For us, Utopia is wasted on 3/4 night sailings

[PhillyFan33579]

3 hours ago, orville99 said:

Until this year, DW and I always joked that the restaurant hawkers actively avoided anyone with grey hair and focused all their attention on the younger crowd because historically us grey haired folks had already "been there, done that". We could literally sit in the WJ during any meal and watch as they walked out of their way to avoid any of us "grey hairs" so they could hit on the younger "rookies". On our last eight 2024 cruises they were hawking to anyone who had a pulse or could possibly fog a mirror.

IMHO, their revenue model is in trouble, and I predict it will fall off a cliff when the 2026-2027 itineraries are released.

What makes you think their revenue model will fall off a cliff? Do you think their revenue model is fundamentally flawed? Or are you just upset that RCI is obviously focusing on the younger generation, especially those families with younger kids, and is not focused on older people like you and me? Even Celebrity is starting to focus more on younger passengers, especially with their ships that are doing short cruises. The last two times I cruised on Celebrity the average age of the passengers was significantly lower than what I am used to when cruising on Celebrity. 

[orville99]

6 minutes ago, PhillyFan33579 said:

am positive RCI used the real number when deciding to use Oasis class ships for short cruises. 

Or, RCL, having emerged from the shutdown with a boatload (pun intended) of debt, has adopted a short term “gather ye rosebuds while ye may” business plan.

[orville99]

3 minutes ago, PhillyFan33579 said:

What makes you think their revenue model will fall off a cliff? Do you think their revenue model is fundamentally flawed?

IMHO, the current surge in bookings has come from “found money” from the glut of stimulus $$ that flooded the economy post covid. That is now completely depleted, and found money is being replaced by massive credit card debt. All of those chickens are coming home to roost, and RCL has convinced itself that they’re still laying golden eggs. That is not a sustainable strategy.

[PhillyFan33579]

2 minutes ago, orville99 said:

IMHO, the current surge in bookings has come from “found money” from the glut of stimulus $$ that flooded the economy post covid. That is now completely depleted, and found money is being replaced by massive credit card debt. All of those chickens are coming home to roost, and RCL has convinced itself that they’re still laying golden eggs. That is not a sustainable strategy.

If, and I don’t know if this is true, a significant number of people are accumulating credit card debt to pay for cruises then I would agree with your assessment. I have posted on other threads on this site that anyone who uses credit card debt to pay for a cruise is foolish and financially irresponsible. I would like to think most people are financially responsible, but I might be overly optimistic and/or out of touch with reality in this area. 

[SUgwoz]

24 minutes ago, orville99 said:

IMHO, the current surge in bookings has come from “found money” from the glut of stimulus $$ that flooded the economy post covid. That is now completely depleted, and found money is being replaced by massive credit card debt. All of those chickens are coming home to roost, and RCL has convinced itself that they’re still laying golden eggs. That is not a sustainable strategy.

I would say right now cruising appeals to a far wider range of demographics as oppose to 10-20 and especially 30 years ago.  I don't know the source of how individuals are paying for cruises, but looking back to the 90s and even early 2000s going on a cruise was not something sought out by the general public.

[SilkySal]

As far as credit cards go, we've taught our now adult children to never charge anything on a card that they cannot pay off without incurring service charges. To date, we taught them well! Maybe we're a couple of the lucky few and feel very thankful for that. Hope I'm not bragging; just very proud of them!

[ARandomTraveler]

5 hours ago, molly361 said:

Older person here.  I live an hour from PC and LOVE the 4 day cruises.  I don't like to fly and just want to get away from home for a few days to relax, eat, drink and hang out.  Don't really care where the ship goes.  I have several booked on the Utopia first one coming up in 2 weeks and then pretty much almost once a month for the rest of the year and into 2025

If I didn't have to pay $600 to fly to Florida, I'd take a 3-4 day cruise once a month.

 

The $600 isn't even the problem really, it's the fact that $600 is close to what it costs for the cruise, and it's an 8 hour round trip flight. Put those 2 things together and it becomes unappealing for doing a 3-4 day trip that often.

 

 

Edited August 5 by ARandomTraveler

[Ozzie26]

When we lived in SE PA we would take weekend trips to the Jersey shore. We now live 45 min from PC and spend those weekends on a cruise ship. We sailed Utopia in July and will board again next week. We have 3 more booked after that as well as a week on the Wonder and 2 weeks on Voyager. Although I prefer the longer cruise I am very happy to take what I can get while still working full time. Right now a weekend on Utopia is cheaper than paying for 3 nights at a resort plus food and drink. 

[Baron Barracuda]

1 hour ago, ARandomTraveler said:

If I didn't have to pay $600 to fly to Florida, I'd take a 3-4 day cruise once a month.

 

The $600 isn't even the problem really, it's the fact that $600 is close to what it costs for the cruise, and it's an 8 hour round trip flight. Put those 2 things together and it becomes unappealing for doing a 3-4 day trip that often.

 

 

That's a big problem I have with the shorter cruises.  Fine for Floridians and others who can drive to ship but cost and hassle for a family of 4 who have to fly is a big negative.  Maybe they go once or twice to check out Coco Cay but then look for other experiences.

Edited August 5 by Baron Barracuda

[twangster]

15 hours ago, orville99 said:

Based solely on the demographic mix (and their reluctance to spend anything extra while on board) we've seen recently on RCL's ships and an economy that is at great risk of crashing, my best guess is that a significant percentage of those first time cruisers will never come back to do another cruise.

Maybe not next week.  Think long term.  The economy will return.  It always does.  When it does they’ll want a vacation.  Probably a longer one. They’ve tested a 3/4.  They like cruising.  They’ll book longer next time, whenever next time is for them.  

[cruisegirl1]

14 hours ago, ARandomTraveler said:

If I didn't have to pay $600 to fly to Florida, I'd take a 3-4 day cruise once a month.

 

The $600 isn't even the problem really, it's the fact that $600 is close to what it costs for the cruise, and it's an 8 hour round trip flight. Put those 2 things together and it becomes unappealing for doing a 3-4 day trip that often.

 

 

I hear you! Plus, pre cruise hotels, an extra day away from work etc.  So much harder for us non Floridians to hop on short cruises.  Full disclosure, we can drive to PC in 8 hours and do that rather than flying. 

 

 We've done a few short B2B2B (mostly 4/3/4 rather the 3/4/3) but the turnaround days are somewhat wasted and then you have taxes and fees for each cruise.  It adds up and often a 7 or even 10  night cruise is a more attractive option.  Plus, and I know I'll catch heat, but I really dislike the weekend cruise.  Seems like a contest to see who can party the hardest and get more wasted.    

 

M

[Billy Baltic]

8 hours ago, twangster said:

Maybe not next week.  Think long term.  The economy will return.  It always does.  When it does they’ll want a vacation.  Probably a longer one. They’ve tested a 3/4.  They like cruising.  They’ll book longer next time, whenever next time is for them.  

They obviously have data to support this being the case but it would be the opposite with us. Our first experience of Oasis class was a 7 day cruise. At the end we needed another break. The kids hadn’t done everything they wanted to do. We hadn’t had a chance to try all the venues we wanted. I can’t imagine how frantic a 3/4 day cruise would be. 

 

[cruisegirl1]

Many new cruisers try a 3/4 night cruise.  I never understood why Royal used old worn out ships for many of those cruises.  Using Utopia for short cruises is a great way to introduce someone to cruising. So new and so much to do, they want to come back for more. 

 

M  

[SUgwoz]

36 minutes ago, cruisegirl1 said:

Many new cruisers try a 3/4 night cruise.  I never understood why Royal used old worn out ships for many of those cruises.  Using Utopia for short cruises is a great way to introduce someone to cruising. So new and so much to do, they want to come back for more. 

 

M  

My first cruise was a weekend cruise on the Sovereign of the Seas. Wasn't anything bad, as I had nothing to compare it to.  However, it also didn't entice me to come back for several years until ships had more to offer.

[spethstation]

On 8/4/2024 at 11:13 PM, cruiselvr04 said:

The shorter cruises are part of Royals new plan.  
 

We have a B2B booked on Utopia for next year.  The 2 together are less than a 7 day on Harmony out of Galveston so they are not necessarily more expensive. 

I think this is the only way I would sail Utopia as well. 4 days just isn't enough time to see or do everything I would want to on ship, let alone in port! 

[donsullivan]

On 8/4/2024 at 2:11 PM, Billy Baltic said:

A 3 day cruise is a tease. I’d do a 4 day cruise if it was free. 7 days is the minimum for us and we cruise as a family with young kids. I understand what RC is doing but it doesn’t mean I have to like their strategy. I’m not a shareholder, I’m a customer. 

As a Florida resident, I'm a big fan of this model since it allows me to catch a weekend getaway throughout the year and not be relegated to the older, smaller ships without all the more modern features. I don't have enough vacation time on my job (just started last year) so I can't just take multiple weeklong cruises each year. I was on the Inaugural and I've already booked Thanksgiving weekend because I only need to burn one vacation day.

 

I'm really glad Royal is introducing more options for people who can't always take a full week. There are countless other opportunities for 7-day itineraries including Star being added late summer next year. It's nice to have new options and not have everything forced into a single model where you can only cruise if you take a 7-day cruise. 

 

I have a 7-day on Icon in September but that is my once a year 7-day cruise. With Utopia weekends I can get multiple of those in a year. 

Edited August 6 by donsullivan

[not-enough-cruising]

8 hours ago, cruisegirl1 said:

Plus, and I know I'll catch heat, but I really dislike the weekend cruise.  Seems like a contest to see who can party the hardest and get more wasted.    

 

M

Be careful, I received a warning for suggesting such a thing 

[cruisegirl1]

6 minutes ago, not-enough-cruising said:

Be careful, I received a warning for suggesting such a thing 

You mean, I can’t say that people take short cruises often drink and want to have a fun time?   
 

I’ll be more careful. 
m

[donsullivan]

22 hours ago, Baron Barracuda said:

That's a big problem I have with the shorter cruises.  Fine for Floridians and others who can drive to ship but cost and hassle for a family of 4 who have to fly is a big negative.  Maybe they go once or twice to check out Coco Cay but then look for other experiences.

And that makes total sense. I just get frustrated when some suggest that since it doesn't work for them, the option should not exist, or should be relegated to the older, smaller ships.  

[twangster]

16 hours ago, Billy Baltic said:

They obviously have data to support this being the case but it would be the opposite with us. Our first experience of Oasis class was a 7 day cruise. At the end we needed another break. The kids hadn’t done everything they wanted to do. We hadn’t had a chance to try all the venues we wanted. I can’t imagine how frantic a 3/4 day cruise would be. 

 

 

Kinda the point... better book another, we didn't do everything.    

[PhillyFan33579]

7 hours ago, donsullivan said:

And that makes total sense. I just get frustrated when some suggest that since it doesn't work for them, the option should not exist, or should be relegated to the older, smaller ships.  

I understand and agree with your point. I am not a big fan of Icon because it doesn’t have a solarium and has way too many kids. But I completely understand RCI marketing this ship to families, who are often paying more to cruise on Icon than a similar length/itinerary on Oceania. 

[md80fan]

I would have also thought these 3 and 4 day cruises are a waste on these new mega ships. However i went on allure several months back on a 4 day and was surprised how many people were from someplace up north and not from florida. Met people who were on a week long vacation who combine visiting grand parents or parents with also getting away on a short cruise. They said they could not handle a week straight of family stuff and family would be upset if they came to florida and had no time to visit like on a 7 day cruise so this gives them the best of both. Others said they combined one or two days at disney world or universal studios and doing a cruise. I went on the cruise thinking it would be all florida people as who would fly just for a 4 day during the middle of the week

[PhillyFan33579]

On 8/6/2024 at 8:48 AM, cruisegirl1 said:

Many new cruisers try a 3/4 night cruise.  I never understood why Royal used old worn out ships for many of those cruises.  Using Utopia for short cruises is a great way to introduce someone to cruising. So new and so much to do, they want to come back for more. 

 

M  

 

I don’t agree that RCI is/was using worn out old ships for short cruises. For the last half dozen years or so RCI used Mariner, Navigator, Freedom, Independence and Liberty for 3/4 day cruises out of several Florida ports. I don’t consider any of these ships to be old and worn out and at least in my opinion Mariner and Navigator are the two nicest Voyager class ships. I have my fingers crossed that Navigator will be home ported again in Florida sooner than later. 

[barbeyg]

Shorties aren’t for us either.  Mainly because of turnaround day.  We would book B2B because we don’t cruise for less than 7 nights, but it’s the lost time to logistics on turnaround day that we don’t care for.  Yeah, I know only 2-3 hours are spent on that, but I don’t want to sacrifice that time halfway thru a week long trip. 🤷🏻‍♀️ We don’t like to bounce around on land vacations either, staying in one place typically for a week.  
 

However, younger families do enjoy that, so it would be good business sense for RCI to try this out.  Either way, lots of other ships to choose.

 

Thanks for the review OP.  Appreciated it. 🙂

[nelblu]

I have 10 cruises booked on Royal and with some of the doom & gloom expressed lion this board it is not translating to lower cruise fares.  The opposite is actually for all of my sails. 
 

by the way I have a 3/4 b-b and the beauty is that we’ll be 2 x at Coco Cay.