We've talked about how awful it is what they did on the Getaway, right?

[sverigecruiser]

6 hours ago, gatour said:

In regards to "save the $10,000 in case you them later".  That goes into the emergency fund of a person's savings.  They have an emergency fund that will cover breaking a leg etc.  They don't want to dip into the emergency fund while continuing to build it up, along with building retirement etc.

 

You are making assumptions about how people budget their money.  If they are covering their "nut" then why should the ability to cover the expense of something they don't want to use, should factor in in regards them doing a cruise?  

 

I absolutely agree with you.

 

If someone can set aside money in a emergency find they can afford VIBE but choose to do something else with it. Something more important. I have never said that anyone shall dip Into the emergency fund.

 

What I say is 1. Make sure you have a emergency fund 2. Cruise if you still can afford it.

 

If you don't have a emergency find it's better not to cruise. 

 

 

[sverigecruiser]

3 hours ago, SailBreakaway said:

 

 

The truth of the matter is this gang, FDR doesn't read CC.  Andrew doesn't read CC.  FDR has employees that laugh and tell him what they read on CC.  They don't care.  When the corporate employees read CC and other sources of social media about their product, they evaluate to see where there are new opportunities.  

 

Another VIBE thread started less than an hour ago. If NCL read CC it's very clear to them that VIBE is a good opportunity for them.

 

 

[PortFees45]

6 hours ago, sverigecruiser said:

 

Another VIBE thread started less than an hour ago. If NCL read CC it's very clear to them that VIBE is a good opportunity for them.

 

 

The glee with which some of you people will cheer for a shameless money grab that reduces the quality of life on the ship for so many passengers. It's like you have corporate stockholm syndrome. 

[perditax]

25 minutes ago, PortFees45 said:

The glee with which some of you people will cheer for a shameless money grab that reduces the quality of life on the ship for so many passengers. It's like you have corporate stockholm syndrome. 

 

Some of them also have stockholder syndrome. (“I own enough stock in this company to get my OBC, therefore I am in favor of any short-sighted decision that keeps the company profitable for now.”)

[sverigecruiser]

18 minutes ago, PortFees45 said:

The glee with which some of you people will cheer for a shameless money grab that reduces the quality of life on the ship for so many passengers. It's like you have corporate stockholm syndrome. 

 

I have not started any of the VIBE threads but it's obvious that lots of people want VIBE passes. It's understandable  if NCL expand it, I think.

[PortFees45]

13 minutes ago, perditax said:

 

Some of them also have stockholder syndrome. (“I own enough stock in this company to get my OBC, therefore I am in favor of any short-sighted decision that keeps the company profitable for now.”)

For now being key...FDR is adding too much new capacity and relying too heavily on a demographic whose interest in cruising is ephemeral at best. 20 somethings Instagram posts aren't going to save him if the economy goes south in the next year or two...

[Steff79]

Money, money, money. 

Ncl wanted to make money in the past when they built the escape, too. 

[Twipenne]

12 minutes ago, PortFees45 said:

For now being key...FDR is adding too much new capacity and relying too heavily on a demographic whose interest in cruising is ephemeral at best. 20 somethings Instagram posts aren't going to save him if the economy goes south in the next year or two...

 

 

No, what will save him are the group who have been complaining for the past 5 years, but refuse to change cruise lines because the meaningless trinkets that come with Platinum Plus keep them coming back year after year.

[PortFees45]

1 hour ago, Twipenne said:

 

 

No, what will save him are the group who have been complaining for the past 5 years, but refuse to change cruise lines because the meaningless trinkets that come with Platinum Plus keep them coming back year after year.

Has little to do with the trinkets. I sail out of NYC, and NCL is the only line with year-round cruises.

 

But to contrast, last year I'd been on 6 NCL cruises at this point. This year I've been on 1. And whereas I never paid any attention to the beautiful Anthem of the Seas across the river in New Jersey, I'm now seriously considering booking it this fall instead of NCL. 

[Warm Breezes]

34 minutes ago, PortFees45 said:

Has little to do with the trinkets. I sail out of NYC, and NCL is the only line with year-round cruises.

 

But to contrast, last year I'd been on 6 NCL cruises at this point. This year I've been on 1. And whereas I never paid any attention to the beautiful Anthem of the Seas across the river in New Jersey, I'm now seriously considering booking it this fall instead of NCL. 

So what is stopping you from booking the beautiful Anthem of the Seas?  Go for it.  See if you enjoy better.  Do you feel like you are being disloyal to NCL by doing so?  Why?  They are not loyal to you.  Don't be loyal to a brand.  Be loyal to yourself and what YOU want.

[Twipenne]

4 minutes ago, Warm Breezes said:

So what is stopping you from booking the beautiful Anthem of the Seas?  Go for it.  See if you enjoy better.  Do you feel like you are being disloyal to NCL by doing so?  Why?  They are not loyal to you.  Don't be loyal to a brand.  Be loyal to yourself and what YOU want.

 

 

I feel like a lot of people on CC (not saying OP specifically, but there are A LOT of people) care more about feeling "better" than their fellow cruisers than pretty much every other aspect of their experience. If I have to hear one more "well I'm super shiny sparkle shimmer extra mega plus status..." I'm probably going to get cirrhosis as I've turned it into a drinking game.

[Wedgie23]

52 minutes ago, Twipenne said:

"well I'm super shiny sparkle shimmer extra mega plus status..."

What would MSC match rate this at?

[Twipenne]

6 minutes ago, Wedgie23 said:

What would MSC match rate this at?

Shimmer shiny super sparkle mega plus extra  

[thistimeplease]

2 hours ago, PortFees45 said:

Has little to do with the trinkets. I sail out of NYC, and NCL is the only line with year-round cruises.

 

But to contrast, last year I'd been on 6 NCL cruises at this point. This year I've been on 1. And whereas I never paid any attention to the beautiful Anthem of the Seas across the river in New Jersey, I'm now seriously considering booking it this fall instead of NCL. 

We are leaving on the Anthem in August after only cruising NCL up to this point.  I can't wait to see the differences although from everything I read they are more alike than different.  The price on Anthem with the drink package was almost $700 cheaper and we're doing a different itinerary.

[richstowe]

3 hours ago, PortFees45 said:

Has little to do with the trinkets. I sail out of NYC, and NCL is the only line with year-round cruises.

 

But to contrast, last year I'd been on 6 NCL cruises at this point. This year I've been on 1. And whereas I never paid any attention to the beautiful Anthem of the Seas across the river in New Jersey, I'm now seriously considering booking it this fall instead of NCL. 

What will it take to get you to do more then seriously consider it ? Make the gangplanks part of Vibe ?

Truth is that RC seems to watch NCL to see how far they can push the envelope . If it flies , then they will introduce it on their ships . 

Edited June 27, 2019 by richstowe

[PortFees45]

9 minutes ago, richstowe said:

What will it take to get you to do more then seriously consider it ? Make the gangplanks part of Vibe ?

Truth is that RC seems to watch NCL to see how far they can push the envelope . If it flies , then they will introduce it on their ships . 

If the only ships sailing out of NYC have the new public deckspace limitations, I won't sail on them.

 

I'll sail the Jewel class ships (or the Dawn), and I'll sail the Breakaway and Escape which still have public access to H20 and the public sundecks at issue (for now). I will never, ever sail the Bliss, Encore, Joy or now the Getaway. 

[Warm Breezes]

3 hours ago, PortFees45 said:

Has little to do with the trinkets. I sail out of NYC, and NCL is the only line with year-round cruises.

 

But to contrast, last year I'd been on 6 NCL cruises at this point. This year I've been on 1. And whereas I never paid any attention to the beautiful Anthem of the Seas across the river in New Jersey, I'm now seriously considering booking it this fall instead of NCL. 

2 hours ago, Warm Breezes said:

So what is stopping you from booking the beautiful Anthem of the Seas?  Go for it.  See if you enjoy it better.  Do you feel like you are being disloyal to NCL by doing so?  Why?  They are not loyal to you.  Don't be loyal to a brand.  Be loyal to yourself and what YOU want.

I just wanted to add that choosing to sail another line does not mean you can't continue to sail NCL and enjoy your cruises on both lines.  This is not a mutually exclusive thing.  I have sailed Carnival, NCL, Disney, and Princess.  My least favorite cruise was on Princess.  My favorite cruises as a family were on Disney.  My favorite cruises as a couple were on NCL.  We have sailed the most on Carnival and we will turn Platinum on them next year.  We have enjoyed all of our cruises and look forward to trying other lines when they have ships meeting our current wants for a price we are willing to pay.  Being brand neutral and choosing a ship based solely on your wants and budget can open up so many more choices for you. 

 

I hope to some day be Platinum on many different lines.  Not because I am loyal to them, but because I am enjoying the products they are offering me.  I honestly do not get this brand loyalty thing and the anger it causes in people who think a company owes it to them to only make decisions that they agree with.  This threat of taking your business elsewhere means nothing to a company this big.  For every one of you making this threat, there is another one willing to try them out and take your place.  Someone who isn't bothered by those changes and may in fact even like them.  The only person you are hurting by following through that threat is yourself by limiting your options to one less line.  A line that obviously has some features that you have enjoyed to become brand loyal to them.  There were things I didn't care for on our Princess cruise....but I definitely won't rule out sailing on them in the future if they have another ship that meets my wants and budget.

 

 

 

[thistimeplease]

10 minutes ago, ronbe65 said:

Hi Thistimeplease,

I am not sure where you could read that.

Actually it's hard to find ships that are more different than Anthem (3.5*) and Breakaway (4* until the sun deck is closed off).

The Anthem is almost "totally" closed in. I call this a ship of roofs. 

The Breakaway is totally open to the sea.

Whatever you look at (dining model, cabins, pools, sports facilities, spa, entertainment setup, promenade deck, class division) - all is different.

By design the Anthem is the least suitable ship for the Caribbean. This ship is out of our cruising plans due to lack of adequate open deck space and quality spa. The food is acceptable. Shows are excellent.

We prefer the Breakaway (preferred the Getaway before changes).

 

Happy cruising!

Well I guess I'll be finding out soon enough, numerous people have actually told us they prefer the Anthem to BA/GA and they've cruised both.  We love the BA and it is our favorite ship so far but I love the fact that I am cruising a new itinerary for a lot less money.  We love the NCL product but will cruise a ship that offers a itinerary and price we like.  Keeping fingers crossed we enjoy Anthem as much as we enjoyed BA/GA.

[Warm Breezes]

17 minutes ago, PortFees45 said:

If the only ships sailing out of NYC have the new public deckspace limitations, I won't sail on them.

 

I'll sail the Jewel class ships (or the Dawn), and I'll sail the Breakaway and Escape which still have public access to H20 and the public sundecks at issue (for now). I will never, ever sail the Bliss, Encore, Joy or now the Getaway. 

May I ask why you limit yourself to sailing from NYC?

[Wedgie23]

1 hour ago, Warm Breezes said:

May I ask why you limit yourself to sailing from NYC?

If PortFees is anything like me than flying, both the expense and the incredible hassle isn't worth something short of a once in a life time cruise or some incredible deal. Part of the reason the more high end lines have less appeal to me is they are rarely round trip. How is it a 'luxurious, pampering vacation' getting dumped in a random port? My opinion I suppose, they seem to be popular enough with the Land's End crowd. 

[Lupush]

7 hours ago, PortFees45 said:

For now being key...FDR is adding too much new capacity and relying too heavily on a demographic whose interest in cruising is ephemeral at best. 20 somethings Instagram posts aren't going to save him if the economy goes south in the next year or two...

Nothing will save the cruise industry as a whole if the economy goes south.  Not just NCL.  First cutback people make with their disposable income in a bad economy is less leisure travel.

[mugtech]

8 hours ago, Twipenne said:

 

 

No, what will save him are the group who have been complaining for the past 5 years, but refuse to change cruise lines because the meaningless trinkets that come with Platinum Plus keep them coming back year after year.

We are Platinum Plus, next 7 cruises will be on Royal Caribbean, will be Diamond on RCI after 3 more cruises.  Platinum Plus does not get us to take NCL cruises, we choose by itinerary, ship and price.  NCL usually loses all three categories.  We took Jewel in March and had a very enjoyable cruise, but we are now booked through April of 2021, see nothing on NCL for which we would be willing to pay.

[mugtech]

4 hours ago, thistimeplease said:

Well I guess I'll be finding out soon enough, numerous people have actually told us they prefer the Anthem to BA/GA and they've cruised both.  We love the BA and it is our favorite ship so far but I love the fact that I am cruising a new itinerary for a lot less money.  We love the NCL product but will cruise a ship that offers a itinerary and price we like.  Keeping fingers crossed we enjoy Anthem as much as we enjoyed BA/GA.

Be sure to see We Will Rock You.  Great live Queen music, silly story, best music I have heard on a ship.

[AL3XCruise]

9 hours ago, PortFees45 said:

The glee with which some of you people will cheer for a shameless money grab that reduces the quality of life on the ship for so many passengers. It's like you have corporate stockholm syndrome. 

 

Aside from a couple of folks who want Vibe passes and view a larger Vibe as positive, I haven't really seen anyone cheering the change.  No one has denied that those either unable or unwilling to pay for Vibe or Haven access will likely see a decline in the quality of their experience on Encore.  They are just confused that a few seem to feel the changes are almost immoral. 

 

NCL is a business, and they have a right to conduct business as they see fit.  In most service based corporations customer experience is only important so long as it keeps customers coming back and spending.  Someone in senior management seems to think that this change will increase revenue without making people take their business elsewhere.  If they are right, its smart business.  If they are wrong, things will likely go back to how they were.

 

4 hours ago, Warm Breezes said:

honestly do not get this brand loyalty thing and the anger it causes in people who think a company owes it to them to only make decisions that they agree with. 

 

I find it interesting as well.  Loyalty programs are the result of the same careful analysis and profit maximization strategies as these changes to Vibe!  In the case of loyalty programs, cruise lines (and many other industries for that matter) have found ways to offer perks that have little to no incremental cost associated with them (early boarding, for instance) yet are valued enough by customers that they don't want to give them up and choose to return to the same line.