What is Your Reaction to This?

[sail7seas]

What I started to post above is "X" also visited my snail mail box today. Spmething about LuXury Celebrations.

They must really want us to buy a cruise from them. :D

Agressive marketing going on from them this week.

 

[cruisin'girl]

What I started to post above is "X" also visited my snail mail box today. Spmething about LuXury Celebrations.

They must really want us to buy a cruise from them. :D

Agressive marketing going on from them this week.

 

LOL. They want anybody and everybody to buy a cruise from them. They are targeting hundreds and thousands, not specific people. Marketing is all a numbers game.

 

I think all cruiselines are aware that there will be a decrease in new bookings the next few months or longer and are being very pro-active. I'm seeing a lot of cruise ads on various non-cruise or non-travel related websites I visit. I don't blame them. There's bound to be a reaction by potential first time cruisers and even experienced cruisers, especially seniors who have a legitimate worry about being physically able to evacuate if necessary. I'm old enough to think about it myself and if I was disabled I would be very concerned and might switch to a land resort vacation.

[Amuse Bouche]

Seriously, this entire thread is mind boggling. I continue to receive emails from a Honda dealership and I sold that car in 2006. I continue to receive emails from a Mercedes Benz dealership and I sold that car in 2009. I could open them and unsubscribe, but I'm too lazy to do that. ;) A single keystroke makes them go away...no fuss no muss.

 

I've received emails from Seabourn recently but didn't open them (used the single keystroke method)...good lord, do you think they were touting their commitment to safety as well? :eek:

 

What I'm wondering is why in God's name would you read an entire blast email that you found upsetting?

 

Just my humble opinion...This is something to continue talking about. I've been on a lot of message boards for a lot of different topics, and cruisecritic is the most lively I've seen.

 

There's also that having an email in your personal email box that is obviously a response from a disaster that everyone here knows could have involved them is traumatic to the psyche. No one wants to say that, but I'm sure we will all make small adjustments, maybe look at the ships position screen on the TV a little more, size up the Captain when we see him...all survival techniques. We are all rational, but hey...we all could have been there.

[world~citizen]

...We are all rational, but hey...we all could have been there.

 

I would say we are all capable of being rational. Sometimes we are.:)

 

We could all have been there - it could have been any one of us. That is exactly the point. I suspect many aspects of ship safety will come under scrutiny, aside from the performance of the captain. That is important.

 

This tragedy has come as a shock to a lot of people. We anthropomorphize our favourite cruise line and exalt ship captains. We are about to find out cruise companies are the same as any other business enterprise where it is pretty much all about the shareholders dividends, and ship captains are only human and perform like the rest of us,- each according to their ability and character.

 

I really, really hope some good comes out of all this. Too late for some, but maybe in time for a lot more.

[HeatherInFlorida]

................. No one wants to say that, but I'm sure we will all make small adjustments, maybe look at the ships position screen on the TV a little more, size up the Captain when we see him...all survival techniques. We are all rational, but hey...we all could have been there.

 

And even though it is so sad this tragic incident occured, it is from this perspective that positive things can happen. The truth is a lot of people hoop onboard a cruise ship, particularly the larger ones, and bask in the glow of never even seeing the sea! They see this is as a good thing (I don't).

 

But with that comes a complacency and unfortunately a lack of knowledge about the fact that it is still a small object on a very vast ocean.

 

So for some, hopefully, this will be a wake-up call and all the better if people pay more attention.

 

...................

This tragedy has come as a shock to a lot of people. We anthropomorphize our favourite cruise line and exalt ship captains. We are about to find out cruise companies are the same as any other business enterprise where it is pretty much all about the shareholders dividends, and ship captains are only human and perform like the rest of us,- each according to their ability and character.

 

I really, really hope some good comes out of all this. Too late for some, but maybe in time for a lot more.

 

A cruise company is not our friend. It's a business. Of course we all have favorites, but they don't. They want people on their ships ... who that is doesn't matter. Bruce Muzz has pointed this out so often and many of us have balked, but it's the truth. They will make you feel all warm and fuzzy with perks for past passengers and cute little newsletters to make it seem personal, but it really isn't. It's all about the bottom line and filling their ships.

[GeriatricNurse]

What I started to post above is "X" also visited my snail mail box today. Spmething about LuXury Celebrations.

They must really want us to buy a cruise from them. :D

Agressive marketing going on from them this week.

 

 

I've cruised twice with X and have never received any e-mails or snail mail from them! ;)

[peaches from georgia]

I've cruised twice with X and have never received any e-mails or snail mail from them! ;)

Talk about a fat curveball right over the plate just waiting to be hit out of the park. :eek:

[vbmom87]

Hello localady,

 

I received an email from NCL this morning that was reassuring about the staff and safety on their ships. They touched on muster drills,which have always been on deck, and safety videos available while on board..I was comforted by Kevin Sheehan's words.

Ann

 

ON our one NCL cruise, the muster drill was in the dining room, which I did not think was wise. On my two HAL cruises, muster was at the lifeboat station....sure seemed to make more sense to me.

 

Anyway, yes, I agree with those who stated it is easy to opt out of email lists. Just do it, if this bothers you. Quite simple actually. I have far more going on in my life than to be worried about the intentions of cruise line emails.

[HeatherInFlorida]

I don't know what's the matter with me!!! Here I sit saying 'delete delete delete' emails that don't interest us or have no value and I completely forgot I have the ability to "unsubscribe" to a thread that has long since served any purpose ... all if it ever did.:)

[Friend100]

I just received an email letter from Stein Kruse.

[ariawoman]

I just received an email letter from Stein Kruse.

 

I'm gonna go pop some popcorn because this thread is about to take a turn LOL.

 

To add to the discussion - I got the HAL email as well. I didn't get anything from X yet, so I guess by this logic, I'll have to be mad at HAL.

 

This is probably the 1st posting of sails that i'm not 100% in agreement with, but it's bound to happen.

 

I understand where she's coming from, but unforunately I don't think that it's just X that's trying to solicit customers. We also don't know the timing of snail mails -- they might have been planned and printed and ready to go weeks before we receive them.

 

I get snail mail REGULARLY from Seabourn, HAL, Celebrity -- all 3 on which i've sailed. I get emails from HAL most often, for some reason, with Seabourn a close 2nd.

 

I think that in the end all cruise lines are there to make money, that's their business and we have to respect that. Whether or not we find them to be acting in poor taste - well, then we can choose who we sail on from this point forward.

[RevNeal]

Here is the text of the HAL letter that just arrived today:

 

Dear Mariner:

 

I have heard from many of you over the past weeks expressing your sorrow over the grounding of the Costa Concordia earlier this month, and raising understandable questions in the wake of that incident. I write to address your concerns.

 

Like you, all of us at Holland America Line have been stunned and deeply saddened by this devastating incident. We are keeping in our thoughts and prayers all those who were onboard as well as those who lost loved ones.

 

As I have watched the news unfold, I naturally have reflected on our commitment each and every day to ensure the safety of our guests and crew. You entrust us with your safety. We take that responsibility very seriously. Holland America Line has nearly 140 years of operating at the highest levels of safety. We are building the record our successors will have to meet 140 years from today.

 

As a guest, you experience our commitment during the mandatory passenger emergency drills that take place prior to sailing. The drills are a public example of our daily focus on safety and security. Every aspect of our planning and operations takes place with safety in mind.

 

I am joined by a solid team of professionals who understand the critical importance of safety, many of whom have long careers at sea, whether on cruise ships, commercial ships or serving in the Coast Guard, Navy or other professional maritime organizations. Among them is Captain Cees Deelstra, our Vice President, Nautical Operations, who started his forty-year career with Holland America Line as a cadet, ultimately attaining his own command as a master before accepting a position shoreside to oversee the safe operations of our fleet. Similarly, Captain William Morani, our Vice President, Safety, Environment and Health, served for twenty-five years in the U.S. Coast Guard Marine Safety Program before joining Holland America Line. All of our captains have spent decades at sea and all have a solid record of safely sailing passenger vessels. Most have spent their career with Holland America Line.

 

All shipboard personnel undergo comprehensive regular safety training. This includes live onboard training, computer based courses and state of the art simulator training. We hold regular shoreside conferences for senior officers to discuss safety and other critical issues, the last as recent as October 2011. All crew participate in regular drills to ensure they know what their role is in the event of an emergency. We also drill our shoreside response team so that we are always prepared, including a simulated mass rescue exercise with the U.S. Coast Guard in Alaska.

 

You also need not rely solely on my word for all of this. Like every passenger vessel, each ship in our fleet undergoes mandatory inspections by Lloyds, our classification society, as well as by the Netherlands (our flag state), by the U.S. Coast Guard, and by other regulatory authorities based in the countries we visit.

 

Incidents such as the recent tragedy are a rare occurrence. I and the other sixteen thousand women and men of Holland America Line are committed to the safe passage of our ships, so that you can focus on the reason you came onboard. We look forward to welcoming you soon.

 

Stein Kruse

President & CEO

[Oceanwench]

I got the email from HAL today too.

 

Well, I guess that now gives these letters the Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval now, doesn't it? ;)

 

I just received snail mail from Oceania and Seabourn, neither of which I have sailed [but would love to!].

[whogo]

I just received an email letter from Stein Kruse.

 

_________________________________________________________

 

To quote the OP:

"...What is your opinion of them seeming to be taking advantage of such a horrid tragedy to market their brand?"

[Friend100]

_________________________________________________________

 

To quote the OP:

"...What is your opinion of them seeming to be taking advantage of such a horrid tragedy to market their brand?"

 

 

Sorry, I rarely pay much attention to read the whole thing. Don't have time.

Keep going.

[startwin]

I got mine from HAL today. I can add it to my collection (NOT!) Let's do another 8 pages of analyzing the motives. All in all, good PR for all the cruise lines to write to every customer, potential customer, anyone who has even a remote link to them.... to assure them that their ships are safe. Now let's get on with life.:D

[cruise kitty]

To add to the discussion - I got the HAL email as well. I didn't get anything from X yet, so I guess by this logic, I'll have to be mad at HAL.

 

 

Same here, I'm a loyal X cruiser, but I've cruised with HAL too, & not a week goes by that I don't receive some sort of flyer/letter offer from HAL... Now, while it might be a bit fun to view it (& the email) as some nefarious plot to indoctrinate me into worshiping HAL & forsaking all other cruise lines, it's probably just run of the mill marketing.

 

Guess I'll have to get my dose of subterfuge from old X-files reruns:D

[candbgirl]

She is on Celebrity's email list because she's a Captain's Club member.

So opt out and it's over.

__________________

 

But then she wouldn't have anything to whine about. I wonder what Celebrity did to make her so mad.

 

Anyway I didn't find this offensive at all. It is mass marketing. I do think that the Carnival Corp has tied the hands of their fleets until some of this dies down. No reason the RCCL and NCL and other lines shouldn't sen something to their past, present and future clients.

[candbgirl]

So I guess this thread is dead since HAL has sent an email. lol

[woody73]

 

Anyone else here get the letter?

 

What is your opinion of them seeming to be taking advantage of such a horrid tragedy to market their brand?

Which letter? I've received a few.

 

Woody

[RevNeal]

I got the email from HAL today too.

 

Well, I guess that now gives these letters the Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval now, doesn't it? ;).

 

As I wrote earlier, I didn't then, and don't now, understand what the big broo ha ha was about. The letter from HAL seems fine, just as the letter from Celebrity seemed fine. No harm done.

[sandthrush]

DH and I sailed "X' about 6 times total but have not sailed them in many years. We only sail HAL.

 

I just checked my e-mail and found the President of Celebrity chose to send me an e-mail, addressed to my first name (have we met? are we friends? :confused:) and the message of his multiple paragraph letter was how safe "X" ships are and we should sail.

 

Is he implying the Carnival Family of ships are all unsafe?

He thinks this is good marketing?

The letter was way too long to begin with and is such a turn off to me that were we considering sailing "X", which we are not, I would have second thoughts.

 

Anyone else here get the letter?

What is your opinion of them seeming to be taking advantage of such a horrid tragedy to market their brand?

 

Didn't get one from "X" but both DH and myself got one today from HAL. Now who didn't see this coming?:rolleyes:

[Oceanwench]

As I wrote earlier, I didn't then, and don't now, understand what the big broo ha ha was about. The letter from HAL seems fine, just as the letter from Celebrity seemed fine. No harm done.

 

I have to agree, RevNeal, I don't know what the big brouhaha was about either. But apparently it started when Celebrity sent the *offensive* email, and it's probably over, now that HAL has done the same. :rolleyes:

[michmike]

I'd be glad to post my list of favorite authors if there is any interest. Seems that curling up w/ a good book would be more productive than beating this thing to death for 9 pages.. *S*

 

as always, your mileage may vary

[whogo]

I have to agree, RevNeal, I don't know what the big brouhaha was about either. But apparently it started when Celebrity sent the *offensive* email, and it's probably over, now that HAL has done the same. :rolleyes:

This is the HAL forum. Anything HAL does is OK. It's those other lines that are tasteless, tacky, offensive and overly personal.

 

Stein Kruse addressed his e-mail to "Dear Mariner" while Celebrity had the effrontery to use a first name. By waiting a couple of extra days, Holland America's President and CEO did not take advantage of a horrid tragedy to market his brand like Celebrity did. Celebrity's e-mail really was too long, 670 words versus a very proper 540 words by Holland America. Holland America is vindicated!