Q&A with President Laura Hodges Bethge

[tfred]

17 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

Actually, the most Celebrity itineraries we've ever linked together were three 7-day legs on the Edge when cruising started back up in Aug 2021 where the first and third legs were identical. But what can I say, we're cruisaholics and were just happy to see "the light at the end of the tunnel" again. 🤣

 

I was just expounding on a comment LHB mentioned where they are working on providing some future itineraries that could possibly be linked into multiple B2B+ scenarios without going to the same ports. Celebrity used to offer three different legs in the Med, from Barcelona to Rome and then to Athens before arriving back in Barcelona. However, they changed that specific set of itineraries in 2019 where the most you could hook together were 2 before duplication set in.

 

Here's another example. Create a set of Alaska itineraries that would include one longer 10-11 day leg going to the Bering Sea and briefly stopping at Nome.

 

But that's cool. If Celebrity wants to shy away from us "older" retired folks that like to cruise on 3-5 week itineraries that go to different destinations, that's cool. That's entirely their decision. 

 

never going to happen on X- especially BBB.  That customer is really a 'world cruise" segment candidate found on Crystal and Cunard

 

X wants an easy repeatability for people flying in. If they cant make it this week, then how about next week?  

[Ken the cruiser]

3 minutes ago, tfred said:

never going to happen on X- especially BBB.  That customer is really a 'world cruise" segment candidate found on Crystal and Cunard

 

X wants an easy repeatability for people flying in. If they cant make it this week, then how about next week?  

Really? You couldn't tweak this into a 21-day B2B combination by eliminating a few ports?

 

28-Day Alaska Arctic Circle Solstice (hollandamerica.com)

 

Edited September 27, 2023 by Ken the cruiser

[tfred]

3 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

There's also another comment she made that might coincide with your thinking and that's regarding the possible tweaking of the 3 different RCG Loyalty programs in the near future. Just imagine how many "RCG" guests would start to book X itineraries, and possibly a few of Silversea, if they were able to accrue loyalty points from cruising on any of their 3 lines, similar to the arrangement Celebrity and Azamara used to have?

pax will eventually get tired of what cruise line they are on and look elsewhere   Same old, same old, they are getting older and want less noise of more personalized service

 

They should allow cross mingling of those three lines to prevent pax from drifting to other non-aligned cruise lines

[tfred]

1 minute ago, Ken the cruiser said:

Really?

 

28-Day Alaska Arctic Circle Solstice (hollandamerica.com)

 

not many people would spend 28 days on a HAL ship. Yes they are good, but not that good.  They are still trying to identify themselves to the marketplace.  Many people would view them as a much more mature line than they would like to be on.  May not be correct but all I see here is HAL being a cheaper alternative to X and Princess. 

 

Looking at Crystal and Cunard, they have a very good speakers program with very good food.  

[Ken the cruiser]

1 minute ago, tfred said:

pax will eventually get tired of what cruise line they are on and look elsewhere   Same old, same old, they are getting older and want less noise of more personalized service

 

Actually, we like to spread our time across multiple cruise lines. We're in our early 70s and have spent over 129 days on 14 different Celebrity cruise legs and had a blast on each one of them. But then we've also spent 56 days on 6 different PCL legs and getting ready to go on a 22-day B2B, and 49 days on 3 different NCL legs since cruising started back up. We're good with the noise, especially when it's during their awesome evening shows. However, I will say we're not impressed with Boy bands smashing songs together. So you've got me there.

[Ken the cruiser]

7 minutes ago, tfred said:

not many people would spend 28 days on a HAL ship. Yes they are good, but not that good.  They are still trying to identify themselves to the marketplace.  Many people would view them as a much more mature line than they would like to be on.  May not be correct but all I see here is HAL being a cheaper alternative to X and Princess. 

 

Looking at Crystal and Cunard, they have a very good speakers program with very good food.  

Celebrity couldn't tweak this into a 21-day B2B combination by eliminating a few ports?

[capsplace]

During their remarks about the loyalty programs, they seemed to state all three programs have some form of reciprocity right now, but I don't see anything about Silverseas being part of the Captains Club,  Am I wrong?

[Ken the cruiser]

1 minute ago, capsplace said:

During their remarks about the loyalty programs, they seemed to state all three programs have some form of reciprocity right now, but I don't see anything about Silverseas being part of the Captains Club,  Am I wrong?

You are correct. There is some reciprocity between RCCL and X with the newly acquired Silversea still off on its own. However, the accumulation of cruising points, at least when cruising with RCCL and X, is the big carrot a lot of folks I would think are hoping for, like it was between X and Azamara before Az was sold off.

[tfred]

13 hours ago, D C said:

Honestly, I think that's a huge stretch. 

One need look no further than Bud Light to see how easy it is for a big company to be irreversibly out of touch with their customers. 

 

X is clearly trying to draw a "new crowd" that they arguably don't understand, while hopefully not pissing off their loyal base too too much. Personally, I think they're failing at both. 

The customers that X wants are they ones dropping big bucks at any land resort - all inclusive or not - doesnt matter.  I have stayed recently at a few land Marriott resorts and it is pretty easy to spend $1k/day with a standard room, drinks and food on site.  No one is sitting around moaning about the price, service or half of the complaints I see on these boards   If those people got on a ship they would be familiar and impressed with the X offer.  

 

many X ads promote that the vacation experience is a resort on the ocean - not a cruise.  They would like to keep the 10 cruise a year crowd but how many people have time or the money for that many vacations.  Most take one 1 week vacation and do something else for the rest of vacation days.  

[NutsAboutGolf]

8 minutes ago, capsplace said:

During their remarks about the loyalty programs, they seemed to state all three programs have some form of reciprocity right now, but I don't see anything about Silverseas being part of the Captains Club,  Am I wrong?

 

3 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

You are correct. There is some reciprocity between RCCL and X with the newly acquired Silversea still off on its own. However, the accumulation of cruising points, at least when cruising with RCCL and X, is the big carrot a lot of folks I would think are hoping for, like it was between X and Azamara before Az was sold off.

 

It's a good bet that reciprocity benefits are coming to SilverSeas and I also wouldn't be surprised if the benefits are revamped and become more standardized across the three brands.  Some no longer see the value in X and are trying competitors which I'm sure the parent company wants to minimize.  Additionally, all over the three brands' websites/apps, you now see "RCG" and the three brands listed.  Finally, X's Casino Department is merging with RCI's so the current leadership seems to be a fan of standardizing where ever possible

[tfred]

12 minutes ago, capsplace said:

During their remarks about the loyalty programs, they seemed to state all three programs have some form of reciprocity right now, but I don't see anything about Silverseas being part of the Captains Club,  Am I wrong?

we are taking a SSea cruise next summer in Italy.  I might add that it is actually cheaper than an X cruise of the same length

 

I asked about "something" from the SSea agent and he said there is nothing offered for Elite X pax.  I think they are hoping for some OBC or Elite points for your X account. SSea has there own program and realistically since everything is included what more could they give you on board?  

 

Some X points may keep you on X if those pax toggle back and forth between X and SSea depending on the itinerary.  X itineraries are very predictable (generally back and forth from one port) while SSea can wander around.  I could see people choosing one or the other depending on vacation time or what else they are traveling with 

[FRMPEI]

18 hours ago, Beachlover1989 said:

.  FWIW, 

 

For What It is Worth...  I now know what FWIW means. Made me google that one.😀

 

Kevin

 

Edited September 27, 2023 by FRMPEI

[MamaFej]

I'm very intrigued by the idea of extending CC benefits to SilverSea. We did a last-minute discounted Antarctica expedition with our dear friends (one of which is also our TA) on SilverSea last year which we really loved. Most of our crusing has been on Celebrity, and we've never tried RC. Unless we have grandkids someday, we probably won't. We've definitely discovered since the restart that we enjoy the smaller ships and their ability to get into closer to the action smaller ports. 

 

We are very seriously considering an Arctic expedition on SS to celebrate PapaFej's 60th birthday next year. A little sweetening of the pot might just be enough to push us into booking. I've also read that SS is relaxing the formality on their newest non-expedition ship (Nova). If that spreads fleet-wide, we'd likely consider SS for "regular" cruises, as well. 

Edited September 27, 2023 by MamaFej

[Winemaker_1]

Just finished watching this and the best way I can think of to describe it would be cringe-worthy.   It had all the earmarks of a damage control press conference trying to take control of the narrative.  Who was the sycophant "interviewing" her?

Edited September 27, 2023 by Winemaker_1

[Jeremiah1212]

1 hour ago, NMTraveller said:

I am not sure how the Perfect Day cruises generate revenue.  They are priced around $60 pp per day for inside.

 

1 hour ago, markeb said:

I’m on a slow connection. What about Aqua and the retreat? Are insides ever profitable on their own?

 

They are not $60 pppd on average. These figures are actually a little low and calculated per person minus tax and fees on cruise only rates (excluding AQ and Retreat). Of all the itineraries including Perfect Day, the average Inside is $99, Oceanview $128, Veranda $151, CC $171, Aqua $255 and Retreat $477. 

 

Interior cabins are only 10% of S and E class cabins. Oceanview cabins are 5% on S class and 10% on E class. 

[Shiba_Lover]

I think the thing a lot of people either don't see our don't want to see is this ... people keep talking about celebrity and listening to their loyal customers.  Well, here the thing.  They aren't.  They want NEW customers.  They don't care about the loyal customers.  Yes, traditionally, in business the goal is to keep your loyal customers.  They aren't doing that.  They want NEW ones.  They want a new market.  If we don't like it, we can move on.  If celebrity can still fill ships without us, they succeeded.  If not, they failed.  We either adapt and enjoy or find a cruise line more aligned with what we desire.  

[bikerunner]

44 minutes ago, tfred said:

we are taking a SSea cruise next summer in Italy.  I might add that it is actually cheaper than an X cruise of the same length

in what category is it cheaper, the ones I look at are more than double what I care to pay for a cruise, I dont care for suites (I can afford them) but see no value in them for me at this point in my traveling style.   

[rmedistro]

7 minutes ago, Shiba_Lover said:

I think the thing a lot of people either don't see our don't want to see is this ... people keep talking about celebrity and listening to their loyal customers.  Well, here the thing.  They aren't.  They want NEW customers.  They don't care about the loyal customers.  Yes, traditionally, in business the goal is to keep your loyal customers.  They aren't doing that.  They want NEW ones.  They want a new market.  If we don't like it, we can move on.  If celebrity can still fill ships without us, they succeeded.  If not, they failed.  We either adapt and enjoy or find a cruise line more aligned with what we desire.  

Not all of the loyal customers will defect. X had a percentage that don't care about cookiegate, canapes, and higher costs, or even less options in MDR. X will retain whatever percentage that is, because they fill a niche in the cruising travel segment.  For every drop out due to recent changes, there will be those that won't stop cruising X, because those changes aren't significant to them..
For some reason human nature dictates, I'm not satisfied, so everyone else shouldn't be satisfied either. And if they are, they're wrong, not informed, or just not as experienced in the cruise travel circles. 🙂
 

Edited September 27, 2023 by rmedistro

[bikerunner]

3 minutes ago, Shiba_Lover said:

I think the thing a lot of people either don't see our don't want to see is this ... people keep talking about celebrity and listening to their loyal customers.  Well, here the thing.  They aren't.  They want NEW customers.  They don't care about the loyal customers.  Yes, traditionally, in business the goal is to keep your loyal customers.  They aren't doing that.  They want NEW ones.  They want a new market.  If we don't like it, we can move on.  If celebrity can still fill ships without us, they succeeded.  If not, they failed.  We either adapt and enjoy or find a cruise line more aligned with what we desire.  

Agree here to a point, loyal customers yes want to keep but that is also a customer base that is not that large and if anything aging, with new ships coming on and more cabins to fill.  There is a big market out there and growing of new cruisers.  That is the strategy that needs to be taken if any business wants to stay alive these days in hospitality and leisure industry.  At this point the ships are running close to max capacity.  The thing that we dont see is the breakdown on what customers new vs old are spending onboard, very little broken out in the release of earnings.  Celebrity and all cruise lines do have this infomation and this is how they gear what needs to be done

[Jeremiah1212]

6 minutes ago, Shiba_Lover said:

I think the thing a lot of people either don't see our don't want to see is this ... people keep talking about celebrity and listening to their loyal customers.  Well, here the thing.  They aren't.  They want NEW customers.  They don't care about the loyal customers.  Yes, traditionally, in business the goal is to keep your loyal customers.  They aren't doing that.  They want NEW ones.  They want a new market.  If we don't like it, we can move on.  If celebrity can still fill ships without us, they succeeded.  If not, they failed.  We either adapt and enjoy or find a cruise line more aligned with what we desire.  

 

This argument is tired. I'll be really blunt. People seem to miss this point. Celebrity has 4, soon to be 5, additional ships to fill since 2018. The people that started sailing 25-35 years ago don't have that much time left. You don't see many 90 and 100 year olds cruising. Someone has to fill the cabins, and then some, and that takes tapping some new customers. 

[Shiba_Lover]

7 minutes ago, Jeremiah1212 said:

 

This argument is tired. I'll be really blunt. People seem to miss this point. Celebrity has 4, soon to be 5, additional ships to fill since 2018. The people that started sailing 25-35 years ago don't have that much time left. You don't see many 90 and 100 year olds cruising. Someone has to fill the cabins, and then some, and that takes tapping some new customers. 

Exactly - I'm not arguing.  I said exactly that.  They are trying to get new customers by making changes to ship offering and itinerary.  So rather than complain if Celebrity no longer seems desirable - people either need to adapt or move to a different ship.

[Shiba_Lover]

16 minutes ago, bikerunner said:

Agree here to a point, loyal customers yes want to keep but that is also a customer base that is not that large and if anything aging, with new ships coming on and more cabins to fill.  There is a big market out there and growing of new cruisers.  That is the strategy that needs to be taken if any business wants to stay alive these days in hospitality and leisure industry.  At this point the ships are running close to max capacity.  The thing that we dont see is the breakdown on what customers new vs old are spending onboard, very little broken out in the release of earnings.  Celebrity and all cruise lines do have this infomation and this is how they gear what needs to be done

I think they are making more money by flipping the cabins on the short itineraries than on one long itinerary.  I mean - if they can turn one cabin 3 times on a 3 - 4 day sailing instead of 1 cabin on a 14 - 16 day sailing, then they make more money.  That is their new model.  Younger people going on the sailings out of Florida instead of older people going on longer sailings out of Europe and South America.  It seems to be filling the ships.  And yes - I agree on the traditional business model - but today it is different.  There is no loyalty - times have changed it seems.  I mean seriously, look at the "perks" associated with the loyalty tiers.  I'm not willing to spend 100K to get a second free bag of laundry, especially when I can have a cruise planned for over a year then poof - they decide "oh we decided not to do this trip, so we cancel it and move the ship from South America to Florida and too bad for you".  Why be loyal to a company that has no regard for you?

[NutsAboutGolf]

21 minutes ago, Jeremiah1212 said:

 

This argument is tired. I'll be really blunt. People seem to miss this point. Celebrity has 4, soon to be 5, additional ships to fill since 2018. The people that started sailing 25-35 years ago don't have that much time left. You don't see many 90 and 100 year olds cruising. Someone has to fill the cabins, and then some, and that takes tapping some new customers. 

 

I agree with what you say and just wanted to point out that what I highlighted isn't unique to mass-market cruise lines.  What makes a cruise line "mass market" is perpetually having new ships in their pipeline to fill

[bikerunner]

4 minutes ago, Shiba_Lover said:

I mean seriously, look at the "perks" associated with the loyalty tiers.  I'm not willing to spend 100K to get a second free bag of laundry,

Completely agree, perks are about last on my criteria on picking a holiday.  First is location, service reviews are very important to me, not just food but overall service, and just as important is size and scope. I don't need the large crowds; I pick AIs that are usually less than 500 ppl and away from all other types of resorts my cruises in 24-25 are all on 1300 or below (mostly 650 and below Oceana has the largest ship) except next April TA to Amsterdam.  

[zitsky]

I’d appreciate it if Celebrity could tell me who they want as customers.  I’m in my late 50’s and only started cruising a few years ago.  If Celebrity doesn’t want my money, they could save me a lot of time that I can spend looking elsewhere.