"We took our new ship (SKY) for a test drive" email

[Steelers36]

Just received the mentioned email from Princess this afternoon.  Although cleverly worded, I was expecting a report on the test drive.  With a come-on like "Ever wondered what it's like to test drive a ship?", the email quickly changed into just another marketing ploy with the same old film of conceptualized spaces on board.  I was expecting to see a film narrated by none other than Captain Tuvo who did one previously on a dry-dock process.  Sigh.... no such luck.

 

[1Gizmo]

I got the same e-mail. Thought it would at least show a video of the ship doing the sea trial. Zippo nada.

[cr8tiv1]

I got the email too.  Thanks for saving me the time to read it.  Who's working the marketing department.  Would't you think they would include some sea trials?  

[paradiselivin1]

Looked at it just to see if anything was new....

[Colo Cruiser]

Seriously lacking in the marketing department.  🙁

[AF-1]

Well the ship will be live in less than 60 days; so that's a good thing

[birdiebill]

I had tried to previously book the Sky inaugural 3 day and the Princess site kept showing the voyage sold out.  When I received the e-mail today, I used one of the links to check and see if any staterooms had been made available that were not shown before.  Surprisingly, there were.  We are now booked on the 3 day Sky trip on Dec 4.  We were fortunate a few years ago to also be on the Regal 3 day inaugural out of Ft. Lauderdale.  The 3 day Sky will be our 15th cruise and result in Elite status for our 14 day Regal in February 2020.

 

It will be interesting to see if Princess incorporated any changes from the Royal and Regal which we have cruised on.

Edited September 2, 2019 by birdiebill

[voljeep]

2 minutes ago, birdiebill said:

I had tried to previously book the Sky inaugural 3 day and the Princess site kept showing the voyage sold out.  When I received the e-mail today, I used one of the links to check and see if any staterooms had been made available that were not shown before.  Surprisingly, there were.  We are now booked on the 3 day Sky trip on Dec 4.  We were fortunate a few years ago to also be on the Regal 3 day inaugural out of Ft. Lauderdale.  The 3 day Sky will be our 15th cruise and result in Elite status for our 14 day Regal in February 2020.

thanks ... when you just booked the 3 day SKY , were you able to book under the GETAWAY promotion where the 2nd person was 50% off ?

[AF-1]

birdiebill,  have fun on your three day cruise.  Let us know about all the cool things on the ship

[birdiebill]

I was not even aware of the GETAWAy promotion.  I was just happy to get booked.  But when I booked online, I was not given a GETAWAY option.  Apparently that promotion is limited to a small supply of staterooms, and the stateroom we wanted was not available at that rate.  Probably due to the demand for deluxe balcony/balcony staterooms.

Edited September 2, 2019 by birdiebill

[voljeep]

12 minutes ago, birdiebill said:

I was not even aware of the GETAWAy promotion.  I was just happy to get booked.  But when I booked online, I was not given a GETAWAY option.  Apparently that promotion is limited to a small supply of staterooms, and the stateroom we wanted was not available at that rate.  Probably due to the demand for deluxe balcony/balcony staterooms.

CALL PRINCESS ... the banner shows it is covered by the GETAWAY promotion ... website "could" be wrong

 

Disclaimer: ... sometimes these promotions are 'capacity controlled'

 

Make the call ... see what happens ... ask for a supervisor if necessary ...

[Steelers36]

Yes, and my TA's booking pages show the promotion on all categories of cabins.  Seems to be lots available.  We are already sailing in early Nov, so passing on this one.  Would be nice to check out a new ship though.  Wish they still had BVE's as we will be in Florida for winter and on east coast in March.

 

Looks like I would still get our usual discount plus $50 group OBC.  But the airfare.....

 

Edited September 2, 2019 by steelers36

[rkacruiser]

Sounds as if Princess' marketing for Sky Princess is following the lead of HAL's marketing for Nieuw Statendam.

 

Trying to make a couple of bookings on the first Caribbean sailings from Fort Lauderdale months and months in advance on NS, there was no availability for any category.  As for information about the ship from marketing:  "skimpy" is a generous word to use.

 

Suddenly, cabin availability--lots of it--became available for the sailings I wanted.  However, I had already made other cruise plans and would have taken a financial "bath" if I cancelled those cruises.

 

Poor, poor corporate strategy in my opinion.

[mrpayroll]

Got a little excited when I saw the e-mail , then poof no big deal.

[Steelers36]

2 hours ago, rkacruiser said:

Suddenly, cabin availability--lots of it--became available for the sailings I wanted. 

I wonder if this new ship had a lot of agency blocks occupying inventory and then a ton was returned? 

 

[rkacruiser]

7 minutes ago, steelers36 said:

I wonder if this new ship had a lot of agency blocks occupying inventory and then a ton was returned? 

 

 

Good question and that was one that my travel agent also wondered about.  We will never know.

 

As a Carnival Corporation shareholder, I had enough concerns about marketing that I communicated with Senior Management and the Lead Director of Carnival, specifically about Carnival Cruise Lines.  Surprisingly, my concerns were positively addressed until the Senior V-P for Marketing left Carnival Cruise Lines.  Where are we now today?  Back to where we were!  Maybe my "squeaky wheel voice" made a difference then.  Long term?  No.  

 

Maybe time to again attend a CCL Annual Meeting?  Face to face encounters with the Senior Officers, as well as "voices from the floor" during the meeting are possible.  I witnessed such.       

[Jules59]

Very disappointing

[Steelers36]

36 minutes ago, rkacruiser said:

 

Good question and that was one that my travel agent also wondered about.  We will never know.

 

As a Carnival Corporation shareholder, I had enough concerns about marketing that I communicated with Senior Management and the Lead Director of Carnival, specifically about Carnival Cruise Lines.  Surprisingly, my concerns were positively addressed until the Senior V-P for Marketing left Carnival Cruise Lines.  Where are we now today?  Back to where we were!  Maybe my "squeaky wheel voice" made a difference then.  Long term?  No.  

 

Maybe time to again attend a CCL Annual Meeting?  Face to face encounters with the Senior Officers, as well as "voices from the floor" during the meeting are possible.  I witnessed such.       

The most recent one was held in London, England.  Miami (HQ city) would be much more accessible.

 

[HughMann]

I just want a photo of the window suites on Sky. 710 square feet without a balcony? Seems massive but could more likely be wrong.

 

However, I still feel lucky to have booked one with the 50% off promotion for the 12/4 cruise. I guess I'll have to report back if nothing else is still posted by then.

[rkacruiser]

9 minutes ago, steelers36 said:

The most recent one was held in London, England.  Miami (HQ city) would be much more accessible.

 

 

This meeting is on my radar.  I attended one when it was held at the Biltmore Hotel in Coral Springs several years ago.  During April, as I recall, and I incorporated this meeting with one with the Annual Meeting at Sea World for Anheuser-Busch. a cruise, and a visit with a good friend living at Fort Pierce. 

 

My plans for 2020 are in flux.  Maybe this Spring, I will be able to attend this Annual Meeting.   

[dogdoc2002]

7 hours ago, birdiebill said:

I had tried to previously book the Sky inaugural 3 day and the Princess site kept showing the voyage sold out.  When I received the e-mail today, I used one of the links to check and see if any staterooms had been made available that were not shown before.  Surprisingly, there were.  We are now booked on the 3 day Sky trip on Dec 4.  We were fortunate a few years ago to also be on the Regal 3 day inaugural out of Ft. Lauderdale.  The 3 day Sky will be our 15th cruise and result in Elite status for our 14 day Regal in February 2020.

 

It will be interesting to see if Princess incorporated any changes from the Royal and Regal which we have cruised on.

Come join us on the roll call, we've got a good group going