Celebrity & RCL game plan = New Cruisers

[Islander500]

Was reading this article and noticed that the upcoming year’s Celebrity sailings seem to track with this game plan.  
“As Jason (Liberty) mentioned earlier about the strategy of putting really outstanding hardware combined with excellent destination into the short product market because it truly is the on-ramp for new to cruise and also first to brand.” 

 

https://l.smartnews.com/p-LdU8i/uto0gQ

[rj59]

I've observed this on HAL and Princess as well, with just as many people on those boards confused and angry about their changes. The older crowd hate the Medallion and app experience of Princess, but it seemed obvious to me that they were aiming for a younger, future crowd new to cruising, with a more tech-friendly experience and family-friendly experience, once the current older generation is gone. There are also millions of younger Boomers who haven't thought of cruising before, so every line is going for them, with relaxed dress codes, gimmicky experiences like animated dining tables, and advertising that shows younger, diverse, adventurous people.  At one point a lot of the lines thought the Chinese market would be the future, and Royal, Princess, and NCL designed ships specifically for the Chinese market, but they ended up getting sent back to the American market, so now all the lines are looking to capture future generations, even at the cost of alienating a generation of traditional cruisers who don't like changes or cutbacks from past ideal experiences. Even Cunard, the most traditional and conservative line I've been on, was heavily promoting the work of a Banksy-created street graffitii/spraypaint 'artist' named Mr. Brainwash when I was on Queen Elizabeth a few weeks ago. I cruise all non-luxury lines (even Carnival, since they're the main player for my preferred Mexico cruises), and the weird cutbacks and attempts to squeeze revenue are disheartening, especially since I keep really wanting to love just one line. HAL, Princess, and Celebrity all have great things I love, but then they do stupid little things that aren't huge, but which alienate me, such as a stupid $5 room service charge (a premium line should make revenue by charging for premium items through room service). I thought NCL was kind of cool, with Beatles and Broadway shows, but then on a cruise in February they decided to bring back in-person muster, a nightmare, and they decided to save by cutting back on stewards, so I never had my room cleaned before 4:30 pm, even on embarkation day. But their ships are at over 100% occupancy, so people are still going on all the lines, no matter how expensive it gets and no matter how petty the charges and cutbacks are or how galling for long-time loyal cruisers. The effect for me is to make non-cruise travel more appealing. I was going to go on a Celebrity Spain cruise in November, but I don't want to be charged a 300% single supplement, so I'll wait and do a Rick Steves or other bus tour, where I get more time and depth and immersion in local culture and experience.