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Bigger Better, New & Improved Listen
to the cruise industry-an industry fixated on superlatives. Hear claims
to possessing the world's largest ship, the most expensive ship, the
largest ship to transit the Panama Canal, "the highest-rated premium
cruise line" (a claim made by Celebrity Cruises), "the only
premium cruise line" (a counter claim made by Holland America Line),
"the highest-rated major cruise line of more than two ships"
(a claim unearthed only after excavating deep into a recent Conde Nast
Traveler reader poll), the largest casino afloat, the largest verandas
afloat, the largest suites afloat (still with us?), the largest suites
with verandas afloat . . . well, you get the picture. If it seems
that the cruise industry is going hoarse with hyperbole, consider that
last year six new ships slid off to sea with a good bottle of bubbly
smashed against their hulls. This year, nine more will follow. With
competition fierce, superlatives become important to marketing departments
charged with winning the high-stakes version of "You Sunk My Battleship." What's
at stake is the claim to the sublime superlative that counts most-"We
made the most money." But it's a game that sometimes deceives its
players. Are superlatives important? We asked Royal Caribbean International
Chairman & CEO Richard Fain. "I don't think it's superlatives,
per se," he answers. "Clearly, at Royal Caribbean, we have
our sights set on being the best, offering the most choice, in our competitive
set." To submerge
any doubt about whose battleship is biggest, Royal Caribbean recently
introduced a 142,000-ton ship, almost a third larger than the Grand
Princess, which stole the claim as the world's largest ship from the
Carnival Destiny. Voyager of the Seas features "such startling
innovations," gushes a company press release, as an ice-skating
rink, and more balconies and the largest youth center of any ship afloat. Grand Princess features three main dining rooms, three alternative dining rooms including the high seas' first Southwestern-themed restaurant, three show lounges, a wedding and renewal-of-vows chapel, a virtual reality arcade, a two-level kids' center, a disco 14 stories above the sea, and more. Still,
it's not about size, Fain says, it's about choice. "It's a ship
built around the amenities, facilities, and lifestyle features today's
sophisticated travelers demand, a total vacation experience equal to,
perhaps even better than, the best land-based alternative." Rivaling,
and surpassing, land-based resorts is the impetus behind the sound and
fury. The industry is intent on establishing not only the notion that
it offers more choice than any resort could ever dream of but also the
idea that cruising has changed dramatically over the years. "The
cruise that our parents' generation might have known was one where there
was an exercise class, then a dance class, followed by bingo,"
says Rick James, senior vice president of sales and corporate relations
for Princess Cruises. "It was one activity followed by another.
You had the choice to participate or go off and read a book." Today,
however, cruise execs evangelize that their new ships offer "unprecedented
choice," the industry's current catch phrase. During an interview
for this story, Bob Dickinson, the charismatic Carnival Cruise Lines'
president, used the word "choice" 12 times. "People want
more choice," he says. "That's why we've done things like
offer five, six, seven, eight choices for dining, because people want
more choices. And that's why we've expanded our entertainment-people
want more choices . . . ." What are
the choices on today's ships? They range from on-board golf courses
to your own home. That's right, plans have been laid to launch a ship
called The World, which will have private homes. "It's the first
new idea to come along in resort living in decades," says Robert
Burnett, president of ResidenSea U.S.A. (When budgeting for your floating
dream home, don't forget to add the requisite $5,000 and up monthly
fee to help pay for the ship's operation, its 500 crew, all port and
fuel charges, daily maid service, and dues to the ResidenSea Club.) Moreover, cruise lines increasingly are innovating their dining venues. The Disney Magic features rotation dining, where guests move each evening to one of three themed restaurants, including one where the walls change from a black-and-white "artist's sketch" to a full-color animation as the meal progresses. Another industry first for Disney: two bathrooms in each cabin. Bigger, better, new and improved. Does anyone care? Sure. People like the biggest, the newest, the best. It's not that it necessarily makes the experience better, but the value of the cruise is often perceived by how much there is to do on board. Which raises the question-with invested billions to recoup, is cruising still a good vacation value? Cruise execs tell us it's superlative.
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