Churchill Did Not Say It!

I have received dozens of emails from people allegedly quoting Winston Churchill along the lines (no pun intended !) of this:

Late in his life, Sir Winston took a cruise on an Italian ship. A journalist from a New York newspaper approached the former prime minister to ask him why he chose to travel on an Italian line when the Queen Elizabeth under the British flag was available. Churchill gave the question his consideration and then gravely replied. 'There are three things I like about Italian ships. First, their cuisine, which is unsurpassed. Second, their service, which is quite superb. And then - in time of emergency - there is none of this nonsense about women and children first.'

The fact is that Winston Churchill never made the comment at all.  It seems that it was actually a joke from 1917 that was later sort of adopted by Noel Coward.  The Quote Investigator (http://quoteinvestigator.com/2012/01/21/nonsense-first/) has a wonderful analysis that debunks the myth.

Seabourn Signature Sale Continues - Let Me Clarify Cruise Sales For You

I previously let you know about what I see as Seabourn's first real sale in a very long time.  That sale, due to its success, is continuing.

How do I know this sale has excellent pricing?  It is, in part, because my client's followed my advice and booked early...so that when this sale came along my client already had the category and suite they desired and I had to reprice their cruises (if one of us discovered their cruise and suite category was included). 

It is a lot of extra work for me, but my clients have received the best of both worlds:  The Best Price and The Best Suite in their Desired Category on the Sailing of Their Choice.

You need to trust me on this being the best approach.  I have had many calls and emails for cruises that may or may not be on sale, but which clients waiting until later have found that what they desired was not available or that they had to move up or down categories (costing them more money or disappointing themselves with lesser accommodation or location). 

OK, now for the wording of the offer...Almost. 

The other day I was at a luncheon and the speaker said, "Listen carefully.  I will say '1,2,3 Clap'...and then you clap."  So he said "1,2,3" and the audience interupted him with a clap...and then he said, "Clap".  His words were clear:  Don't clap until after he said, "clap", but the audience was already trained through life to clap after "3", so they did what they were trained to do...and clapped before he said the magic word.

Now the wording.  If you read the words they are dead-on accurate:

•	Save up to 50% or more
•	Receive up to a 2-category upgrade
•	Up to 15% savings on select combination cruises
•	$1,000 per suite shipboard credit on premium suites
* On select sailings. See Terms and Conditions for details.

Complimentary upgrades are up to two categories on select voyages in oceanview, balcony & veranda categories only and are subject to availability at time of booking. Upgrade will be reflected in fare paid for selected suite category. Shipboard credit offer of $1,000 per suite ($500/person) on select voyages available in PH , CS, OW , SS , WG and GR suite categories only.

All the proper clarifications are there.  But...and to me it is a big "but"...the cruise consumer has already been trained to see what isn't highlighted.  So you "see" a 2-category upgrades on all suites and a $1,000 shipboard credit.

Unfortunately, what you don't see is that there are some really great prices independent of the hard to find 2 category upgrade and you become frustrated because the majority of upgrades are only one category and only from say an A to an A1 or a V1 to a V2 on the majority of sailings.

You are also confused by the term "premium" suite is because all suites on Seabourn are "premium", while the clarifying language is right there...in the fine print.

Now, let me give you an extreme, but all to common, example of how this can really confuse the already "trained" cruise consumer: I recently read a reader's comment in the Los Angeles Times about booking a Seabourn cruise in a veranda guarantee 10 days before sailing and that he wound up with a midship veranda suite (no category noted) that as a single would have cost him over $32,000.  Can you say, "Not true!"? That might have been the Brochure Price (something that I think should be eliminated from this industry as no cruise is ever...and I mean ever...sold at that price; only significantly less than that. 

To put this into perspective, the brochure shows a Brochure Fare of $15,900 per person for a V3, but that is immediately cut by 25% for the Early Booking Savings of 25% to $11,925 (all the other similar sailings had EBS of 35-45%...right in the brochure!).  That figure, as he was a single, was - according to the brochure - subject to a 200% single supplement:  Hence is $32,000 cruise and the reality of - absolute worst case scenario - $23,850.00.  That is a 34% overstatement of the absolute highest price one could pay for this cruise.

But, remember, this person booked a veranda guarantee and could have well wound up in a V1 suite and, for that matter, one with a very small balcony.  Knock another $2,250 off his $32,000 figure and now we are looking at a 48% overstatement of alleged savings off the absolute hightest price that could have been paid.

The fact is that this sailing was discounted further as, for some reason, South America was selling a bit soft for all of the cruise lines this autumn and winter.  I booked clients in a confirmed V6 suite for the next sailing at $6,499 per person back in July 2011...in a suite that they absolutely loved (and want on their next cruise)...because they listened to me.

Now, all of a sudden that $32,000 cruise for $9,000 doesn't sound like such an incredible deal; does it?  Was it a wonderful value?  Absolutely.  But we need to get away from the hype and smoke and mirrors.

So, if you are interested in a cruise, whether it be Seabourn, Crystal, Silversea, Azamara, Oceania, or whomever, you need a knowledgeable travel agent.

In the coming weeks you are going to see far more in the way of online booking engines.  Heck, my consortium, Ensemble Travel Group, is making one available for me to install on my website. But, I am not going to be doing that.  Why?  Didn't you just read this article?

If you have any questions or need information, please give me a call or drop me an email. 

United States:           (877) 2GO – LUXURY

London, England:     020 8133 3450

Brisbane, Australia: (07) 3102 4685

International:            +1 732 578 8585

Skype                         egoldring

 

I will clarify things for you...and give you great service and excellent pricing/added values.

Seabourn World Cruise Update - January 25, 2012

A quick update to show you where the Seabourn Quest has been during the first 20 days of its 2012 World Cruise.

Obviously the last few days have been sea days with lots of relaxation, but also a good bit of fun.

Italy Gives The Cruise Industry Another Black Eye: Oceania Riveria's Delivery Is Delayed

What I have known to be a somewhat chaotic maritime industry in Italy (sometimes truly unbelievably chaotic) as once again proven to be the rule rather than the exception.

Oceania Cruises has, unfortunately, announced that the Oceania Riviera's delivery has been delayed...a second time...now from April 24, 2012 to May 16, 2012.  The cause of the delay:  Strikes in Italy.

Being the delay is significant in time, there is simply no way that Oceania - being forced to cancel two cruises - can shift people who booked the Maiden Voyage to the new, anticipated, Maiden Voyage.  Instead they are being offered either a full refund, or if they rebook, a credit ranging from $250 to $1,000 per person.  (I, personally, think that is a bit on the cheeky side as most people booked to be on the Maiden Voyage and they will be given nothing if they request their money back.  Everyone should be given a future cruise credit of some sort, not just if you allow Oceania to keep your money.)

I was skeptical of Oceania's first announced delay of the Riviera's delivery when it said it was to allow the crew to get better acquainted with the ship.  I "knew" it was problems with the yard, but politics being what they are, a seemingly innocuous reason was given.

This raises some real concerns for me concerning the eventual fit and finish of Riviera; not that it is Oceania's fault...to the contrary.  I have seen the work of Italian yards when the yacht or ship is the last big project for the yard or there will be a significant cutback in staffing after delivery.  Pride in workmanship goes out the window and slapping it together with a rather arrogant "Who Cares?" attitude becomes pervasive...or, at least, pervasive enough to cause real issues.

This is truly unfortunate; especially because Oceania's Marina is a truly wonderful ship that has great ratings and truly pleases its passengers.

If there is silver lining for those who just found out they will not be on the Maiden Voyage, it is that those folks will miss what probably will be a host of issues and problems that will be the result of a rushed and not terribly well finished product.  That said, I am confident that given time and Oceania's now famous teamwork once Riviera is delivered she will be brought up to "ship shape" as quickly as possible.

Now, let's see how firm that May 16, 2012 date is!

Hype About the Costa Concordia Tragedy Is A Disservice

There are few things worse than bad journalism and hype causing not only unnecessary upset and poor decision making for the consumer, but distracting the professionals (from regulatory agencies to cruise lines to travel agents) from doing the job that is actually needed to be done.

The reporting on the Costa Concordia, and some of the reactions caused thereby, have more than bothered me.  I mean, would you expect less, when I complain bitterly about how individuals post, repeat and foster huge amounts of misinformation on Cruise Critic and the site’s owners not only don’t do anything to correct the erroneous information, they foster its creation. 

Why?  Because just like the media, it has become a matter of gaining readership and, therefore, increased rates for, and number of, advertisements.  In other words, veracity of content just isn’t that important; traffic is.

It started off slowly. My ears perked up when I heard a CNN report referencing the “luxury” cruise liner.  I think it is clear that the Costa Concordia is/was nothing close to a luxury cruise ship (and it is not a “liner”, but let’s not get too technical).  The ship itself is very closely related to a number of Carnival Cruise Line ships.  ‘Nuf said.

But then it grew. 

Undocumented passengers were allegedly onboard.  And then it expanded to there being secreted (possibly illegal) workers onboard. Those things were reported quickly.  What hasn’t really been reported is that the original claim was from a telephone call to the Hungarian Embassy from a person with a fictitious name supposedly looking for a relative.    But what it also did (other than bring Costa under false attack for allegedly not having a secure ship) was have a significant number of man hours spent not only by Costa, but governmental agencies and rescue workers to be sure that there were no more people missing…and trying to find these phantoms; not to mention the public relations/consumer concern end of things.

There has been huge focus on the muster drill procedures and, emotionally, a significant number of “consumer advocates” jumping on the bandwagon of how allegedly dangerous this was.  I am going to go out on a limb here and speak without emotion:  There were 4,000+ people on that ship and, worse case, 99.25% of them were safely evacuated and they were evacuated the idiocy of captain Schettino causing the problem, his delaying the evacuation for over an hour (rendering half of the lifeboats useless) and then he and his officers leaving everyone to their own devices as they abandoned ship and the passengers. How many lives would have been saved if the muster was held earlier in the cruise?  How many would have been saved if everyone brought their life jackets to the muster; noting a number of the souls discovered were wearing their life jackets and at least one woman died of a heart attack!

I know this may sound cold-hearted, but there are accidents within all modes of transportation and while everyone strives for, and prays for, 100% success rates in saving lives, it is just not possible.  Imagine if it was an airline crash (there are far more of those…and they are very rare) and 99.25% survived.  That would be considered a miracle.  Imagine a major highway pile-up type accident and 99.25% survived. 

I have read about there being a faulty design in the ship, but this is by people that don’t really know enough to make those calls.  Trust me on this: There are many very distinct professions and expertises in the maritime world and I have heard people speak of stability, hull shapes, etc. that not only haven’t done the engineering, but aren’t capable of doing it.  Hence I wonder (not really) why these are the people who put their faces out front stirring a pot that probably need not be stirred.  (I am still waiting to hear if all of the water-tight doors were properly closed and secured.  I have noted my hunch, but have not stated it to be a fact.)  Systems are only as good as their being followed.

Without going on too long, regardless of phony claims of stowaways, baseless claims of ship design issues, focusing on muster drills (because we understand them), etc., the fact is this accident was so obviously avoidable and the captain was so obviously incompetent…or worse.

What is found in almost every accident is that there is a significant human factor involved. Changing a muster drill may make you emotionally feel safer, but the reality of it is that the human (here the captain and the ship’s other officers) factors would have – not “could have” – avoided the entirety of the accident and would have – not “could have” – increased the survival rate to even closer to 100% if for no reason other than starting the evacuation procedures earlier (if not with more direction and supervision).

Yes, hype sells advertising.  But at what cost? 

What do you think?  Join the conversation on The Gold Standard Luxury Travel Forum.