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Cruises and the recession
By Harley Straten
Cruises have become one of the most popular vacation experiences of our times.
You visit different places without any effort. It's a full board experience, so you don't have to worry about whether you can afford the steak or lobster! And the kids are having a great time in the Kids Clubs.
However, capacity has increased enormously in the last five years and with this increase in the number of beds that have to be filled week in and week out, has come massive discounting not only between the cruise lines themselves but between the agents selling those cabins.
Is this a good thing? Probably not. It makes the experience cheaper but as with all things, you are not going to get all the bells and whistles you used to get, when the cruise passenger spent more.
Its going to be more crowded and you will have to be very possessive about that sun bed, during a day at sea.
The quality of the food will not be quite as good. You will be hassled a bit more to spend money on board on things such as drinks and photographs. After all, if the cruise lines are not making it on the ticket; its got to come from somewhere!
The cruise lines HAVE to fill these ships. Why? Because about 30% of their profits alone come from the on-board casino! There are in fact about 50 different profit centres on board a cruise ship. And the cruise lines earn 100% of that spend, as opposed to having to split the revenue earned with an agent, when an agent sells a ticket. Also, so many of the staff on the ship rely on tips to supplement their really poor wages. If a cabin steward looks after 30 cabins and the cruise line only sells 20, that cabin steward will only receive two-thirds of his tips for that sailing and he will not be happy.
As this recession bites harder, consumers will demand ever cheaper cruise deals and prices will have to fall further as cruise lines will be forced to fill their cabins. Without doubt however, the quality of the experience will diminish. |
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