Saturday Morning Coffee 5/9/9

Good morning, good morning! First of all let me say happy Mother's Day to every mom out there reading. I know my mother is extremely special to me and I bet you are to your children as well. Today I am kind of cheating by copying some information from my home office. The reason I am doing this is because it is a great break-down of all the cruise lines available and what style cruise each offers. It is a great follow-up to my last post so here you go, and thank you for reading! Jeremy



CRUISE LINE MARKET SEGMENTATION

The cruise industry is segmented into four types of cruises based on certain characteristics that define the on-board lifestyle and overall vacation experience.

The First-Class cruise lines and the Premium cruise lines are resort-style vacations offering a broad base of services, destinations and amenities that are affordable to most travelers.

Over the past few years these lines have mimicked one another’s successes so much that the two segments have merged in their “mass-clusivity” to create a large contemporary segment of the cruise market.

But there are still some definite differences as outlined below.

First Class Cruise Lines:

Carnival Cruise Line
Costa Cruise Line
Disney Cruise Line
Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC)
Norwegian Cruise Line
Royal Caribbean International

General Characteristics:

Large ships
Pax capacity 2000-3500 people
Small cabins
Good food
Family friendly
Fitness/Sports-oriented
3-7 night itineraries
3-4 star service
Price point $-$$$
Key Word: Quantity

Premium Cruise Lines:

Celebrity Cruises
Holland America Line
Oceania Cruises
Princess Cruises

General Characteristics:

Medium-sized Ships
Pax capacity 1500-2000 people
Large cabins
Fine dining
Family friendly, but more adult-oriented
Spa-oriented
7-14 night itineraries
4-5 star service
Price point $$-$$$
Key Word: Quality



CRUISE LINE MARKET SEGMENTATION

All cruise lines provide a level of luxury, but a true luxury cruise is defined by the highest levels of quality and personalized service. Luxury cruisers are discerning travelers who desire the best of everything. Expensive when compared to the rest of the industry, luxury lines deliver great value by offering more inclusive pricing than other cruise lines and opportunities to travel to exotic destinations. They are also often surprisingly informal.

Each of the Speciality cruise lines focus on a destination niche or a special style of cruising including expedition-style cruises, sailing ships and a growing number of river cruises. The Speciality lines all offer a unique experience that guests find educational and adventurous, and may take them to some of the world’s most remote and unspoiled places.


Luxury Cruise Lines:

Crystal Cruises
Cunard Line
Regent Seven Seas Cruises
Seabourn (The Yachts of)
Sea Dream Yacht Club
Silversea Cruises

General Characteristics:

Small Ships
Pax capacity 300-800 people
Huge cabins or all suites
Gourmet cuisine
Not family-friendly
Spa-oriented
10+ night itineraries
5-6 star service
Price point $$$$$
Key Word: Exclusivity

Speciality Cruise Lines:

Amadeus Waterways
Cruise West
Delta Queen Steamboat Co.
Discovery World Cruises
Norwegian Coastal Voyages
Orient Line
Peter Deilmann
Star Clippers
Uniworld
Viking River Cruises
Windjammer Barefoot Cruises
Windstar Cruises


General Characteristics:

Very Small ships
Passenger capacity 100-300 people
Mixed cabin accommodations
Mixed dining options
Not suitable for most families
Few fitness or spa options
3-20 night itineraries
3-5 star service
Price point $$$$-$$$$$
Key Word: Adventure