Sales Volume Very Low?

[parallax]

We are in our 50s and we have been a couple Crystal cruises.  It is a very good product but it is safe to say that we are not their target demographic.   What happens when the current Crystalites are no longer able to cruise?  Where are these next generation cruisers coming from?  I'm more comfortable on Explora.  What some see as negatives on Explora others see as positives.      

[Waltershipman]

On 3/5/2024 at 9:14 PM, Stickman1990 said:

and in another view of the situation that is different than yours we are taking 6 Crystal friends and a couple of others new to luxury cruising with us when we sail Explora next - we are still beaming ear to ear recounting our cruise last September. We certainly don’t see them having any major issues that need resolving and I just hope they maintain the current standards and offerings 

 

I just don’t see it being a case of one over another. For example we're happy on both Crystal and Explora - with different aspects resonating with us on each line - in the case of the next Explora cruise it’s partly driven by the itinerary and timing 

I was disappointed but ultimately not surprised when i tried to book a January 5 sailing at 35% off only to be told the sail ended the day before and now there was only a 15 % discount and they would not extend even though i was a past passenger

[saminina]

22 hours ago, Whipsnade said:

Vista is on the money. Putting a guy who worked for Carnival and was Pres of Aida was huge mistake. Bet he never even traveled on a luxury ship. Never slept on a Frette sheet. Never ate in M starred restaurants or stayed in five star hotels.

You are being way too hard on a particular individual.  I no nothing of the person.  Except it sounds like they were very well paid with an expense account that would qualify them to experience everything you suggest they have not.

 

If you think the Frette sheet on Explora resembles the genuine Frette bedding so many of us sleep with nightly, it does not.

 

So Explora does not fit your purposes.  It probably does not fit mine. Hardly a big deal.  It's been tried and not necessarily proven.

[Whipsnade]

And you are entitled to yours. I do, however take umbrage at being called a “fossil”. That really is over the top I am sure you will agree. I am 85, swim everyday and expect to be cruising for quite a while. 
Certainly glad to hear from someone who truly knows “what most people think.”

[Whipsnade]

Sam, I exaggerated to reinforce a point made earlier. Point really is you need people who have started early with luxury brands to develop a luxury brand. You wouldn’t hire a top Mickey D guy to start a three star restaurant group. 

[TrinaLC]

I personally think you underestimate the ability of a smart executive to learn the ropes of an adjacency. Maybe this guy wasn’t the right guy, but a savvy and highly capable individual can certainly make a jump. And frankly maybe even bring some new and better ideas. 

[frankhi]

14 hours ago, Whipsnade said:

And you are entitled to yours. I do, however take umbrage at being called a “fossil”. That really is over the top I am sure you will agree. I am 85, swim everyday and expect to be cruising for quite a while. 
Certainly glad to hear from someone who truly knows “what most people think.”

You wrote "Speaking as one of the many Crystal “fossils”... the only time fossil is used in this thread is when you called yourself one... 

[no1talks]

1 hour ago, frankhi said:

You wrote "Speaking as one of the many Crystal “fossils”... the only time fossil is used in this thread is when you called yourself one... 

Nope. Referring to Crystal passengers as fossils occurred in a Friday morning post.

 

"With all it's pools and bars the ship was designed for a younger cliental rather than the fossils that permeate Crystal."

[Whipsnade]

Wheelhouse called us Crystals “fossils”. I only repeated and mocked it. I think that would be a good name for a Trivia team. “Old Fossils”. 
When Crystal had the Olympic Games I won gold every year in lap swimming since I was 75. Beat all the Young Bucks by a thousand laps. We may be old and slow but we are hardy. 

23 hours ago, saminina said:

You are being way too hard on a particular individual.  I no nothing of the person.  Except it sounds like they were very well paid with an expense account that would qualify them to experience everything you suggest they have not.

 

If you think the Frette sheet on Explora resembles the genuine Frette bedding so many of us sleep with nightly, it does not.

 

So Explora does not fit your purposes.  It probably does not fit mine. Hardly a big deal.  It's been tried and not necessarily proven.

s

[tfred]

On 3/8/2024 at 9:25 AM, Wheelhouse said:

While on my 800 passenger nearly full sailing last month I talked at length with two separate well-to-do younger working couples who had never cruised before.  Both couples booked the cruise no more than two weeks before embarkation.  They were very impressed by the ship, food, and the service.  They are the demographic that Explora is looking to attract and hopefully get to return. They will never book a cruise anywhere near a year in advance. With all it's pools and bars the ship was designed for a younger cliental rather than the fossils that permeate Crystal. 

 

Do they need to improve in a lot of areas?  Surely they do and they working on it.  The line has barely been at sea for half a year.  

This is exactly the demographic that every "better" cruise line is looking for   That also includes the Celebrity, NCL Haven and MSC Yacht Club suite crowd on bigger ships.  

 

They want the historically land vacation crowd that goes to a Ritz or Four Seasons and spends a ton of money. This is a case when it may be better to go after new customers instead of poaching existing cruise customers with very set in stone ideas of what constitutes a "good" cruise. 

 

Many of the Crystal, Regent, Sebourne Silversea routes start and finish at difficult to get to ports (as compared to flying to Miami or Barcelona), longer itineraries (makes it difficult to fit time off when you are still working) 

[Whipsnade]

I really don’t think Rome, Lisbon, Dover, Athens or Istanbul are “hard to get to”.  
As far as older pax are concerned all the young marketing “geniuses” eschew us because we are allegedly “fossils”. Yet we have the money and the time to stay on board for longer than seven days which is a boon for the lines like Crystal who want us. 

[tfred]

1 hour ago, Whipsnade said:

I really don’t think Rome, Lisbon, Dover, Athens or Istanbul are “hard to get to”.  
As far as older pax are concerned all the young marketing “geniuses” eschew us because we are allegedly “fossils”. Yet we have the money and the time to stay on board for longer than seven days which is a boon for the lines like Crystal who want us. 

All of these legacy lux lines have to get newer customers on board now so they can return when retired for longer cruises.  12 day cruises that start on a Wednesday aren't  convenient for the working folks 

 

No one working (or at least very few) is able to take a 14-21 day cruise plus travel time   These lines have to have some "starter" cruises that get people on board, like the product and come back later. 

 

The new crowd is now dropping big money at Ritz or Four Seasons and is using that as a comparison to what their next vacation would look like.  There will be some changes to cruising as that new group infiltrates the ranks. What they do want is great service at a location

 

Be prepared. 

[Whipsnade]

All of these so called “legacy” lines have many 7 and nine day Med cruises, Alaska cruises, New England cruises and Caribbean cruises. I know this because I book them as btb cruises all the time. 
These folks who are “dropping big money” at Four Seasons for a few days do not compare with us “fossils” who spend ten times that every year on longer cruises. 
This effort to attract younger cruisers has been going on for fifty years yet we still have lots of “ fossils” stepping up. And we are living longer and longer. 

[peder]

Sure, but the fossil market is already captured. Explora's cost of customer acquisition is going to be highest with the fossils.

 

MSC knew before even entering the market that they'd need to find ways to carve out new segments / differentiate themselves, because the market is a very crowded oligopoly that has many substitutes (like Four Seasons on land).

[Whipsnade]

Explora is not what it claims to be. Poor entertainment, mediocre food with never changing menus. They can’t fill the ship with paying pax so they load up with TAs and “influencers” prancing about like real people. Now lowering prices in standard cabins so they get a few paying pax. Higher grade cabins remain 30% higher than on “legacy” lines. We “fossils” know how to count. We tried it for a month. Never again. 

[saminina]

Point taken.....

[JYDCruise]

3 hours ago, Whipsnade said:

Explora is not what it claims to be. Poor entertainment, mediocre food with never changing menus. They can’t fill the ship with paying pax so they load up with TAs and “influencers” prancing about like real people. Now lowering prices in standard cabins so they get a few paying pax. Higher grade cabins remain 30% higher than on “legacy” lines. We “fossils” know how to count. We tried it for a month. Never again. 

The plural of anecdote (not even plural in this case, just the same one repeated ad nauseam) is not data.

[Whipsnade]

Guess my own personal experiences no longer count as “data”. Nevertheless they remain facts. 

[2SailingNomads]

We boarded in Vancouver and had 290 fellow pax to Honolulu. Have gotten multiple answers as to how many are going back to Vancouver. Will find out more later.  

 

Have found the food, which is subjective, to be some of the best we have had with over 600 nights of sailing on luxury lines. Love all the bar options.  Crew are extremely friendly.

 

Dislike limited included spirits options although vodka choices are 2 of the 3 I normally drink. Included wines certainly could be better. Lack of shade on outside decks is a big problem as been noted by others.  Stupid design of switch to turn on the bathroom light outside the bathroom.  No option of course by course room service from one of the restaurants for dinner.

 

[tine-tine]

In the UK and I believe the EU which we were once part of the safety legislation for bathroom and kitchen electricity is very strict and no electric switches or sockets allowed inside apart from shaving socket. You will see when you travel to hotels or homes in the UK that they are always outside the door.

[Sidney68]

7 hours ago, 2SailingNomads said:

We boarded in Vancouver and had 290 fellow pax to Honolulu. Have gotten multiple answers as to how many are going back to Vancouver. Will find out more later.  

 

Have found the food, which is subjective, to be some of the best we have had with over 600 nights of sailing on luxury lines. Love all the bar options.  Crew are extremely friendly.

 

Dislike limited included spirits options although vodka choices are 2 of the 3 I normally drink. Included wines certainly could be better. Lack of shade on outside decks is a big problem as been noted by others.  Stupid design of switch to turn on the bathroom light outside the bathroom.  No option of course by course room service from one of the restaurants for dinner.

 

Thank you for sharing your initial thoughts. It will be interesting to see how passenger numbers change on each leg, we join on 12th May in LA. Previously sailed with SB (who we love) and Regent (not so fond of). Hoping that this line will have the quality of ship as Regent but with the service of SB, let’s see! Looking forward to more updates and enjoy your cruise 🤗

[mnocket]

Maybe one contributing factor in low sales volume is the lack of unique or attention-grabbing itineraries. I've wanted to give EJ a try, but when I look at the itineraries I'm less enthusiastic. 

[Beamafar]

35 minutes ago, mnocket said:

Maybe one contributing factor in low sales volume is the lack of unique or attention-grabbing itineraries. I've wanted to give EJ a try, but when I look at the itineraries I'm less enthusiastic. 

I agree.  Also, some of the embarkation/disembarkation ports aren’t easily accessible. 
 

ETA:   Saw an almost last-minute (if May 30th is LM) 12 nights from Miami - TA, ending in Arricife - for little more than €500 pn (for 2 people - €6200!!).
 

 

Edited Sunday at 06:02 PM by Beamafar

[mnocket]

11 minutes ago, Beamafar said:

I agree.  Also, some of the embarkation/disembarkation ports aren’t easily accessible. 
 

ETA:   Saw an almost last-minute (if May 30th is LM) 12 nights from Miami - TA, ending in Arricife - for little more than €500 pn (for 2 people - €6200!!).
 

 

Yep.  Good price, but can't say I'd be thrilled about a TA ending in Arricife. Maybe they want to encourage people to make it b2b?

[Beamafar]

Just now, mnocket said:

Yep.  Good price, but can't say I'd be thrilled about a TA ending in Arricife. Maybe they want to encourage people to make it b2b?

Sorry - I shouldn’t have said ‘ending’ as you can book a longer sailing, with other disembarkation ports offered (including Barcelona).  But the pn rate is more in line with all other itineraries;  only this 12 night section had the reduced fare.