Would you book a new cruise line before it sails?

[evandbob]

I would book say Virgin cruises prior to any sail date, but not necessarily the very 1st cruise.  Perhaps for a month or so down the gulf stream.  Let them work out any kinks or "virgin" issues.

 

I do the same with new builds on established lines as well.

[iancal]

Inaugural cruises tend to have a lot of comps on them.  Cruise line execs, travel industry execs, travel writers etc.  The paying customers are there to subsidize the event.  Public venues can be closed off from time to time so that the cruise line folks can entertain their 'guests'.   Why pay more, get less, and end up essentially being a second tier customer?

[Donald]

13 hours ago, ilikeanswers said:

Out of curiosity what are people so afraid of that could go wrong on an inaugural cruise? How bad of an experience could you have😳? 

In my career at sea I have taken out 12 new vessels and 14 vessels coming out of dry dock.

None came out completely as advertised; about 25 % had multiple issues that required refunds after numerous complaints; about 50% had significant problems that resulted in financial losses for the cruise line and many customers lost forever.

Examples:

Electrical blackouts resulting in loss of propulsion, loss of aircon, loss of toilets, loss of fresh water, loss of elevators.

Shipyard workers working onboard around the clock, hammering, welding, smoking, spitting.

Venues closed (casino, restaurants, bars, lounges, children’s center, pools, jacuzzis) due to late completion of work.

Ports missed due to propulsion / steering issues.

Cold food due to inoperative galley equipment.

Fires onboard as a result of improperly installed equipment.

Drunk shipyard workers fighting in guest areas.

 

Some cruisers book these cruises for the thrill of something going wrong.

Some cruisers book these cruises for the increased chance of getting a full refund for a failed cruise.

Some cruisers just do not know any better.

[Donald]

14 hours ago, ilikeanswers said:

Out of curiosity what are people so afraid of that could go wrong on an inaugural cruise? How bad of an experience could you have😳? 

In my career at sea I have taken out 12 new vessels and 14 vessels coming out of dry dock.

None came out completely as advertised; about 25 % had multiple issues that required refunds after numerous complaints; about 50% had significant problems that resulted in financial losses for the cruise line and many customers lost forever.

Examples:

Electrical blackouts resulting in loss of propulsion, loss of aircon, loss of toilets, loss of fresh water, loss of elevators.

Shipyard workers working onboard around the clock, hammering, welding, smoking, spitting.

Venues closed (casino, restaurants, bars, lounges, children’s center, pools, jacuzzis) due to late completion of work.

Ports missed due to propulsion / steering issues.

Cold food due to inoperative galley equipment.

Fires onboard as a result of improperly installed equipment.

Drunk shipyard workers fighting in guest areas.

 

Some cruisers book these cruises for the thrill of something going wrong.

Some cruisers book these cruises for the increased chance of getting a full refund for a failed cruise.

Some cruisers just do not know any better.

[ilikeanswers]

I'm really surprised by the extent of some of these problems 😳. I don't understand why a cruise would sail if they are not ready. It doesn't sound like a very good business strategy🙄. 

[Hlitner]

We tend to avoid new ships (even on lines we know well) until they are a few months old.  The reason is that it takes several months for most ships to work out the "bugs" and for the ship's crew to learn how to work as a real team.  So whether it be a new or existing line we would avoid a new ship.  We would certainly have no problem trying a cruise line once it had a few months of experience.  But if new, we would not book until we had seen some reviews and comments.  As to Virgin, Richard Branson's ventures have a pretty good track record so that line would certainly get our interest.  But what would keep us off of Virgin is that we do not tend to take short cruises.

 

Hank

[Hlitner]

20 minutes ago, ilikeanswers said:

I'm really surprised by the extent of some of these problems 😳. I don't understand why a cruise would sail if they are not ready. It doesn't sound like a very good business strategy🙄. 

A great question.  Cruise ships are very expensive (up to a billion dollars) and have big time debt service.  New builds are on a tight schedule, maiden voyages are scheduled well in advance, the crew is hired and flown to the ship, and a new life begins.  If the ship is not completely ready on time, the problems with a delay (which means cancelling some voyages) are the kind of thing nobody at a cruise line wants to contemplate.  So some new builds will start their life without everything being operational.  The Marine part is done, ship has been accepted, but some interior work might still be ongoing.  

 

We were on one RCI maiden voyage when there were still large boxes of unpacked goods, some furniture had not be fully assembled or deployed, and the crew was still learning where to find items, how to work together, etc.  It was actually a fun voyage, but somewhat frantic for the crew.   In fact, there were still contractors aboard that were finishing the laying of carpet.  

 

Hank

[sparks1093]

7 hours ago, ilikeanswers said:

I'm really surprised by the extent of some of these problems 😳. I don't understand why a cruise would sail if they are not ready. It doesn't sound like a very good business strategy🙄. 

The same thing happens with new buildings. Our new office building had several kinks that needed to be worked out after we moved in but none of them amounted to anything more than an inconvenience. Pop over to the Carnival board and read about how people are upset that Mardi Gras' inaugural has been delayed. When people book a cruise it's usually more than just a cruise, it's air and hotel and daycare etc. so it has to take something major to prevent the sailing from happening. Inaugural sailings do have an allure to them that does attract some people and it's probably summed up best by Rose in Titanic, "The china had never been used. The sheets had never been slept in."

[1025cruise]

10 hours ago, Hlitner said:

We tend to avoid new ships (even on lines we know well) until they are a few months old.  The reason is that it takes several months for most ships to work out the "bugs" and for the ship's crew to learn how to work as a real team.  So whether it be a new or existing line we would avoid a new ship.  We would certainly have no problem trying a cruise line once it had a few months of experience.  But if new, we would not book until we had seen some reviews and comments.  As to Virgin, Richard Branson's ventures have a pretty good track record so that line would certainly get our interest.  But what would keep us off of Virgin is that we do not tend to take short cruises.

 

Hank

Yes, that is another consideration. I much prefer a 7 day cruise over a 5 day. 

I'm at the point where for the time period I'm looking to cruise, we've done all the ports offered, so a new line/ship would be the purpose. 

[Hlitner]

3 minutes ago, 1025cruise said:

Yes, that is another consideration. I much prefer a 7 day cruise over a 5 day. 

I'm at the point where for the time period I'm looking to cruise, we've done all the ports offered, so a new line/ship would be the purpose. 

It is interesting how most cruise lovers expand their horizons.  I started cruising with a 4 day NCL cruise in the 70s. For many years a 7 day cruise was our goal.  Now, we prefer at least 21 days and even 60 days is not too long.  We sometimes do a short cruise (never less then 10 days) but it is not our normal preference.   We previously posted about a lady (in her upper 70s) we met on HAL who was on her 5th cruise.  We learned that during lunch with the lady and that was on a 62 day cruise.  She mentioned that the 62 day cruise was "my only short cruise" and that her other 4 cruises had all been full world cruises (each over 100 days long).   I guess that does give a different perspective.

 

Hank

[sparks1093]

20 minutes ago, Hlitner said:

It is interesting how most cruise lovers expand their horizons.  I started cruising with a 4 day NCL cruise in the 70s. For many years a 7 day cruise was our goal.  Now, we prefer at least 21 days and even 60 days is not too long.  We sometimes do a short cruise (never less then 10 days) but it is not our normal preference.   We previously posted about a lady (in her upper 70s) we met on HAL who was on her 5th cruise.  We learned that during lunch with the lady and that was on a 62 day cruise.  She mentioned that the 62 day cruise was "my only short cruise" and that her other 4 cruises had all been full world cruises (each over 100 days long).   I guess that does give a different perspective.

 

Hank

Our goal is to sail on longer sailings (although I'll doubt we'll do 60 days) but in the interim 7 days will do.

[cruisemom42]

11 hours ago, ilikeanswers said:

I'm really surprised by the extent of some of these problems 😳. I don't understand why a cruise would sail if they are not ready. It doesn't sound like a very good business strategy🙄. 

 

My take is that the cruise line is usually in one of those uncomfortable situations known as being between a rock and a hard place. The ship is not ready, despite allowing what seemed like a reasonable timeframe for completion. And yet the inaugural cruise is all planned -- perhaps special invitees have blocked off the time who may not be able to reschedule (e.g., a celebrity "godmother" of the ship; high-ranking company officials, etc,), many loyal and excited passengers of the line have paid their money, booked their flights, and want to be on hand to celebrate the event of a new launch, and so on.

 

If you sail knowing the ship is perhaps 7-10% away from completion, you risk bad reviews and word of mouth from passengers, although the media are usually more understanding. You hope that special events and/or being present for the occasion itself will compensate for any noticeable shortcomings.

 

If you don't sail, you risk a great number of disappointed passengers whose cruise was cancelled and huge logistical headaches on short notice trying to reschedule launch events.

 

Not sure there is a good answer either way.

 

[Hlitner]

I think, as customers, we must focus on only what we can control.  Whether a new ship is ready or not is an issue under the sole control of the cruise line and its contractors.  Whether or not I (or another customer) is going to take a chance on a new ship is completely under our own control.  Many decades of cruise experience (all as a passenger) has taught me to avoid new builds until they have been cruising for at least 3 months.   I also prefer to avoid ships that are coming out of a major drydock (one where there is significant interior renovations).

 

Hank

[1025cruise]

3 hours ago, Hlitner said:

It is interesting how most cruise lovers expand their horizons.  I started cruising with a 4 day NCL cruise in the 70s. For many years a 7 day cruise was our goal.  Now, we prefer at least 21 days and even 60 days is not too long.  We sometimes do a short cruise (never less then 10 days) but it is not our normal preference.   We previously posted about a lady (in her upper 70s) we met on HAL who was on her 5th cruise.  We learned that during lunch with the lady and that was on a 62 day cruise.  She mentioned that the 62 day cruise was "my only short cruise" and that her other 4 cruises had all been full world cruises (each over 100 days long).   I guess that does give a different perspective.

 

Hank

Unfortunately, as of right now, 7 days is the max due to work.

I'd love to do a longer cruise.

 

Of course, I just found out that my holiday gift to myself is a new roof for the house, so who knows what will happen this year.

[crystalspin]

On 12/31/2019 at 10:42 AM, 1025cruise said:

Of course, I just found out that my holiday gift to myself is a new roof for the house, so who knows what will happen this year.

Hey, my Xmas gift was a new dishwasher when the previous one's motor ground up its bearings (or that what it sounded like).

[sanger727]

I would be willing to book a new line before they launched but agree with booking a date after the ship has been launched for a few months. But the price and itinerary would have to be great and it seems like with most lines new ships launch with high prices and boring itineraries.  I loved the Virgin concept however, so far it’s just showing high prices, uninspired itineraries, and short cruises; so they aren’t for us right now. Maybe in a few years they will expand their offerings and we would give them a try.

[ldubs]

On 12/31/2019 at 10:42 AM, 1025cruise said:

 

 

Of course, I just found out that my holiday gift to myself is a new roof for the house, so who knows what will happen this year.

 

16 hours ago, crystalspin said:

Hey, my Xmas gift was a new dishwasher when the previous one's motor ground up its bearings (or that what it sounded like).

 

For us it was new flooring.

 

And, by the way, we book all of our cruises before they sail!  But I'm pretty sure that isn't what the OP is asking!   😀😀😀