise, doesn't make you a penny pincher.

We have a [B]Golden Corral[/B] and the comparison is not even close, food or service, not even at the buffet. Silly thing to say.

Although there are many new cruisers on all cruise lines, I think they all try to get you to love it so you come back again and again, thus all of the multi cruisers on these boards and on all the cruises we've been on. The [B]first time cruisers[/B] don't keep them in business, we do, and they know it.

By the way, I am not a Carnival cheerleader, as I prefer RCI. I have said several times in other posts that RCI is not any more expensive than Carnival and it hasn't been for us. It just isn't available year round for us, and Carnival is the next best thing. ...Oh, and Carnival is nothing like going to [B]Wal Mart[/B] either. Everyone goes to WalMart, but only the lucky go on cruises. Such comments like those in the article are easy to say to get a rise out of someone, or to feel that you got in a zinger, but there is not an ounce of truth to any of it. Every cruise we've ever had, whether Carnival or RCI, has been like a dream come true, and you don't get that feeling from Wal Mart or Golden Corral.[/quote]


Well said. :) Although in truth, I don't care what anyone says. When I sail, I take my entire family and our friends take their kids and their families. We usually have 7 rooms between us. DH and I pay for 5 rooms- with the two of us having always booked a grand suite--"the meeting place." I want a large enough space for all of us to get together and visit, play games, or just relax. You can bet we look for the best value when we book 5 rooms...and if we could find it somewhere else, that is the line we would use.

Fiscally conservative, frugal, or penny pinchers--who cares what we're called! Sail what you like and don't worry about what others think. :cool:

[firefly333]

I would eat at Golden Corral. I like their food and love any kind of salad bars. Often thats all I eat on board the ship for lunch too, is a big ole salad.

I must be the only one who doesnt think Golden Corral is a dump ...but maybe they vary from city to city? I also like fish night with friend shrimp. I never knew people thought they were so bad.

[rdler]

I don't know. Each time I am booking a cruise I ask, "Would Kathie Lee Gifford be comfortable here?"

[golfb4cruzing]

I'm not old enough to own a Buick and therefore I am not old enough to leave Carnival.

[Time2CruiseAgain]

[quote name='Harrier1961']Lets face it, unless you are Bill Gates or Warren Buffet, everyone is a "penny pincher" in some way or another.
Does every one who sails RCL or Celebrity pay for a suite or balcony? I think not.

Just saying...
Andy

PS. I have sailed 7 times all with CCL. I haven't cruise another line simply because I've enjoyed CCL and so far, they haven't given me a reason to go elsewhere.

:rolleyes:[/quote]

I agree! We are going on our 5th cruise in May - all Carnival - and we have no desire to try another! We are very happy with CCL!!!

Penny Pinchers - darn right - and I clip coupons too! lol I'll bet there are coupon clippers on RCL and the others also!!

[PictureChris]

Let it be noted that for the first time ever I actually agree with an East Carolina Pirate. Go Knights!


[quote name='EastCarolina']The food, and level of service on RCC/Carnival/Celebrity/NCL are the same when on comprable ships. You cant compare the carnival fantasy to the Celbrity solstice or Oasis of the seas. You pay more for the larger newer ships.

If you aren't sailing on one of the new super ships, carnival has the same quality to any of the other cruise lines. So why pay more just for the logo on the side of the ship?

Having sailed with several cruise lines this is my 2cents[/QUOTE]

[jaded99]

We sort of "penny pinch" at the booking phase because we have a set vacation budget for each trip, land or sea and the less we spend on the booking the more we get to spend on the ship and excursions. We still booked a balcony for this next cruise but we decided to get an obstructed view and booked during a sale for a good price.

We also like Carnival right now for another factor besides price - they're the "fun ships" and we like the party, semi-Vegas atmosphere a lot right now at this point in our lives. We will probably stick with Carnival when we start a family and have kids in the next 5 years or so because we've heard great things about the kids' programs, but we imagine that someday when our not-born-yet kids are grown and we're retired that we'll move towards lines like Celebrity. We put a substantial portion of our income into retirement accounts for pretty much that purpose :cool:

I can say for sure that if they or companies like them are still around when we retire, we will be doing National Geographic and Zeghram Expeditions type tours. The Polar Bear Quest cruise is totally on my bucket list... but for now, we can't really justify or afford those cruises (upwards of $10,000 pp for some, yiked!) so we will penny-pinch on Carnival for years to come I guess ;)

[Georgiagolfer]

[quote name='jaded99']We also like Carnival right now for another factor besides price - they're the "fun ships" and we like the party, semi-Vegas atmosphere a lot right now at this point in our lives. We will probably stick with Carnival when we start a family and have kids in the next 5 years or so because we've heard great things about the kids' programs, but we imagine that someday when our not-born-yet kids are grown and we're retired that we'll move towards lines like Celebrity. We put a substantial portion of our income into retirement accounts for pretty much that purpose :cool:[/quote]

Jaded, DW and I are mid 60's and we still love CCL. We like the younger atmosphere on CCL.:D

[luv cruising 007]

[quote name='stewpapa']The idea of the article, that Carnival is the cheapest cruise line, which is the truth in most cases, gets across with the snarky comments, but in reality they don't pan out and are not truthful.

A true [B]penny pincher[/B] will never go on a cruise because they THINK it's too expensive. The rum runners are not penny pinchers, they love the thrill of sneaking something by. They also blow money on other drinks and in the casino without a second thought. Penny pichers, no way. Wanting the best deal for your cruise, doesn't make you a penny pincher.

We have a [B]Golden Corral[/B] and the comparison is not even close, food or service, not even at the buffet. Silly thing to say.

Although there are many new cruisers on all cruise lines, I think they all try to get you to love it so you come back again and again, thus all of the multi cruisers on these boards and on all the cruises we've been on. The [B]first time cruisers[/B] don't keep them in business, we do, and they know it.

By the way, I am not a Carnival cheerleader, as I prefer RCI. I have said several times in other posts that RCI is not any more expensive than Carnival and it hasn't been for us. It just isn't available year round for us, and Carnival is the next best thing. ...Oh, and Carnival is nothing like going to [B]Wal Mart[/B] either. Everyone goes to WalMart, but only the lucky go on cruises. Such comments like those in the article are easy to say to get a rise out of someone, or to feel that you got in a zinger, but there is not an ounce of truth to any of it. Every cruise we've ever had, whether Carnival or RCI, has been like a dream come true, and you don't get that feeling from Wal Mart or Golden Corral.[/quote]

I agree with your statement 100% "stewpapa" like carnival & princess as well but the guy on Motley fool is just ARROGANT as some of the responses are as well! You have to have some sort of ok ok job to pay for a cruise on any cruiseline & when you tell friends your going on a cruise they think your lucky! NOT EVERYONE CAN AFFORD TO CRUISE BUT EVERYONE CAN AFFORD WALMART so those statements are un-founded & untrue!!! I even see BMW's & high end cars at walmart so?? are they low class rednecks too cause they wanna save money? the way your treated aboard is not like walmart, golden corral, or how penny pinchers live! thats my two cents!

[elcuchio24]

You can paint it however you want. They cater to middle class americans.

[pnjkeith]

[quote name='valtandc']Do you mean because of the bad on board experience? or were the people like some of the walmart shoppers we all see and say.......WOW.....WHERE DID THAT come from?[/QUOTE]

The people! Wow is correct.

[suzinva]

[quote name='elcuchio24']You can paint it however you want. They cater to middle class americans.[/quote]

Which encompasses most of America so your point is????

[pnjkeith]

[quote name='suzinva']Which encompasses most of America so your point is????[/QUOTE]


I think the point is "class" of people.

[suzinva]

[quote name='pnjkeith']I think the point is "class" of people.[/quote]

I still don't get it, but whatever. Class has nothing to do with money.

[pnjkeith]

[quote name='suzinva']I still don't get it, but whatever. Class has nothing to do with money.[/QUOTE]

You are right, you can't buy class.

[luv cruising 007]

:mad::mad::mad: HMM cruising is mostly middle class SOOOO? Lower income families cant afford to cruise & high class(income) families OWN or CHARTER Yachts to cruise on! So Carnival & most other cruiselines cater to the middle class! How would all the cruise lines afford to have 15-20+ mega cruise ships each sailing from different ports around the world? Sorry they dont market the "HIGH CLASS" if they did CCL, RCL & all others market the high class they will have maybe 2 ships each maybe? So putting down the middle class isint a great way to comment!