SOURCE OF NEW X CRUISERS : new cruisers or coming from other lines,

[hcat]

Seeing post from cruisers new to X.  Just curious about where they cone from...new cruisers, other lines, TA recs etc???

[hcat]

correct typo where they "come from"

[RD64]

My guess is brand new cruisers. Recently did a B2B Alaska on HAL, and was shocked at the number of brand new to cruising passengers on both legs.

[jelayne]

We have run into a lot cruisers new to Celebrity most coming from (in order) Carnival, NCL and some Princess.  We tend to sail longer cruises so maybe that why we haven’t met any 1st timer cruisers.

[Silkroad]

We met a couple of new cruisers on our recent European b2b. I guess I wasn’t surprised because DH and I were first timers on our first cruise (a Mediterranean cruise on Celebrity Millennium). We also met people who were new to Celebrity, but had previously sailed Royal Caribbean, NCL, Carnival, P&O and HAL. Others had only taken river cruises before trying Celebrity.

Edited August 31, 2023 by Silkroad

[Crazy planning mom]

Our very first cruise 25 years ago was on Celebrity.  My parents treated us.   The food wowed us.  We started a family and then cruised Royal. Carnival and NCL.  Now, we are booked on Celebrity again and it seems the product is downgraded.  If that's our experience, it's back to Royal/ NCL.

[Jose Zalfadilla]

1 hour ago, hcat said:

Seeing post from cruisers new to X.  Just curious about where they cone from...new cruisers, other lines, TA recs etc???

With our first cruise to the Canaries and Morocco this Nov, we'll be "new" to Celebrity but not to cruising. We first cruised in 1974 while still in college, then did a couple of the original Windjammer cruises while in grad school, followed by 2x 10-year gaps in the 80s and 90s, and resumed frequent cruising in 2005 until the present. Since we did a lot of independent travel on our own during these two 10-yr gaps (and a fair amount between cruises), we only have about 25 or 28 cruises to date, most of them since 2005. So, I guess we can be classified as coming from "other lines," and most recently from about 12 consecutive Princess cruises until this month's outing.

Edited August 31, 2023 by Jose Zalfadilla

[hcat]

interesting replies.. 

the diverse cruise history  of those joining X may impact on the cruise culture of Celeb aside from the Royal   revolution!

[wrk2cruise]

1 hour ago, Jose Zalfadilla said:

and most recently from about 12 consecutive Princess cruises until this month's outing.

 

You must have been pretty happy with Princess.  May I ask why you are looking at Celebrity now?

[Silkroad]

IDK. I’ve always met people who had diverse travel & vacation backgrounds on Celebrity cruises. Like @Jose Zalfadilla DH and I had long gaps between our early cruises. We traveled in Europe, North America and the Caribbean, took beach breaks (not AI) and mountain hiking trips. Personally, I prefer diversity to homogeneity, and I enjoy Celebrity’s evolving customer base. That said, I draw the line at cruises that seem like keg parties😜

[ema773]

We are new Celebrity cruisers having booked our first Celebrity today.  We have cruised Carnival, Royal and Norwegian enough to have pretty high status on all of them.  
 
We are looking for a change of pace, so we are going to see what Celebrity and Princess have to offer for our next couple of cruises.

 

 

[Jose Zalfadilla]

1 hour ago, wrk2cruise said:

 

You must have been pretty happy with Princess.  May I ask why you are looking at Celebrity now?

Several fortuitous reasons; First, part of the reason for that 2nd 10-year gap in cruising during the 90s I noted in my first post was because I noticed a trend in the industry in which, to me, ships were being designed more and more to be like floating condos on barges, rather than ocean liners I remembered. Further, they were also adding what to me were "theme or amusement parks' on the top 2 or 3 decks. So, we had given up cruising and just enjoying traveling point-to-point around Europe, China, South Africa, South AMerica, and other locales until someone suggested we try HAL if we still wanted to cruise. We did and sailed on 3 HALs in a row, followed afterward by our first Princess. We then did our 2 more on Princess during which, upon arrival at the Athens terminal for our 3rd Princess cruise (eastern Med) we were told by the agent that "the Captain decided to fast-track you to our Platinum level." Incredible! So, having been 'fast-tracked' to the second highest loyalty level after only 3 cruises, we figured "Hey, they know how to create 'loyalty'! So we stuck with them. Now, we are looking at Celeb due to Princess' loyalty benefits being watered down gradually (sound familiar?), with fewer and fewer offerings to members of their Captain's Circle. I realize that, like Princess, most other cruise lines, Celeb included, are doing the same thing, creating confusion and animus among its loyalty members. But, even more of a reason for trying Celeb is the itinerary that we couldn't pass up; 11-day Canary Islands, Morocco, and Spain, round trip from Barcelona, at an Aqua Class price I was willing to pay and a perfect (for us) time of the year for such a trip. Sorry for being longwinded, but I have been known for that. 🤣

Edited August 31, 2023 by Jose Zalfadilla

[agape01]

4 hours ago, Jose Zalfadilla said:

Several fortuitous reasons; First, part of the reason for that 2nd 10-year gap in cruising during the 90s I noted in my first post was because I noticed a trend in the industry in which, to me, ships were being designed more and more to be like floating condos on barges, rather than ocean liners I remembered. Further, they were also adding what to me were "theme or amusement parks' on the top 2 or 3 decks. So, we had given up cruising and just enjoying traveling point-to-point around Europe, China, South Africa, South AMerica, and other locales until someone suggested we try HAL if we still wanted to cruise. We did and sailed on 3 HALs in a row, followed afterward by our first Princess. We then did our 2 more on Princess during which, upon arrival at the Athens terminal for our 3rd Princess cruise (eastern Med) we were told by the agent that "the Captain decided to fast-track you to our Platinum level." Incredible! So, having been 'fast-tracked' to the second highest loyalty level after only 3 cruises, we figured "Hey, they know how to create 'loyalty'! So we stuck with them. Now, we are looking at Celeb due to Princess' loyalty benefits being watered down gradually (sound familiar?), with fewer and fewer offerings to members of their Captain's Circle. I realize that, like Princess, most other cruise lines, Celeb included, are doing the same thing, creating confusion and animus among its loyalty members. But, even more of a reason for trying Celeb is the itinerary that we couldn't pass up; 11-day Canary Islands, Morocco, and Spain, round trip from Barcelona, at an Aqua Class price I was willing to pay and a perfect (for us) time of the year for such a trip. Sorry for being longwinded, but I have been known for that. 🤣

😂😂😂😂😂

 

Actually being long-winded provides context instead of going straight to the main point.

[hcat]

8 hours ago, Jose Zalfadilla said:

Several fortuitous reasons; First, part of the reason for that 2nd 10-year gap in cruising during the 90s I noted in my first post was because I noticed a trend in the industry in which, to me, ships were being designed more and more to be like floating condos on barges, rather than ocean liners I remembered. Further, they were also adding what to me were "theme or amusement parks' on the top 2 or 3 decks. So, we had given up cruising and just enjoying traveling point-to-point around Europe, China, South Africa, South AMerica, and other locales until someone suggested we try HAL if we still wanted to cruise. We did and sailed on 3 HALs in a row, followed afterward by our first Princess. We then did our 2 more on Princess during which, upon arrival at the Athens terminal for our 3rd Princess cruise (eastern Med) we were told by the agent that "the Captain decided to fast-track you to our Platinum level." Incredible! So, having been 'fast-tracked' to the second highest loyalty level after only 3 cruises, we figured "Hey, they know how to create 'loyalty'! So we stuck with them. Now, we are looking at Celeb due to Princess' loyalty benefits being watered down gradually (sound familiar?), with fewer and fewer offerings to members of their Captain's Circle. I realize that, like Princess, most other cruise lines, Celeb included, are doing the same thing, creating confusion and animus among its loyalty members. But, even more of a reason for trying Celeb is the itinerary that we couldn't pass up; 11-day Canary Islands, Morocco, and Spain, round trip from Barcelona, at an Aqua Class price I was willing to pay and a perfect (for us) time of the year for such a trip. Sorry for being longwinded, but I have been known for that. 🤣

great itin..did I miss the name of the ship?   We like AQ Class..usually come back to that  for BLU and thermal suites.

[Bobblehat71]

Just booked our first Celebrity cruise for October.

We’ve wanted to try Celebrity for a while but never found the right trip at the right time.

I don’t generally stick to one line, just pick the the best itinerary and price for the time I want to go. 
This year I’ve been with MSC out of Dubai and Virgin around the Med and both were fantastic. They were also great value for money. I also like RCL but the high cost of drinks and tips etc has put me off booking with them in recent years. 
Will be interesting to see how Celebrity compare.

[wrk2cruise]

9 hours ago, Jose Zalfadilla said:

Several fortuitous reasons; First, part of the reason for that 2nd 10-year gap in cruising during the 90s I noted in my first post was because I noticed a trend in the industry in which, to me, ships were being designed more and more to be like floating condos on barges, rather than ocean liners I remembered. Further, they were also adding what to me were "theme or amusement parks' on the top 2 or 3 decks. So, we had given up cruising and just enjoying traveling point-to-point around Europe, China, South Africa, South AMerica, and other locales until someone suggested we try HAL if we still wanted to cruise. We did and sailed on 3 HALs in a row, followed afterward by our first Princess. We then did our 2 more on Princess during which, upon arrival at the Athens terminal for our 3rd Princess cruise (eastern Med) we were told by the agent that "the Captain decided to fast-track you to our Platinum level." Incredible! So, having been 'fast-tracked' to the second highest loyalty level after only 3 cruises, we figured "Hey, they know how to create 'loyalty'! So we stuck with them. Now, we are looking at Celeb due to Princess' loyalty benefits being watered down gradually (sound familiar?), with fewer and fewer offerings to members of their Captain's Circle. I realize that, like Princess, most other cruise lines, Celeb included, are doing the same thing, creating confusion and animus among its loyalty members. But, even more of a reason for trying Celeb is the itinerary that we couldn't pass up; 11-day Canary Islands, Morocco, and Spain, round trip from Barcelona, at an Aqua Class price I was willing to pay and a perfect (for us) time of the year for such a trip. Sorry for being longwinded, but I have been known for that. 🤣

 

Thank you for taking my request the right way and for an excellent answer.   I think many of us at the higher levels of loyalty programs are being incentivized by the cruise lines to branch out.

[TeeRick]

13 hours ago, hcat said:

Seeing post from cruisers new to X.  Just curious about where they cone from...new cruisers, other lines, TA recs etc???

I am guessing here.

 

A lot of cruisers from other lines sick of the cuts and prices on those lines.  The "grass is always greener" cruisers (until it is not).  All mainstream cruise lines are having the same issues.  This is a wash for Celebrity as a lot of long time customers are doing the same thing and trying other lines.

 

New cruisers who do not have any expectation of service, food, etc. in comparison to "the way it used to be".  Perhaps attracted to the new and shiny E-Class ships.

 

[Jeremiah1212]

Mostly new to cruise Gen X and Millenials who are starting to replace to Boomer+ as that segment ages.

 

This is CLIA's latest research:

https://cruising.org/-/media/clia-media/research/2023/2023-clia-state-of-the-cruise-industry-report_low-res.ashx 

[hcat]

thank you for that.. I copied a bit of it and pasted what I could below

 

.  Agree new and younger cruisers will be needed as many, like me and my husb  start phasing out. (maybe sooner rather than later if X keeps heading in the Royal C direction)

 

from CLIA

"1.Younger generations are the future of cruise with
88% of Millennials and 86% of Gen-X travelers who
have cruised before say they plan to cruise again.
2. There is more interest than ever before among
Millennials and Gen-X travelers to take their first
cruise with 73% of those who have never cruised
indicating they will consider a cruise vacation.
Millennials were most interested at 77%, followed by
Gen-X at 73%.
3. To attract more first-time cruisers and meet the needs of
repeat cruisers, cruise lines are offering both shorter and
longer cruise itineraries. As a result, while the average cruise
length continues to be around 7 days, the range of .."

[SchoolNurseMom]

We're looking to book our first Celebrity cruise. We've cruised since 2010, mainly on RCL, but also have cruised on Princess, CCL, NCL, and MSC. We're Diamond on RCL and already have called and set up our Celebrity loyalty numbers to take advantage of the match. 

We have enjoyed all of our cruises and feel that the lines we have been on are more alike than different. 🙂 

[wrk2cruise]

I guess Celebrity didn't get to #14

 

14. More cruise travelers plan to book longer cruises for
their next holiday with 43% saying they plan to book a
longer cruise and 43% saying they plan to book a similar-
length cruise.

[Jeremiah1212]

16 minutes ago, wrk2cruise said:

I guess Celebrity didn't get to #14

 

14. More cruise travelers plan to book longer cruises for
their next holiday with 43% saying they plan to book a
longer cruise and 43% saying they plan to book a similar-
length cruise.

 

The length of 7 night itineraries has grown because that's where the money is, but if you look at today to the end of 2025 deployment that is available there are 51% are 7 days or shorter, 49% 8 days or longer. To say that there are limited or few longer cruises just isn't accurate. There are plenty of options. 7 day cruises in particular are only 27% of the cruises offered for sale today. 

[SoloAlaska]

22 minutes ago, wrk2cruise said:

I guess Celebrity didn't get to #14

 

14. More cruise travelers plan to book longer cruises for
their next holiday with 43% saying they plan to book a
longer cruise and 43% saying they plan to book a similar-
length cruise.

Considering new younger cruisers are a major market according to the research I’d say they’ve struck a decent balance in lengths of cruises. Still lots of longer cruises on the schedule to keep the majority happy but enough shorter ones to attract new cruisers or those who want to sample celebrity before investing more.

[karmamule]

Our first Celebrity cruise was earlier this year. We've deliberately been sampling a variety of cruise lines and am not sure if we'll ever really focus on one. Each one has been enjoyable in its own way (and has its own unique foibles) and we enjoy having that variety in our cruises.

 

We started with NCL then went on MSC (3 times), Royal, Carnival, NCL again and as of this year Celebrity and Virgin. Other than our initial trip with NCL we have been in suites. Later this year we have Celebrity again then next year MSC, Royal, and Princess. 

 

For us we were hoping Celebrity lived up to its reputation as a 'premium line' that's a step above the mainstream carriers. We went on the Apex and had an Edge Villa and it was fantastic. The ship and our cabin were gorgeous, and since EV had specialty restaurants included we indulged in lots of meals in Eden, Le Grand Bistro, and elsewhere. Our upcoming cruise will be very different: an 11 day on the Summit and staying in an Aqua Sky Suite. (Which is a far more typical cabin for us.)

 

The Apex was beautiful and the specialty restaurant meals (especially Eden) were fantastic. We sampled the buffet and ate breakfast in the MDR once just to try them out and both were 'ok'. Overall we had a good enough time to come back for our next cruise but don't feel any desire to exclusively cruise on Celebrity.

 

 

[Jose Zalfadilla]

4 hours ago, hcat said:

great itin..did I miss the name of the ship?   We like AQ Class..usually come back to that  for BLU and thermal suites.

Didn't miss it. Didn't include it. It's the Infinity.