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Should we just pick the best fare on offer and totally disregard the brands as all cruise experiences are pretty similar anyway?
[ 01-06-2009: Message edited by: Malcolm @ cruisepage ]
One has to acknowledge that a Cunard cruise on QV is very different to Carnival Spirit or Costa money (I mean Atlantica) cruise albeit the platforms are similarish.
Not fair to compare Cunard QV to say Arcadia - P&O are trying to be something of everything to everyone and is thus similar to everything and everyone - once they decide to regain an identity ................
It is the branding that determines whether customers are attracted to Cunard or Costa etc. People cruise on QV because they want the experience Cunard offers. Even if they know that both operate Vista class ships they are attracted by the Cunard experience or Costa experience. They understand these are different and the experience is not determined by the ship's basic design.
For an example of how branding and "soft" features determine impressions rather than basic design you have to look no further than the airline industry. Most airlines operate basically the same Boeing or Airbus products only but everyone knows that the experience on a Singapore Airlines 747 is different from a United Airlines 747 from a Qantas 747.
Brad
Ernie
Aurora and Oriana are traditionally P&O and are examples of what P&O always have been in the past. Ships like Arcadia and Ventura ended up with P&O by accident/default due to being part of Carnival and having the ability to transfer ships.
Princess has managed to stay as Princess and has Princess type ships and does not have ships desigend for other lines as does HAL and Carnival.
P&O is the only line to have ships desigend for P&O, Princess and HAL and somehow has a problem fitting them in to their style. Cunard appear to be following the same trend. Costa is another line that has Carnival ships and HAL ships.
I feel having the same ships in different brands will probably keep people loyal to their one brand. Once they have been on a Grand class Princess ship what would be the point of going Ventura. What reason would HAL passengers have for trying QV when they like their own line and have the same ships.
Having the same ships may be good for crew and easy to transfer them around, but as a passenger you will get sick of the same ship all the time and seeing other brands with the same ship it is less of an insentive to try other brands.
How much would people know that one of the best things about Cunard is the onboard lecture programme.
All that said, I think that some of the differences are exaggerated. For instance, in terms of onboard service, I don't see that big a differnce between P&O and Cunard, or Princess and P&O. Not to say their aren't differences just they are not that big.
Are Costa very Italian in terms of the overall experience? Is P&O very British?
[ 01-07-2009: Message edited by: Grant ]
In dining P&O has more waiters for your table and they strictly work in pairs serving your table both at the same time. They remember your name and get to know your eating habbits and what you like. P&O offers silver service which is far more personalised and you also find your water is topped up regularly and the waiters will engage you in conversation but are not too intrusive. Its a perfect balance.
In comparison Princess does not offer silver service. The waiters hardly know you and often make mistakes with the meals and who ordered it. Hardly any conversation. The waiters have more tables to look after hence a slower service and simple things are overlooked like the topping up of water. On Princess you find bred already on the table to take yourself where as P&O waiters place it on your plate from a hot tray. Princess has ornaments of men who just stand in the restaurant and look pretty. On P&O they are called head waiters and walk around each table introducing themselved and making sure the dining service is up to standard.
The food itself is very comparable.
I also find P&O cabin stewards far more professional and personalised. They will get to know you and talk to you and learn your habbits. They do turn down when you are at dinner and often ask if their is anything they can do or if you need anything. The cabin is always clean and well presented.
On Princess the cabin stewards are impatiend, do not often talk to you. They will not hesitate to knock on your cabin door when they want to do turn down service and have no hesitation of cleaning the cabin with you in it. They will often try to do turn down as early as possible and leave a dirty bathroom to be cleaned the next morning. On P&O you do not get lousy service like this and the cabin is always done while you are at dinner and they never force you out or tell you when they will do your cabin.
On the Entertainment side P&O has almost double the Entertainments Officers and cruise staff than the largest Princess ship has. There is always an entertainments officer hosting an event or welcoming you to the theatre or show lounge on P&O. On Princess they are few and far between and you might be lucky if you come accross one.
P&O ships are also different to Princess ships. The originals like Oriana and Aurora have standard bathrooms that are twice the size of the standard bathrooms on Princess ships. P&O has much more cupboard space. Princess cabins are larger. All the Sun class ships cabins are smaller than P&O's Aurora and Oriana.
There are more events on P&O ships. The Princess patter is often congested in format where as the Aurora or Oriana Today equivelant is far more reader friendly with a clearer format.
Personally I like the Grand class pool and recreation areas better than that is on Aurora and Oriana. Princess has better gym's. The pizzeria on Princess is excellent and P&O does not have anything to match. The outdoor grills on Princess are far more superior to what P&O has on offer. The drink prices on Princess are far more reasonable than P&O. Princess has a drink fountain program where you pay $30 for unlimited softdrink refills throughout the cruise, this is good when you mix spirits with soft drinks you only have to pay for the alcohol. P&O does not offer this service. Princess has larger duty free shops. P&O shops are smaller with less duty free goods.
Personally I like Princess for lazing about by the pool or using the gym and eating facilities on deck as well as drink prices. However P&O have a much higher standard of service which is far superior to what Princess has to offer.
quote:Originally posted by Sutho:Princess has ornaments of men who just stand in the restaurant and look pretty.
That made me laugh out loud!
Branding creates expectations - if the cruise exceeds your expectations, it has been successful. Otherwise not!
Tony
quote:Originally posted by mec1:In view of the fact that the average passenger cannot remember what SHIP they are on brands remain vital.
Indeed, the brand is key, the ships are really what is becoming generic, but only within brands.
As for brands I recon that P&O Princess cruises could have survived without the Carnival merger. Princess was an expanding company getting new ships up to 2003 and still had new ships on order when the merger took place. P&O UK had under its control Princess, Ocean Village, P&O Australia, Swan Helenic and appeared to be doing quite well. Until the merger with Carnival P&O and Princess were the only lines people knew of in Australia and it was unheard of to travel Carnival, Costa. Cunard and HAL did have a small following.
quote:Originally posted by Sutho:I would really like to know where these statistics are coming from that claim passengers cant remember the names of the ships they have been on.
Who mentioned any statistics?
quote:Originally posted by Sutho:[...] I have never met one passenger on a cruise ship that could not remember the names of other ships they had been on.[...]
My experience is the opposite - I even met passengers who did not know the name of the ship they were aboard at that time.
Southampton taxi drivers seem to know the names of all the ships in and what has been in and what is coming.
I would suggest that passengers travelling on luxury ships would certainly know the name of the ship they are on. Is it possible to go on Crystal Serenity and find a passenger who does not know what ship they are on. How embarrassed would you be to cruise on the QM2 in Grill class and announce at dinner "I dont know what ship I am on" Its a wonder people like that know what day it is and it is even more suprosing they have managed to make their way to the port on the date they are sailing.
If people are checking into a cruise and there are ten ships in that day how do they know which ship to get the taxi to?
As for branding P&O has always been a good line and Aurora and Oriana are typical of what P&O is through and through. It is only since this merger with Carnival has P&O started to meddle in markets of passengers that they are not used to. P&O have always had attractive ships even back to the days of Canberra - Oriana and Aurora are an evolution of Canberra's design. Ventura is something you would expect to see with Princess. The majority of Princess early ships were all aquasitions from Sitmar cruises that P&O took over.
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