News about Princess from analysts

[Woobstr112G]

Interesting. Thanks for sharing.....:):):)

 

Bob

[swedish weave]

I think most of the discussion about airfares is misplaced. Air for passengers is not really an expense for CCL, but air for crew is a big expense. The cruise line flies employees home when they complete their contract, and flies them back to a ship when they sign a new contract. The logistics of this are overwhelming, and it wouldn't take too much of a reduction in airfares to cut the costs considerably.

[Loonbeam]

Someone told me another large chunk is moving entertainers around between ships. Crew is actually a bit easier for some routes because they bring them over charter into Ft. Lauderdale for example.

 

I think most of the discussion about airfares is misplaced. Air for passengers is not really an expense for CCL, but air for crew is a big expense. The cruise line flies employees home when they complete their contract, and flies them back to a ship when they sign a new contract. The logistics of this are overwhelming, and it wouldn't take too much of a reduction in airfares to cut the costs considerably.

[tjwa]

 

Princess used to run charters from the UK to the Caribbean you could still book cruise only but the packaged deals were competetive as they could fill a plane.

 

often would produce very good late deals if there were cancellations as they could offer the flight and cruise.

 

 

And I for one wished they still did that.

[elliair]

The extra cost concerts sound like a probable winner for Princess as well as for the passengers. I would guess these will be highly successful.

 

Edit: Oops. I see that this is an option only on Carnival. Bummer.

 

I wouldn't cruise on any ship just because they have a celebrity group or a singer. I don't want to pay extra for it as well. We gave up on the shows as they were high school productions. Carnival is going that route and I don't support it. I haven't found a bargain on Carnival lately, and I'm waiting for one on Princess in the Fall.

[slc22]

There was a phone call-in to CCL Corp with stock analysts on Tuesday...

 

This year there is some restraint in reducing prices to fill the ships. They are willing to let ships sell at less than ALB (available lower berth) capacity if pricing can be maintained. This was mentioned multiple times.

 

 

Interesting. This approach could affect their employees - empty cabins equal loss of tip revenue.

 

You are good at sharing info . . . thanks!

[PescadoAmarillo]

This year there is some restraint in reducing prices to fill the ships. They are willing to let ships sell at less than ALB (available lower berth) capacity if pricing can be maintained. This was mentioned multiple times.

Well, thank God. Many of us, with not a smidge of experience in the cruise industry, knew that the goal of filling all ALBs with significant price drops after final payment was ultimately a losing one.

[insidecabin]

Well, thank God. Many of us, with not a smidge of experience in the cruise industry, knew that the goal of filling all ALBs with significant price drops after final payment was ultimately a losing one.

 

They gave away cabin on the Ruby princess over the summer using regional(uk) pricing drops to do it($50pppd inc Tx) just a few weeks ago.

 

I think when the results come out the occupancy rates will be very similar to the last few years, they will still be discounting to fill the ships.

 

They will retain revenue by stopping those that were getting price drops by making sure the cabin rates are not available to so many of those already booked.

 

A quick look on a well know web site shows princess have plenty of cabins cheap, look at the Alaska prices for the June/July cruises <$50ppd most with recent price drops

[SoCal Cruiser78]

Well, thank God. Many of us, with not a smidge of experience in the cruise industry, knew that the goal of filling all ALBs with significant price drops after final payment was ultimately a losing one.

 

So now there should be more empty cabins available for upgrades ;).

[icat2000]

Interesting. This approach could affect their employees - empty cabins equal loss of tip revenue.

 

You are good at sharing info . . . thanks!

 

Not sailing out of Australia as there no need to tip as it is build into the fare and anything extra given to crew is above the minimum requirements. They don't really slash the fares here like I have seem them do in the Usa. Maybe cause there is a cruising boom down here at the moment, hence why there will be five princess ships sailing in summer 2015l2016.

[Astro Flyer]

Not sailing out of Australia as there no need to tip as it is build into the fare and anything extra given to crew is above the minimum requirements.

 

With the tip built into the fare then empty cabins would still result in less money for the crews' tip pool. I don't know how crew in Australia are paid but they probably get the same amount of money per passenger to be shared. Whether the tips are added as a daily gratuity or included in the daily cruise fare, I doubt if crew in Australia are paid less than elsewhere in the world.

[swedish weave]

I don't see the empty cabins as a huge problem. If a ship with 1000 cabins has 100 empty, that results in a ten percent reduction in the tip pool for the crew. Since they make many times more income on the ships than they can make at home, they will survive.

 

It appears that the mainstream cruise lines listened to Kevin Sheehan's comment that he hoped the other lines would stop slashing fares so they could all make some money and stay profitable.

Edited June 28, 2014 by swedish weave