Are Princess losing the plot

[Chrisbha]

Just returned from Fantastic 15 days on Coral Princess but have to say we have some issues that may make us look at other cruise lines.

Firstly the whole cruise seems to have become one long sales pitch. I do not want my waiter trying to sell me something every night at dinner from wine tasting to a cookery book(who buys one of these on holiday) I accept its not their fault they are obviously being pushed by their bosses.

Secondly the food, the standard has definately dropped. It was not up to previous standards, the meat was not cooked as requested, the lobsters have definately got smaller and the puddings were a complete let down. The head waiter was pushing "flambayed peaches" which turned out to be tinned peaches with the top burnt.

Thirdly the excursions seem to be getting more and more expensive.

We booked a trip on a yaght in Cab San Lucus for $129 before we left home but if you booked it on the boat it was $159 which for a 3hrs trip with a drink and a bit of food was expensive and no wonder the trip wasn't full.

Fourthly our bedding was not changed for entire cruise our Duvet cover was very worn & had a hole in it.

We love using Princess because they are usually of such a high standard for which you pay a premium but those standards are definately starting to slip. There are lots of other options out there and if they are not careful other people like ourselves will start to look elsewhere.

[msmoger]

We love using Princess because they are usually of such a high standard for which you pay a premium

 

Pay a premium over what???? ;)

[Shogun]

Hi

 

My view is Princess is a little bit lost,

 

it wants to be a mass market volume player, but does not have the ships for this,

 

as such if is constantly trying to drive down costs and increase revenue,

 

nothing wrong with that, they are a business there to make profit.

 

However I think the business plan is wrong, many here would be happy to pay

 

a little more for better quality, they do not need to be the cheapest to fill there

 

ships, value for money will attract customers, but low prices and low standards

 

drive customers away.

 

yours Shogun

[runnerodb83]

To the OP, when did you last sale? I think it's undeniable that the standard of cruising from even a few years ago has slipped and become more of sales on board ala the low fare airline model. However, a lot of what you have said seems on par with things from the last year or two.

 

I read on the HAL boards and elsewhere that RCCL's business plan moving forward is to raise prices and sail with empty cabins. The "Carnival" method of sailing where the line must get bodies in the cabins and they will buy drinks etc to cover any losses on cabin discounts clearly doesn't work for all markets. I think that some of the upmarket lines are realizing that if you charge a bit more, its more likely to bring clientele that spend a bit more when they get on board. The net effect is more profit.

 

So the question is then whether the public will react favorably and continue to book cruises at the higher prices, or will they find other vacations?

[majortom10]

The beliefs said in previous posts about Princess could be exactly subsituted to P&O in the UK with the same issues so my thoughts is that it is obviously a Carnival company policies they are adhering too. But being realistic when you can get a cruise on Royal around British Isles recently advertised at £698 for a balcony you have got to be realistic and expect cutbacks and Princess (or P&O) finding other ways to boost profit.

[skynight]

Agree with other posters. Princess is lost and is struggling to recognize it's place in the Carnival Corp. world wide market. It seems to have struggled since Carnival purchased them from P&O in 2003. Other than Alaska where Princess currently has a firm foothold, the corporate brass seem to think Asia is a place for Princess. I guess we will see if they are correct.

Regarding cost reduction, Princess seems to have the wrong concept. Cost reductions that are translated to their customers are bad cost reductions. You see them all over and in most departments on the ship. The old saying of 'no company ever saved their way to success' is still true. Regarding on board sales, while they aren't too annoying, Princess needs to be aware not to push too hard. One thing I don't like is the blocking of gang ways, creating a queue, and somewhat aggressive nature of the photographers. Also when the photographers set up their evening locations they always seem to block passage into or out of the central area.

Edited May 5, 2015 by sknight

[insidecabin]

last year the insides on the Ruby BI trips went down to £399 for 12nights this year they only went down to £499 and that was on 2 sailing only the others are still at premium prices.

 

IF we get a £499 quality cruise, those that were paying over £1k are not going to be happy.

[smeck]

Hi

 

My view is Princess is a little bit lost,

 

it wants to be a mass market volume player, but does not have the ships for this,

 

as such if is constantly trying to drive down costs and increase revenue,

 

nothing wrong with that, they are a business there to make profit.

 

However I think the business plan is wrong, many here would be happy to pay

 

a little more for better quality, they do not need to be the cheapest to fill there

 

ships, value for money will attract customers, but low prices and low standards

 

drive customers away.

 

yours Shogun

 

Like button

[sunsetbeachgal]

In addition to the Princess Boards, I also spend time on the Holland America boards as we have an upcoming HAL cruise. Basically the comments about declining quality and staff cutbacks are the same for both lines. Ditto for some of the other complaints.

 

While I am more than willing to pay a fair price, I don't want declining quality and discounting unsold inventory inside of final payment really doesn't build any loyalty among regular cruisers.

Edited May 5, 2015 by sunsetbeachgal

[ceilidh1]

I think Shogun summed it up perfectly! Don't get me wrong, I love getting smoking deals as much as the next person and, if a sailing is a crazy low price and I am able/available to do it, I will book it on a whim (my 2 coastals coming up are a prime example). However, if I am interested in particular cruise I will book it ahead of time, regardless of cost, since I know that I will be getting great service, great staff, great food, overrall value...Sadly, I agree that this isn't always the case lately. We just returned from Grand to Hawaii and, while we enjoyed it, it wasn't up to par on any front to previous Princess cruises. The food was ok, the entertainment was ok, the staff were ok, the ship was not even ok! We paid a premium price for this cruise as huge price drops happened after final payment - you win some, you loose some. Lesson I learned is that maybe I don't need to be quite so quick/eager to book Princess a year ahead of time. Maybe it's time to try another line, or just wait until last minute and take my chance. I have NO problem paying more if I am guaranteed excellence. I have a HUGE problem paying more for mediocre!

[chamima]

In addition to the Princess Boards, I also spend time on the Holland America boards as we have an upcoming HAL cruise. Basically the comments about declining quality and staff cutbacks are the same for both lines. Ditto for some of the other complaints.

 

While I am more than willing to pay a fair price, I don't want declining quality and discounting unsold inventory inside of final payment really doesn't build any loyalty among regular cruisers.

 

 

 

Same thing on the Celebrity boards!

 

(For what it's worth - we did NOT notice any cost cutting at all on our last Princess cruise but it was really evident on Celebrity)

[Colo Cruiser]

last year the insides on the Ruby BI trips went down to £399 for 12nights this year they only went down to £499 and that was on 2 sailing only the others are still at premium prices.

 

IF we get a £499 quality cruise, those that were paying over £1k are not going to be happy.

 

 

This is true in things that everyone purchases today. If you knew what others paid for the seats right next to you on the plane you would have to stop flying too. This is not new! Its marketing.

 

I agree with posts about Princess going in several directions and that they appear to be lost. However as long as they continue to sell out cruises they will not change their approach. Its a shame. :(

[BarbaraP]

Fourthly our bedding was not changed for entire cruise our Duvet cover was very worn & had a hole in it.

 

Why didn't you ask the steward to change your sheets:confused:

[CruisinChris]

I agree with just about every thought in this post - except perhaps the speculation on Carnival/Princess business motivations.

 

I'm just off a really fantastic cruise on the Regal - which was a redeeming surprise after an generally unsatisfactory Royal cruise the previous year (in retrospect remind self to NEVER cruise at Christmas). That said, while I appreciate the Royal class ships and what the offer, the line just isn't feeling like the Princess I fell in love with. I've dabbled a bit with Cunard and it's fine for what it is, but it isn't going to be my new go-to. I was so frustrated with the lack of 10day Caribbean options and PRICING for next winter that I'm actually going to try HAL. I normally take a minisuite and after my Regal cruise would only go on one of the extended balcony minis mid-ship but on HAL I saved over $1400 and got a suite. I doubt they will be my new go-to but it's a great itinerary and I'm sure it will be "fine."

 

For all of you who commented about Princess Live - it's going away on the next new ship. That whole area including the Wheelhouse and Crown Grill are being reconfigured. (heard this on the Regal).

[Colo Cruiser]

For all of you who commented about Princess Live - it's going away on the next new ship. That whole area including the Wheelhouse and Crown Grill are being reconfigured. (heard this on the Regal).

 

 

Good!!!!

[NavyVeteran]

Secondly the food, the standard has definately dropped. It was not up to previous standards, the meat was not cooked as requested, the lobsters have definately got smaller and the puddings were a complete let down. The head waiter was pushing "flambayed peaches" which turned out to be tinned peaches with the top burnt.

 

I agree that the standard in the dining room has gone down in the last several years, but I don't think you have to accept substandard food.

 

Did you tell the waiter the meat was not cooked as requested? They will always bring you a replacement if there is any problem.

 

I don't have any problem with the size of the lobsters, since I will just order more until I am full. Smaller portions help prevent waste, and they will always bring you as many as you want.

 

Sometimes the deserts prepared by the head waiter in the dining room are very good, and sometimes not so much. If not, it's always easy to order something else.

[Grego]

I agree that the standard in the dining room has gone down in the last several years, but I don't think you have to accept substandard food.

 

Did you tell the waiter the meat was not cooked as requested? They will always bring you a replacement if there is any problem.

 

I don't have any problem with the size of the lobsters, since I will just order more until I am full. Smaller portions help prevent waste, and they will always bring you as many as you want.

 

Sometimes the deserts prepared by the head waiter in the dining room are very good, and sometimes not so much. If not, it's always easy to order something else.

 

Exactly.

[majortom10]

Agree with other posters. Princess is lost and is struggling to recognize it's place in the Carnival Corp. world wide market. It seems to have struggled since Carnival purchased them from P&O in 2003. Other than Alaska where Princess currently has a firm foothold, the corporate brass seem to think Asia is a place for Princess. I guess we will see if they are correct.

Regarding cost reduction, Princess seems to have the wrong concept. Cost reductions that are translated to their customers are bad cost reductions. You see them all over and in most departments on the ship. The old saying of 'no company ever saved their way to success' is still true. Regarding on board sales, while they aren't too annoying, Princess needs to be aware not to push too hard. One thing I don't like is the blocking of gang ways, creating a queue, and somewhat aggressive nature of the photographers. Also when the photographers set up their evening locations they always seem to block passage into or out of the central area.

 

Carnival did not purchase Princess from P&O they purchased the whole company including P&O at the same time.

[shredie]

This is true in things that everyone purchases today. If you knew what others paid for the seats right next to you on the plane you would have to stop flying too. This is not new! Its marketing.

 

I agree with posts about Princess going in several directions and that they appear to be lost. However as long as they continue to sell out cruises they will not change their approach. Its a shame. :(

 

True on both counts.

[Loonbeam]

Seems like its time to bring this up again...

 

For all practical purposes, Princess cares about 4 numbers.

 

A - Average Spend per head (includes fares, onboard spend, etc) - this is a number for the most part they do not control

 

B - Average acquisition cost per head (commissions, marketing, etc) - they have limited control over this

 

C - Average operating cost per head (staffing, supplies, food) - they have most control over this..

 

D - Average fixed cost per head (admin, ship builds, fuel contracts, government fees, etc). Again, limited control

 

A - (B+C+D) = Profits. When you have significant control over only one of those, thats the one you manipulate most in the current corporate model which emphasizes short term gains. So, you are going to see this on most lines.

 

(BTW, the rumor with RCCL is that they have bottomed out C as much as they think they can, so they are trying to boost A - no one is sure if it will work, since the model to boost A includes more onboard sales, which people generally do not care for)

[runnerodb83]

The North American carnival brands are in a tough spot. Carnival generally competes by itself, maybe a bit with NCL. RCCL is a bit between Carnival/NCL and PCL, HAL, and X compete over the same market. Unfortunately PCL and HAL are too similar for their own good and with their strong presence in Alaska and aspirations to be "Catch all's" providing their brand all over the world, the probably end up competing with each other more than other lines. While they are visually different, their onboard products are much more alike than they are different. I think as its been stated PCL is a bit lost. With Stein now running both brands, perhaps he's trying to differentiate a bit more, move HAL a bit more upscale and cosmopolitan and letting PCL slide a bit and compete more directly with RCCL (larger ships) but still providing more of the "adult" aspect rather than the ziplines and ice rinks that RCCL offers.

 

I could see PCL focusing more on the north american markets as well as asia and HAL staying where they are at with a nice portfolio worldwide.

[InTheWASide]

You can always ask for as many lobster tails as you want... so what's the point in complaining about the size? Get 2... get 20! Does it really matter when you can eat lobster until you pop if that's the choice you choose to make?

[AKman2495]

Here are some comments from the CCL corp annual report.

 

Someone asked about ASIA. Here is what they say:

 

Asia, and in particular, China continues to be a focus for emerging market development, where we expect

double-digit growth over the next few years. We expect China to be the largest cruise market in the world over

time. We were the first to enter the market through our Costa Cruises brand in 2006 and are currently the largest

cruise operator in mainland China. This year we will lead the industry with four ships which will homeport out of

Mainland China and more than 12 marketing offices in the region. To coordinate our growth strategy, our Chief

Operations Officer, Alan Buckelew, has relocated to China and we have entered into several strategic agreements

focused on expanding the cruise industry in China.

We signed a memorandum of understanding (“MOU”) with China State Shipbuilding Corporation, China’s

largest shipyard, and Italian shipbuilder, Fincantieri, to explore the possibility of shipbuilding and other strategic

partnerships to foster growth. We also signed a MOU with China Merchants Group, China’s oldest state

enterprise, to explore joint ventures in port and destination development, as well as other areas to successfully

develop our industry.

We have clearly established a solid foothold as the largest cruise operator home-porting in China, and our

development strategy is accelerating.

 

Here is what they say about brand distinction and customer input:

 

I feel strongly that our brands must remain independent, especially concerning the guest interface, yet work

together to unlock the potential of leveraging our scale and collective expertise. We began 2014 with the firstever

global leadership team meeting that brought together our top 65 leaders from around the world and achieved

remarkable alignment on our vision and top priorities. By strengthening our communication and coordination, we

enjoyed some early wins on our revenue and cost cross-brand collaboration efforts.

We furthered our never-ending pursuit of capturing insights from our guests beginning with our segmentation

study in North America, the first we have done across brands and the largest ever done in our industry. We

conducted extensive interviews with over 40,000 respondents and mined our 30 million past-guest database for

insight to help grow demand and onboard revenue.

 

Here is what they say about the overall picture:

 

At the same time we are striving to drive additional demand. Cruising captures just a small percentage of the

overall vacation market. Consequently, our biggest opportunity is to increase cruise consideration among

consumers. We have a number of initiatives underway to attract first-time cruisers through increased demand in

established markets, as well as expansion into new markets.

We are continually implementing product enhancements across all our brands, and striving to deliver an even

better guest experience to increase retention and life-long advocacy. “Word of mouth” remains the most powerful

tool in attracting first-time cruise guests.

 

This is, of course CCL corp talking, not just Princess.

 

FWIW...

[sfaaa]

I am not sure who is the one totally lost here. Many of Princess ships are sold out.

[dylandog25]

i have just returned from the coral princess on the last 5 days of the repositioning to Vancouver and I have never been so disappointed . We are elite and have been princess all the way but I didn't even buy a FCC this time

I realize they were under Noro prevention the first 3 days but that did not excuse the poor quality of dining room and buffet food and our duvet cover also had a hole in it