Carnival’s Next Class of Ship

[icft]

49 minutes ago, Illbcruzn4life said:

You sure seem obsessed with this bribe stuff.

It has an air about it. If you look at the actual definition of bribe (I posted it once before with attribution to the source but apparently that is against the rules and the post disappeared) it is something offered to induce another to do something. So offering a cruise in return for money is a bribe. Most would just consider that advertising and a purchase but if one is attempting to put a negative connotation on it the word bribe does the job.

 

There is a big difference between a "bribe" and an "illegal bribe."

Edited April 8, 2023 by icft

[Illbcruzn4life]

21 minutes ago, CruizinSusan70 said:

Cruise on them often enough to gain Diamond status at 80 points and you get 4 per day.

I think that is what the bribe stuff is about. Apparently as you stated getting to diamond gets you the 4 free drinks per day. Since Carnival doesn’t offer anything like that in their loyalty program the poster considers that a bribe.

 

I am one point short of Diamond myself with Royal. WhenI get there I get there. 😀 not much of a drinker so the “bribe” doesn’t really sway me. Their ships sway me just like the Vista and excel class ships got me to come back to CCL.

[BlerkOne]

8 minutes ago, Illbcruzn4life said:

I think that is what the bribe stuff is about. Apparently as you stated getting to diamond gets you the 4 free drinks per day. Since Carnival doesn’t offer anything like that in their loyalty program the poster considers that a bribe.

 

I am one point short of Diamond myself with Royal. WhenI get there I get there. 😀 not much of a drinker so the “bribe” doesn’t really sway me. Their ships sway me just like the Vista and excel class ships got me to come back to CCL.

So brands and not bribes. But a lot of people cruise for booze.

[dolphinsfan246]

15 hours ago, Squirreladd said:

I honestly think their mega ships are doing more good for their competitors now. People see these ads for the Icon of the sea and go to book it. They recoil a the price. (2600 inside cabin for two)then they find MSC, Carnival or Norwegian for half the price but not half the ship. That higher per berth cost is going to hurt them in the long run.

This is definitely true, a few members of our family who never had any interest in cruising saw the Icon ads and ran to book it for all the bells and whistles, then after reviewing the price they decided they are now cruising with us on the Carnival Legend for less than half the price 😄

[mz-s]

17 minutes ago, dolphinsfan246 said:

This is definitely true, a few members of our family who never had any interest in cruising saw the Icon ads and ran to book it for all the bells and whistles, then after reviewing the price they decided they are now cruising with us on the Carnival Legend for less than half the price 😄

 

I hope they know the Carnival Legend is about as far removed from the Icon of the Seas as you can get and still be on a mass-market cruise ship otherwise they are seriously being set up for disappointment.

Edited April 8, 2023 by mz-s

[Illbcruzn4life]

1 hour ago, mz-s said:

 

I hope they know the Carnival Legend is about as far removed from the Icon of the Seas as you can get and still be on a mass-market cruise ship otherwise they are seriously being set up for disappointment.

This could have a negative effect. Seeing all the bells and whistles on Icon than booking on Legend which have zero bells and whistles. A nice ship with a nice PSR but could lead to a big letdown.

[dolphinsfan246]

2 hours ago, mz-s said:

 

I hope they know the Carnival Legend is about as far removed from the Icon of the Seas as you can get and still be on a mass-market cruise ship otherwise they are seriously being set up for disappointment.

While that may be true, that’s up to them to decide. If they still feel like they really really want all the extra bells and whistles at the extra cost, then they can go do that after. Live and learn. All I was saying is that I can confirm the non stop Icon ads are turning heads to the whole cruise industry and funneling money into all the main lines and not just Royal. I do find it funny that they market it as the ultimate family vacation but 75% of average American families can not afford it. 

[CruizinSusan70]

2 hours ago, mz-s said:

 

I hope they know the Carnival Legend is about as far removed from the Icon of the Seas as you can get and still be on a mass-market cruise ship otherwise they are seriously being set up for disappointment.

Are you implying that a cruise ship from company A built in year X isn't the same as a cruise ship from company B built in year Y?  😉😉

[BlerkOne]

7 hours ago, dolphinsfan246 said:

This is definitely true, a few members of our family who never had any interest in cruising saw the Icon ads and ran to book it for all the bells and whistles, then after reviewing the price they decided they are now cruising with us on the Carnival Legend for less than half the price 😄

Smart choice.

[BlerkOne]

4 hours ago, dolphinsfan246 said:

While that may be true, that’s up to them to decide. If they still feel like they really really want all the extra bells and whistles at the extra cost, then they can go do that after. Live and learn. All I was saying is that I can confirm the non stop Icon ads are turning heads to the whole cruise industry and funneling money into all the main lines and not just Royal. I do find it funny that they market it as the ultimate family vacation but 75% of average American families can not afford it. 

They aren't the mass market cruise line they pretend to be.

[Squirreladd]

1 hour ago, BlerkOne said:

They aren't the mass market cruise line they pretend to be.

I think that is a position they backed themselves into buy building incredibly price inefficient ships on a per berth basis. 

[Illbcruzn4life]

6 hours ago, BlerkOne said:

Smart choice.

yes it was a smart choice. Those prices are crazy but if they are filling the ship with those prices more power to them.

 

I know I wont be paying those prices.

[CarnivalShips480]

https://cruiseindustrynews.com/cruise-news/2023/05/royal-caribbean-sails-up-as-largest-brand-in-the-industry/

 

The article talks about how Royal Caribbean is going to be the biggest cruise line. Thoughts?

[jsglow]

16 minutes ago, CarnivalShips480 said:

https://cruiseindustrynews.com/cruise-news/2023/05/royal-caribbean-sails-up-as-largest-brand-in-the-industry/

 

The article talks about how Royal Caribbean is going to be the biggest cruise line. Thoughts?

I think that's entirely possible.  But I also know that Carnival Corporation has far more product offerings than RCCL can ever contemplate and that Carnival is but one brand in that wide ranging market.  I actually think the product segmentation is a well thought out strategy; something I suspect CCL Corp. will work to refine and develop over these next 10-20 years. Royal essentially has one horse to ride (excluding Celebrity).  It's a good one but it's not for everyone.

[Squirreladd]

5 hours ago, CarnivalShips480 said:

https://cruiseindustrynews.com/cruise-news/2023/05/royal-caribbean-sails-up-as-largest-brand-in-the-industry/

 

The article talks about how Royal Caribbean is going to be the biggest cruise line. Thoughts?

Carnival separates it's brands by culture. 

 

Carnival is targeting the economy market however unlike Royal Caribbean, carnival only focuses on American audiences. Italians have Costa, Germans, Aida, and Brits P&O. This allows for a distinct offering tailored to their specific cultures, language, and customs. I.E. Italians do longer dinners then Americans. Royal doesn't have this brand separation. They have Royal for their economy market and celebrity for premium. 

 

A fair comparison would be to compare CCLs economy companies as one vs Royal Caribbean. 

 

[tidecat]

7 hours ago, CarnivalShips480 said:

https://cruiseindustrynews.com/cruise-news/2023/05/royal-caribbean-sails-up-as-largest-brand-in-the-industry/

 

The article talks about how Royal Caribbean is going to be the biggest cruise line. Thoughts?

I'm not really sure why the article chose 2029 as the reference point. Carnival (Corporation) hasn't even finalized what they intend to order for 2027. Royal will probably still have a sizable lead over Carnival Cruise Line, but I doubt it will be 1.1 milliona1 passengers.

 

 

[notscb]

On 4/1/2023 at 1:32 AM, vwrestler171 said:

The ports that need the smaller ships need Carnival more than Carnival needs them.

 

The key is also versatility, IMHO. Alaska, for example, will never see an Oasis class ship for example, which makes those ships less competitive overall in terms of itineraries and positioning.

[AtSeaWithChris]

I think the XL class of ships has done a lot for Carnival but they need to fix a weak spot with the grand central area for shows. The seating is not great due to sight lines. Not sure what they could do unless they make a transformation somehow. They could go bigger allowing for more space and better sight lines or move some of the venues like the coffee and bonsai places. I think they did such a good job on the layout with the XL class that bigger could be good for it. It really wouldn’t have to be much bigger to address the downside and they really do have a great overall layout. 

[UPNYGuy]

On 5/24/2023 at 1:18 AM, notscb said:

 

The key is also versatility, IMHO. Alaska, for example, will never see an Oasis class ship for example, which makes those ships less competitive overall in terms of itineraries and positioning.

 

this is exactly why MSC rolled out the Meravigila the way they did. The hull is 'short and fat' so to speak, relative to the pax load it carries. It was deliberately designed so it could fit in ports that ships that had a similar capacity could not go. MSC explicitly mentioned Alaska several times during the build-out, so it wouldn't surprise me to see Carnival take a similar approach to this. 

[Aplmac]

On 3/31/2023 at 9:18 PM, staceyglow said:

I hope not. I like smaller ships. 

 

^ Agreed.

These days, 100-110,000 tons is "smaller"

and yet adequately comfortable all round!

 

We found Liberty, Valor and Caribbean Princess to just right.

[jimbo5544]

On 4/8/2023 at 11:17 AM, Illbcruzn4life said:

This could have a negative effect. Seeing all the bells and whistles on Icon than booking on Legend which have zero bells and whistles. A nice ship with a nice PSR but could lead to a big letdown.

99 percent of cruisers even know what PSR is.  Half of the rest think it is meaningless.

[jimbo5544]

On 5/23/2023 at 4:05 PM, CarnivalShips480 said:

https://cruiseindustrynews.com/cruise-news/2023/05/royal-caribbean-sails-up-as-largest-brand-in-the-industry/

 

The article talks about how Royal Caribbean is going to be the biggest cruise line. Thoughts?

Do not care

[jimbo5544]

On 4/8/2023 at 9:27 AM, mz-s said:

 

I hope they know the Carnival Legend is about as far removed from the Icon of the Seas as you can get and still be on a mass-market cruise ship otherwise they are seriously being set up for disappointment.

Sounds like a good thing to me.  Have ZERO desire (unless it is for free) to sail on the behemoth of all behemoths.

[Joebucks]

On 5/24/2023 at 12:08 AM, tidecat said:

I'm not really sure why the article chose 2029 as the reference point. Carnival (Corporation) hasn't even finalized what they intend to order for 2027. Royal will probably still have a sizable lead over Carnival Cruise Line, but I doubt it will be 1.1 milliona1 passengers.

 

 

 

Because news articles aren't graded on fact or logic. It's about how do you pique interest with the headline, and gain viewers. Since this is not a current reality, they have to reach into the speculative future, where anything can happen.

 

On 5/24/2023 at 3:25 AM, AtSeaWithChris said:

I think the XL class of ships has done a lot for Carnival but they need to fix a weak spot with the grand central area for shows. The seating is not great due to sight lines. Not sure what they could do unless they make a transformation somehow. They could go bigger allowing for more space and better sight lines or move some of the venues like the coffee and bonsai places. I think they did such a good job on the layout with the XL class that bigger could be good for it. It really wouldn’t have to be much bigger to address the downside and they really do have a great overall layout. 

 

While I agree with you on the grand central area greatly needs to rethink its capacity, it's small potatoes to the overall business model. It could be addressed if you task some design engineers to figure out how to fix the space, or just having more show times. Overall, the excel class seems to be pretty popular for Carnival. They are probably kicking themselves for originally scrapping the pinnacle class idea.

[CarnivalShips480]

5 hours ago, jimbo5544 said:

Do not care

I guess I asked for everyone's thoughts, but still, that was a little mean