Originally posted by Malcolm @ cruisepage:

Don’t you think the Olsen brochure is rather classy and comprehensive? They must spend a lot of money printing it? Cunard probably have the the most lavish of them all – P&O’s is quite plain really, but well laid out and to the point.

Reply: Ernie Roller:

I think P&O has a fabulous brochure. It's thick, well planned, and quite comprehensive. Lot's of ship pictures and information about the ships as well.

Fred Olsen's seems just ok to me.

Cunard's are not bad but certainly the not best either.

Hands down, Hapag-Lloyd's EUROPA brochure (late 2005-2007 just got it) is first rate. Absolutely stunning. 2nd place ... Hebridean Island Cruises. Their brochures are so beautiful you don't want to toss them when they expire.

I might also add I receive brochures from these European companies quicker then I can get a US brochure. What is up with that?

Special mention goes to Orient Lines 2005 atlas. Very nicely done ... and it could be their last.

Ernie

[ 02-05-2005: Message edited by: Malcolm @ cruisepage ]

The "rest" you get here in Austria is very poor. (only a few other exceptions, obviously it is not worth producing brochures for the german speaking (european?) market)

[ 02-05-2005: Message edited by: Malcolm @ cruisepage ]

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Originally posted by Malcolm @ cruisepage:
I though this worth its own thread:

I might also add I receive brochures from these European companies quicker then I can get a US brochure. What is up with that?

[ 02-05-2005: Message edited by: Malcolm @ cruisepage ]

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I think it's because the European companies still retain a sense of personal, customer service, like all the steamship lines did up through the 1960s.

The big, conglomerated US companies don't have or don't make the time to cater to individuals' requests; don't be surprised in the not-too-distant future when it becomes almost impossible to even get a "free" brochure any more; they'll start charging for them, like they do for videos.

With the omnipresent Internet, everything in a paper brochure is now on line and the cruise lines are forcing us more and more to use that instead.

Sad, but a true sign of our times!

In the beginning when Victoria turned into Mona Lisa they had some good looking PR material as well.

Most other brochures have those fuzzy ambiance shots that I don’t get. What do they try to say with them anyway. Also a lot of nowadays brochures show a lot of itinerary shots (which often are pictures widely used throughout the travel industry) and they don’t say much about the cruise product either.

From the virtual brochures on the internet I like the Costa site best, they seem to explore the virtual reality possibilities of the internet the most with their VR movies. Also like the P&O’s updating of the Arcadia (though not special looking vista ship)

That reminds me, FO send me a CD rom a while ago with a lovely presentation movie of all their ships.

The most interesting change in brochure style and approaches is those of the QE2. in the 80’s the brochures had a space like futuristic look of a ship sailing into the future, 25 years later the brochures show an ambiance of 60 years ago.

Onno

[ 02-05-2005: Message edited by: Onno ]

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Originally posted by Onno:
Brochures need to have that wow factor when you get them, though most brochures today don’t have the quality of the old liner and cruise brochures there are still some that are interesting looking. Hapag Lloyd indeed has very richly looking brochures (also like their sleek house style) Fred. Olson has thick brochures that show their love for the ships, which are nicely photo graphed. P&O is okay looking (love the cutaway drawings)

In the beginning when Victoria turned into Mona Lisa they had some good looking PR material as well.

Most other brochures have those fuzzy ambiance shots that I don’t get. What do they try to say with them anyway. Also a lot of nowadays brochures show a lot of itinerary shots (which often are pictures widely used throughout the travel industry) and they don’t say much about the full cruise product either.

From the virtual brochures on the internet I like the Costa site best, they seem to explore the virtual reality possibilities of the internet the most with their VR movies. Also like P&O’s updating of the Arcadia (though not special looking vista ship)

That reminds me, FO send me a CD rom a while ago with a lovely presentation movie of all their ships.

The most interesting change in brochure style and approaches is those of the QE2. in the 80’s the brochures had a space like futuristic look of a ship sailing into the future, 25 years later the brochures show an ambiance of 60 years ago.

Onno

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Only the more "exotic" ones are excluded, like Dalmacija, or the french polynesian vessels, and I think, also Classic International cruises.

It is very interesting.

For sheer ease of use, my vote goes to Carnival. Their brochures are colorful, include lot of great ship pics, tell you exactly what you get onboard, and are easy to read and understand. They follow a logical format with itineraries, pricing, and deck plans.

My least favorite brochures are probably Royal Caribbean. They have all these fantastic and innovative ships and they don't show them off. In fact you are hard pressed to find a ship picture anywhere in their brochure. How many times do I have to see a picture of someone rock climbing? They also have the worst deck plans in print, and sometimes they will list the same ship's deck plan two or three times in the same brochure (one for each area of cruising). What a waste.

I'm also not a huge fan of NCL brochures. They are great about showing ship pictures (interior and exterior), but their brochures seem so jumbled to me. There are pictures and captions everywhere but often times they don't seem relevant to the information on the rest of the page.

Princess brochures are ok, but they use mostly the same pictures in every brochure they print, regardless of what ship is being featured. They are pretty much generic pictures, just like the ship themselves. The brochures are well laid out and they use nice, big print which I'm sure some of the older cruiser's appreciate. Again, Princess places the emphasis on the ports and activities (like RCI), and in the case of Princess they actually put all the port information first, then the information about the ships and activities is toward the back just before you get to the deck plan sections. This is just the opposite of the way most brochures are formatted.

Interesting topic, and I am one that holds brochures close to my heart. I've kept many ever since I was a child and I'm glad I did. Even today, I keep brochures that I find outstanding, unique, or inaugural. Someday they may all be collectors items.

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Originally posted by eroller:
For sheer ease of use, my vote goes to Carnival. Their brochures are colorful, include lot of great ship pics, tell you exactly what you get onboard, and are easy to read and understand.

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Originally posted by CGT:

So easy to understand with big pictures even a pre-shchooler could get it! But wait, look at the clientele Carnival caters to.

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Well, these days the exact same clientele Royal Caribbean, Princess, and NCL cater too. There is not much difference any longer and they are all priced about equal with RCI being the most expensive.

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Originally posted by Malcolm @ cruisepage:

Ernie, Olsen may well have a different brochure for N.America? The U.K one is thick and heavy, you can request a copy from the Olsen Web site.

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I have. But when I put "USA" as my country of origin, I believe the request gets routed to the general sales agent in the US and I get the thin North America brochure which is not impressive.

The same holds true for Peter Deilmann. I also get the North America brochure but it's quite nice.

For P&O, Hapag-Lloyd, Aida, Ocean Village, Island Cruises, and many of the others I always receive the same brochure that's printed for Europe. I guess it's because they don't have any marketing presence in the US.

I know Peter Deilman and Fred Olsen are trying to attract a percent of US business, which is probably why they go to the expense of printing separate brochures.

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Originally posted by Malcolm @ cruisepage:
Simple to understand brochures do everyone a favour and probably help sell the cruises!

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Originally posted by eroller:
I have. But when I put "USA" as my country of origin, I believe the request gets routed to the general sales agent in the US and I get the thin North America brochure which is not impressive.

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Ernie I have the same problem with Costa, I request an English brochure but I always get the German Brochures. Germany might be Hollands neighbouring country but that does not mean we speak the same language.

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Originally posted by Ernst:

Might the not so nice exterior of todays cruise ships be a reason, that they do not show photos of their ships (in prominent positions)? I think they underestimate the marketing value of having a nice looking ship.

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I think most cruise passengers do not care too much about the external look of the ship, they are more interested about their cabin, what is inside their floating resort and maybe the ports of call?

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Originally posted by Malcolm @ cruisepage:

I think most cruise passengers do not care too much about the external look of the ship, they are more interested about their cabin, what is inside their floating resort and maybe the ports of call?

I do agree though, a pretty ship is a big draw for me and many other cruisetalkers, I would imagine?

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No doubt, when you are on it you do not see it. Nevertheless, you have to get people to book it. And a lot of people find them ugly, some are even ofendend.

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Originally posted by Ernst:
Nevertheless, you have to get people to book it. And a lot of people find them ugly, some are even ofendend.

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The only correlation between the attractiveness of a ship externally, and its popularity, is an inverse one.

In other words, the biggest/ugliest ships are the most popular it the world!

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Originally posted by Malcolm @ cruisepage:

The only correlation between the attractiveness of a ship externally, and its popularity, is an inverse one.

In other words, the biggest/ugliest ships are the most popular it the world!

Another example is that we have had more posts here recently about ‘ultra voyager’ than any ‘classic’ vessel.

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...well, one Voyager Class Vessels carries more passangers than all "classic" vessels together

But, I gues you are right, finally it`s the itinery, price, onboard amenities which dominate when people decide what to book. (and nobody would be prepared to pay more for a ""beautiful" ship)

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Originally posted by Ernst:
But, I gues you are right, finally it`s the itinery, price, onboard amenities which dominate when people decide what to book. (and nobody would be prepared to pay more for a ""beautiful" ship)

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Generally it is true, but there is the occasional exception!

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Originally posted by DAMBROSI:
I liked Norwegian American Cruises brochures of the '80's. They had great interior views.....if I had never cruised before...their brochures would definitely had MADE me GOOOOOOOO>>>>>> I wish there were still brochures just like that today.

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As soon as I saw this topic I thought of the NAC brochures from the 80's and was going to post exactly the same thought. The photographs of the ships was exquisite and the destination photos were like something from National Geographic. These brochures were truely some of the most beautiful and enticing I have ever seen.

The image above is from the back of a 1970's Fred Olsen brochure.

[ 02-06-2005: Message edited by: Malcolm @ cruisepage ]