Is NCL now marketing strongly to China and India, like Celebrity?

[Wide_Boy]

I read the other day that NCL have decided that their next big market will be the Chinese and Indians. This already seems to be the case with some Celebrity Cruises in Europe. Anyone have any ideas?

[www3traveler]

I read the other day that NCL have decided that their next big market will be the Chinese and Indians. This already seems to be the case with some Celebrity Cruises in Europe. Anyone have any ideas?

 

Norwegian currently has a ship under going Sea Trials in the North Sea before beginning Her Journey to China(The Joy) and a second ship has been ordered for that market.

[hawkeyetlse]

I haven't heard anything about NCL and the Indian market. The Star sailed through there a few months ago, that's the only time India has come up recently, as far as I have noticed.

 

People are already anxious/disappointed/resentful about the two megaships being sent to China, but that is only the beginning, because so far they are only doing East Asia itineraries out of China. The Chinese market will also require cruises that leave from Miami and Los Angeles and Barcelona, and that will put them in direct competition (for port space, local tours, and other limited resources) with cruises serving Western clients.

Edited April 1, 2017 by hawkeyetlse

[BirdTravels]

I read the other day that NCL have decided that their next big market will be the Chinese and Indians. This already seems to be the case with some Celebrity Cruises in Europe. Anyone have any ideas?

NCL has built a mega ship dedicated to China and is selling room exclusively in the Chinese market. That ship starts sailing soon. NCL has a new mega ship ordered, again dedicated to the Chinese market. Sales are strong at premium prices and whole ship charters exceeding forecasts.

[AliceIn]

I read the other day that NCL have decided that their next big market will be the Chinese and Indians. This already seems to be the case with some Celebrity Cruises in Europe. Anyone have any ideas?

 

There were several families from China staying with us on the Disney Fantasy concierge decks during our last cruise. I'm not sure I understand the significance of the question. Is it a concern that they may drive costs for the higher end cabins up? On our Disney cruise, the Chinese were obviously very wealthy based on their clothing, accessories, and that they had the higher end suites on the concierge level. All of the people we met up there were very, very nice.

 

 

I think it's cool to have ships in Asia - I would love to do that itinerary one day!

[dexddd]

I'd think so. I read an article last year about the Asian market being 10 x larger than the US market.

[mking8288]

All of the cruiselines homeport in China, that's mostly Shanghai (PVG being the int'l airport) and possibly those in Hong Kong catering to a mostly Chinese audience (80 to 85%) where the primary spoken language is Mandarin for ship crew & pax (the official Chinese dialect) ... are also required to closely follow and abide (hence, "kowtow" or bow to) by PRC government rules & regulations, i.e. recently, they're "instructed" to skip South Korea as a port stop ... as part of an apparent, escalating economic sanctions - directed at one of the major Korean enterprise, the "Lotto" group.

 

Not intending to hijack or go off-topic on answering the question, positioning 2 of the newest mega ships for the Chinese has both calculated opportunities and risks. There are H.K. based travel agencies strongly advising non-mainland cruisers to NOT book these group-chartered like cruises. I've seen & read quite a bit on the translated marketing material and concur on the TA's opinions, YMMV.

 

NCL is playing catch-up with Royal, as they've been doing that for years and Carnival ships already there ... some of the ports are interesting but nothing to really see & experience for a 8 to 10 hours stopover. Coastal cities in Vietnam are best explore overnight and done on a land tour - we did that on a luxury MB Sprinter van a few years ago. Just my thoughts, of course.

[txagfan]

These aren't exactly great itineraries, you're not missing much.

 

 

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[Dayana]

These aren't exactly great itineraries, you're not missing much.

 

 

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They are great itineraries for some people obviously, as there is a market for it and they are selling very well. Experiences are in the eyes of the beholder.

 

 

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[hawkeyetlse]

I'm not sure I understand the significance of the question. Is it a concern that they may drive costs for the higher end cabins up?

I think that is a legitimate concern. As mentioned above, the Chinese and broader Asian market is huge and so far largely untapped. I don't know if it's really 10 times the Western market, but even if it's the same size, that means all of the cruise lines have to basically double their current capacity if they want to serve both markets. None of them are even close to that yet, so in the very near future, Chinese passengers will start booking rooms on "your" ships in huge numbers. And they are willing to pay more than you are used to paying.

 

As long as it's just a few very, very nice families, people think it's great, free market and the defeat of Communism and all that. But a couple of years down the line, when 90% of the best suites are booked by Chinese customers, and the rest are only available to those willing to pay as much as the Chinese do, I don't think people will be quite so tolerant.

[txagfan]

They are great itineraries for some people obviously, as there is a market for it and they are selling very well. Experiences are in the eyes of the beholder.

 

 

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They are the best itineraries available in that area, but seeing Japan for example from a cruise ship is a poor way to travel to Japan. I loved my travels in China, but you would never catch me on a boat full of Chinese. I'm dying to see a trip report soon of an American who found their way on the Joy. [emoji23]

 

Also, just my opinion for above posts but I don't see Chinese nationals flocking to the US to take Caribbean cruises and load up US boats. That's just not how they travel in my experience as a person who basically lives in airports/hotels and travels all over the world. Saying they are x times larger market than US doesn't mean the market that can afford to travel to US to cruise is x times larger.

 

 

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[BirdTravels]

These aren't exactly great itineraries, you're not missing much.

 

Better than the Eastern Carib, again and again.

 

We would book one today, if we could.

[AliceIn]

I think that is a legitimate concern. As mentioned above, the Chinese and broader Asian market is huge and so far largely untapped. I don't know if it's really 10 times the Western market, but even if it's the same size, that means all of the cruise lines have to basically double their current capacity if they want to serve both markets. None of them are even close to that yet, so in the very near future, Chinese passengers will start booking rooms on "your" ships in huge numbers. And they are willing to pay more than you are used to paying.

 

As long as it's just a few very, very nice families, people think it's great, free market and the defeat of Communism and all that. But a couple of years down the line, when 90% of the best suites are booked by Chinese customers, and the rest are only available to those willing to pay as much as the Chinese do, I don't think people will be quite so tolerant.

 

They have had a lot of wealth for a long time - I don't think all of a sudden there will be a surge in demand. I think they are already here and have been for at least a decade. I don't think there will be a sudden upsurge in demand for Caribbean cruises, especially since there will be luxury cruises much closer to home. From the looks of it, the Joy will be quite a bit swankier than anything we have here now. If anything, more likely the luxury lines will see a big surge, not the mass market lines.

[hawkeyetlse]

There is a herd effect, as there is in every market, and cruise lines haven't started actively marketing their Caribbean/Alaskan/European/etc. itineraries to Chinese guests. If they started doing that seriously tomorrow, they could sell every single room to Chinese passengers (at higher prices) before ever opening up sales to the North American, European, and Australian/NZ markets. The only thing keeping them from doing that is that the staff and crew are not ready for it, and there is still money to be made from these traditional markets. But that can change very quickly. It can't happen overnight, but as you pointed out, it's been a long time coming.

[sfaaa]

Just like on land, I bet the onboard internet is censored or monitored by Chinese government.

[hawkeyetlse]

Just like on land, I bet the onboard internet is censored or monitored by Chinese government.

I wouldn't bet on that, but anyone who knows how to get around the Great Firewall on land in China will be fine on board, too.

 

Plus, this is how you say "I go on vacation to disconnect" in Chinese: 少生孩子多养猪

[Wide_Boy]

There is a herd effect, as there is in every market, and cruise lines haven't started actively marketing their Caribbean/Alaskan/European/etc. itineraries to Chinese guests. If they started doing that seriously tomorrow, they could sell every single room to Chinese passengers (at higher prices) before ever opening up sales to the North American, European, and Australian/NZ markets. The only thing keeping them from doing that is that the staff and crew are not ready for it, and there is still money to be made from these traditional markets. But that can change very quickly. It can't happen overnight, but as you pointed out, it's been a long time coming.

 

This is what happened to us with Celebrity. We took a Baltic cruise last year, and it was full of Chinese, but not the rich ones. Unfortunately they just took over everything, and have no idea of personal space. We had a few confrontations.

[Wide_Boy]

I wouldn't bet on that, but anyone who knows how to get around the Great Firewall on land in China will be fine on board, too.

 

Plus, this is how you say "I go on vacation to disconnect" in Chinese: 少生孩子多养猪

 

Oh, don't worry. There certainly were a few less children, and a lot more of the other, but not the ones with an apple! ;)