tfred

I haven't seen that many "bargains" at AI resorts once all the fees and taxes are included. Prices are comparable to X at the different levels of rooms. If X is doing anything is the reverse of what you have done - going after AI users and convincing them they can get that AI experience with a moving hotel room with a different experience everyday. AI had sone a good job in staking out the "younger" segment. Cruises are looked at as senior heavy, obviously X wants to change that since they have a comparable product

true, but every hospitality business is like that though. Prime example is HAL that has the reputation of being an "senior" cruise line. No one wants that as a business The loyalty program is really bogus You really dont get anything value as you would in hotels or airlines. No upgrades, some free 2 day laundry, not much else I am not so sure that "driving away " is the right phrase as it isnt either or

the 4 you listed are our top as The other overall factor is less crowds when we want not to be rushed or hurried in the big enough crowds on board

I looked at the everyday menu on Apex, which issue is the same basic menu you chose from. Sounds similar to what you had. The mains are not really attractive. Turkey? Really? Looking at the 4 restaurants on Apex, the theme specific choices are much better. They should really include a few daily specials on non Edge class ships to liven things up. No one is expecting "WOW" in the MDR, but there should be some interesting choices. Turkey tetrazzini isnt one of those

the cost per night of X vs Silversea, seaborne, Crystal, Regent is often very close - and sometimes not to X's benefit. We have a 12 night Silversea Med cruise next year and it is basically the same as X suite would be. SS has better, smaller ports and excursions that are good enough for us. Plus all the items you added above. Downside for many people would be length of the cruise (more than the usual 7 days that people normally take), not always convenient embarkation ports (FLL and MIA are easy to fly into) and the "may be too fancy for us" thoughts. we have sailed in X suites a few times and like it but for that kind of money there are obviously other choices. We live in south Florida in winter so driving 20 miles to FLL is attractive. Yeah, we could fly to San Juan or Saint Martin to start a cruise but it is just another layer of movement. Not difficult (I flew 100k miles/year for 20 years) but not looking to do that for a Caribbean vacation.

that does sound grim

what, in particular, did you not like

Every hotel and airline have facilities for upper level or suite guests that are not available for everyone. They are walled off. It’s simple- pay more and you get more. Do you fly business class? Generally that means a curtained off section and internationally a private lounge. Do you not use those when you fly ? also - apartheid generally means racial segregation ( look it up) and that is not the case on board a ship.

Then I would throw Crystal into the mix. I looked at some Miami based cruises on Crystal and they were very close to X suites. Reviews have been very good.

Both very good but they are twice the price of a X cruise. Unless you normally book a suite on X they will be high quality but expensive compared to a veranda.

Is this the Luminae menu?

I wouldn't want to be building ships with my major segment coming from a state with just 20 million people. sod you have percentages of those cities? 4 out of 5 cities is 80%, just would like to see the actual breakdown

DCL is unattractive for us mainly because of large amounts of kids. We are ok with suite pricing - mostly- but as it inches over $1000/day, Silversea et al look more attractive for those dollars We are on a Silversea Med cruise next year. It was actually less expensive (marginally) than X suite and better ports with excursions Most of the X "cutbacks" don't really bother us. Spent over 2500 nights in hotels for business and never had a butler and don't miss it

X will go where the money goes. A 7 day Florida based cruise is an easier decision for people who have never cruised than a TA or South America. Fly to MIA or FLL, cruise, fly home. Takes some planning but "going to Florida" is easy to understand for non-cruise people

Very few people book 7-8 cruises a year so their marketing strategy money isn’t looking at that x wants the land resort people who have never been on a ship, have money to spend on a vacation and will buy specialty dinners, spa services X can do both- keep frequent cruises around with reasonable offers and attract well off “younger “ new customers. Go to any better land based resort and see who is staying there. Your ID say phoenix so go to the Scottsdale Princess and look at that crowd. No one looking for free elite drinks, prime rib and half of the other complaints one sees on this board. That is who X wants and they are going to cater to that crowd because that is where the profit is.

The number is getting up there. It roughly corresponds to what a land based resort (Marriott style) would cost with ala Carte food and booze included on a daily basis. x will always have AI for suites. It is expected at that level. The competition is Silversea Crystal and Seabourne which are AI. X is trying to keep Suite customers from moving to those luxury lines so they have to offer a similar day to day experience wherever they can.

If you live on the I4 corridor then PC is an easy drive. To fly into MCO and then easily get to PC is another question. Many posts here and on FB are pax wondering how to get to Lauderdale port from FLL which is 10 minutes away.

absolutely. Every airline and hotel makes you prequalify yearly to maintain status. They use stays/segments and money spent. It would really weed out the " I haven't sailed for 10 years but where's my free drinks?" crowd. Loyalty does go both ways and these programs do have a cost associated with them to administer and run. If X isn't getting a return why keep them as is ?

X can't survive on just central Florida people wanting to cruise. There must be a driving radius that includes South Caroline and Georgia that they are factoring in MCO is a big airport but it is a hike to get to Port Canaveral

Expedition ships are a big growth area with a big price tag associated with it. Bigger ships cant give you the same experience as a smaller ship (zodiacs) and have to charge less

we booked a SS for January 2024 @$8000. The same cruise in 2025 is now $9300. X is starting to get into Silversea and Seabourne range costs per day. I like the X product but for those numbers I would start looking at the next level up. For suite level pax Elite status is almost meaningless. The luxury lines are generally in harder to get to ports (Barbados e.g.) and are longer. Not a problem for us as we are retired and live in Florida in the winter and hav the time to spend 12-14 days on board. RCCL group should really have some tie in with RCL, X and Silversea to keep someone from wandering

solo pricing is really dependent on ship occupancy - it isn't a public service. . If the ship is less than full they will offer somewhat attractive solo pricing RCCL group announced 105% occupancy and I am sure that very few of those are solo cabins - why would they if they can sell everything with some cabins having 3 people? I have seen Crystal Cruise having some attractive solo cabin pricing - you should look at that as well

What’s the actual issue

the loyalty program on cruise ships is pretty weak as there are no upgrades or any real "special" customer service on board (unlike airlines or hotels). Free laundry? oh, ok Thanks I like the X product and also feel that is value for the money spent. You could say that about many cruise lines just depends on your standards of what constitutes value PS. It's the first match - long season. Ask Villa fans how their day went

they want profitable loyal customers - not just long term "where's my free drinks and prime rib" X cruisers that come back. They also aren't looking just for disgruntled Princess, MSC etc pax either as that is a limited and low percentage of the vacation crowd. . They want the "never cruised and have the money" crowd that is at every Marriott and Westin resort that is dropping $800/day and not saying a word and look pretty happy I understand the grief. I used to stay at full service Marriotts on business for a long time until that $ got too big. Then I dropped down in the food chain It happens all the time