Princess Cruises next for digital documents

Princess Cruise Lines photo

Princess Cruises, next to stop sending paper travel documents,  has debuted an innovative array of digital documents designed to transform the way passengers plan for and learn about their upcoming cruise. The all-new electronic format will deliver more information about their cruise than ever before, arriving conveniently by email and right to their computer desktop from the time of booking and continuing through departure.  Already in place on Carnival, Royal Caribbean, Celebrity and others, Princess becomes the next cruise line to do away with paper travel documents sent in the mail that you can hold in your hand.

Still, while wildly UNpopular with guests, Princess has a few different twists on how they are going about it.

The timely digital documents include a brand-new email series filled with personalized pre-cruise information, a downloadable Princess Countdown ConnectionSM widget that delivers useful and entertaining information to a passenger’s computer, personalized online luggage tags, and customizable shore excursion eBooks. The change from printed information to fully digital documents applies to all North American passengers on voyages departing on or after January 21, 2010.

“These new digital enhancements are yet another example of our commitment to service innovation,” said Jan Swartz, Princess Cruises’ executive vice president. “Not only will our passengers receive the most comprehensive array of pre-cruise information we’ve ever made available, the information is also fully personalized, and the content is designed to build excitement and anticipation for their cruise with a rich collection of multi-media experiences. Digital documents are also more environmentally friendly.”

Princess’ new digital documents include:

Personalized Pre-Cruise Emails

As soon as passengers book their cruise, they will begin to receive a new series of four emails that are timed to deliver just the right information needed for each stage of the cruise planning process. Replacing a printed Cruise Answer Book, the emails include the passenger booking details and interactive content that gives passengers a fun, engaging way to learn more about the signature amenities and activities they will experience on their ship.

The information will be customized to the itinerary and the ship the passenger is sailing, and greetings are featured from some of the senior officers who will be sailing on their cruise. An array of links are also provided to such things as ship videos and virtual tours, bridge cams, dining options, entertainment choices, shipboard features and amenities, travel logistics, weather information, packing tips, frequently asked questions, Captain’s Circle benefits, important notices and reminders, and how to stay connected to family and friends while onboard.

Princess Countdown ConnectionSM

To help passengers anticipate and prepare for their upcoming sailing, the innovative Princess Countdown ConnectionSM widget is an eye-catching online clock that ticks down the days, hours and minutes until their cruise departs. The new application, which can be downloaded from the pre-cruise emails, can live right on a passenger’s computer desktop, and will automatically deliver an array of personalized information to them about their upcoming sailing such as dining, onboard activities, shore excursions and notices.

Personalized Online Luggage Tags

Passengers will also be able to print their own personalized luggage tags from their home or office computer. These new tags not only include the passenger’s name, but also feature their Captain’s Circle membership status, cabin number and embarkation information. Passengers will be able to print as many tags as needed to ensure all their luggage is properly marked prior to boarding the ship.  Carnival was the first to do this.  I have yet to talk to anyone who really loves this part of it all.    I have tried this, it does work.  Still, I strongly suggest tagging bags with your own luggage tags and then tagging each one twice with these flimsy, print-your-own luggage tags.  It’s a good idea to print an extra to put inside your luggage too.  Make it the last thing you put in which will make it the first thing someone sees if they have to open your luggage looking something that might identify your luggage from the others that have lost their luggage tags too.

The printable luggage tags debut for all voyages departing after December 1, 2009, and are accessible through the Cruise Personalizer. They can be printed up to 75 days prior to the sailing date. Generic luggage tags will continue to be available at the pier for passengers who may need them.

Shore Excursion eBooks (something else not to hold in your hand)

Beginning in December, passengers will be able to print their own personalized shore excursion eBook for their cruise. Using this innovative tool, passengers will be able to select their favorite excursions from the wide array offered in each port, and create their own customized eBook of shoreside experiences. Further details will be available next month.

Cruisng from Florida: Senior and Resident rates for all

I woke up this morning to less than 50 degrees outside!   That’s dangerously close to 4o degrees, the temperature at which many thin-blooded Floridians (myself totally included) do not leave the house except for an emergency.   It seemed only appropriate to write an article for Examiner.com that reminds Seniors, Floridians and pretty much anyone else who might be in the market for a “get away from the darn cold” cruise in a few months that now is the time to be looking for one.   So here, some tips on all that….

Carnival Cruise Lines

As a cold snap descends upon Florida, a gentle reminder that even the Sunshine State is not immune to the approaching Winter, our population grows some as Snowbirds return from up North.  The cruise vacation industry has some excellent values for them as well as Florida residents.  Here are some tips that will be sure you get the best value

• Keep up on pricing- Ask your travel agent to always send you the “Happy Hour” specials every week, a sale that is run most Tuesdays on Royal Caribbean and Celebrity Cruises.   These are most often the best values of all but you have to be able to sail within 30 to 90 days.   This is about as close to a “last minute bargain” as you can get.
• Everybody is doing it- Along the same lines. most major cruise lines publish sale information every week.   Ask your travel agent to put you on the mailing list for those too.   If you are concerned about getting too much email or that your email address will be sold to some joker who wants to sell you oceanfront  timeshares in Topeka, set up a different email address at someplace like yahoo.com so it all goes there.
• Know the rules- Remember, it takes just one “senior” (person over 55) per cabin and one “Florida resident” in each cabin to get the special value you may see.  Know too what the fine print says in offers you may see.  They make it small as though it is not important but it often has a major impact on what your end decision will be.
• Your Travel Agent- “The Internet is for looking, your travel agent is for booking” is good advice that in the long run will put you in a better position.  Not just for price but for the benefits having a travel agent on your side will afford.  Look around on the Internet to research itineraries, special offers, etc so you have an idea of what you’re looking for then get with your travel agent to make it happen
• Processing Fees = Run!- You should never have to pay anyone to use their service to buy a cruise.  While travel agents work for you, they are paid a commission on your booking at no additional cost to you.  That’s the way it has been in the past and the way it should be now.  Again, you might not see that “processing fee” or “cancellation fee other than that charged by the cruise line” unless you read the fine print.  These are most often charged by Internet Cruise Brokers, not your best choice of booking sources.

Right now there are still a lot of very good values for Seniors and residents, not just Florida but other states as well.  Your Cruise Lines International certified travel agent is the best source for cruise vacation information.  Building a long-term business relationship with your travel agent will pay big dividends over the course of your cruise history

Cruise Discounts

Florida Department of State photo

Resident Discounts-

These are most commonly given to states from which the cruise lines are not drawing a lot of clients. The contagious satisfaction of going on a fabulous cruise is what they want to spread. In a virus-like manner, cruisers like to talk about their cruise. They’ll tell anybody about it. If the topic comes up in the office, the grocery store, church or with a complete stranger, everyone who has done it has a story to tell. Most all of them (95%+) are happy stories. If the cruise lines can get people talking in a state or country where they don’t do a lot of business, those people will sell it for them.

Royal Caribbean is the king of Resident Discounts, offering them most often. Princess comes in second with “regional discounts” . Others are hit and miss but none of them offer a resident discount all the time. Most common state to get a resident discount: Florida. There are a lot of ships and a lot of people who like to cruise and can do so often in Florida.

Senior Discounts

The basic rule of thumb is that at least one guest in a cabin must be 55 or older to get a senior discount. Be aware though, this is not like the movie theater; not every cruise line gives senior discounts. Those that do don’t all the time. Carnival, Royal Caribbean and Celebrity commonly give a discount for seniors when they need to fill up a ship. That’s not only as they get close to sailing either.

Often, when a sailing first opens up for booking, a senior discount comes along. Later, if a sailing is not selling as well as the cruise lines had anticipated, they may offer a senior discount again

Last Minute deals

Don’t count on them. They exist for those who can sail with as little as 30 days notice. As recent as several years ago you could bank on last minute deals being there to the point where you could almost book airfare for a particular cruise on a given date but NOT buy the cruise until 30 days before sailing at a reduced rate. That really never was a very good idea as the ship could sell out then you would be stuck with airfare to nowhere. Royal Caribbean does this last-minute sale every Tuesday.

Military Discounts

Again, filling up the ships is good for business. If they can do it and benefit those who may have put their own lives in harms way to protect us, all the better. Carnival offers this most often but others do as well. Again, none of the cruise lines offer it all the time on all sailings but do ask your travel agent if you qualify. Active or retired as long as you have proper ID, you can get it for your entire cabin. Sometimes you can get it for more than one cabin.

Past Guest discounts

This is a very popular, common and appropriate discount. The cruise lines want to keep you coming back and will often make it worth your while to sail again and again with them. Perks, amenities and even pricing in some cases are afforded to repeat guests. After you’ve sailed a line, you are then a past guest. Record your past guest numbers and be sure they get entered into your bookings. Your good travel agent will keep these on file and use them to your advantage. Your Discount Internet cruise broker will most often fail to apply them to your booking even if you have them available.

How to find out about the deals?

Sign up for everyone’s mailing list
Get an email address other than the one you use for your regular daily email. Go to every cruise lines website and sign up for their mailing list. You will be the first to know of specials, discounts and extra-value sailings being offered. Using an email address like @gmail.com or @yahoo.com keeps the junk mail you eventually will get as the cruise lines sell your email address to others.

Twitter it
Following trusted sources of information is always a great idea.  Today that is made much easier with Social Media

Want to know if your “deal” is legit? Email it to me and I’ll tell you!

A new golden age of cruise travel?

I was looking through some cruise brochures yesterday (I do this on Saturday’s while sitting around the pool) and a thought crossed my mind:

“Interesting; the biggest, newest ships have so many more features and options.  Why?”

The two biggest, newest and brightest stars on the horizon are the Norwegian Epic and Royal Caribbean’s Oasis of the Seas.  These two new ships have more features and more choices for accomodations than anything ever built before.  While very different in and of themselves, both of these ships will offer some common elements that are interesting to think about.  Let’s look at three of them

1. There are no Oceanview staterooms
2. They both offer top-end accomodations presented in a secluded area
3. They are both priced higher than any other ship in their respective fleets

The loss of Oceanview staterooms (cabins with a window) is no big loss to me personally.  We did a Oceanview cabin one time and I thought

“Waste of money, it’s like watching the ocean on TV, might as well get an inside cabin and actually watch the ocean on tv via the ship’s bridge cam” .

But that’s just me.   Others do like Oceanview cabins but the industry trend has been to get away from them.  Many of the new ships out right now have reduced the number of them to where I can’t even hold some for a group cruise.  Looking at older ships though, balconies are the rage and have been for several years.  Older ships going into drydock commonly come out with more balconies than they went in with.  The demand is for balconies over Oceanview so it is no surprise that the newest ships don’t have any.  Still, it does reduce one option a potential guest has to choose from when making a buying decision.  Some won’t care, they didn’t want an Oceanview anyway.  Some will care because they liked the Oceanview.   In my experience those really needing an Oceanview need that point of reference that the window and what is outside of it provides.

For the cruise lines, they get to charge more for that cabin because it has a balcony now.  That’s fair, a balcony offers a better cruise experience.  My time on a balcony is precious.  Being at sea, completely surrounded by the ocean in all directions is so peaceful and offers so much to me that it’s worth it.  I have passed on many sailings when I could not afford a balcony.   I am not one of those people who says “Who cares what cabin I get as long as I am on the ship” .  There are a lot of people that feel that way and truly do not spend much time in their cabin.  I’m glad we have the option of inside cabins for them; that’s a good match for what they want out of their cruise.  I don’t see those going away any time soon but one look at Oasis of the Seas and you can sure see where the focus is; balconies one way or another.  In fact, in addition to the traditional Promenade View inside cabins offering a window view of the Royal Promenade that runs the length of a football field inside the ship, they are offering similar “inside” cabins but with balconies that open inside the ship.

I also thought

“I think the cruise lines “get it”.  I think they realize that the best cruise experience includes a balcony and financial gains aside, a balcony cabin does add to the whole “cruise of a lifetime” experience that I think they have been getting away from recently”

The addition of secluded areas for the top-end accomodations harkens back to the Golden Age of Ocean Liners (think the movie “Titanic”) and a class system that was undeniable.

Modern ships still had that up to this point but in a more indirect way.  One could book passage on a high-end cruise line like Silversea or Regent Seven-Seas where all the staterooms were oppulent and geared toward a higher-income level guest.  Is that a class system at work?  You bet.  Is that a good thing or a bad thing?  I don’t think it is either, it is just differenet marketing to groups of like guests.  That notion smacked me in the face when arriving at Port Canaveral not long ago for a sailing of the Carnival Glory.  We had not sailed on Carnival for a while and it struck me as unique that there were barbecues, pickup trucks and a party atmosphere somewhat like I had experienced when we lived in Kansas City before a Chiefs football game.  I had not seen that on Princess, Royal Caribbean, Celebrity, or other lines.

Don’t get me wrong.  I am not in any way looking down on Carnival guests in any negative way, just an observation.

If I was to document the scene at Carnival though with the scene at Cunard, for example, I know I would see different groups of people.  Not that Carnval guests don’t cruise on Cunard or vice versa, we do.  But Carnival is all about the “fun” and they have that down pat.  Cunard is a more refined experience.  Those, to me, are some real extremes.  So who are these new ships, Oasis and Epic,  built for?

I think they are built for everyone.  Bargain hunters are not going to find a $199 cruise on either ship any time soon.  A $1000 per person inside cabin is more like it and that in and of itself will turn a lot of people off.  I have even heard comments from other travel agents wondering when the price will come down because they sure can’t sell either ship to their customers priced as they are now.  Clients tell me to let them know when the prices go down and they will take a look.   I don’t know that I will be making that call any time soon.

You see, I think this is a good thing;  feature-heavy ships offering the best possible opportunity for us to fully embrace what cruise travel is all about:

Ulitmate Relaxation

A cruise vacation offers the single-most effective way to get away from real life, relax and get the perspective we need to go forward with life in a productive way.  That is really good for us.   No matter what “relax” means to you, you need to do it.  I am always reminded of the dancing waiters and dining room show they do on many cruise ships when I think of this topic.  How anyone could possibly be thinking about work, bills, commitments or any of the parts of everyday life that bear on us IF they fully embrace this scene has always been beyond me.  On our first cruises, traveling with our children, they would get up and dance around the dining room with the so many other guests, being silly and having a great time.  Some guests don’t like this part and embrace other opportunities to relax.  A spa treatment, a cozy place to read a book, shore excursions, a night at the disco, or any one of a number of other opporunities offer the same “get away from it all” value.

Once away from it all, we can take stock of where we are and where we want to go.  This is the true value of a cruise vacation and one that has left me feeling a little bit different after each sailing.  It’s what makes some guests into cruise addicts as it offers more relaxation, clarity and focus than any other vacation option.  ”Time away” is easy to define;  you’re just not at work or home.  You can get that with camping, a day-trip outside of where you live or other way less expensive options.   To get the clarity and focus towards the future, a cruise vacation does it like no other.  I think Norwegian Cruise line and Royal Caribbean get it and these two new ships are opening a door to the past and the future for all of us.  I think these ships are saying

“We know what you need and are here to deliver it.  Yes, it will cost you more but oh the benefits to you when it’s all over”

So my advice is consistent:  Book as far in advance as possible, plan on it costing more, but do it.  Take a ride on one of these new fabulous ships but don’t step foot on one in the wrong frame of mind.  If you’re looking for a bargain, these are not the ships for you.  If you are looking for a life-altering experience that will allow you the clarity to forcefully impact your life in the future starting the moment you get off the ship,  book one right now.

Again, it is all about “value”.  This just keeps coming up, maybe more now that ever in light of our current world-wide economic concerns.

A traditional way to compare cruises to determine value has always been the  cost per person, per day.  That’s still a good way to calculate monetary value when comparing the exact same sailing on the same ship in the same category cabin with multilpe sources to buy from.  But “monetary value” and what I believe will be the new and more accurate “Total Value” is what we realy need to concentrate on.  Total Value includes price but, more importantly, includes the onboard experience front and center.  Those who “get it” will have no problem understanding this concept.  These will be the people, like me, who have experienced feeling a little different after a cruise.  They come away a different person.  They might not be able to put their finger on exactly what happened to make that a reality but it IS a reality nonetheless.  All these new features, layouts, cabin choices and the overall focus of these new ships offers us the unique opportunity to maximize the clarity and focus we can gain from a cruise vacation experience.

So those are the golden words:

Clarity

Focus

Cruise Vacation Experience

Can you get that from less-expensive sailings on different lines?  You bet!  Coming up on our 40th cruise soon, I know this for a fact.  Each and every one has fostered a new viewpoint, a new starting place and offered the renewal I needed regardless of if I realized that or not.  I grew as a person as a result of each cruise I have been on.  I  have always been a little bit different when I got off the ship than when I got on.  If you are fortunate enough to have experienced this also, you know exactly what I mean.

It is not the food, itinerary, ship, or price that keeps me coming back.  It is not the people I go with or those I meet on board.  It is the clarity and focus I end up with that I can not get anywhere else.  It’s hard to put a price on that but the price of your cruise is a good place to start.  That’s the money part; deal with it.  Get with a travel agent, preferably one that specializes in cruises only but NOT an Internet Cruise Broker, one with a passion for cruising that “gets it” as a starting place.  There are plenty of them out there.  Get to know them either in person or through any one of the many electronic media avenues available to us today.  Start building a long-term relationship with a good travel agent in much the same way you might consider a doctor or other trusted advisor.  The fact is that their involvement in your cruise vacation can make a huge difference in it being the fabulous life-improving experience you can have and a great cruise.  Both are good, life-improving is better.  Why?  Because they can handle all the details of it for you at no cost and most often at a lower cost and/or better value than you can get anywhere else.  That (and this is the important part) leaves you to dream.

Yes: Dream

Dream at night while you sleep, daydream while at work, on the way to the grocery store, sitting around watching TV or hiking on a trail.  The dream you have with you because you booked that cruise which will allow the clarity and focus you will experience is priceless.  The experience itself, done right, will change your life.   Again, if you have done this, you know exactly what I am talking about.  But if you have not, take what you will view as a chance and give it a try.  In the right frame of mind you can maximize the value of what many look at as a simple vacation into a life-changing experience.  No matter how good your life is now, it can be better.  Better may mean that you impact the lives of others in a positive way more than you have in the past.  Better may mean that you got more out of the experience than you might have otherwise.  But “better” is exactly what you make it.  Here you have the opportunity through the clarity and focus obtainable on a cruise vacation experience to see that.

These new ships offer a new dream to be possible.  Good things will come of this.

Fire Sales On Cruises?

Probably not the best choice of words but accurate nonetheless.

It doesn’t just “seem” like all the cruise lines are giving away cruises, they are.  It’s hard to keep up with all the special offers coming directly from the cruise lines.  Not from some shady Internet Cruise Broker, the cruise lines themselves have so many offers going on right now.   I spend quite a bit of time every day just keeping up.  My frank reaction is that they have gone bezerk.  

Normally, the cruise lines, master marketers of their products, focusl on one or two promotions at a time.  Now, they have so many that I have added a special page to my website, www.YourCruiseDream.com, just to post all the offers I get notified about every day.  And I do change it every day.  That’s good news for those looking for great value.

Uh oh, there I go again with that word: “value”.  Rather than single-mindedly locking in on “low price” which is what stupid people do.  Smart, savy travel buyers are more savy and smarter than ever now by continuing to focus on value.   Hmm, this is turning out to be quite a bit more frank than I had suspected so let’s just stay with that and see where it goes.

There is no $199 cruise.  It’s just a simple fact.  That is what they call a “lead-in” rate and does not include at least taxes.  That’s important because taxes on a $199 cruise can be as much as 30% more.  Ok, you say, so that’s still a good price.  No No No, wrong thinking.  You’re still locking in on price which is exactly what they want you to do.  Keep looking.  What about port charges?  If those too are not included they could be up to 60% more.  

Today I booked a cruise for the third guest, always discounted, in a cabin on a Carnival cruise.  The cruise fare was $40 for a 4 day cruise.  Man, what a deal huh?  Well sure but the port charges and taxes were $223.  Not such a good deal now.  So why do the cruise lines do this?

Two reasons:  To suck you in to buy from them and to screw travel agents out of commission.  

Surely, they do get your attention with $40 for a cruise…or $199…or some other fabulously low price.  To some people, getting that $199 price is so important that they ignore the fact that the actual price they have to pay to get to walk on the ship is almost double that.  I have a neighbor who wanted bragging rights for his $199 cruise so very bad that he told me all about it.  I suppose everyone wants to be perceived as a smart shopper.  The problem is that a smart shopper checks grocery store ads and knows that $1.67 is a heck of a price for a gallon of milk.  It takes more than that to be smart about buying a cruise.  YOU HAVE GOT TO CONSIDER THE WHOLE PRICE.  Let’s call that the “What it takes to walk on the ship” price because that is indeed what you have to pay.

The second part, the screwing of the travel agents, should actually be of more concern.  Travel Agents were, are and will always be your very best way to buy travel other than airfare.  The variables in an airfare purchase are much more efficiently crafted and technology has reached a point where it is better to do it yourself.  Unless you are traveling outside of your country, then you need a travel agent there too because when you get into international flight variables and requirements, they know, you don’t.  

On cruises, travel agents, good ones anyway, keep up with all that is going on and offer great value (there’s that word again) because they don’t cost you anything to use.  Rather, they save you money and get you more for the money you spend.  That’s a perfect definition of Value as it applies to travel:

They Save You Money And Get You More For The Money You Spend.

Economy Woes= Fabulous Cruise Bargains

Uh huh, that’s right:  The sour US Ecomomy is making for some of the best values in cruise vacations I have ever seen!

Not since the post-911 slump in travel have there been as many great values out there just for the taking.  That’s right now; it gets better starting Monday January 5th.   Then, all the holiday celebrations and festivities will be over and it will be time to begin what we call the “wave season”.  This is a period of time starting about the first of the year, every year, when many travelers lock in to a cruise for an upcoming vacation.

This year will be better than ever with the cruise lines offering everything from reduced deposits to generous onboard credits for booking individual reservations.   Thinking about starting a group cruise for a family reunion, graduation, wedding,  or other special occasion any time between now and 2010?  The very best values will be available to you.

A note of caution: Don’t wait too long to buy!   I’m not saying this as some sales ploy either (I hate sales people and most often hang up when they call on the phone), this is reality.  Once bookings start coming in the old law of supply and demand will take over and those low prices will disappear as quickly as they came about.  One of the best parts of booking a cruise vacation is that you get to lock in the price of your vacation well in advance.  There is simply no better value than a cruise and now is the time to book.

Remember, your deposit is needed to lock in your price and it is 100% refundable when booked through a reputable travel agent and cancelled before final payment is due.  

What’s that?  ”booked through a reputable travel agent” you wonder?

That is the key to success in booking travel of any kind and especially cruises.  The “online cruise brokers” (think crook, used-car salesman, or other despicable character) would have you believe that booking a cruise is just as easy as clicking here and there and comparing prices.   Wrong.  Absolutely Wrong.

A good travel agent on your side is your advocate who keeps up on all the available deals and offers and makes sure you get them and take advantage of everything you qualify for.  Internet Cruise Brokers do not do this at all.  In fact, once the sale is made, good luck even getting a call through or email answered by these people.  

You see, the thing you want to lock in on with a cruise is VALUE not low price.  There will always be someone with an unbelieveably low price.  Don’t you believe it.  Look at the fine print to discover the junk fees they charge which will probably apply to you.  Look at the fine print to see that the super low price does not include everything.  Often they try to throw you off by offering “free” travel insurance or prepaid gratuities.  Again, the fine print reveals the true nature of these offers.

The fact is:  There ARE very good values out there from legitimate travel agents who have been in business many years are highly trained and motivated to keep you as a customer for life, not just a one time shot.

These are the agents you need and you need them right now.  

I am fond of  ”old sayings” and one of the very best that applies here is “The Internet is for looking, Travel Agents are for booking”   Believe it and book that next cruise in the next 30 days to get the very best value available with a travel agent who will take good care of you.  

Some other things to watch for

• Where does the money go?  You do not want to do business with any agency that holds your money.  Ask them “What will it say on my statement when the credit/debit card payment comes through?”  If they say anything other than the name of the cruise line, run!  These Internet Cruise Brokers go out of buisness almost daily and take your money with them.  You would have very little hope of getting it back and your vacation will be ruined
• Send them an email or call them on the phone and see how long it takes for them to respond.  Even the most experienced travelers will need to make a change or ask a question about a booking.  You need to be able to get in touch with them on your schedule
• Ask your friends.  That is one of the very best ways to find a good agent.  If your friends had a good experience, you probably will too
• Ask the right questions:  What other fees to you charge?  Can I see a copy of your Terms of Sale for a cruise?  Can I see a copy of your business license?  How many cruises have you personally booked in the last year?  The answers to all these questions are simple, easy and should not be difficult for any reputable agent to answer