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Travelocity/Princess Single Penalty



 
 
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  #11  
Old February 20th, 2006, 11:45 PM posted to rec.travel.cruises
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Default Travelocity/Princess Single Penalty


"Odysseus" wrote

Here is the bottom line for the cruise line bean counters. When I travel
solo the shipboard account for one person is more than the account for two
people when I travel with somebody.


While that may be true for you, it is not true for single passengers in
general. Marketing plans are not aimed at individuals but at large groups
of statistically significant people.

The cruise lines have computer yield management programs that will tell them
exactly how people spend their money including who, when, where and how
much. If selling to single passengers was more profitable "overall" then
selling doubles, all cruise lines would be marketing to singles instead of
actively discouraging them from booking.

It is business by the numbers and the cruise lines have all the data they
need to maximize gross revenue and profit.

The same type of program tells them how many people will order prime rib on
Monday night and how many orders of lobster they will have to prepare on
Thursday, thus cutting waste by preparing too much or having unhappy
customers by preparing too little.

When dealing with large numbers, statistically the overall results are very
accurate. They may not predict what one individual may do, but they will
predict what 100,000 people will do with a high degree of accuracy.

So ask yourself this: If selling to singles is as profitable or more
profitable than selling to doubles, why aren't the cruise lines marketing
heavily to singles? Are all the execs from all the cruise lines idiots?
Are they all making the same mistake?


--
George Leppla http://www.countryside-travel.com

Cruise Specials BLOG http://www.countryside-travel.com/3834677_6105.htm
May 20, 2006, Caribbean Princess - http://cruisemaster.com/caribprin.htm
October 29, 2006 - SLEAZY 4! http://cruisemaster.com/sleazy4.htm


  #12  
Old February 20th, 2006, 11:59 PM posted to rec.travel.cruises
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Default Travelocity/Princess Single Penalty

On Sun, 19 Feb 2006 22:01:59 -0600, Lloyd Parsons
wrote:

So basically Princess is telling the single/solo traveler to buzz off?
I mean, the supplement is pretty much BS to start with 'cause there is
almost always empty cabins on every cruise, regardless of the signs at
the ports and now they want to jack it UP?


Hi Everyone,

The cruise lines receive between a large portion of their revenue
from the onboard spend. The average is 30-40% of what you pay for a
cruise according to their latest financials. IOW, this would mean
that to make up for the revenue lost by booking a single they would
have to spend between 30 & 40% of what a couple paid for their cruise
ticket (onboard spend) AND a 100% single supplement. I know that some
folks do not spend between 30-40% onboard of what they paid for the
cruise but this is the industry average. Don't think that many cruise
lines are not sailing completely full. Princess has been contacting
travel agents every week offering all types of incentives to get folks
off of oversold sailings. These incentives can include up to a 100%
refund and shipboard credits. Unless singles are going to spend
60-80% (on average) of what a couple would pay to sail, then yes the
bean counters are going to consider singles a loss in revenue.

Best regards,
Ray
LIGHTHOUSE TRAVEL
800-719-9917 or 805-566-3905
http://www.lighthousetravel.com
  #13  
Old February 21st, 2006, 02:12 AM posted to rec.travel.cruises
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Default Travelocity/Princess Single Penalty

On Mon, 20 Feb 2006 18:23:45 -0600, Lloyd Parsons
wrote:

I don't think anyone doubts that a single is less revenue, but it is
only a loss on a fully sold out cruise of 2 to a cabin. And yes, there
are some cruises that do go out full, but many more don't according to
some of my sources.


Hi Lloyd,

All of your assumptions are based on ships going out less than full.
This is just not the case. Cruise lines such as Princess are bribing
folks to get off of their ships because they are overbooked. In the
popular price market, most ships with the exception of one line that I
can think of go out completely full. If the cruise lines were going
out less than full as they were in 2002, after 9/11, your assumptions
would make financial opportunity. They don't in the current market.

Best regards,
Ray
LIGHTHOUSE TRAVEL
800-719-9917 or 805-566-3905
http://www.lighthousetravel.com
  #14  
Old February 21st, 2006, 04:21 AM posted to rec.travel.cruises
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Default Travelocity/Princess Single Penalty

In article ,
Marsha L wrote:

Interestingly, cruise ships DID have singles' cabins, once upon a time. I've
seen them. I knew someone who was in an outside single on the old PacPrin,
and it was VERY nice and quite likely worth whatever it was that he paid for
it.


I was in that cabin too on Pacific Princess. My favorite upgrade. There
were two of them, accross from each other on the promenade deck.

--
Charles
  #15  
Old February 21st, 2006, 04:31 AM posted to rec.travel.cruises
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Default Travelocity/Princess Single Penalty

In article , Ray Goldenberg
wrote:

All of your assumptions are based on ships going out less than full.
This is just not the case. Cruise lines such as Princess are bribing
folks to get off of their ships because they are overbooked. In the
popular price market, most ships with the exception of one line that I
can think of go out completely full. If the cruise lines were going
out less than full as they were in 2002, after 9/11, your assumptions
would make financial opportunity. They don't in the current market.


Many of the sailings I have been on the last few years have had empty
cabins. Heck, I remember on Celebrity Summitt when there was a plumbing
defect in my inside cabin they gave me a choice of three outside cabins
to pick from and that was just empty cabins on the same deck to make
the move easy. And they did have the sign out at the begining claiming
to be full.

--
Charles
  #16  
Old February 21st, 2006, 04:40 AM posted to rec.travel.cruises
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Posts: n/a
Default Travelocity/Princess Single Penalty

In article ,
Charles wrote:

In article , Ray Goldenberg
wrote:

All of your assumptions are based on ships going out less than full.
This is just not the case. Cruise lines such as Princess are bribing
folks to get off of their ships because they are overbooked. In the
popular price market, most ships with the exception of one line that I
can think of go out completely full. If the cruise lines were going
out less than full as they were in 2002, after 9/11, your assumptions
would make financial opportunity. They don't in the current market.


Many of the sailings I have been on the last few years have had empty
cabins. Heck, I remember on Celebrity Summitt when there was a plumbing
defect in my inside cabin they gave me a choice of three outside cabins
to pick from and that was just empty cabins on the same deck to make
the move easy. And they did have the sign out at the begining claiming
to be full.


That has been my experience on virtually every cruise I've been on.
Sign out, cabins empty. I think it is more normal than some would like
us to believe.
  #17  
Old February 21st, 2006, 04:45 AM posted to rec.travel.cruises
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Posts: n/a
Default Travelocity/Princess Single Penalty


"Charles" wrote in message
d...
In article , Ray Goldenberg
wrote:

All of your assumptions are based on ships going out less than full.
This is just not the case. Cruise lines such as Princess are bribing
folks to get off of their ships because they are overbooked. In the
popular price market, most ships with the exception of one line that I
can think of go out completely full. If the cruise lines were going
out less than full as they were in 2002, after 9/11, your assumptions
would make financial opportunity. They don't in the current market.


Many of the sailings I have been on the last few years have had empty
cabins. Heck, I remember on Celebrity Summitt when there was a plumbing
defect in my inside cabin they gave me a choice of three outside cabins
to pick from and that was just empty cabins on the same deck to make
the move easy. And they did have the sign out at the begining claiming
to be full.


They probably put that sign up to keep people from asking for free upgrades.

--Tom


  #18  
Old February 21st, 2006, 05:00 AM posted to rec.travel.cruises
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default Travelocity/Princess Single Penalty

In article ,
"Tom K" wrote:

"Charles" wrote in message
d...
In article , Ray Goldenberg
wrote:

All of your assumptions are based on ships going out less than full.
This is just not the case. Cruise lines such as Princess are bribing
folks to get off of their ships because they are overbooked. In the
popular price market, most ships with the exception of one line that I
can think of go out completely full. If the cruise lines were going
out less than full as they were in 2002, after 9/11, your assumptions
would make financial opportunity. They don't in the current market.


Many of the sailings I have been on the last few years have had empty
cabins. Heck, I remember on Celebrity Summitt when there was a plumbing
defect in my inside cabin they gave me a choice of three outside cabins
to pick from and that was just empty cabins on the same deck to make
the move easy. And they did have the sign out at the begining claiming
to be full.


They probably put that sign up to keep people from asking for free upgrades.

--Tom


Maybe.

But I've not ever sailed on a cruise ship yet that was full, sign or
no...
  #19  
Old February 21st, 2006, 05:10 AM posted to rec.travel.cruises
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Posts: n/a
Default Travelocity/Princess Single Penalty


"Lloyd Parsons" wrote in message
...
In article ,
"Tom K" wrote:

"Charles" wrote in message
d...
In article , Ray Goldenberg
wrote:

All of your assumptions are based on ships going out less than full.
This is just not the case. Cruise lines such as Princess are bribing
folks to get off of their ships because they are overbooked. In the
popular price market, most ships with the exception of one line that I
can think of go out completely full. If the cruise lines were going
out less than full as they were in 2002, after 9/11, your assumptions
would make financial opportunity. They don't in the current market.

Many of the sailings I have been on the last few years have had empty
cabins. Heck, I remember on Celebrity Summitt when there was a plumbing
defect in my inside cabin they gave me a choice of three outside cabins
to pick from and that was just empty cabins on the same deck to make
the move easy. And they did have the sign out at the begining claiming
to be full.


They probably put that sign up to keep people from asking for free
upgrades.

--Tom


Maybe.

But I've not ever sailed on a cruise ship yet that was full, sign or
no...


I have. Easter sailings, XMAS sailings, and Summer sailings when kids were
off from school. I was on Infinity when there were 700 kids on board. It
was the week before Easter. The following week they were expecting 800
kids.

--Tom


  #20  
Old February 21st, 2006, 05:13 AM posted to rec.travel.cruises
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default Travelocity/Princess Single Penalty

In article ,
"Tom K" wrote:

"Lloyd Parsons" wrote in message
...
In article ,
"Tom K" wrote:

"Charles" wrote in message
d...
In article , Ray Goldenberg
wrote:

All of your assumptions are based on ships going out less than full.
This is just not the case. Cruise lines such as Princess are bribing
folks to get off of their ships because they are overbooked. In the
popular price market, most ships with the exception of one line that I
can think of go out completely full. If the cruise lines were going
out less than full as they were in 2002, after 9/11, your assumptions
would make financial opportunity. They don't in the current market.

Many of the sailings I have been on the last few years have had empty
cabins. Heck, I remember on Celebrity Summitt when there was a plumbing
defect in my inside cabin they gave me a choice of three outside cabins
to pick from and that was just empty cabins on the same deck to make
the move easy. And they did have the sign out at the begining claiming
to be full.


They probably put that sign up to keep people from asking for free
upgrades.

--Tom


Maybe.

But I've not ever sailed on a cruise ship yet that was full, sign or
no...


I have. Easter sailings, XMAS sailings, and Summer sailings when kids were
off from school. I was on Infinity when there were 700 kids on board. It
was the week before Easter. The following week they were expecting 800
kids.

--Tom


Ouch!

That is a very good reason NOT to cruise then!

Note that I didn't say there were none sailing full ;-)

I would expect some cruises to sell out, that is only reasonable. Of
course none of those times would appeal to me, I have other things I'd
rather be doing then.
 




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