Does anyone at HQ read these boards???

[only1deejay]

Does anyone with any "authority" at princess read CC Boards and try to improve things or add new and exciting items to remain fresh and new among a larger cruise industry???

 

 

It just seems to me like these boards are a wealth of knowledge for someone in PR, or marketing....to actually implement these great ideas and make princess even better.

 

or does it not matter to them as long as they make money.:(

[Pam in CA]

Yes, they do.

 

However, keep in mind that the opinions posted here are not necessarily representative of all Princess cruisers. Princess pays more attention to their surveys and onboard reports.

[Loonbeam]

Pam said the same thing but I will be a bit more blunt.

 

CC readers are a VERY small part of the overall cruise community. Vocal and knowledgeable yes, but in the grand scheme of things not particularly key to operations.

 

I am 100 percent Princess reads the boards at times, but for the most part, anything here is not going to influence any business decision they make unless the uproar is substantial and across multiple channels.

 

Does anyone with any "authority" at princess read CC Boards and try to improve things or add new and exciting items to remain fresh and new among a larger cruise industry???

 

 

It just seems to me like these boards are a wealth of knowledge for someone in PR, or marketing....to actually implement these great ideas and make princess even better.

 

or does it not matter to them as long as they make money.:(

[BruceMuzz]

Many of us in the Cruise Industry read CC regularly for 2 reasons:

 

1 out of 1,000 CC posters seems to know more about our ships than we sometimes do.

We actually get useful information from them on occasion.

 

But most of the time, it is for comic relief.

Some of the whacky, off the wall ideas and comments here are beyond our imagination.

I love to print off some of the comments from CC and post them in my back office to keep smiles on the faces of my managers.

[paul929207]

Many of us in the Cruise Industry read CC regularly for 2 reasons:

 

1 out of 1,000 CC posters seems to know more about our ships than we sometimes do.

We actually get useful information from them on occasion.

 

But most of the time, it is for comic relief.

Some of the whacky, off the wall ideas and comments here are beyond our imagination.

I love to print off some of the comments from CC and post them in my back office to keep smiles on the faces of my managers.

Seems fair, you guys entertain us on the ship and we entertain you on land. :)

[Shogun]

Hi All,

 

Carnival Corp, and as such Princess monitor or media to see what is being said amount them, in fact many large companys pay for this service,

 

if you go below decks you will often see notices posted either direct from Princess HQ or lifted from the internet, most will be in praise of an employee or a ship etc.

 

Senior ships staff are often semt a wekly summary of what has been said in the media about them or their ship.

 

While a good many Princess staff read CC and some post Princess does what is best for the bottom line,

 

all we can do is hope that it is a service etc that we want

 

 

yours Shogun

[5326jan]

I have a feeling that more attention is paid to FB comments because it is more widely read and bad comments could reach many more people. There is also no way for them to document whether a complaint is lodged by an actual passenger or someone who wants to play a "smear" game. :eek: This search and destroy mission could happen to any business or person. I personally hate social networks. :rolleyes: Except CC!:D

[highheel girl]

I agree, Princess corporate and select ships staff read the boards on a regular basis.

I also agree that CC is an extremley small percentage.

[alexandra cruiser]

but the sticking point,,no discount on air,,,wanted Business class and quote was same as on my own,,,that was number one,,,then took into account the extra charges for restaurants,drinks,tips,excursions,,etc...and felt sort of "nickel and dimed"..so looked into so called luxury lines and found the with all above taken into account,,it was better to go with them...sorry,but we take at least 2 cruises ea.yr.and this was no "deal" for us...:o

[5326jan]

but the sticking point,,no discount on air,,,wanted Business class and quote was same as on my own,,,that was number one,,,then took into account the extra charges for restaurants,drinks,tips,excursions,,etc...and felt sort of "nickel and dimed"..so looked into so called luxury lines and found the with all above taken into account,,it was better to go with them...sorry,but we take at least 2 cruises ea.yr.and this was no "deal" for us...:o

 

Huh???:confused:

[Renmar]

but the sticking point,,no discount on air,,,wanted Business class and quote was same as on my own,,,that was number one,,,then took into account the extra charges for restaurants,drinks,tips,excursions,,etc...and felt sort of "nickel and dimed"..so looked into so called luxury lines and found the with all above taken into account,,it was better to go with them...sorry,but we take at least 2 cruises ea.yr.and this was no "deal" for us...:o

????????

Theo

[Pam in CA]

but the sticking point,,no discount on air,,,wanted Business class and quote was same as on my own,,,that was number one,,,then took into account the extra charges for restaurants,drinks,tips,excursions,,etc...and felt sort of "nickel and dimed"..so looked into so called luxury lines and found the with all above taken into account,,it was better to go with them...sorry,but we take at least 2 cruises ea.yr.and this was no "deal" for us...:o

I think I'm "stuck" on... Huh?

 

Dining is included, the only charge is for specialty restaurants; tips are expected at or on any US restaurant, resort, hotel, etc. so that's a given; never been nickel and dimed; I expect to pay for an excursion whether it's through the ship or on my own (unless it's a river cruise); and Princess has no control over airfare. Someone got up on the wrong side of the bed this morning.

 

If you like the luxury line and are willing to pay for someone else's soda and drinks, helicopter ride, etc., go for it.

[paul929207]

Like most people, we get brochures from luxury cruise line on occasion. I have never seen one with a price even close to what I pay on Princess, including all the onboard and ashore spending.

[Northender]

but the sticking point,,no discount on air,,,wanted Business class and quote was same as on my own,,,that was number one,,,then took into account the extra charges for restaurants,drinks,tips,excursions,,etc...and felt sort of "nickel and dimed"..so looked into so called luxury lines and found the with all above taken into account,,it was better to go with them...sorry,but we take at least 2 cruises ea.yr.and this was no "deal" for us...:o

 

If you read alexandra's posts, I think she is an all inclusive type cruiser.:)

JMHO. But why she felt the need to post this here leaves me saying "huh":confused: Anyway, to each his own. :cool:

[Pam in CA]

Like most people, we get brochures from luxury cruise line on occasion. I have never seen one with a price even close to what I pay on Princess, including all the onboard and ashore spending.

Paul, some of them are offering some great deals. I've seen 2:1 pricing that wasn't that much more than Princess. If you have a huge bar bill and book excursions only through the cruiseline, I can see where it might pay for someone to book an all-exclusive. For me, it makes little economic sense because my (maybe) one drink a night doesn't add up to that much and I refuse to pay for someone else's bar tab. Plus, I often book independent tours.

[Sincity]

If you post on their FB page, you'll may a response from a Princess rep assigned to that task.

[Shogun]

Hi All

 

There was a luxury cruise show TV hear 7 seas etc well at £900 a day

 

I can have a very good cruise on Princess .

 

 

yours Shogun

[Astro Flyer]

Yes, they do.

 

However, keep in mind that the opinions posted here are not necessarily representative of all Princess cruisers. Princess pays more attention to their surveys and onboard reports.

 

Many of us in the Cruise Industry read CC regularly for 2 reasons:

 

1 out of 1,000 CC posters seems to know more about our ships than we sometimes do.

We actually get useful information from them on occasion.

 

But most of the time, it is for comic relief.

Some of the whacky, off the wall ideas and comments here are beyond our imagination.

I love to print off some of the comments from CC and post them in my back office to keep smiles on the faces of my managers.

Both of these posts reflect how I feel & based on reactions from staff & HQ Customer Service reps so do they. They just have to separate the 'chaff from the wheat' when considering any posts. :p

[Toddy709]

I think it is beneficial to Princess to read these boards. I know that the people on CC make up a small percentage of cruisers, but I also think it's a good cross-section of cruisers in general.

 

If you spend much time on these boards, you can get a pretty good feel for which posters are mostly negative, which posters are mostly cheerleaders, and which posters are mostly fair and balanced. Throw out the first two groups and pay attention to the fair and balanced and you've got some pretty reliable feedback, both positive and negative.

 

You take feedback from here, FB, surveys and comment cards and you pretty much know what's a hit and what's a miss.

 

If anybody has any doubt about whether they should pay attention to CC, just think back to Celebrity's short-lived logo, X the Rules!!!!:eek:

[kywildcatfanone]

I'm sure they are aware of sites like this and likely have folks review the comments made, but probably take most of it with a grain of salt. I'm sure they put more focus on the surveys/comment cards they receive that they generate themselves.

 

Mike

[Loonbeam]

Actually I would doubt that to be true. Based on my observances, Cruise Critic active posters (which is what matters in this context) consist of a majority of people who cruise once per year or more on average, and a decent number of first time cruisers asking questions (although a very small percentage of that group overall).

 

The actual cruise market is a wider demographic at all. Assuming its still current, for example, the average cruiser cruises once every 3 years or so. (This was a from a study done for TripAdvisor back in 2009 or so, I can't find the original posting). I may be off by a little, based on memory but not much.

 

(

I think it is beneficial to Princess to read these boards. I know that the people on CC make up a small percentage of cruisers, but I also think it's a good cross-section of cruisers in general.

 

If you spend much time on these boards, you can get a pretty good feel for which posters are mostly negative, which posters are mostly cheerleaders, and which posters are mostly fair and balanced. Throw out the first two groups and pay attention to the fair and balanced and you've got some pretty reliable feedback, both positive and negative.

 

You take feedback from here, FB, surveys and comment cards and you pretty much know what's a hit and what's a miss.

 

If anybody has any doubt about whether they should pay attention to CC, just think back to Celebrity's short-lived logo, X the Rules!!!!:eek:

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

I hope so ....

[Toddy709]

Actually I would doubt that to be true. Based on my observances, Cruise Critic active posters (which is what matters in this context) consist of a majority of people who cruise once per year or more on average, and a decent number of first time cruisers asking questions (although a very small percentage of that group overall).

 

The actual cruise market is a wider demographic at all. Assuming its still current, for example, the average cruiser cruises once every 3 years or so. (This was a from a study done for TripAdvisor back in 2009 or so, I can't find the original posting). I may be off by a little, based on memory but not much.

 

(

 

I'm not clear which part of my post you're disagreeing with, and I will admit that my post is based on supposed common sense rather than research because I have too much to do to spend my time on research that doesn't benefit me personally;)! I already waste too much time on this board, but will admit to an addiction!!

 

But of the two examples you cited, which benefits Princess more, and therefore which group should they court, the occasional three year cruiser or the devoted at least once a year cruiser that likes Princess enough to keep coming back and then encourages others to try Princess???

[Pam in CA]

Princess uses a number of social media sites to "see" what people are saying/thinking about Princess, not just CC but Facebook, Twitter and others. That's not including the surveys and comment cards. I doubt they get many surprises and chances are they are seeing confirmation of that their product is acceptable to most of their passengers.

 

For instance, you often see people here complain about the coffee concentrate as "sludge" but the facts are that the vast majority of passengers are perfectly happy with the coffee as it is. For everyone who complains on CC about the mattresses being too hard, there are many who prefer a bed with good support.

[Sunviking]

On a cruise back in the spring, my daughter and I were invited to the most traveled passenger luncheon. I sat next to the officer at our table. He told me that each week each department gets a synopsis of comments about the ship made on Cruise Critic. Items regarding their particular department are highlighted. Additionally, they receive samplings of what is being said about other cruise lines on CC to give them some basis for comparison. I don't know if this is true on every ship, but that's what I was told.

 

As to the size of the Cruise Critic population, on the transatlantic we completed 2 weeks ago, our roll call spreadsheet group consisted of 422 people. Given the fact that we had close to 3000 people on the ship, we constituted close to 15% of the population. Additionally, there were people that posted on the Roll Call who never signed up for the spreadsheet. I think we were a force to be reckoned with.