Why Doesn't Princess Modern"icized" Their (Old) Ships?

[greenie082756]

On ‎2‎/‎12‎/‎2019 at 7:56 PM, need2cruisesoon said:

Another cruise line is giving their ships a Revolution in design and update, why not Princess?

The way I understand this statement is more like why should Princess have to make a change in design and update? Its more like why they should not keep up with the Jones's. This brand knows their clients and knows what they want. Princess is like your favorite restaurant that knows how you like your food and what make you comfortable and what will make you come back when the need is there.

 

For myself and hubby we basically like the ambiance of the ships we have been on. It fits us. We are in our early 60's and have been sailing with them for over 5 years. Yes, I know that not much compared to some others. We have been on the Golden, Ruby, Crown and Island. 

 

Should some of the ships do some minor up dates to keep up with today's technology? Yes absolutely.  I believe from what I have read so far, they are doing that. 

[Renmar]

On 2/14/2019 at 8:40 AM, Daniel A said:

I've never sailed Island Princess.  What did they do to that?

Added room for about 200 more passengers.

Island Princess 2200 passengers

Coral Princess 2000 passengers

Same size ships.

 

Theo

[capriccio]

7 hours ago, Renmar said:

Added room for about 200 more passengers.

Island Princess 2200 passengers

Coral Princess 2000 passengers

Same size ships.

 

Theo

And while doing so removed the aft public viewing areas from a number of decks and the Universe Lounge, venue for the On the Bayou production (developed specifically for that stage on the Coral and Island and the best overall production we've seen on a Princess ship) which is now held in the Princess theater.

[Coral]

On 2/14/2019 at 2:22 PM, greenie082756 said:

This brand knows their clients and knows what they want. Princess is like your favorite restaurant that knows how you like your food and what make you comfortable and what will make you come back when the need is there.

 

I disagree. I think if you asked Princess who their clientele is, I don't think they could answer. They seem to try to advertise to different demographics trying to figure this out.

[floridalover5623]

2 hours ago, Coral said:

I disagree. I think if you asked Princess who their clientele is, I don't think they could answer. They seem to try to advertise to different demographics trying to figure this out.

You may think it not so but they know exactly how much money each demographic spends, even according to their cruise status level - as does every other cruise line. 

[Coral]

3 minutes ago, floridalover5623 said:

You may think it not so but they know exactly how much money each demographic spends, even according to their cruise status level - as does every other cruise line. 

I think you are missing my point. 

 

Princess has changed their marketing quite a bit - it is not obvious what type of passenger they are attracting. Every market has a certain demographic it is trying to attract - I don't think Princess even knows who their demographic is. It is like they are trying to figure it out and never do. It is obvious whose Carnival, RCCL's, NCL's and even HAL's is. I think Carnival Corp doesn't know how Princess fits into their umbrella. I think part of the problem is Jan Swartz's leadership.

[Casey12]

11 minutes ago, Coral said:

I think you are missing my point. 

 

Princess has changed their marketing quite a bit - it is not obvious what type of passenger they are attracting. Every market has a certain demographic it is trying to attract - I don't think Princess even knows who their demographic is. It is like they are trying to figure it out and never do. It is obvious whose Carnival, RCCL's, NCL's and even HAL's is. I think Carnival Corp doesn't know how Princess fits into their umbrella. I think part of the problem is Jan Swartz's leadership.

I completely agree. I have friends who used to work at Princess and pretty much said the same. Princess doesn't know who their customers are. CCL sees HAL as their favorite above Princess and puts less resources into Princess. Jan Swartz is very indecisive.

Edited February 16, 2019 by Casey12

[floridalover5623]

1 hour ago, Coral said:

I think you are missing my point. 

 

Princess has changed their marketing quite a bit - it is not obvious what type of passenger they are attracting. Every market has a certain demographic it is trying to attract - I don't think Princess even knows who their demographic is. It is like they are trying to figure it out and never do. It is obvious whose Carnival, RCCL's, NCL's and even HAL's is. I think Carnival Corp doesn't know how Princess fits into their umbrella. I think part of the problem is Jan Swartz's leadership.

If that's true then why are most of the ships constantly sailing filled to capacity.

They must be advertising to the correct demographic.  

[Coral]

25 minutes ago, floridalover5623 said:

If that's true then why are most of the ships constantly sailing filled to capacity.

They must be advertising to the correct demographic.  

Do you get their last minute specials? I have gotten 3 this week, some for fares under $499 for a 7 night. Basically they keep dropping it until the ship fills.

 

Their pricing model is not consistent - I have had 7 different price drops on a future cruise and it is still $1500 more than it went for last year. I think it will probably drop several times again in the future.

 

It would probably make more sense if they priced their ships accurately to begin with. Then they wouldn't have to constantly adjust pricing.

 

 

Edited February 16, 2019 by Coral

[richsea]

8 minutes ago, Coral said:

Do you get their last minute specials? I have gotten 3 this week, some for fares under $499 for a 7 night. Basically they keep dropping it until the ship fills.

 

Their pricing model is not consistent - I have had 7 different price drops on a future cruise and it is still $1500 more than it went for last year. I think it will probably drop several times again in the future.

 

It would probably make more sense if they priced their ships accurately to begin with. Then they wouldn't have to constantly adjust pricing.

 

 

You can say the same about every cruise line out there; it’s not just Princess. They all adjust fares according to demand. No one ever spends money in an empty cabin. I think theydo know their market, and it varies depending on the sailing and time of year. We just came off 14 nights on Caribbean Princess. Princess absolutely knew the majority of paasengers would be retirees escaping the cold, & the choice of music throughout the ship reflected that.  

[Coral]

2 minutes ago, richsea said:

You can say the same about every cruise line out there; it’s not just Princess. They all adjust fares according to demand. No one ever spends money in an empty cabin. I think theydo know their market, and it varies depending on the sailing and time of year. We just came off 14 nights on Caribbean Princess. Princess absolutely knew the majority of paasengers would be retirees escaping the cold, & the choice of music throughout the ship reflected that.  

If it was a true 14 night cruise - it doesn't take a rocket scientist to realize that most people on a 14 night Caribbean cruise would be retired at this time of the year.

Edited February 16, 2019 by Coral

[richsea]

25 minutes ago, Coral said:

If it was a true 14 night cruise - it doesn't take a rocket scientist to realize that most people on a 14 night Caribbean cruise would be retired at this time of the year.

And it’s not rocket science to know your market. Princess knows their market.

[Obsi]

Marketing the same thing to multiple demographics increases your chance of attracting a wider range of people.  So it could be a decision to try and reach everyone, rather than not knowing which demographic to advertise to.

[Expat Cruise]

Old is not always bad, new is not always good.  The oldest ship in the fleet is the Sun Princess (1995).  But like many other here I like this ship better than the new ships. I don't want the shopping malls and lots of extra people. I do not want to be in a big floating box I what to be on a ship.  While the Sun is the oldest ship in the fleet it is the ship I like best, it also does not appear old as the up keep and maintenance has been great.

 

Did two cruises on the Sun last year have another in a few weeks. The Sun always sails full, and most cruise they must do more over offers.  The guests seem to be very happy with her since she came to Asia Australia several years ago. My next cruise is my 84th cruise been on many lines and many ships,  still really like the Sun class. I hope Princess keeps her.  

[Coral]

26 minutes ago, Expat Cruise said:

 

Did two cruises on the Sun last year have another in a few weeks. The Sun always sails full, and most cruise they must do more over offers.  The guests seem to be very happy with her since she came to Asia Australia several years ago. My next cruise is my 84th cruise been on many lines and many ships,  still really like the Sun class. I hope Princess keeps her.  

I have many great cruises on the Sun Class ships and think of them fondly. If I was closer to them, I would also sail them. They are a perfect size ship and the crew was always wonderful. 

[OCruisers]

36 minutes ago, Expat Cruise said:

Old is not always bad, new is not always good.  The oldest ship in the fleet is the Sun Princess (1995).  But like many other here I like this ship better than the new ships. I don't want the shopping malls and lots of extra people. I do not want to be in a big floating box I what to be on a ship.  While the Sun is the oldest ship in the fleet it is the ship I like best, it also does not appear old as the up keep and maintenance has been great.

 

Did two cruises on the Sun last year have another in a few weeks. The Sun always sails full, and most cruise they must do more over offers.  The guests seem to be very happy with her since she came to Asia Australia several years ago. My next cruise is my 84th cruise been on many lines and many ships,  still really like the Sun class. I hope Princess keeps her.  

 

9 minutes ago, Coral said:

I have many great cruises on the Sun Class ships and think of them fondly. If I was closer to them, I would also sail them. They are a perfect size ship and the crew was always wonderful. 

 

Also really LOVED the Sun Class ships!  

Edited February 17, 2019 by OCruisers

[TriumphGuy]

I think Princess has no choice but to look forward, to a time when today's "Millennials", (nowadays a misnomer, an all purpose description for anybody younger than us) begin to cruise as we do now. Decor changes, personal expectations change from generation to generation, etc. Today's younger generations have to be constantly entertained , they have been raised with a huge amount of sensory input thrown at them from all directions. TV, internet, video games, cell phones, computers, etc. They want/need multiple choices. Did we have climbing walls, go cart tracks, zip lining on ships back in the day? Ask yourself why, what has changed? The answer is that consumers' preferences have changed and any business that does not adapt to that model is doomed. Princess will be forced to adapt in order to survive, like it or not.

 

That said, I like things the way they are, but I'm almost 65 and probably won't be around when the "Millennials" hit my age. Ok by me.

[OCruisers]

Thing is  ... Princess needs to keep their current cruise base happy.  

Also remember the Yuppies are next with money to spend on cruising and tend to like the traditional sort of things.  

Edited February 17, 2019 by OCruisers

[floridalover5623]

16 hours ago, Coral said:

Do you get their last minute specials? I have gotten 3 this week, some for fares under $499 for a 7 night. Basically they keep dropping it until the ship fills.

 

Their pricing model is not consistent - I have had 7 different price drops on a future cruise and it is still $1500 more than it went for last year. I think it will probably drop several times again in the future.

 

It would probably make more sense if they priced their ships accurately to begin with. Then they wouldn't have to constantly adjust pricing.

 

 

Of course I do. They send out thousands of them in hopes of filling even last spot on the ship even to the point of overbooking. There are always cancellations even up to the first day of the cruise.

[floridalover5623]

On 9/13/2014 at 7:07 PM, BruceMuzz said:

 

Marshall Field - and many others with those ideas - went out of business long ago.

 

The entire concept of going the extra distance to convince those return customers to come back is no longer viable in the cruise industry.

Carnival Cruise Line has been proving it for the past 22 consecutive years, where they have remained the most profitable and highest rated (by pax and travel agents) cruise line on planet earth.

Carnival's internal policy is to discourage repeat cruisers from returning to them.

They removed the future cruise sales people from their ships.

Their frequent cruiser program offers very little for loyalty.

They do not encourage complainers with cash rewards.

They throw mis-behaving pax off their ships and do not allow them to return.

 

Carnival proved to the rest of us long ago that frequent cruisers are the biggest money loser we have.

They are generally high maintenance and not cost-effective to the line. The more cruises they take, the less they spend onboard our ships. Since today's cruise line sales model is selling cruises at cost or at a loss, then recouping profits through onboard spending, the frugal frequent cruiser is our worst enemy.

My employer recently conducted a study, compngari frequency of cruising with onboard spending.

Every time a passenger takes another cruise, his/her onboard spending drops an average 9%.

After 10 cruises, they are spending essentially nothing onboard. The cruise line is transporting them for free.

 

Every study done over the past 2 decades show us that the supply of new first-time cruisers is growing far faster than we can build ships to put them on. Every prediction is that this supply will continue to grow faster than we can, for a very long time.

When we talk to these new cruisers and ask them why they go on a cruise, the answer is almost always the same: PRICE. It is cheaper for them to cruise than it is to take a land-based vacation.

 

So then you can ask a cruise line CEO if he prefers to spend additional money to convince frugal frequent cruisers to come back and reduce his profits while demanding more and better services. Or would he prefer to court the seemingly endless supply of free-spending first-timers who are only concerned with basic services and low fares.

I think you already know what his answer is going to be.

 

Providing great service is still definitely the way to go - but convincing the public to return is a recipe for bankruptcy in today's market.

 

8 hours ago, OCruisers said:

Thing is  ... Princess needs to keep their current cruise base happy.  

Also remember the Yuppies are next with money to spend on cruising and tend to like the traditional sort of things.  

Yes & no. Read above. 

While it's a little dated I still believe the logic holds true. 

[richsea]

BruceMuzz, if Carnival ever got the wish you say they are hoping for; that repeat cruisers not return, they would be sailing mostly empty ships and go out of business in a heartbeat. Repeat cruisers are what keeps them afloat.

[MJSailors]

On 2/12/2019 at 11:26 PM, Thrak said:

Not sure what you are referring to but...

 

I don't want shopping malls.

I don't want a ton of extra cost venues.

I don't want water slides.

I don't want rock climbing walls.

I don't want to have to make reservations in the theater.

I don't want... (fill in whatever it is that other lines have to which you are referring...)

 

I don't want pretty much any of the bells and whistles that other (similar priced) cruise lines offer. That's one of the big reasons I like Princess.

 

If you want to ask about upscale cruise lines...

Yes, I want free beverage package.

Yes, I want free excursions.

Yes, I want all of the upscale items that are included with the snazzier cruise lines.

No, I can't afford those cruise lines.

Exactly ! 👍

Plus, I want a walkable Promenade with sea views such as those on the Caribbean Princess and other Grand Class ships.

[mevs904]

Absolutely on the promenade!

[floridalover5623]

3 hours ago, MJSailors said:

Exactly ! 👍

Plus, I want a walkable Promenade with sea views such as those on the Caribbean Princess and other Grand Class ships.

Looks like those ship are being phased out. In a few more years they'll all look like the royal class.

[floridalover5623]

3 hours ago, richsea said:

BruceMuzz, if Carnival ever got the wish you say they are hoping for; that repeat cruisers not return, they would be sailing mostly empty ships and go out of business in a heartbeat. Repeat cruisers are what keeps them afloat.

I don't know about yourself but we fit the mold of not spending much on the ship for any of our cruises. Between all the perks, OBC, loyalty credit, military credit & FCC, the amount of profit for people like us is minimal. 

If it wasn't for the newbies & people sailing maybe once every few years, I doubt if they could stay profitable.