Will It Be Different? What Would You Change?

[BallFour4]

When cruising returns what are some of the things beyond hygiene and sanitation techniques would you expect to change?

 

Some logistics; I went on the Mardi Gras in 1976 for my first cruise with my parents and my wife and I closed in on diamond in January aboard the Dream. We also have six trips with RCCL. None of that makes me an expert at much of anything, so let me open the crystal ball (Pandora's Box?) of ideas.

 
 I see less short cruises. Here's my example: Carnival runs from here in Galveston to Cozumel and Progreso on a 5-5-4 rotation. That's harder on the ship with more full day and night runs to Cozumel reflected in fuel consumption and wear and tear on the ship. A seven night agenda would add one more port and less run time. That would also mean higher cruise costs and fewer turnover days in Galveston that cost port fees and other fixed cost savings.
 

 The additional expense of cleaning and risk reduction would be passed on in the form of higher fares. Carnival is a publicly traded company, and share holders expect a return on their investment. The argument that "Carnival pays this cost, or refunds this amount, or gives this amount in credit is passed on to the cruiser.

 Personally I think cruise lines would welcome this with a big IF. That's if they could sell a higher priced product and deliver something more than men yelling like Tarzan and the same ship on a stick they got on the last cruise.

 

 Finally, we love cruising from here. We have two more in the planning stage with Carnival and all of them on eleven ships have been super vacations. A day spent in Nachi Cocom, Seven Mile Beach, riding a bike in Key West or exploring Peggy's Cove in Halifax have all made cruises special for my wife and I.

 
 I welcome your thoughts. This is my opinion only, I'm no travel agent, have no vested interest in one line over another and appreciate your comments.

 

.
 

[PrincessArlena'sDad]

More a la carte add ons.  This will allow them to lower prices to bring customers back.

 

Cruising will be a less all-inclusive feel than before.

 

I hope I'm wrong.

[ricew001]

i think short cruises will continue. It's an appealing concept and something that works for the Carnival market. As business owners with pets and elderly parents, we can't escape for long periods so Carnival fits us - and others - just right. And they know it.

[lottiegreen56]

There will be a ton of cutbacks within 2 years. If I were Carnival I'd be focusing on brand differentiation. I think they should go to less upsells and more of an all inclusive model if they want to be a value. 

[gatour]

29 minutes ago, BallFour4 said:

When cruising returns what are some of the things beyond hygiene and sanitation techniques would you expect to change?

 

Some logistics; I went on the Mardi Gras in 1976 for my first cruise with my parents and my wife and I closed in on diamond in January aboard the Dream. We also have six trips with RCCL. None of that makes me an expert at much of anything, so let me open the crystal ball (Pandora's Box?) of ideas.

 
 I see less short cruises. Here's my example: Carnival runs from here in Galveston to Cozumel and Progreso on a 5-5-4 rotation. That's harder on the ship with more full day and night runs to Cozumel reflected in fuel consumption and wear and tear on the ship. A seven night agenda would add one more port and less run time. That would also mean higher cruise costs and fewer turnover days in Galveston that cost port fees and other fixed cost savings.
 

 The additional expense of cleaning and risk reduction would be passed on in the form of higher fares. Carnival is a publicly traded company, and share holders expect a return on their investment. The argument that "Carnival pays this cost, or refunds this amount, or gives this amount in credit is passed on to the cruiser.

 Personally I think cruise lines would welcome this with a big IF. That's if they could sell a higher priced product and deliver something more than men yelling like Tarzan and the same ship on a stick they got on the last cruise.

 

 Finally, we love cruising from here. We have two more in the planning stage with Carnival and all of them on eleven ships have been super vacations. A day spent in Nachi Cocom, Seven Mile Beach, riding a bike in Key West or exploring Peggy's Cove in Halifax have all made cruises special for my wife and I.

 
 I welcome your thoughts. This is my opinion only, I'm no travel agent, have no vested interest in one line over another and appreciate your comments.

 

If the cruise lines thought they could make better net profits on seven day cruises vs 3, 4, or 5 day cruises they would already be doing this.  Some people want to take an over the weekend cruise, so they only burn a few days of vacation time.  Also some want to have a pre or post hotel stay on a beach etc.

[tlw440]

I would like to see them dock for two days in ports like St. Martin or St. Kitts, just to name a couple.

 

[Bowman1]

I am hoping that Carnival changes up some of their ports of call

 

Also, I would not be surprised if buffet set-ups are changed to more pre-plated and less self serve options - especially on the hot food

[chipmaster]

Servers more aware and systematic in sanitization.  Today nothing special like gloves are used between cleaning out prior guest usage of menus, removal of dishes / napkins and other things from other passengers.    This needs to change to insure next set of guests are protected.

 

Move buffets to crew serving, they would need to change the flow of the buffet line. 

 

Remove the capacity of ships, to enable further distancing of passengers ( increased prices? ) or reduced revenue / ship. 

 

More wiping down of elevators, handrails, when have you ever seen that during the most busy times?   

 

Temperature check and more stringent check of your travel history and possibly more active restrictions? 

 

Lots of promos once thing start

[siestakeys04]

I know someone who just got off the last sunshine cruise and they served everyone at the buffet they had the pizza guys put the cheese or red pepper on the pizza and in the dining room no salt and pepper shakers the servers did it for you and if you wanted ketchup they put it in a little cup like they use for the syrup.  

[mrhartert]

I think we'll see some older ships retired . And maybe fewer new build. Streamline the fleet a little. It's what I would do.

[xDisconnections]

23 minutes ago, siestakeys04 said:

I know someone who just got off the last sunshine cruise and they served everyone at the buffet they had the pizza guys put the cheese or red pepper on the pizza and in the dining room no salt and pepper shakers the servers did it for you and if you wanted ketchup they put it in a little cup like they use for the syrup.  

Essentially, some of the precautions taken when there are multiple cases of Norovirus reported onboard.

Edited March 18, 2020 by xDisconnections

[Rudyard]

Shorter cruise aren't going anywhere. They always sail full and are so popular that every time Carnival moves the ships in Galveston it's always a larger or better ship doing the 4 and 5 day sailings now. Dream replaced Valor, and Breeze will be replacing Dream. The first was an increase in capacity, and the second is a newer, nicer ship. The 4 day cruises from Galveston always leave on a Thursday and return Monday morning. It's basically a long weekend so people don't have to take a lot of vacation time from work.  I like the 5 days cruises because I can take the cruise then still have a couple of days off work afterwards. 

[BallFour4]

13 minutes ago, Rudyard said:

Shorter cruise aren't going anywhere. They always sail full and are so popular that every time Carnival moves the ships in Galveston it's always a larger or better ship doing the 4 and 5 day sailings now... 

I truncated your post, but got your point. Up to this week I agree with you and the other posting about the popularity. But the expense is greater to do a 5-5-4 rotation than a 7-7.

 The shorter cruises make the hard run to Cozumel and back from here. That's akin to more operating costs for fuel and wear and tear on the ships. There is no doubt these are popular, we've been on all of them since the Celebration and at least 12 of our Galveston departures were the five day.

 If Carnival could reduce the days spent doing turnaround and those costs then it is something they might consider.
 You are right about the popularity of the 4 day trips, every other Thursday is busy here with those that can extend a weekend and be back home early on Monday. We've done that two New Years Eve trips on the Triumph with several other families and had a blast!

 I do expect significant changes to what we have experienced in the past all designed to reduce costs and risk. Pay as you go for specialty dining, exercise classes and other things are already in place.
 See you aboard!

.

[Joebucks]

Concerns, market reactions, etc are nothing new. Some people were concerned before and will remain concerned. Some people will have their minds changed. Most people will only care for a little while, then forget about all of this.

 

I do not see cruise companies "cutting back" no matter how much the internet loves that topic. Maybe in some areas that legitimately present a health or some other high-priority business concern. In general, I expect some lucrative offers as the economy falters and they need to entice people to come. If you think for one second that they are going to raise all of their fees (unless demand goes through the roof) and start removing benefits, you have no idea how business and economies work.

[TrinaLC]

Shorter cruises "may" be harder on a ship (certainly on the crew), but I believe they sail at higher capacity and higher prices per day = more profitable, regardless of any potential wear and tear.

 

[Honolulu Blue]

Consulting the crystal ball...

 

• I think the age of the average cruiser will drop significantly across all cruise lines.  Two reasons - the doctor's note requirement imposed on the industry what seems like a millennium ago, but was actually just a week or so; and the fact that COVID-19 has done its worse damage to the elderly.  IF the note requirement is dropped and IF there's a vaccine or cure, then senior demand might go back to where it was.  But I don't think so.
• Based on the above, cruise lines that cater to older cruisers (you know which ones) will have a more difficult time recovering than those that cater less to them.
• Carnival, which has the most U.S. embarkation ports, will be hurt less and come back faster.  Air travel is also going to be limited for some time either because of the airliners or by personal choice of the travelers.
• I think the short runs (5 days or less) will do better than the longer runs, at least for a little while.  More good news for Carnival, relatively speaking.
• Food self-service will be tougher to find, if not totally extinct.

[RiotAct]

15 hours ago, PrincessArlena'sDad said:

More a la carte add ons.  This will allow them to lower prices to bring customers back.

 

Cruising will be a less all-inclusive feel than before.

 

I hope I'm wrong.

they were heading in this direction even before Coronavirus!!!

[PrincessArlena'sDad]

57 minutes ago, RiotAct said:

they were heading in this direction even before Coronavirus!!!

True. That's why it's my guess they'll ramp up the a la carte options.

  

That model allows them to keep revenue up, and advertised prices down.

[BallFour4]

17 hours ago, mrhartert said:

I think we'll see some older ships retired . And maybe fewer new build. Streamline the fleet a little. It's what I would do.

 I could reply to most of these comments, but this is spot on.

Those Fantasy class ships just won't stop. They have retrofit them with water park stuff, grafted Lego Block balconies and other things to keep those slab sided cash generators going. Some of our best times were on that class. We returned to cruising after the Disney decade with the Ecstasy and Elation both coming here to Galveston and loved every one of them.

 Here's a Flikr link to some of my favorites: https://www.flickr.com/gp/leeusry/5ea309

.

 

[gatour]

On 3/18/2020 at 8:55 AM, BallFour4 said:

I truncated your post, but got your point. Up to this week I agree with you and the other posting about the popularity. But the expense is greater to do a 5-5-4 rotation than a 7-7.

 The shorter cruises make the hard run to Cozumel and back from here. That's akin to more operating costs for fuel and wear and tear on the ships. There is no doubt these are popular, we've been on all of them since the Celebration and at least 12 of our Galveston departures were the five day.

 If Carnival could reduce the days spent doing turnaround and those costs then it is something they might consider.
 You are right about the popularity of the 4 day trips, every other Thursday is busy here with those that can extend a weekend and be back home early on Monday. We've done that two New Years Eve trips on the Triumph with several other families and had a blast!

 I do expect significant changes to what we have experienced in the past all designed to reduce costs and risk. Pay as you go for specialty dining, exercise classes and other things are already in place.
 See you aboard!

.

Again if they felt they could  make more net PROFIT by offering seven day cruises instead of 3-5 day cruises they would have already been doing this.  How many people want to do a seven day cruise on an older ship out of Jacksonville, compared to the number of people who want to do a 3-5 day cruise.

 

Carnival doesn't feel like there would be enough demand to offer a seven day cruise on an on-going basis out of Jacksonville with the current ship porting here.  However they like the profits that they are getting by offering 3-5 day cruises from Jax.

 

For a shorter cruises I am willing to overlook deficiencies of older ships as compared to a newer ship and many people are like me.

[ALWAYS CRUZIN]

On 3/17/2020 at 8:14 PM, PrincessArlena'sDad said:

More a la carte add ons.  This will allow them to lower prices to bring customers back.

 

Cruising will be a less all-inclusive feel than before.

 

I hope I'm wrong.

I was checking 2022 cruises and they are charging more.

[BelowDeck4us]

Cruise Line:  Eliminate or reduce self-service food and beverage options (i.e. buffet).

Me:  Increase the number of discreetly placed hand sanitizer stations.  Have an easier/better hand washing option for passengers upon return to their cabin.  Also maybe include a small pack of hand sanitizer wipes in each cabin.  

 

Current events will force them to make changes aboard ship, but the question is whether the changes will be meaningful or illusory. 

[bury me at sea]

This is a policy change they might consider.

 

If Carnival cancels a cruise for any reason the effected cruisers will be credited with the number of nights cancelled for VIFP purposes.

 

If the cruisers don't rebook, the gesture will cost Carnival nothing.

 

If the cruisers do sail again the cost to Carnival will be negligible.

 

It would be great PR.

[PhillyFan33579]

I don’t know if Carnival or any cruise line will implement this, but assuming the coronavirus is going to be around for awhile, even when things start to return to normal, I think cruise lines need to initially ban people in higher risk categories from cruising. This should include a maximum age limit and exclude people with weakened autoimmune systems and weakened respiratory systems, which would include banning all smokers. I think steps like this will be necessary for cruise lines to return cruising sooner than later. 

[Joe817]

24 minutes ago, PhillyFan33579 said:

I don’t know if Carnival or any cruise line will implement this, but assuming the coronavirus is going to be around for awhile, even when things start to return to normal, I think cruise lines need to initially ban people in higher risk categories from cruising. This should include a maximum age limit and exclude people with weakened autoimmune systems and weakened respiratory systems, which would include banning all smokers. I think steps like this will be necessary for cruise lines to return cruising sooner than later. 

Oh good grief, you can't be serious. If you are, you need to include people with any type of heart disease, diabetes, being over weight, having to high of a cholesterol level, to high blood pressure, etc, etc, etc ad nauseum. Blllacchhh. How could you even suggest that?? Not  cool man.