Stein Kruse Interview (Princess Comments)

[KruzeKrazy!]

Scottlad -

 

Say hello to Maryland Heights for us! We used to live in Glenco/Wildwood and I worked in Maryland Heights. We enjoyed our time in the St. Louis area very much. Go Rams, Cards, and Blues!

[AZbeachboy]

Yeah I think of Celebrity more as Princess' peer than Royal Caribbean, but I've never sailed on RCI so my opinion isn't fully vetted there.

 

I have 7 cruises (getting ready for 8) on Princess and three on RC. My expierence is that the are peer competitors. Celebrity is much more of an upgrade in Food and entertainment. After having cruised a few time on each we decided to stick with Princess because the staff seemed much more amenable with request that we had. RC was much more controling.

[macusr]

I have to say it is impressive how Stein Kruse has mapped out the future of so many

leading cruising brands. I was frankly amazed how open he was in spelling out his plans .

I understood there is an overlap between HAL and Princess (and every other mass-market cruise line)

but believed HAL was skewed older and for those who wanted a more traditional environment.

 

His comments that"He's working to ensure his lines have the resources they need to distinguish their brands"

and that " Cruising has not become a commodity." are interesting. It reminds me of the days at GM

where they hoped you would migrate up among their various brands.

 

Again ,you may not agree with all his plans but the breadth of his ambitions is very impressive.

 

Yeah the openness of his comments was a little surprising.

[macusr]

I have 7 cruises (getting ready for 8) on Princess and three on RC. My expierence is that the are peer competitors. Celebrity is much more of an upgrade in Food and entertainment. After having cruised a few time on each we decided to stick with Princess because the staff seemed much more amenable with request that we had. RC was much more controling.

 

Thanks for the perspective. Like I said, having not sailed on RC, I can't make the direct head-to-head comparison.

[RDC1]

I have 7 cruises (getting ready for 8) on Princess and three on RC. My expierence is that the are peer competitors. Celebrity is much more of an upgrade in Food and entertainment. After having cruised a few time on each we decided to stick with Princess because the staff seemed much more amenable with request that we had. RC was much more controling.

 

Having done 5 cruises on Celebrity, more than 10 on Princess and a couple on Royal Caribbean, (as well as a number on other cruise lines) I would not consider Celebrity dining to be an upgrade over Princess. Celebrity and Royal Caribbean tend to have larger portion sizes, but not better as far as quality or selection. Than again food is very much an individual taste.

 

Up until the Celebrity S class and the Royal Caribbean Oasis size ships there was not a whole lot different between the two. You got a few extras on Celebrity and you had more things that appealed to families on Royal Caribbean.

[KruzPrincess]

I have 7 cruises (getting ready for 8) on Princess and three on RC. My expierence is that the are peer competitors. Celebrity is much more of an upgrade in Food and entertainment. After having cruised a few time on each we decided to stick with Princess because the staff seemed much more amenable with request that we had. RC was much more controling.

 

I do not consider Celebrity an upgrade. I haven't sailed on RCI in quite some time, so I can't make a comparison. However, now that RCI is changing their whole concept of cruising, I don't think I will. I know the comments in the article a more geared towards size than cruise amenities, but I hope Princess won't be changing to complete in areas other than size.

[scottlad]

I always find it interesting when you quiz fellow passengers about opinions about other lines, or overhear conversations, how opinions differ. For every person who thinks line A has better food than line B, there's another person who thinks the exact opposite. Or service. Or whatever. :)

[RDC1]

I always find it interesting when you quiz fellow passengers about opinions about other lines, or overhear conversations, how opinions differ. For every person who thinks line A has better food than line B, there's another person who thinks the exact opposite. Or service. Or whatever. :)

 

That is because it usually comes down to personal taste and experiences.