Don't Shoot the Messengers About NCL's/O's Cost-cutting Measures: A Fact of Life Today

[Kay S]

42 minutes ago, Liao said:

These conversations are happening on social media sites, you know the ones we can’t mention here.  And to a person for each they are all the same, just fill in the cruise line xxxxx, cutbacks, meat quality, awful or no lobster, reduced wine choices and quality, blah blah blah.  The cruise industry is filling the ships regardless of all the naysayers.  Frankly it’s so tiresome.

I guess the answer is to avoid reading social media sites.

[Liao]

7 hours ago, Kay S said:

I guess the answer is to avoid reading social media sites.

And when we do, take it for what it’s worth.

[MEFIowa]

8 hours ago, Liao said:

These conversations ...just fill in the cruise line xxxxx, cutbacks, meat quality, awful or no lobster, reduced wine choices and quality, blah blah blah.  The cruise industry is filling the ships regardless of all the naysayers....

For NCL/O this is all about the mountain of debt they have and have to pay down. They can't just sit on over $12 billion in debt. Paying it down to reasonable levels means (1) revenue enhancements and (2) cost cutting. Simple as that. I don't need my MBA to know that the stock market and bond market will savagely punish the company if it can't increase its operating profits to pay down the debt. Their key is "filling ships" in a manner that means increased profits per passenger per cruise. Making more money per passenger per cruise. You can compare the stock prices of the various cruise lines to see how they've been doing in that regard. The market is paying attention to...profits.

[clo]

16 hours ago, Kay S said:

I guess the answer is to avoid reading social media sites.

What site(s) are being referred to and why can't they be mentioned here?

[Kay S]

1 hour ago, clo said:

What site(s) are being referred to and why can't they be mentioned here?

Ask Liao.

[clo]

5 minutes ago, Kay S said:

Ask Liao.

@Liao ??? I sincerely have no idea. I know TAs are taboo but not anything else.

[ORV]

45 minutes ago, clo said:

@Liao ??? I sincerely have no idea. I know TAs are taboo but not anything else.

Do you not read other people's posts at all? It's not a state secret. Let's try this, what is about the biggest social media site most people use? Here's a hint. Not X. 

[clo]

5 minutes ago, ORV said:

Do you not read other people's posts at all? It's not a state secret. Let's try this, what is about the biggest social media site most people use? Here's a hint. Not X. 

Well, I've used the word "Facebook" here without any problem. And, yes, I read others' posts especially yours. Oh, and I regularly refer FB posters to this site for accurate info. 

[ORV]

8 minutes ago, clo said:

I regularly refer FB posters to this site for accurate info. 

Heavens knows they need it. What a mess. I don't have a page there, but I do see your posts there. 

[clo]

4 minutes ago, ORV said:

Heavens knows they need it. What a mess. I don't have a page there, but I do see your posts there. 

I'm a self-described info junkie and as liberal as the day is long so there's plenty for me to do other than think about travel 🙂

[osandomir]

We like cruising and have several cruises planned looking forward. That’s why I’m always interested to read what most people are posting on this boards. But some times I find it very difficult to understand something that doesn’t make any sense. Especially, when it comes from the posters who have no plans to cruise with Oceania in the future.

[AMHuntFerry]

1 hour ago, ORV said:

Heavens knows they need it. What a mess. I don't have a page there, but I do see your posts there. 

I've seen the official O page, but not the messy one. Now I want to seek out that page for my evening entertainment. Sounds fun!

[Sthrngary]

I might be wrong however, I thought the topic of this thread was "potential changes to Oceania Cruises due to cost cutting measures".  The whys, pros and cons of those cuts.  Funny how a thread goes down it own path and personalities tend to often clash if opinions are challenged.  

 

Social media is designed for engagement, lively debate and sharing of ideas.  Cruises by nature are in many ways designed for engagement.  Some sites draw a group of people that anonymously want to always be negative.  Other draw folks that want to ONLY be positive to a point of losing sight of the fact that NO cruise or cruise brand is ever 100% perfect. 

 

Tying back to the topic that @MEFIowa authored.  We as a group of like minded cruisers (We like Oceania), need to help each other set expectations.  If something is added, deleted or changed; share the item with the group.  This allows many cruisers that are new, current and long-time guests, to manage what they can expect on their next voyage.  If you don't like what a contributor says, or they always come across as negative, as well as, always saying the same thing. Simply block them, or ignore them.  I am quite sure I have been personally ignored more times then I would every want to know.  "I tend to be a very sensitive person and love to be part of a group that would have me. Or would never want to be part of a group that would have me.  Not sure which one."

 

All we can do is be open to reality, change never stops.  If the change effects our choose of a product of service, we take our money elsewhere.  Just nice to have a professional place to gain that information that focuses on the fact and reality instead of criticizing the contributors. Rare opportunity to keep our sanity. 

 

Cruise well and enjoy every moment. 

Edited Saturday at 12:21 PM by Sthrngary

[MEFIowa]

1 hour ago, Sthrngary said:

....Tying back to the topic that @MEFIowa authored.  We as a group of like minded cruisers (We like Oceania), need to help each other set expectations.  If something is added, deleted or changed; share the item with the group.  This allows many cruisers that are new, current and long-time guests, to manage what they can expect on their next voyage... All we can do is be open to reality, change never stops.  If the change effects our choose of a product of service, we take our money elsewhere....   

So true, our cruise happiness is tied directly to our expectations. For Happiness= Reality -Expectations.

 

When O "reopened" after COVID, the world and cruising had changed dramatically. CHANGE is ongoing for O. So many changes. And so much of it, unfortunately, is directly related to their COVID period debt. A huge mountain of debt that has to be paid off. So, most of these changes are tied to either raising prices (revenue enhancements, like SM) or cutting costs (remember all those discussions about shortened times in ports or cancelling ports?).

 

That debt can only really be paid down by profits (for they can't keep borrowing and the shareholders unlikely to want to dilute their ownership with a new stock offering that could struggle to sell shares unless offered at rock bottom low prices). So, that means we're either paying more to get same or paying same to get less. Profit per passenger per cruise has to increase.

 

Just drives me bonkers when cruisers can't understand how a company can try to disguise a revenue enhancement or cost cutting.

Edited Saturday at 01:47 PM by MEFIowa
typo

[Waltershipman]

2 hours ago, Sthrngary said:

I might be wrong however, I thought the topic of this thread was "potential changes to Oceania Cruises due to cost cutting measures".  The whys, pros and cons of those cuts.  Funny how a thread goes down it own path and personalities tend to often clash if opinions are challenged.  

 

Social media is designed for engagement, lively debate and sharing of ideas.  Cruises by nature are in many ways designed for engagement.  Some sites draw a group of people that anonymously want to always be negative.  Other draw folks that want to ONLY be positive to a point of losing sight of the fact that NO cruise or cruise brand is ever 100% perfect. 

 

Tying back to the topic that @MEFIowa authored.  We as a group of like minded cruisers (We like Oceania), need to help each other set expectations.  If something is added, deleted or changed; share the item with the group.  This allows many cruisers that are new, current and long-time guests, to manage what they can expect on their next voyage.  If you don't like what a contributor says, or they always come across as negative, as well as, always saying the same thing. Simply block them, or ignore them.  I am quite sure I have been personally ignored more times then I would every want to know.  "I tend to be a very sensitive person and love to be part of a group that would have me. Or would never want to be part of a group that would have me.  Not sure which one."

 

All we can do is be open to reality, change never stops.  If the change effects our choose of a product of service, we take our money elsewhere.  Just nice to have a professional place to gain that information that focuses on the fact and reality instead of criticizing the contributors. Rare opportunity to keep our sanity. 

 

Cruise well and enjoy every moment. 

We were overall happy with our February cruise on the Vista. Some cost cutting was evident while entertainment was excellent.  Our issue was mainly that the ship sailing full was crowded and felt crowded in many parts of ship including Terrace in the evening show room and even GDR while pretty was noisy and  crowded 

 

Enjoy

[pinotlover]

I believe that the restaurant mgr should address some of the noise issues. There’s a credit card commercial with Gary Hart and he’s yelling the entire time to neighbors. One guy finally says” Gary, I’m standing right here, why are you yelling?” Hart replies “ Because that’s what I do!”

 

Too often that’s what a lot of people do! 😠. We have a friend we constantly have to tell him to tone it down! No one five tables away wants to hear, or compete with, our conversation. Often it just leads to more people shouting or talking loudly. There’s a survey going around the internet asking how people always identify Americans. Other than dress(often sloppy), the primary answer is they always talk LOUDLY! The restaurant managers need to tell people to tone it down quite often.