How important is brand loyalty for your experience?

[Cruise_Christy]

None of the perks seem that great to me, not enough to sacrifice my first choice of ship + itinerary anyway. I have sailed on five different cruise lines in 8 years now and they were all great holidays with their own pros and cons. How can I pick a favourite until I've tried every single line anyway?!

 

For me itinerary is the most important, then the features and size of the ship.

[GUT2407]

To me Brand loyalty has nothing to do with Perks but is about the line that "fits" best.

[buggins0402]

To me Brand loyalty has nothing to do with Perks but is about the line that "fits" best.

 

Yep...I'm brand loyal to Tide laundry detergent, but Tide doesn't have a special lounge at the grocery store for it's loyal customers.

[Hlitner]

To me Brand loyalty has nothing to do with Perks but is about the line that "fits" best.

 

You think? Talk to the typical "brand loyal" cruiser and you will find they have not cruised on other lines for many years... Many of these folks have no clue as to what other brands are in the market and what they offer. We like to use the analogy of the senior who bought a 1960 VW Bug as their first car and still drive that same car today. They will tell you that they have the best car in the world and there is nothing better....and then in the next sentence they admit they have never been in another type car. Textbook case of ignorance is bliss :).

 

So perhaps you have found a line that is a great fit. But until you expand your horizons you will never know if another line is a better fit! On our recent HAL cruise we were docked next to one of the new Viking Cruises ships. Some folks near us (Crows Nest) were talking about the gorgeous vessel and wondering how the line compared to HAL. One person said, "I will never find out because we only cruise on HAL." Most of the others said they would like to try the new cruise line.

 

Hank

[Gwendy914]

 

For our Alaska cruise next June it came down to who sails from Seattle so we don't have to fly.

 

I'm on the peninsula too. I'm looking forward to not flying to a cruise because in addition how every flight is long--the drive to the airport is a killer too. And there's just the one road out of here. :)

[Gwendy914]

Thank you for these answers. It's really interesting to hear all the different takes on the subject.

 

And to have another Gwendy reply. And to find out someone lives in same area. And to realize I might just have to try every single line to really make my decision if I even have brand loyalty, lol. Life is hard, yes?

[Warm Breezes]

Thank you for these answers. It's really interesting to hear all the different takes on the subject.

 

And to have another Gwendy reply. And to find out someone lives in same area. And to realize I might just have to try every single line to really make my decision if I even have brand loyalty, lol. Life is hard, yes?

 

Life is good. The most important thing is to choose your cruise and don't look back. Go with an open mind and a good attitude, relax and have fun:D.

[cruisemom42]

To me Brand loyalty has nothing to do with Perks but is about the line that "fits" best.

 

Best summary; I agree. Choosing a cruise is complex. I cruise for itinerary mostly, but timing and cost is also a factor. I can say I'm not brand loyal, but I also know that I don't like certain brands, and some brands do not offer the things I DO like. Also, I prefer small ships, which further limits my choices.

 

In all of this, loyalty perks figure not at all. If, like Hank, I took really long cruises, then perhaps something like the laundry or drinks or internet would be more meaningful. But for now I work and can only cruise for about 2 weeks at a a stretch.

[cruzeluver]

No brand loyalty whatsoever and I could not be happier about it.

 

I have no concern about when loyalty perks are changed or discontinued which seems to get some folks into an enormous uproar. And really I have not seen a single perk that has tempted me in the least. In fact some are more PR than real perks. One that immediately comes to mind is "priority embarkation". Yeah me and every other person who has sailed before and everyone that has booked a suite. In other words, 50% of those boarding have "priority". :rolleyes:

 

I have so many more options of ships, itineraries and ports of embarkation than I would if I was loyal to only one line.

 

I do not have the same cruising experience every time we cruise. I don't board knowing exactly what I will be having for lunch and which night is escargot night in the mdr. Don't want to know. Familiarity breeds contempt and entitlement.

[ronandannette]

Almost 0% brand loyalty in our decision making, and when it does factor in, it's because of a specific aspect of a specific line's product, not because of any perks we get. I am actually quite delighted practically every time we try a new or less familiar line - there's almost always something different we really like. It would take an amalgamation of 4 different lines to provide our "perfect" experience (specific elements chosen by us - it's my daydream, after all :p)!

 

I'd say itinerary is our first consideration; we decide where we want to go this time and then work the other details out. Price is almost always our second highest priority (obviously we need to be able to afford whatever we choose), but there is actually one line we've decided never to sail again no matter how low the prices are. Much farther down the list comes sail date - once or twice we've just had to cruise during a particular week but we're usually a lot more flexible than that.

Edited August 24, 2016 by ronandannette

[iancal]

When it comes to cruising we have zero brand loyalty. We enjoy the differences between cruise lines and ships. Itinerary and ship are more important to us than brand.

 

We find the service just about identical on several of the brands. The differences come down to on board options and the staff, food, and entertainment. All of which can vary greatly between ships of the same flag and between sailings on the same ship.

 

We are also believers in voting with our feet and with our wallets. Perks are ok but they are secondary to us.

 

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[Nebr.cruiser]

Besides looking mainly at itinerary and price, we really like trying new lines; the same old same old gets, well, old. Never had a bad cruise yet!

[jocap]

We choose itinerary first, but after that, if we're sailing from the UK and longer than a week, we only look at ships with an indoor pool. Two chilly cruises on ships designed for the Caribbean but sailing out of Southampton made us rethink... everything should have happened on the swimming decks, along with a sea screen, but with terrible weather (especially in Norway), everyone squeezed inside... our two least pleasant cruises.