I have recently seen growth and profit figures for Royal Caribbean and I have seen the obvious.

Cruise lines are in business to make as much money as possible for shareholders. This has been done by building massive ships with much lower operating costs per passenger.

The growth market is in the lower income and family groups who can take advantage of these lower costs.

In retrospect, going back 20 or 30 years I am sure that I would have been delighted with what is being offered today.

It is probably time for those of us who have been chunnering about the lack of dress code, civility and the like to face the inevitable fact that things always change. Mass market cruise lines are never going to be what they were 5 to 10 years ago.In the main they are taking huge financial risks but offering tremendous and affordable entertainment to increasing numbers of people.

Holland America still holds very high standards and usually gets a premium for its service as do other lines operating smaller vessels.These are available to us if we have the fare and the time. Newbuilds don't change the cruise experience they merely add to the options

There is no point to this topic. Just thinking aloud.
Anybody have thoughts on this?

Experienced cruisers, please keep telling us about the good old days. I like the stories, I like your points of view, I like your comments, and I like the glimpse of my own future.

I have a strong love of maritime history, but lets not forget that we are experiencing a 'golden age' of ship building - NOW! Never have so many people chosen to take a holiday afloat. Never have the ship yards had so many advanced orders. Never have the ships been so big and with so many amenities. Never has there been such competition making cruising very affordable. These are very exciting time for cruising. We are never likely to see such growth in the cruise industry again.

My advice for those who have the money and the time, by all means try a new mega-ship, but why not try an older 'classic' ship next time. Only then can you truely judge the experiences.

Cruising became in Germany popular in the later 1970 to 1980 years by ships from the Soviet Union, which are offered by Neckermann,
Seetours, and later by Jahn Seereisen, Seeadler and such companies.

The Soviet ships have an acceptable food and standard for very good prices, for them it was the chance to make western currency
(payment was always in German Marks West,
they never accept Marks East or other currencies from the eastern countries).

Today it is your job as cruisegoer, to select
your cruise in a very wide range.

Cheap or expensive, traditional or mege-ships,
everything is on the market.

If you dont want children out of control, never take an italien ship in the school-holiday season...

From our Canadian-dollar budget and the way the cruises are marketed, cruising has finally become a value vacation that offers something for all of us, so here we come!
I've checked out a few different forums on cruising looking for information from a family's point of view and been alarmed at the very negative attitude toward children on board with a sprinkling of warm notes here and there to temper the nastier notes posted. Most family cruising forums lie dormant for weeks.

I sympathize with those who wish to have an enjoyable cruise without being mowed down by an energetic child or ten. Obviously avoiding the March break rush etc. will help, but we are going in January as the price is more affordable, it's a better break to our chilly clime and at this stage, missing school isn't the worst scenario.

Even as a parent, I am hoping I can enjoy a rare opportunity to a formal meal enjoying great adult conversation. Not a parent to stow my child away in a cupboard, this time we have sought out a ship with a good children's program so he can hopefully enjoy himself while we "dine". He has little interest in fancy food or sitting peacefully through several courses so we'll snack while hhe eats a dinner of his choice at the 24hour buffet. To be honest, I fear even though we've chosen late sitting and requested a large table for a variety of couples, we may end up with a family with three kids and end up in someone else's food fights.

quote:

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Originally posted by tomc:
That's why I go HAL. I prefer a sedate, dressy crowd. (This is NOT meant to be snobby ... just my own preference when I put down $$ for a trip.) But, when I speak about cruising to newbies, I always encourage them to think about what they want in a cruise, then see a good TA to find the line, the place and the season to get it.

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If you read topgun's post I think you will see he was commenting on the cruise line's attempts to attract a broader segment of society. They need to do this to fill their ships but it already has, and will continue to, change the onboard experience.

I think one of the things this does is make it more important for people to do their homework before they put down the money for their next cruise. The good news is that there is quite a variety of product out there. Just make sure you find the cruise that's right for your before you put down your hard earned money.

Ver mit der Rute spart, verziet das Kind. (Thats my special German. Tehehe.)

Paddy.

Do the larger ships attract the kids? Yep. Voyager, Explorer yes. They have a skating rink and a rock climbing wall for crying out loud. We welcome the large ships for this reason. We'll stick with the longer cruises in the smaller ships.

In fact, my topic refers to my attitude and intransigence as a male.

Clearly, as outlined in my introduction, I can sometimes see another point of view and admit to it----this does not happen too often.