What should a cruise line do - besides offering a discount - to capture your business?

gdh · December 30, 2010

In realestate I've heard over and over success comes from location, location, and location. When cruising, my equivalent would be service, service, and service. I find nothing worse than seeing your ship's attendants, on their off time, in port, and completely ignoring their guests. What I remember about my cruises most are the experiences first and the scenery second. I've experienced some bad service on Princess once and it will never forget it. My fondest cruise memories are the ones where the attendants expressed genuine service.

michaelene · January 1, 2011

get some airline....maybe Swa or airtran to fly non-stop to Canaveral for anyone having to go there to embark.....if they live east of Mississippi.....discount for those west of. Orlando and the shuttles seem awful tp me....I am scheduled for this Hell on 2/27

If it will not be hell....please help otherwise. Wanting my 3rd cruise...but dreading the Orlando to Canaveral part. I did not book this. My daughter did.

Prefergoing out of Lauderdale or miami. Crying as I write this.

Please help....no matter what...gotta be prepared for worst.

Michaelene I will have a balcony cabin, on deck9. Mid-ship

Edited January 1, 2011 by michaelene

Jason · January 2, 2011

The contest has ended and the winner will be announced shortly. Thanks to everyone for participating!

Jason · January 4, 2011

Congratulations to our lucky participant, DebbieandJerry, who was randomly selected as the winner of this contest!

To all of our participants, thank you. Your input and engagement is highly appreciated!

jtutak · January 11, 2011

In celebration of the New & Improved CruiseCrazies, we have created the...

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Entries will be accepted until 11:59pm EST Wednesday December 29, 2010.

So just respond to the below question and you could win an American Express Gift Card!

Here's the question....

What should a cruise line do - besides offering a discount - to capture your business?

Reward past passingers

CruiseDork · January 11, 2011

Here's the question....

What should a cruise line do - besides offering a discount - to capture your business?

Strike the correct balance of service and value. Too often we find a cruise line is so focused on revenue that the customer gets lost along the way.

For example, I need to know the real cost of the cruise, not some loss-leader cabin price followed by nickel-and-dimeing me to death for everything else. If you want to price things ala carte so that only those who use a particular service pay for it, go ahead but make it all ala carte. Let me pick and choose what I want up front so that I know the total cost of my cruise before I book.

Quit pretending that the meals in the dining room have the same quality and class as in the past. The dining room serves (mostly) good meals but they are nothing to write home about. The food and service of the golden years of cruising are now reserved for the upscale add-on restaurants or the Chef's Table events -- at a fee that often puts it out of touch for many.

Quit pretending that the entertainment is free. There are fees for all kinds of things now such as classes in the gym, wine tastings, and assorted others. Again, disclose those costs up front before I book.

Quit making everything so difficult. Bringing a bottle of wine aboard to enjoy with dinner shouldn't cause numerous folks having their wine "confiscated" because they couldn't find in the fine print buried on your web site that you must carry it aboard rather than have it in the checked luggage. How difficult is it to simply tally the number of bottles carried aboard and those in the luggage and simply confiscate the overage? Pushing minutiae like that onto the passenger is a disservice.