Should Princess Rebrand Itself?

[Steelers36]

9 hours ago, tcdcruiser said:

Agree. Princess is not a premium line.  With new ship builds with 3600 passengers you are by definition not premium. 
 

For me, the question is “where is Princess strategically headed?”

Targeting the next cruiser generation, 40 to 50 year olds, with tech products makes sense as this demographic grew up on smart phones and tablets. (Aside…I say 40 -50 year olds since Carnival gets the 20-30 crowd). 

But the 40 - 50 demographic segment is more than tech savy, they are foodies and speciality coffee (with premium bean) drinkers. They fly business class and use the airport lounges.  My point is it is going to take more that a RFID that opens your cabin door and comes with a lot of clunky and cranky features. 
 

As Princess begins to transition to this new world one has to ask what is the current cash cow demographic group, the 60 -80 crows going to do?  My guess is those with money will migrate to Oceania, Azamara, etc. and those without money will totally stop cruising. 

 

 

 

 

One thing I think to target this new crowd - as well as younger seniors - is to offer more organic foods and such.  IDK if this will ever happen in the food service business but we choose foods that are healthy and buy a lot of organic products, but very few restaurants offer this.  We buy free-range and grass-fed beef, for example that normally only show up in higher-end steak houses.  

 

We avoid a lot of nasty food ingredients in avoiding most all prepared foods and are fussy in terms of baked goods we consume.  Anyway, just some food for thought (yuck, yuck) because I first began thinking of this in regards to seniors residences and when our generation and the ones coming behind are going to look for and expect much of this because it is what they have been eating for years. 

 

[mpk]

8 hours ago, Ombud said:

And I know people working onboard now in the Sanctuary (well not exactly now but in a month).

 

I've been remotely working for quite awhile since even before the pandemic 😀    Although I physically can, I refrain from working on vacation.  Management has consistently told me to just have fun on vacation, and come back a recharged and energized employee.  I really like my job, so it is a bit of a challenge to unplug, but a week or two on actual vacation does work wonders  😀

[Rick&Jenny]

To me, I still think Princess ships and crews are elegant, regal, and hard working. I enjoy being on them and life on the open seas. But the management of them has gone to a “big box” outlook and mentality. All the cushy little frills that made Princess special are slowly disappearing along with the rapidly disappearing quality of their food and service.

The principal head of Princess has a brain the size of one of his Medallions and there is nothing premium about the guy other than his pay.  I think it’s obscene how much he is paid.  And bonuses too.   Just my 2 cents.

We have 2 cruises booked for next year.  20+ days to Sydney and b2b Canal cruises for 30 days.  I no longer have the trust and confidence that Princess has as their top priority the comfort, health, welfare of their paying passengers.  I’m giving serious consideration to cancellation. 

[Dunk]

I had a friend who worked for another cruise line tell me, "There are three kinds of cruise lines: beer & pretzels, wine & cheese, and champagne & caviar". Princess has always been, and remains a "wine & cheese" cruise line. About as middle of the road as you can get. 

[caribill]

16 hours ago, Murray's Pop said:

While we enjoy Princess immensely, we have never thought it to be a "premium" cruiseline.  So not sure why they would need to re-brand. 

 

Agree. Never has been a "premium" cruise line, but it still has been what we have been on for 2/3rds of our cruises.

 

It is sort of like whenever the press reports about something that happened on a cruise ship. Whether it is on Princess, Carival, RCI or any other mass market cruise line, the story always says a luxury cruise ship.

[caribill]

14 hours ago, Ombud said:

 PCL is middle of the road as is HAL. It just doesn't shut off the lights each night as early as HAL. 

 

 

On the newer HAL ships such as the Nieuw Statendam the music and lights are on later than on Princess.

[caribill]

12 hours ago, JimmyVWine said:

 

While this may be painful to accept, the complaints posted here by many loyal customers who have Elite status and are 65+ years of age are a direct result of Princess pivoting in the direction that turquoiselake suggests.  There is a see-saw effect whereby changes that are designed to attract and grab the 25-40 year-old tech-savvy customers may very well put off the 65-85 year-old Elites. 

 

I am not sure that the 25-40 year olds want:

 

a) Technology that does not work for many of its users both pre-cruise and on the ship (including not working for staff on the ship)

 

b) Bigger and bigger ships going to ports overcrowded with other Displacement Of The Seas type ships

 

c) Long waits to be seated for dinner even with reservations.

 

d) Very many minutes on phone hold when needing to speak with the cruise line pre- or post-cruise.

 

e) Smoke-filled casinos on ships.

[caribill]

9 hours ago, Daniel A said:

Alienating the seniors with more and more high tech doesn't sound like a good way to fill ships when the kiddies are in class.

 

Seniors are rarely alienated by high tech that works. Emphasis on "working."

[Daniel A]

3 hours ago, caribill said:

 

Seniors are rarely alienated by high tech that works. Emphasis on "working."

Agreed, but I had in mind designing the high tech to only work with the latest and greatest (and more expensive) personal technology devices.  I don't think scrapping pre-embarkation data entry through the website in favor of a new app that will only work on phones and tablets that have the latest operating systems doesn't alienate people who finally just 'give up.'  At some point in time, it's no longer worth the effort.  I don't think it's seniors who are camping out all night just to get the latest iPhone in the morning.

[Daniel A]

11 hours ago, JimmyVWine said:

But that is a constant for every cruise line including DCL and RCCL which are widely considered to be the industry leaders in family cruising. It’s not as if the mouse hibernates during those 9 months and the rock walls convert to pickle ball courts. 

Well, the day Princess installs water slides, go kart tracks, and has Krusty the Clown and Bart Simson running around the ship is the last day I ever set foot on a Princess ship.  If that's what you're advocating, then I hope you enjoy your 'new normal.'  

 

Princess isn't having much trouble filling their ships.  Why do we want to fix what isn't broken?  Isn't that what Princess did with the rollout of their wonderful new technology in the MC App?  They traded spending a few minutes checking in at the terminal in favor of guests spending unproductive hours upon hours at home trying to do what they got done in no time in person at the terminal.

[GonzoWCS]

6 hours ago, Rick&Jenny said:

To me, I still think Princess ships and crews are elegant, regal, and hard working. I enjoy being on them and life on the open seas. But the management of them has gone to a “big box” outlook and mentality. All the cushy little frills that made Princess special are slowly disappearing along with the rapidly disappearing quality of their food and service.

The principal head of Princess has a brain the size of one of his Medallions and there is nothing premium about the guy other than his pay.  I think it’s obscene how much he is paid.  And bonuses too.   Just my 2 cents.

We have 2 cruises booked for next year.  20+ days to Sydney and b2b Canal cruises for 30 days.  I no longer have the trust and confidence that Princess has as their top priority the comfort, health, welfare of their paying passengers.  I’m giving serious consideration to cancellation. 

Well put

 

Cheers

[JimmyVWine]

2 hours ago, Daniel A said:

Well, the day Princess installs water slides, go kart tracks, and has Krusty the Clown and Bart Simson running around the ship is the last day I ever set foot on a Princess ship.  If that's what you're advocating, then I hope you enjoy your 'new normal.'  

Not sure where you got that from my post.  I was merely responding to your post that suggested that a move toward a younger crowd might run into problems during the 9 months of the school year, and I commented that every cruise line that seeks to attract parents of school-age kids will confront the same issue.  If the problem is not unique to Princess, it necessarily becomes less of a problem by definition.

Edited May 25, 2022 by JimmyVWine

[JeffT237]

Having recently completed our first Princess cruise I can't speak to the past perception of the brand.  It appears the argument from the long time Princess cruisers is that the changes are making the brand more "mainstream" than "premier".  I think this is across the board in most industries in an effort to make the bottom line, customer serve is secondary IMO replaced first with the financial needs to the company and their investors.  Our first cruise was much more formal than it is now, the food was much better as well.  There was a midnight buffet that featured lobster, as if we didn't eat enough all day long that we needed more.  Everyone dressed up for formal night, and brace yourself this was on a Carnival ship.  In fact we've had enjoyable cruises on what many call the K-mart of cruising.  People and times change, the cruise lines change with them in an effort to remain profitable. People used to want to have an experience of a lifetime.  Now many just want to capture and share the experience.  This is a big reason why you're seeing the push towards tech.  The human touch is lost on this move to a digital world.

 

We always knew our first Alaska cruise would be with Princess, due to its reputation and itineraries.  We never once thought we were booking it because it was a "premier" line.  Now having sailed 3 lines IMO it only reinforces what I already thought, they are all more similar than different.  Some things are better some not as good.  But they've all been enjoyable.  I like the differences they all offer, it gives me as a consumer options.  I'll never be Premier, Elite, Diamond or Pinnacle, sure those perks would be great I guess but I'll continue to book due to ship and itinerary rather than brand.  As a recent retiree I still enjoy a good water slide, zip line or rock climbing session on An Amusement Park of the Seas ship going to the Caribbean, but I wouldn't want that for our next Alaska cruise which will be on Princess.  Much to the dismay of my wife I still enjoy the 70s Disco inferno party in the Royal Promenade.  Who decides  "premier" "mainstream" "budget" anyways?

 

Happy cruising to all!

[JimmyVWine]

6 hours ago, caribill said:

I am not sure that the 25-40 year olds want:

 

a) Technology that does not work for many of its users both pre-cruise and on the ship (including not working for staff on the ship)  That is a "fix" and not a systemic change.  The tech will improve. It always does.  Remember Disney's Magic Band rollout?  Those problems are in the distant past now.

 

b) Bigger and bigger ships going to ports overcrowded with other Displacement Of The Seas type ships  I don't know that there is any evidence of this.  Every single cruise line is going bigger and not a single one is retreating to go smaller.  So if the younger generation doesn't want this, they are either going to have to go kicking and screaming into the future or remove cruising from their list of vacation options. I assume that people with far more marketing knowledge than us has field tested this and knows what the future holds. 

 

c) Long waits to be seated for dinner even with reservations.  See "a)" above.  Time and tweaks will make this better and the growing pains will subside.

 

d) Very many minutes on phone hold when needing to speak with the cruise line pre- or post-cruise.  This is systemic in every walk of life right now.  So many of the services that we are used to are understaffed that wait times are insane.  Princess doesn't even compare to the airlines right now when it comes to telephone wait times.

 

e) Smoke-filled casinos on ships.  Can't argue with that.  Within the next 5 years, smoking in Princess casinos will be a thing of the past.  Maybe closer to 3 years.

See above in red.

[nattie]

18 hours ago, cr8tiv1 said:

 

Lexus is a glorified Toyota. Therefore, should be more aligned with Toyota cars (not Honda).  LOL

 

Regardless.  I do see Princess' marketing as trying to attract a younger crowd.  An Ocean Navigator, who shall remain nameless,  boldly announced that the app is here to stay since "that's (technology) is the way it is now".  I didn't quite like her attitude.

 

My concern as a stockholder is the younger crowd doesn't have the days off to cruise for 100 days, let alone 2 weeks.  Princess really does need to assess who will sustain them on the long haul.  That would have been me.  Yes, I can do technology.  But don't care for many of the other changes.  

Interesting point, but if Princess can manage to do the internet right (we have had no issues on last couple of cruises, I was able to work no problem), time off is a non issue. I was able to file all the reports I needed from on board of Regal princess in January with no hassles and included in princess Plus internet. 

[JimmyVWine]

2 hours ago, Daniel A said:

Agreed, but I had in mind designing the high tech to only work with the latest and greatest (and more expensive) personal technology devices.  I don't think scrapping pre-embarkation data entry through the website in favor of a new app that will only work on phones and tablets that have the latest operating systems doesn't alienate people who finally just 'give up.'  At some point in time, it's no longer worth the effort.  I don't think it's seniors who are camping out all night just to get the latest iPhone in the morning.

Scrapping data entry on the web in favor of an exclusive option on a handheld was a really bad idea.  It seems totally unnecessary and to me seems intended to change behavior in such a way as to make the use of a TA less attractive.  I have a sneaking suspicion that going "handheld only" is designed to hasten the obsolescence of Travel Agents as people come to realize that if they themselves have to do all the inputting on their own phones, and their TA cannot complete data entry on line, then they don't really need the TA any more.  And, of course, if the use of TAs decreases, Princess' revenue increases. 

[nattie]

7 hours ago, Dunk said:

I had a friend who worked for another cruise line tell me, "There are three kinds of cruise lines: beer & pretzels, wine & cheese, and champagne & caviar". Princess has always been, and remains a "wine & cheese" cruise line. About as middle of the road as you can get. 

 I ADORE wine and cheese (could just leave on them really), I am ok with beer and pretzels (occasionally they could be so good!) and while i can have champagne and caviar, they would never be my first choice (too salty and I just dont get champagne). Now my cruise preferences make sense!

[Daniel A]

4 minutes ago, JimmyVWine said:

Scrapping data entry on the web in favor of an exclusive option on a handheld was a really bad idea.  It seems totally unnecessary and to me seems intended to change behavior in such a way as to make the use of a TA less attractive.  I have a sneaking suspicion that going "handheld only" is designed to hasten the obsolescence of Travel Agents as people come to realize that if they themselves have to do all the inputting on their own phones, and their TA cannot complete data entry on line, then they don't really need the TA any more.  And, of course, if the use of TAs decreases, Princess' revenue increases. 

Good point, but even when I used a TA, I still had to complete the Web Site's Cruise Personalizer myself.  My belief is that it's not the customers who are really the next generation, but it is the executives at Princess who are in that younger 'tech savvy' generation that believes everyone is as invested in tech as they are.  I think that for many, just composing a post on CC stretches the technical ability of some cruisers.

 

My earlier reference to Krusty and go carts was meant to convey that Princess has found it's niche and doesn't need to compete with the cruise lines that cater to children.  That being said, I think wer're getting into a bit of a thread drift.  Has Princess ever actually advertised itself as being "Premium"?  I don't recall ever seeing that word used in their advertisements.

[nattie]

2 hours ago, Daniel A said:

Well, the day Princess installs water slides, go kart tracks, and has Krusty the Clown and Bart Simson running around the ship is the last day I ever set foot on a Princess ship.  If that's what you're advocating, then I hope you enjoy your 'new normal.'  

 

Princess isn't having much trouble filling their ships.  Why do we want to fix what isn't broken?  Isn't that what Princess did with the rollout of their wonderful new technology in the MC App?  They traded spending a few minutes checking in at the terminal in favor of guests spending unproductive hours upon hours at home trying to do what they got done in no time in person at the terminal.

In defense of pickelball, my teen is obsessed with it after a kind soul taught us to play on our last Regal cruise 🙂 

[JimmyVWine]

17 minutes ago, Daniel A said:

Has Princess ever actually advertised itself as being "Premium"?  I don't recall ever seeing that word used in their advertisements.

I think that is a made up term here.  Sort of like a "Luxury Car".  You can buy a Kia fully loaded that has all of the tech and features as a Mercedes, but no one will ever call a Kia a Luxury Car.  

 

As far as catering to families with children, I think (or at least I hope) that Princess realizes that there are many different types of families with children.  Some (many) want to climb rocks and tweak Krusty's nose at the top of the wall, while others want to travel the word and expose their children to different places and cultures.  Princess can market itself and cater to families and still focus on the latter.  I think that was the whole intent behind the Jeff Corwin infomercials.  The "Ocean Treks" series was designed to appeal to families, but not in a way that would attract the Krusty Climbers.  And the "Half the Price of a Theme Park" ad was an undisguised attack at the go-cart cruising crowd.  It was the very antithesis of that, claiming that a cruise on Princess brings you to real places to see real animals.  Perhaps this type of marketing will fail, and without costumed characters and water slides, families will stay away in droves.  But Princess is betting the other way and I'm behind them 100%. 

Edited May 25, 2022 by JimmyVWine

[DCThunder]

Would it make sense for Princess to create two "divisions" of itself?  One would be the bread-and-butter 7-10 day Caribbean/Mexican Riviera/Alaska/Mediterranean itineraries and the second division would be longer (16+ day) cruises to more unusual destinations.  Being retired, I'm more interested in the longer voyages but can't afford the small ship "adventure" cruises such as Lindblad or others.

 

I know Princess currently has some offerings of the longer voyage type, but it would be great if this was a focus of a "subsidiary" part of Princess and we could stay "loyal" to the brand.

[caribill]

3 hours ago, Daniel A said:

 

 

Princess isn't having much trouble filling their ship

 

The Princess Alaska cruises are nowhere near full per the "live from" threads.

[Rick&Jenny]

8 hours ago, Dunk said:

I had a friend who worked for another cruise line tell me, "There are three kinds of cruise lines: beer & pretzels, wine & cheese, and champagne & caviar". Princess has always been, and remains a "wine & cheese" cruise line. About as middle of the road as you can get. 

 

[caribill]

3 hours ago, Daniel A said:

 They traded spending a few minutes checking in at the terminal in favor of guests spending unproductive hours upon hours at home trying to do what they got done in no time in person at the terminal.

 

Excellent point.

[loge23]

22 hours ago, Ombud said:

IMHO:

Carnival = Honda Civic

Princess = Honda Accord

Cunard = Lexus 

Maybe a used Lexus. Still in good condition, but not the top of the line model.