Laura Hodges Bethage responses to Questions are an insult !!!!

[odyssyus]

The more I read her answers, the more it feels like an AI testing/training session for future chat bots or FAQs.  Too canned and read like ChatGPT responses.

[Mike981]

On 7/26/2024 at 5:04 PM, NutsAboutGolf said:

 

I've seen people take pictures of name tags, yet for most, that probably means they didn't ask for their last name.  Then who knows what they actually said in the survey "Gabby was the best, promote her immediately!".  Worst case scenario, another girl named Gabby gets promoted...lol

 

I feel when we give the correct spelling of their first name and the exact location they worked it will eliminate any issues of having the same name. But of course, it is not fool proof.

 

Now that reminds me of buying a used car from a small pre-owned car lot and all of the salespeople were from India and said they name was "Mike". Mike is always working!

Edited July 28 by Mike981

[phoenix_dream]

On 7/27/2024 at 8:18 AM, foodsvcmgr said:

Companies have SOME interest in feedback from existing customers but MORE interest in targeting potential new customers.

Most policies, changes, new products, etc. are created by highly paid in house teams and consultants.

I am unhappy about many changes in the cruise industry, auto industry, the state of the world in general.

I can vote with my feet, dollars, etc.

But I think many people here have an unrealistic sense of what an individual opinion can or will impact at any corporate level as well as how much deference they will be shown.

JMO.

I can't speak for all industries, but in mine (corporate insurance) it was way more costly to try to attract new customers than to keep your current customers (presuming they were the right customers of course).  Maybe it's different in cruise lines.  But it sure seems to me like 95% of the efforts are to attract new customers to (often) the detriment of the loyal customers that built the brand.  Considering the huge number of berths to fill between Royal and Celebrity, I guess time will tell if that was a smart marketing move.  It's working now, but ongoing??  We'll see.

[DaKahuna]

4 hours ago, Mike981 said:

I feel when we give the correct spelling of their first name and the exact location they worked it will eliminate any issues of having the same name. But of course, it is not fool proof.

 

 We always do the ssame - mention name and position, e.g. server at Cafe al Bacio, assistant waiter in Luminae, bartender at the Martini Bar.  Avoids a lot of confusion. 

 

[The_Big_M]

17 hours ago, phoenix_dream said:

I can't speak for all industries, but in mine (corporate insurance) it was way more costly to try to attract new customers than to keep your current customers (presuming they were the right customers of course).  Maybe it's different in cruise lines.  But it sure seems to me like 95% of the efforts are to attract new customers to (often) the detriment of the loyal customers that built the brand.  Considering the huge number of berths to fill between Royal and Celebrity, I guess time will tell if that was a smart marketing move.  It's working now, but ongoing??  We'll see.

 

I think in the cruise industry repeat passengers are seen as a fallback. They're good to have if needed, but they also know prices better, and also buy less or at better prices onboard. So the yield on them is not as good. 

 

So the lines' priority is new passengers with enticements as getting them means better revenue both booking, and onboard.

[horseymike]

The answer to my question was not insulting. It did not get answered.

[canderson]

12 minutes ago, The_Big_M said:

 

I think in the cruise industry repeat passengers are seen as a fallback. They're good to have if needed, but they also know prices better, and also buy less or at better prices onboard. So the yield on them is not as good.

Depends upon the time of year and itinerary.  If you removed all of the repeat pax aboard our next cruise (LIS > TPA) you wouldn't have enough left to fill a single deck's worth of cabins.  Might as well just deadhead back and save the cost of the entertainment, spending the extra 10 or so days spiffing the ship up for the next season.

 

The 2023 report from CLIA said that 27% of cruisers in the past two years were new-to-cruise.  That means that 73% are repeat customers.  There's not much info out there more authoritative than the annual CLIA report.  That's a hell of a big "fallback".

 

Given the cost of garnering just one new customer, I should think that keeping that 73% coming back would be more important.

 

https://cruising.org/-/media/clia-media/research/2024/2024-state-of-the-cruise-industry-report_updated-050824_web.ashx

 

The 'increase in new-to-cruise' also has to be taken in the context of the post-COVID restart and how a massive amount of existing FCC and pax attitudes about cruising impacted the new/old demographic during the restart.

 

[markeb]

24 minutes ago, canderson said:

Depends upon the time of year and itinerary.  If you removed all of the repeat pax aboard our next cruise (LIS > TPA) you wouldn't have enough left to fill a single deck's worth of cabins.  Might as well just deadhead back and save the cost of the entertainment, spending the extra 10 or so days spiffing the ship up for the next season.

 

The 2023 report from CLIA said that 27% of cruisers in the past two years were new-to-cruise.  That means that 73% are repeat customers.  There's not much info out there more authoritative than the annual CLIA report.  That's a hell of a big "fallback".

 

Given the cost of garnering just one new customer, I should think that keeping that 73% coming back would be more important.

 

https://cruising.org/-/media/clia-media/research/2024/2024-state-of-the-cruise-industry-report_updated-050824_web.ashx

 

The 'increase in new-to-cruise' also has to be taken in the context of the post-COVID restart and how a massive amount of existing FCC and pax attitudes about cruising impacted the new/old demographic during the restart.

 

 

It would be interesting to compare 2017-2019 to the last two years for new versus repeat. It may be statistically the same, but there's definitely some artificiality since the restart (FCC, for instance). And I'm not convinced a TA is representative of the "typical" cruiser. Having passengers is probably a bonus and I doubt they're selling anywhere near as many of the add-ons where they get much of their revenue. But they're not deadheading to the next homeport.

 

There were a couple of interesting questions on demographics with at least one answer no one seems to like. I actually wonder if they aren't in fact targeting the same age group they've always targeted (which was essentially the answer to the question). I mean we weren't all 60-75 when we started cruising Celebrity, were we? Are they still targeting "our" group? But we're not it anymore? (Their target demographic goes well beyond simple age, obviously. But age was the question I remember.)

 

I have to wonder how sustainable the industry is with only 27% "new to cruise", although again age and other demographics play into this. RCG has stated over and again that it wants to expand its market to all vacationers, not just those who have a history of cruising. And if, as some on this board have, you've been cruising Celebrity for 25 years and you started at 45, you're 70. Today's 45 year old was born in 1979. Their only memory of ABBA is Mama Mia (the movie). Not only do they not remember the Beatles, they probably don't even remember Wings!. John Lennon was shot around their first birthday. I can go on. If they can acquire them as "new to cruise" now, they might have 25 years with them. With my family history, I'm pretty sure they don't have 25 years with me!

 

Anyway, beyond the scope of this thread. But interesting to me.

[canderson]

29 minutes ago, markeb said:

It would be interesting to compare 2017-2019 to the last two years for new versus repeat. It may be statistically the same, but there's definitely some artificiality since the restart (FCC, for instance). And I'm not convinced a TA is representative of the "typical" cruiser.

 

Agreed on both points, but the TA was to provide an example at one extreme that demonstrates that new cruisers don't begin to represent the majority of those on ships - at least not in 2023.

 

What the CLIA report tells us, I think, is that 73% are in fact the 'bread and butter' part of the demographic, and that there's a lot of 'churn' in the bottom 27%. 

 

37 minutes ago, markeb said:

I have to wonder how sustainable the industry is with only 27% "new to cruise", although again age and other demographics play into this.

 

As long as from that 27% they pull enough to keep the attrition from the other 73% covered (new cruiser becomes return customer to replace 'aged-out' return customer), they're in great shape.  It really doesn't matter how they get there.  They're certainly not having much trouble filling cabins now.

 

That said, I'd maintain it costs them a bunch to pull in that 27%.  And there's the rub.  If you start losing the base 73% due to anything but inability to cruise, you'll need to convert even more to the ranks from the 27% or keep spending more to raise your 27% to something higher.  Doesn't seem to me that it makes sense to annoy the 73%.

 

 

[markeb]

16 minutes ago, canderson said:

That said, I'd maintain it costs them a bunch to pull in that 27%.  And there's the rub.  If you start losing the base 73% due to anything but inability to cruise, you'll need to convert even more to the ranks from the 27% or keep spending more to raise your 27% to something higher.  Doesn't seem to me that it makes sense to annoy the 73%.

 

But...

 

If what you do to maintain the 73% isn't conducive to retaining an adequate group of the 27%, you still have issues. The balance is probably to be willing to annoy not too many of the 73% so that you can keep enough of the 27%. Interesting quandary and one I'm glad isn't my responsibility to navigate!

[NutsAboutGolf]

Here's an April 2024 article about RCG's Q1 earnings call, a little bit more RCG-specific info, yet it still bundles RCI, X and SS
https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2024/04/26/royal-caribbean-executives-talk-amazing-demand-beach-club-ordering-new-ships-and-more

 

Some Cliff notes...

80% of RCG cruisers were from North America

New cruisers that try a RCG cruise are seeing return rates over 30% higher compared to 2019

Millennials and younger generations have gained 11 percentage points share compared to 2019,

[Fly and Sail]

Agree 100%, the entire thing is a joke.

[celebrity cruiser]

On 7/24/2024 at 2:12 PM, 39august said:

What is the "Zenith discount" for suites, please?  The only difference I see is that Z's don't need to purchase drink or wi-fi packages. To me that is not a "dscount". 

It varies based on pricing.

Create a booking without your Captains Club number and note the price,

Next do same exact booking WITH your Captains club number and note the difference,

Smooth sailing

[Orator]

6 minutes ago, celebrity cruiser said:

It varies based on pricing.

Create a booking without your Captains Club number and note the price,

Next do same exact booking WITH your Captains club number and note the difference,

Smooth sailing

"Celebrity Cruiser" is back! Good for Celebrity. I suggested to Laura when I first saw her on Equinox that someone to answer questions and complaints would be helpful.

Edited July 30 by Orator

[celebrity cruiser]

3 minutes ago, Orator said:

"Celebrity Cruiser" is back! Good for Celebrity. I suggested to Laura when I first saw her on Equinox that someone to answer questions and complaints would be helpful.

Thanks!

Good Complete Communication is paramount to dispel wrong rumors

[C 2 C]

7 minutes ago, celebrity cruiser said:

Thanks!

Good Complete Communication is paramount to dispel wrong rumors

It's also good for spreading right rumors.😇

[Orator]

6 minutes ago, celebrity cruiser said:

Thanks!

Good Complete Communication is paramount to dispel wrong rumors

Big, warm welcome to the board! I hope to meet you on a Celebrity cruise.

[celebrity cruiser]

1 minute ago, Orator said:

Big, warm welcome to the board! I hope to meet you on a Celebrity cruise.

Hope to see you too!

If you are booked on Ascent, that is the next for us.

Just got off EC on Sunday.

[C 2 C]

I'm satisfied that there was an attempt to respond to the concerns of Cruise Critic posters.

"Don't ask the question if you don't want to hear the answer."

Food for thought:

When People Don't Give Straight Answers (10 Reasons) - Personal Growth - eNotAlone

[C 2 C]

6 minutes ago, celebrity cruiser said:

Hope to see you too!

If you are booked on Ascent, that is the next for us.

Just got off EC on Sunday.

You should have stayed for Iceland this weekend.

[A Pound a Day]

After wading through 6 pages of this thread, I have come to the conclusion that the ONLY responses that would have been satisfactory (and not an "insult") are:

 

We are immediately reducing all fares by 30% and including gratuities in fares again.

 

I will personally call every captain to ensure that loungers are returned to verandahs.

 

I am immediately going to have all of the Edge Class ships remodelled so that "real" balconies are added and Infinite Verandahs will be abolished from all ships.

 

Ultra-premium beverages will be immediately added to every beverage package and whatever wine any passenger requests will be delivered to every ship, by helicopter if necessary, so that no one ever has to suffer the indignity of not being able to get the wine they feel they deserve.

 

We will redeploy ships to every single port that passengers request, and itineraries will be adjusted to be as long as each passenger would like.

 

Wine list in Luminae will encompass 1,000 - 1,200 different choices and all will be available by the glass and included in the premium package.  

 

We will immediately cut cruise fares for solo cruisers to be 50% of the cost of dual cruisers in a cabin.  Our lost revenue should not be an impediment to solo cruisers getting a "fair" price.

 

Coco Cay will be dropped from all itineraries.  Anyone wanting to go there should book on RCL and we apologize for ever thinking that Celebrity passengers might like another alternative on certain sailings.

 

Lastly, we will enforce our rules to your complete satisfaction.  Please immediately let us know if anyone is holding a chair that you want for longer than 15 minutes, or heaven forbid, shows up at a dining establishment not dressed the way YOU think they should be.  Those people will immediately be thrown off the ship (additional entertainment for our aft facing cabins), and if they somehow manage to get back to shore, never be allowed to book with Celebrity again.

 

I apologize if my earlier responses in any way offended anyone.  My sole purpose as President of Celebrity is to make people on Cruise Critic happy (but we will NEVER EVER ask for a positive rating on any kind of survey).   

The cruise industry has gone through some incredibly difficult times through the COVID shutdown and then reduced passenger sailings.  And coming out of the pandemic, inflation has dealt a severe challenge as costs are increasing while revenues for cruises already booked have remained fixed.  Cruise lines have had to take on massive amounts of debt simply to stay afloat (pun intended) and expecting everything to go back to "the way they were" in 2019 and before is either naive, or disingenuous.

 

For seniors like us, on a fixed income, the increasing prices and cuts to inclusions are disappointing.   However, they are a necessity for survival for the cruise industry.  Having been a "loyal customer" for many years does not give us some sort of "right" to inexpensive cruises with all the perks of the past.  It simply means that we were able to enjoy many (hopefully) happy experiences at a price that was offered in a competitive marketplace at the time.  And now that marketplace has changed.

 

I am NOT a Celebrity apologist.  In fact, after only sailing with Celebrity since 2003 we are seriously considering booking other cruise lines going forward as we are not enamoured with many of the changes Celebrity has made in recent years.  We have had many many excellent experiences on Celebrity ships but they owe us nothing, and we owe them nothing in return.   Every day in the marketplace, different lines offer different experiences at prevailing market rates, and we can decide to book them, or not.  Complaining that "things aren't like they used to be" is only a recipe for dissatisfaction and will not change the way things are.

 

Happy cruising,

APAD 

 

[TeeRick]

On 7/29/2024 at 2:43 PM, NutsAboutGolf said:

Here's an April 2024 article about RCG's Q1 earnings call, a little bit more RCG-specific info, yet it still bundles RCI, X and SS
https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2024/04/26/royal-caribbean-executives-talk-amazing-demand-beach-club-ordering-new-ships-and-more

 

Some Cliff notes...

80% of RCG cruisers were from North America

New cruisers that try a RCG cruise are seeing return rates over 30% higher compared to 2019

Millennials and younger generations have gained 11 percentage points share compared to 2019,

The key is to attract new customers and retain them. There are so many examples here of loyalty cruisers saying that they have 5, 10 or more cruises booked with Celebrity or RCCL.  They are providing solid earnings but it appears that there is no need to further reach out and incentivize these folks to buy cruises.  The future is to hook new cruisers and get them coming back for more.  Only way to fill all the huge and expensive new ships.

[NutsAboutGolf]

10 minutes ago, TeeRick said:

The key is to attract new customers and retain them. There are so many examples here of loyalty cruisers saying that they have 5, 10 or more cruises booked with Celebrity or RCCL.  They are providing solid earnings but it appears that there is no need to further reach out and incentivize these folks to buy cruises.  The future is to hook new cruisers and get them coming back for more.  Only way to fill all the huge and expensive new ships.

 

For better or worse, the Royalization of X includes shorter sailings, CoCo Cay, and Port Canaveral which are known to attract younger families

 

We also have to remember at the start of 2023, dinner buffet options were reduced to one station, MDR classics were removed, steak only appeared on the MDR twice on a typical 7-night sailing, the addition of the infamous MDR Dinner double cheeseburger appeared, casino vaping, SS Butlers removed, etc...X/RCG dismissed any feedback until it all came crashing down thanks to everyone's favorite, "cookie gate" which even turned some lifetime loyal X cruisers to other cruise lines

[Liao]

38 minutes ago, TeeRick said:

The key is to attract new customers and retain them. There are so many examples here of loyalty cruisers saying that they have 5, 10 or more cruises booked with Celebrity or RCCL.  They are providing solid earnings but it appears that there is no need to further reach out and incentivize these folks to buy cruises.  The future is to hook new cruisers and get them coming back for more.  Only way to fill all the huge and expensive new ships.

And the new cruisers could give a flying fig about most of the issues brought up here.

[pete_coach]

Lots of complaints about the responses from the CEO.
Fact is,I am sure the questions have been noted and the things brought up will be investigated and actions can and may happen.

It is not like she has a magic wand and waves it to make everyone instantly happy. The reason for the Q and +A is as much to find out what th issues are and to allow the clients to vent.

Also, it cannot be fact that all the complaints are accurate. Things need to be checked out so saying anything other than "we will look at this," is all that can be done at this time..

I am in no way defending, just being very realistic. She has been with the parent company for a long time and should be aware of the issues with her brand.