RSVP acquired by Atlantis

[etoile]

Just got an email...RSVP is being acquired by Atlantis!

 

Will paste the email here when I get home.

[pjfunny1]

Here is the announcement on RSVP's website:

 

[RMS Olympic]

So far the best thing I see is Charlie coming back into the picture.....welcome home Mr. Rounds.

Differentiation of product is long over due. maybe we can get some new exotic (small ship) RSVP cruises.

How fast we shall see new cruises for RSVP....I wonder. Maybe the 2009 calendar year will see something new. maybe new cruise lines.

Best wishes to RSVP.

Atlantis...you have to give credit where credit is due.

Tom aka Bertha

[Wyldboy72]

Operating as two seperate companies makes no sense from a business standpoint. Perhaps RSVP is going to focus on the small river/sail boat cruises, while Atlantis will have the big cruises.

[dendren]

It will be very interesting to see how this markets out. I hope RSVP doesn't get lost in the shuffle but instead gets a decent infusion of newness without losing it's own identity. Didn't see this one coming at all...

[Wyldboy72]

Didn't see this one coming at all...

 

I don't think it's a surprise at all. RSVP was a sinking ship for PlanetOut. The low-budget Alaska cruise make it pretty obvious they were in bad shape. They couldn't even afford to charter any more large ships, which is why the 2008 calendar was so empty.

 

Planetout had two options - sell it off or close it down. Atlantis buying out the competition makes sense, but from a profitability standpoint, I don't see how they can contintue to operate it as a separate entity.

[RMS Olympic]

Atlantis: Big ships, big parties, caribbean market. May market even more to a the much younger crowd looking for lower prices and non stop parties. Then there are the die hard circuit guys regardless of age......and then those of any age and financial position that want high energy.

 

RSVP: different crowd, perhaps willing to pay higher per diem, longer than 7 day intinerary. Smaller ships, more intimate setting. This spin off could attract couples that always feared the "bathhouse" reputation which I never saw....

maybe an RSVP ladies charter here and there on something like Windstar.

RSVP could also start to go land based......for the non boat crowd.

I think a separation styled after different crowds is a good thing. Marketing to Australians, Europeans and the potential Asian market might lend itself to an RSVP product more so that Atlantis....not all cultures are gym oriented.....and I am not stereo typing.

Lets hope this all works out.....I did feel the ome trip was a far cry from RSVP trips past....but the passengers on board...what can I say...fab-u-lous.

I'm sailing Atlantis in March and possibly August if I get a space......and will go back to RSVP in 2009 depending on their line up. Would love a New Zealand cruise......of Hawaii as long as it is not on NCL....

[flag fan]

I thinks its great that RSVP is surviving its recent financial problems, but I am concerned that there will no longer be competition for the gay cruising market and competition is healthy in terms of encouraging innovation and price-reductions. My hope is that the two brands will provide distinctive products. As mentioned by others, Atlantis can be the large party ship cruises with RSVP providing small ship, higher-end cruises. I do not see why it would not be financially viable, the cruise lines do it now with Carnival Corps and Royal Caribbean providing different types of cruise experiences on the different lines each company runs. But with a combined company and no competition, they can have economies of scale and more leverage when striking deals with cruise companies. So, I'm optomistic. I hope RSVP does well under the new arrangement. (And will Olivia be gobbled up next? Time will tell.)

[Boytjie]

I do not see why it would not be financially viable, the cruise lines do it now with Carnival Corps and Royal Caribbean providing different types of cruise experiences on the different lines each company runs.

 

And Carnival Corp has distinctive brands: Carnival Cruise Lines, Holland America Line, Princess Cruises, Seabourn Cruise Line, P&O Cruises, AIDA and Costa Cruises.

 

One one hand I think it would have been nice if a cruise line took over RSVP

[bepsf]

If you can't beat 'em - Join 'em.

;)

[RMS Olympic]

This is much a mirror of Carnival Corp.

Carnival started small and eventually grew based on "fun" and acquired bigger names.

Back in the 90's, Atlantis was a small operator that reserved or "chartered" club meds.......fun, fun, fun on a low budget. At the same time there was RSVP chartering ships,,,bigger budgets.

Carnival grew while other lines slowed in growth as did RSVP.

Now Carnival has the operating clout.....as does Atlantis.

If Atlantis continues to grow in momentum......someday you just might see Carnival Corp considering adding them to their collection.

My congrats to Rich Cambell over at Atlantis.

[BostonBud]

I'm always interested in reading about people who are always saying that Atlantis is the PARTY, PARTY, PARTY cruise line. We took an Atlantis cruise last March and yes, while there were parties, that was not the sole focus of the trip. Atlantis offered lots of different entertainment for the partier to the book worm and ages ranged from 21 to 70's.

 

We we decided to book on Atlantis it was because of the activities (not the parties) they offered and the whole range of other things that were different from RSVP: Open Seating, RCI, big name talent, etc... and we were not disappointed. It was no more a floating bathhouse than a regular cruise.

 

The one difference I think exists is that Atlantis has fewer woman taking their cruises. On our cruise there were about 2000 people with about 17 of them female.

 

Do any men go on Olivia cruises?

[Darrell6t]

I am looking forward to finding out how this will work. RSVP has been such a good product and Atlantis has been good too, but they were different.

[southieguys]

Does anyone forsee the prices for both Atlantis and RSVP itineries increasing since there will effectively be no competition?

[Typhoon1]

Great to see Charlie Rounds back at the helm again.

[Boytjie]

Do any men go on Olivia cruises?

 

IIRC Olivia does not have any male passengers, I have heard that if men contacted them they were referred to RSVP and Atlantis. Not stating fact, just what I have heard or read somewhere.

 

I hope that RSVP will continue to draw women to their cruises.

[COMBOY]

Wow...This is very big news. I'm sailing the Atlantis Mexico cruise tomarrow and Rich Campbell always has an open Atlantis cruise's answer and question session onboard the ship. I will definately want to attend and hear what he has to say about the acquisition. What Atlantis gains from this is Goodwill and the brand of RSVP. RSVP was really struggling under the Planet out company which made absolutely no sense from the business stand point. Planet out is a media company not a travel company. These gay cruise are very lucrutive for both Atlantis and the cruise lines. (just looks at the bar sales) With a combine purchase power, economies of scale and strong management the gay community might even seen more and different cruise option under two distinct travel products. Pricing will always be about supply and demand. Time will tell, but I think this is a very good thing.

[JonV]

This can only be good for RSVP. They were falling apart and I saw drastic differences in just the two cruises I have taken with them (first was last Oct, second was last month). Their prices (RSVP) are already high and I just got turned off to gay cruises for good after the last cruise. There were people on our Alaska cruise who payed only $499. Give the big discounts to early bookers. And I know, for a fact that when they charter the ship they get a VERY good rate. Give the early bookers a good discount, like Atlantis, and you might sell out a cruise again. Make your cancellations more lenient and you might survive.

 

I tried to take an Olivia cruise before a gay cruise and I was not successful. Let me on a Olivia Cruise. I love my Lesbian sisters.

[MattInFLL]

For me, I just wonder if the RSVP annual February cruise will survive... since Atlantis always has their huge cruise at the end of January, and then another the beginning of March... It's the only real cruise I can take while in school.

 

Personally I don't see why they *can't* operate two distinct brands. Their biggest expense is the ship chartering fee. It makes no difference to that expense whether they have two brands or not, or operate out of MN and Los Angeles - the cruise line doesn't care about that. But the fact that one umbrella company is negotiating that many more ship charters in a year? That could make a big difference in negotiating better rates and terms.

 

Should be interesting to watch how this develops...

[Oslo Dutch]

What was so bad about the Alaska cruise? I heard a lot of guys had issues with the entertainment side of things. I got a bit worried being booked on the Zuiderdam in February

[Wyldboy72]

I'm always interested in reading about people who are always saying that Atlantis is the PARTY, PARTY, PARTY cruise line. We took an Atlantis cruise last March and yes, while there were parties, that was not the sole focus of the trip.

 

Exactly, I've tried both Atlantis and RSVP. I really saw no difference. Both had nightly parties. Atlantis just made their parties/themes/decor look professional, RSVP looked like a high-school prom commitee put together the parties.

 

 

IIRC Olivia does not have any male passengers, I have heard that if men contacted them they were referred to RSVP and Atlantis.

 

Yes, I tried to get on an Olivia cruise one time because of the entertainer they had booked, I called and they flat out said "no men allowed".

 

 

Personally I don't see why they *can't* operate two distinct brands. Their biggest expense is the ship chartering fee. It makes no difference to that expense whether they have two brands or not, or operate out of MN and Los Angeles.

 

Doubled advertising, duplication of staff/job positions, etc. I expect this seperate brand thing to last a year. Like all major corporate mergers, eventually they become one. (Att&Cingular, Verizon&MCI, Macys&(other dept stores it bought out), etc.)

[TNgaycruisers]

While RSVP was floundering around, we got hooked on all gay small ship cruises with Travelpride. They're worth a look I think. From the get-go they've done some creative itineraries, interesting ships and we think their operation is top notch. I just hope RSVP and Atlantis leave them alone to keep developing their niche market or their won't be any competition at all.

[MattInFLL]

Reint I wouldn't worry about the Feb cruise - the new owners are going to want to make sure they make a good impression. I liked the entertainment on last February's cruise and I thought the parties were very well done (and on the cruise the year before)

 

I have only experienced Atlantis on a land vacation, and have to say I thought their parties were the prom variety. Just standard circuit fare. We ended up heading into downtown Puerto Vallarta each night.

 

But whether you book Atlantis or RSVP, you can party or not party, sex it up or not... or just have a wonderful romantic time with your partner and enjoy the company of your friends...any cruise is what you make it.

 

And sorry Wyldboy - still have to disagree. The cruise lines operate distinct and separate brands under the same corporate umbrella very successfully. If there is one industry where it can work, it is the travel industry. Each line already has a following and many of those passengers do not want to sail on the other line. If they turned the whole thing into an Atlantis operation, it would turn a lot of RSVP loyalists off. And BTW, Macy's only changed the brands that were already like Macy's. They still kept Bloomingdales as an upscale brand.

[CadillacRon]

I look forward to seeing what happens. I have been on both Atlantis and RSVP and liked both for different reasons. I think there are enough differences between the two to keep both brands "floating" (ha, ha). I went on my first Atlantis cruise single and on my second, a year later, I was with a partner. Let me tell you, they were two totally different experiences. I loved both. Now, we tend more toward RSVP. They start their parties earlier and and we like dressing for dinner. Just our preference. We'd still do Atlantis too in a heartbeat.

Remember, one size does not fit all and I think two distinct brands under one effiecient business umbrella (ella, ella) will work. Just look at these boards. There are people fiercely loyal to each company. Rich Campbell is an astute business and marketing man who understands the appeal of both brands and he will probably make the most of it. Now, let's all take a deep breath....and start dreaming of our next gay cruise...I can already smell the coconut suntan oil...

Big Love, ron

[HotlantaCruiser]

I think PlanetOut was looking for a way out, and basically gave it to Rich if he would honor the current obligations (future cruises already on sale). For Rich, it's one way of eliminating what was left of the competition, with little downside risk. You have to remember, that if one of the three biggest gay cruise operators went under, with cancelled cruises, etc, it reflects on his future business, even if he was uninvolved with RSVP. Therefore, it was also in his best interest (to some degree) to ensure that PlanetOut exited gracefully.

 

As others have mentioned, expect the RSVP name to hang around for about a year, or through the end of whatever 2008 cruises they have already accepted reservations. After that, expect Atlantis to make the change over to one brand, etc.

 

Actually, this fits in well with Rich's stated possibility of a two tiered product offering that he mentioned on the Baltics cruise. He didn't mention absorbing RSVP, but he said that the Baltics, London/Barcelona, and future Asia cruise were the beginnings of what may diverge into two classes of customers. Alumni, (read older) pax wanting itineraries different than Carib and Mexico, and then the standard (perhaps more party centric) January Carib, summer Med, Fall Mexico cruises. Others in this thread have said basically the same thing, and I think it's a fair assumption. Rich's loyal cruise pax are now hitting (on average) their 40's, and by default, are looking for other destinations and activities for their vacation dollar. This is a way of keeping them in the fold.

 

I would have loved to have been in the room during the discussions, because I tend to believe this was a bailout/rescue, more than a sale at a profit. I think PlanetOut needed an exit strategy, and Rich was able to put something together that had future strategic implications for him that outweighed the potential risk of sucking up whatever RSVP had already signed contracts for.

 

It is a risk for Atlantis, as the loyal RSVP customers may be leery of Atlantis, and vice versa. While the products are very similar, there are enough differences that obviously allowed both to have very loyal audiences over the years. It could be a fine line to sell both, to both groups, without blurring the lines and alienating one or the other.

 

And I would be remiss if I didn't add that Atlantis has run a very lean back office (many would say too lean). It will be interesting to see how they are able to pull off this additional capacity. This may be why the former RSVP person is coming back. I'd like to hear more about that, as I think it would give good insight into the proposed future direction of the groups.

 

 

I haven't looked to see how the RSVP offerings match up with the Atlantis calendar, but the Atlantis core staff were already going to be stretched thin in 2008 with (for the first time) overlapping cruises (not back to back, but actually two separate cruises happening at the same time). The London/Barcelona and the Med cruise were to overlap for three days (If I remember correctly), thus necessitating some of the "normal players" to either join 3 days late, or leave three days early, one of the cruises. That would mean that for perhaps the first time in Atlantis history, Rich and/or Malcolm wouldn't be at both the beginning and end of a particular cruise. Will anyone notice or care, who knows, but it is indicative of how stretched they are now. Picking up one, two, or how many additional cruises, which were usually close to the same times as Atlantis' cruises, could make for some interesting logistics (and that assumes that ALL of the players on both sides survive).