I hate this new Carnival site, anyone else?

[bUU]

The statistics i am reading for 2017 middle income average family 55,755.

Read my post again. You seem to keep missing specific words. It is really important that folks realize that the average American cannot afford what they can afford.

 

This message may have been entered using voice recognition. Please excuse any typos.

[AmberTeka]

I woke up this morning, and while it was quiet, went on their Website. I did not see your post. After a frustrating 30 minutes, I put a new thread out whining about my experience. I did not mean to duplicate yours.

 

I am so with you. I am so irritated. I NEVER even GOT to the deck I wanted. I am booked on the cruise. But thinking of Upgrading our cabin. Anniversary.

Did not mean to post sort of duplicate posts. I was so irritated. 17 cruises on Carnival FIRST TIME ever that I could not at least LOOK at all of the decks. Pick my cabin.

[AmberTeka]

All I really want is to be able to see what cruises go to a specific island, say for example, Martinique. I really don't care what port I sail out of, I just want to go to Martinique. Now, I have to search through all cruises going to the Caribbean, from all ports, to try and find one that goes to Martinique.

 

No You don't. One big ware house type line ..TA has an option where you can pick the port you want to visit............and it gives you All Carnival ships going there. You see it online. Do not have to talk to anyone..........

Easy to use. Then BEFORE you could go to Carnival. Tell them the cabin you wanted. NOT now. I am so irritated at Carnival.

[MR TIME]

It randomly directs me to this new site and it is so difficult to navigate unless I want them to pick my cabin for me, which I do not. Come on Carnival IT dept!

 

 

 

TERRIBLE WEB SITE....:evilsmile:

[AmberTeka]

I agree. Hate the new site. I can spend hours on a Saturday morning searching cruises, checking prices and itineraries, etc. I don't see myself doing that with this new site.

 

 

Me too. It is a hobby for me. Sort of. I taught geography for years and I Love reading about cruises.....even those I will never take.

 

But we have wound up taking 35 cruises since we retired. And God has been good to us. We are not rich. We have had one suite, which was a very affordable upsell. We pay our bills. House is paid for...............and for the time being, we have no other monthly debts other than gas credit card and one merchandise card. OK Cable bill. ( Biggest bill we have) Electric bill. Cars are paid for. We will have to replace one soon. UGH. But save for big down payment. Finance for 3 years. low payments.

WE ARE THEIR MARKET. We take our kids . WE PAY that BILL. Lots of them grow up to be cruisers.

 

We budget to cruise. We seldom eat out at home. For health reasons .We both watch our weight for health reasons. We don't nightclub. We don't buy high end clothing. Most bought on line. We don't drink Husband will have a Martini at night on cruises. . We don't gamble. Do visit casino on cruises.

We live in Florida. three ports are within a few hours driving distance. No airlines. No hotels. I BET many of You are very similar to us. I think WE are the Backbone of the Cruise Industry. And this web site is NOT friendly to us.

 

 

I am irked. Just irked at Carnival. Stupid, stupid, stupid. to make the web site targeted to young people who like to do more active things than cruise.

Edited June 8, 2017 by AmberTeka

[bUU]

Stupid, stupid, stupid. to make the web site targeted to young people who like to do more active things than cruise.

Because snorkeling, and hiking through a rain forest (two of the three things Carnival presents front and center on their web page, aren't active things?

[dolphin1313]

I agree. Hate the new site. I can spend hours on a Saturday morning searching cruises, checking prices and itineraries, etc. I don't see myself doing that with this new site.

 

I agree totally. The way Carnival's web site is now, I won't be searching for cruises there. Just when I thought they couldn't make it worse, they do.

[quickrate]

I also hate this website. 26 Carnival cruises, Diamond, and I find myself jumping to other lines sites to check what they have available. We are considering MSC as they wil loyalty match and I get better perks with them than I do thru the Carnival Program!! Carnival is slowly driving away their most loyal customers!!

Pat

[AmberTeka]

Because snorkeling, and hiking through a rain forest (two of the three things Carnival presents front and center on their web page, aren't active things?

 

 

Did not mean to offend. At age 70 and 75m we are not hiking through the Rain Forest anytime soon. We do maintain very healthy weights. Neither of us is obese. I know we could do more.........but we do follow that health rule.

 

Again...........not meant to offend. But my daughter, who has been on Carnival.Princess. HAL. and we paid..is using HER Money to camp over at Cape San Blas on the Gulf of Mexico. And later this summer, she will use their Money to rent a cabin in North Carolina. They will also visit Savannah for a few days. ( Teacher has summer off). We did not start cruising until we retired. And I was diagnosed as having rheumatoid arthritis.

And WE hiked. then. State parks. Okefenokke state park. the Ravines. Cedar Key area.

If you are still hiking..........God Bless You. I wish you the best.

 

STILL think I Fit the average of a high percentage of Carnival loyalists cruisers.

[bUU]

Did not mean to offend.

I would hope that the vast majority of us can be presumed to be posting from our best intentions at all times. While I admit there are some exceptions to that, I think we can say that you and I at least can be presumed to be posting from our best intentions at all times.

 

At age 70 and 75m we are not hiking through the Rain Forest anytime soon.

And my spouse and I aren't going to go snorkeling again. The way that reads to me is that Carnival, while we will be able to exploit this specific offering we've chosen and get enough out of it to satisfy us, isn't actually targeting us. They're targeting more active people and people who for who more modern affinities prevail much more so than they are targeting folks who are looking to go on a cruise that resembles cruising of a generation ago (or further back than that).

 

As we've gotten older we've encountered this more and more and more. The most egregious encounter so far has been with an animal rescue shelter from which we adopted two kittens seven years ago. They looked at us rather critically explicitly because of our ages. They weren't sheepish about it in the slightest. They said that if we were much older, they wouldn't let us adopt, for fear we would pass away before the kittens, leaving them without a loving home. We didn't dwell on it at the time, because they let us adopt, but should we outlive our cats as they expected we will, we won't consign ourselves to a home without pets. We'll find a place to adopt that doesn't commit ageism.

 

However, we cannot simply choose another animal shelter - and reflexively, choose another cruise line - when it is something that is industry-wide. Luckily, there are numerous animal shelters that will allow folks of any age to adopt, and luckily there are still some cruise lines that are targeting older passengers. They may be a bit more expensive for many itineraries, and perhaps there are other compromises (there are always compromises when one has fewer choices offered to them by the marketplace), but they're still there.

 

The reason why this seems to be more of an issue with cruise lines than other vacation options is because cruise lines have prompted passengers to build up a lot of emotional and temporal investment in the preferred line, and taunt passengers with elite passenger benefits that passengers would have to give up if they were to switch to a cruise line that is targeting them as customers better. The cruise lines have therefore effectively purchased customer loyalty - the elite passenger benefits are effectively compensation to the passenger for the cruise line moving away from what the passenger may want the cruise line to be.

 

STILL think I Fit the average of a high percentage of Carnival loyalists cruisers.

Think about it logically: Why would they not be offering you want you want? Are they idiots? No. The reality is often quite different from what we perceive, especially when our greatest exposure to the reality is those with whom we choose to associate, rather than sales reports and marketing analyses. You naturally resonate with the people who think and feel like you - we all do - and those for whom the ideal cruise vacation is a ski-doo rental followed by downing a six-pack on the beach while Papa Roach is blaring from the mp3 player may not figure prominently in your recollection of the folks you cruised with in the past.

[pacruise804]

The average median per capita income in the US is $29,979 (2015). The *average* American cannot afford a cruise vacation.

 

Be careful with statistics. Often income is reported by household, so that income needs to support a full household of people. Other numbers only consider Americans with income, competing ignoring households without income. And our society does a great job of hiding the poor from view.

 

This message may have been entered using voice recognition. Please excuse any typos.

 

The statistics i am reading for 2017 middle income average family 55,755.

 

I always thought per capita was per person vs. family income is the household income, or at least married filing joint (assuming US statistics). If you double the per capita, while recognizing not all families are dual income, the numbers are very similar.

[Bernardo62]

I also hate this website. 26 Carnival cruises, Diamond, and I find myself jumping to other lines sites to check what they have available. We are considering MSC as they wil loyalty match and I get better perks with them than I do thru the Carnival Program!! Carnival is slowly driving away their most loyal customers!!

Pat

Pat I say you are our spoke person!!!!

Send CCL a letter and I will be the first to sign.....

[meatloafsfan]

I like the new site - I can check for accessible cabins online now. It's wonderful.

[mrsh678]

It's a hot mess.

[Saint Greg]

I like the new site - I can check for accessible cabins online now. It's wonderful.

 

iFmNyxni-0A

[hightownCO]

Hate the booking website changes! Find it near impossible to work with!

[quickrate]

Hate the booking website changes! Find it near impossible to work with!

Me too!! Frustrating to say the least!!

Pat

[bUU]

I always thought per capita was per person vs. family income is the household income, or at least married filing joint (assuming US statistics). If you double the per capita, while recognizing not all families are dual income, the numbers are very similar.

The difference (i.e., "not all families are dual income") is probably attributable to the fact that sometimes the statistics only counts households with income, thereby ignoring the poor. That's why those numbers make it look like so many more Americans can afford cruise vacations than is the reality. Beyond that, CLIA projects that the sweet spot for the industry are households with annual income between $100,000 and $300,000, with the average obviously somewhere between that. So the confusion between whether the average is $29,979 or $55,755 is somewhat immaterial, since the affordability of and attraction to cruising only starts in earnest at roughly double that.

 

CLIA is a great source for insight into the industry. It's industry-biased, but that actually helps us see things from the industry's perspective. (We already are in a good position, ourselves, to see things from our own perspective.) For 2017, the #1 trend that they indicate will shape the industry are the new generations taking to the seas - not just Gen Xers, but Millennials as well. The median cruise passenger in the industry is now a Gen Xer. I believe that this is the first year that that will be true. And cruising is coming onto the radar of many who have never cruised before. One of the inescapable consequences of folks comparatively new to cruising flooding into the market is that they substantially dilute the significance of the preferences of folks who have been cruising for decades. It's roughly 50/50 now, but we can expect to see that skew more and more toward the younger generations over the next few years.

 

And this info really underscores why the cruise line websites are changing in the way they are.

[luv2trvlnow]

The difference (i.e., "not all families are dual income") is probably attributable to the fact that sometimes the statistics only counts households with income, thereby ignoring the poor. That's why those numbers make it look like so many more Americans can afford cruise vacations than is the reality. Beyond that, CLIA projects that the sweet spot for the industry are households with annual income between $100,000 and $300,000, with the average obviously somewhere between that. So the confusion between whether the average is $29,979 or $55,755 is somewhat immaterial, since the affordability of and attraction to cruising only starts in earnest at roughly double that.

 

CLIA is a great source for insight into the industry. It's industry-biased, but that actually helps us see things from the industry's perspective. (We already are in a good position, ourselves, to see things from our own perspective.) For 2017, the #1 trend that they indicate will shape the industry are the new generations taking to the seas - not just Gen Xers, but Millennials as well. The median cruise passenger in the industry is now a Gen Xer. I believe that this is the first year that that will be true. And cruising is coming onto the radar of many who have never cruised before. One of the inescapable consequences of folks comparatively new to cruising flooding into the market is that they substantially dilute the significance of the preferences of folks who have been cruising for decades. It's roughly 50/50 now, but we can expect to see that skew more and more toward the younger generations over the next few years.

 

And this info really underscores why the cruise line websites are changing in the way they are.

Well these statistics don't hold for our family. But being an accountant I know one can get statistics to say whatever someone wants them to say. According to this I am Platinum but I can't afford to cruise. My son, in his 30's, is Platinum and has more cruises than me and is nowhere near that $100,000 income. Therefore he can't afford to cruise. And of course since we don't have that kind of income we aren't attracted to cruising. Thus the lack of cruise. HA-HA! Always take statistics with a grain of salt. In this case that grain in very large.

[Nightsky6908]

They shutdown their message boards like last summer. Moved it all to FB.

 

 

Thanks Greg.

[bUU]

Always take statistics with a grain of salt. In this case that grain in very large.

Rather, take individual people's anecdotal situations with a grain of salt. There are always exceptions to every rule, and the exceptions don't change the reality of the situation as dictated by the non-exceptions. Statistics actually are very valuable tools for understanding the market as a whole.

 

I'm curious about the FB stuff. Does Carnival actually have a public group or something other than John Heald's page?

[AmberTeka]

I am going on the Carnival web site now. I am using all of the tips on this board. Now I will see if I can find the deck and cabins I would like to upgrade too.

 

As I am no whiz on the computer, I am feeling not so like I am going to be able to do it.

[vamartha]

I'm not a fan, but having said that I don't use their web site for anything other than actually booking the cruise and then managing my booking.

 

If I'm looking for cruise I use a website that I'm not allowed to mention on CC but if you Google cruise VTG, it will be the first link that isn't an ad. I use this website for ALL of my research. The results are displayed in a sortable Excel type format and the easiest to use of any I've tried and trust me, I've probably tried them all! I've never booked a cruise using that website and can also pretty much guarantee that I won't ever book there. But the research product that they provide is priceless IMHO.

 

I only go to Carnival's site to check on Casino Rates, actually book my cruise and then purchase FTTF or complete my check-in. As far as I'm concerned, that is about all that works on the site! I'd hate to think I had to go there to choose a cruise, without having an idea of where/what I want to book. Must be frustrating as hell for newbies!

[joepeka]

I'm not a fan, but having said that I don't use their web site for anything other than actually booking the cruise and then managing my booking.

 

If I'm looking for cruise I use a website that I'm not allowed to mention on CC but if you Google cruise VTG, it will be the first link that isn't an ad. I use this website for ALL of my research. The results are displayed in a sortable Excel type format and the easiest to use of any I've tried and trust me, I've probably tried them all! I've never booked a cruise using that website and can also pretty much guarantee that I won't ever book there. But the research product that they provide is priceless IMHO.

 

I only go to Carnival's site to check on Casino Rates, actually book my cruise and then purchase FTTF or complete my check-in. As far as I'm concerned, that is about all that works on the site! I'd hate to think I had to go there to choose a cruise, without having an idea of where/what I want to book. Must be frustrating as hell for newbies!

 

Agree with you about that "other" site you mention - their simple, tabular, sort-able format is quite good without all the "fluff." :)

[the mistral wind]

I always thought per capita was per person vs. family income is the household income, or at least married filing joint (assuming US statistics). If you double the per capita, while recognizing not all families are dual income, the numbers are very similar.

So is blu trying to say that the family income is approximately 60,000. For 2 working in an average family. That sounds about right.

That is enough money to take cruise vacations. I know many who do.

And i do believe this is the TYPICAL carnival cruise passenger.