How can we help Princess save or make money?

[paul929207]

So there you go' date=' 9 out of 10 dollars you give Princess go to operating costs.[/quote']

Yeah, but one out of that ten is profit.

[dr__dawggy]

Me, too, on both counts. Like the newspaper and magazine industries which don't make money from subscriptions but from advertising, cruiselines don't recover their costs via cruise fares. Onboard spending is what makes the difference between a cruise's profit and loss. How successful a cruiseline is depends on whether they can separate us from our money. It's a fine line between offering a service we didn't know we wanted but now crave (the Sanctuary and specialty restaurants, for instance) and turning people off by "nickel and diming." Having entertainers in the Piazza, for instance, keeps passengers nearby, purchasing drinks, sodas and cappuccinos. We are barely aware we're being encouraged to spend.

 

You can bet that Princess is aware of how much each item costs and the ROI, and there are bean counters pouring over the numbers constantly.

 

People complain about Princess being part of the Carnival Corp group but there are enormous savings as a result, not just in soft and hard goods, but in fuel, provisions, etc. as a result of purchasing power and volume.

 

 

I would not complain if they would spread benefits as well as costs across the various companies that make up the parent corp. :)

 

In the same way that members can earn/use frequent flyer miles with partner airlines, it would be nice if we could earn cruise credits for cruises on any Carnival Group member and if the the benefits applied across the various lines as well. So, for example, it would be nice to able to earn credit for a cruise taken on Holland America toward Princess Elite status and to have Princess Elite perks applied if I opted for a cruise on Carnival.

[kendon]

Taking out the mats is much better idea IMO than putting up the Fuel Tax.

I have been given to understand that airlines are putting in lighter carpets, and using less paint to cut costs.

 

john

 

Speaking of less paint, my son goes to a maritime college and the ship they take out every summer just came in from drydock to remove all of the old paint (one of many "fixes"). I don't recall the number, but repainting the ship will be saving A LOT in fuel.

[fishin' musician]

Yeah, but one out of that ten is profit.

 

And you view this as wrong?

 

This would make an interesting poll.

[paul929207]

And you view this as wrong?

 

This would make an interesting poll.

No, I do not. Someone had posted that 9 of 10 dollars when to costs. So I pointed the obvious that left a dollar of profit from each ten.

 

As a shareholder, a tiny bit of that profit comes to me in the form of the quarterly dividend and thru the Shareholder OBC program

[roe2ship]

I seriously thought the title of this thread is an April's Fools joke. Why oh why should passengers think about saving or making money for a cruise line?:rolleyes: The only person I am worried about making and saving money is myself and my family.

[kcfireman1]

Maybe I haven't noticed, what cost cutting measures have they taken?

[kcfireman1]

I seriously thought the title of this thread is an April's Fools joke. Why oh why should passengers think about saving or making money for a cruise line?:rolleyes: The only person I am worried about making and saving money is myself and my family.

 

I guess as passengers our first priority isn't the bottom line of cruise company, and at first when I saw this post my gut reaction was....:rolleyes: However, your post made me think a little more into it. I guess when you think about it, yes we want the cruise lines to make money. If they weren't making money, how would they build new ships? How would they serve quality food and provide the services we love? How would they pay the workers that bust their butts day and and day out? How would we have any cruises to go on? I do think us posting on line ideas for cost cutting is a little pointless, but I for one want all of us to make and save money, not just me and my family. If the cruise industry announced a 10% rate increase to give all of its workers a raise, I would gladly pay it.

[hubofhockey]

I seriously thought the title of this thread is an April's Fools joke. Why oh why should passengers think about saving or making money for a cruise line?:rolleyes: The only person I am worried about making and saving money is myself and my family.

 

It is a joke. It's just an unintentional one. If people really want to spend more and get a better product, there are other options available. As you say, I care more about the bottom line of hubofhockey,inc. than I do about making any cruise line more profitable. That's their job and not mine. For some reason, many people on these boards get the impression that they are part of some Princess family or club. If it makes them feel better giving more money to Princess, then it is money well spent for them.

[1 HappyCruiser]

I seriously thought the title of this thread is an April's Fools joke. Why oh why should passengers think about saving or making money for a cruise line?:rolleyes: The only person I am worried about making and saving money is myself and my family.

 

Some folks on CC seem to think it's their duty to keep their cost to the ship to a minimum where I try to up to the max & utilize everything and still not spend a dime if I can avoid it.......and it shows. :D

We never eat any of cheaper items like hot dogs, hamburgers, pizza & fillers and always migrate to the more expensive things like crab legs, filet Mignon, shrimp, lobster & salmon.

[socaljo]

Do. Not. Touch. My. Pillow. Chocolates.

I totally agree! Although I do not consume them on the cruise! I'm in a constant state of "stuffed" while on the cruise & began saving the pillow treats. I enjoy them at home reminiscing about what a great time we had while on board! And because DH doesn't want his, I have double! :D

[kendon]

I think the best way to help Princess is to buy a cruise and when you are on that cruise act like you are on vacation and treat yourself to all the things you have been missing while working day in, day out. Buy that drink, that Bingo card, that Princess excursion, the tee shirt the tote bag and so on. Buy them because you are feeling good on the ship and want to enjoy it to the max.

 

You give them money -they give you a good time. Simple business transaction. If they fail to live up to the advertising-then blast them in the onboard surveys and in e mail or by phone-or by choosing another line next time and send Princess an email telling them why you are spending your hard-earned money elsewhere until they return the blue deck mats!

 

We all have choices when it somes to spending vacation money- so far I am happy to trade dollars for fun with Princess but I wouldn't hesitate to try a different line if the PCL product declined drastically (which I don't forsee as they have survived handsomely this long.)

 

I was on a Princess ship just two months ago -and it was brilliant. I spent an extra $2400 on top of the cruise fare (which was a steal for what they gave me in return) and I wasn't even in partying mode. So they made some good profit from me which is fine- it's the American way. Me and Princess benefitted.

 

The Grand has lost it's deck mats (which I like) but it lost Skywalkers and that's the main reason I won't sail on it. The Royal is different (gasp!) but I will still want to sail on it once to see for myself whether it pleaseth me.

 

As Pam says-Princess is a business-a very successful and profitable one to date-and as such, like the great institutions such as American banks, can make great decisons or bonehead ones (in equal measure).

 

They are feeling their way through difficult economic times, as are we all, and they stand or fall on their own decisions. They have to fill cabins and get repeat customers from those filled cabins. Then they have to make a financial profit from each customer, day in and out.

 

If they cut back too much they will find passengers trying another line and will have trouble filling the ships week in and week out.

 

Competition breeds excellence. We, as passengers, owe Princess nothing-except our feed-back. We can let them know what's good and not-so-good in the way they run things at sea. Comment cards on board, face to face meeting with white uniforms and of course, e mails to Alan.

 

Where are the towel animals? I've had wonderful days at sea only to return to my cabin to find that my room steward didn't contort my fluffy towels into the shape of an elephant!! I did what any one would do-smashed the TV and tossed it over the balcony! Damn right!

 

The best thing we can do to help Princess is to sail on their great ships and have the time of our lives or send a wake-up call by trying another line.

 

For me- I am as happy as a clam (currently) and drooling over the prospect of the Diamond Princess in August.

 

Norris

 

Bimmer, I love your post! The first paragraph says it all.

[caribill]

Maybe I haven't noticed, what cost cutting measures have they taken?

 

 

Here are just a few:

 

o Closing the dining room for lunch on port days

 

o Closing the buffet at midnight instead of keeping it open 24 hours

 

o Cutting entertainers on some ships in the Princess Theater and Explorers Lounge from two 45-minute unique shows an evening to one 30 minute show, a reduction of 67% in entertainers in these venues. (These shows are repeated, but still only 30 minutes long.)

 

o Reducing the value of OBC with FCCs in some cabin categories and cruise lengths by up to 75%