They certainly were bright, blue and sunny from my vantage point. I started writing this post sitting aboard the top deck of a cruise ship that was rounding the last bend of a hot, tropical vacation.
What's clearly more interesting about this topic is the fact that this moderately high priced vacation ocean liner was completely packed, as in sold out. And, it seems that at least three other similar cruises that embarked on the exact same voyage fared the same.
Normally, this inconsequential fact should mean little to you and me. Except, a little birdie (in this case, one of the captain's crew) happened to mention to me that these exact same cruises were only 40-50 percent filled during the same time last year. And, had 20-30 percent vacancies just three and four months ago. After doing a little research on the Web, I found a number of travel publication articles which confirmed the same type of numbers over the last 18 months.
So, what does it mean? To me, it's a tell-tale sign that the masses are finally starting to become consumers again of higher end vacation packages. I'd say that means they also feel more confident that our economy has stabilized and life is getting better, as well.
By the way, I haven't taken a cruise in 20 years (and the one experience I had was commonly referred to as a "booze cruise.") So, I really didn't know what to expect from a Royal Caribbean Cruise line vacation. In the end, I'm not sure that I'm a cruise faring guy (cramped living conditions don't do it for me). But, I have to say that Royal Caribbean's (RC) service is simply fantastic and the overall experience was very positive. So, here's a little bit of a plug for the RC brand since the topic coincides with this post.
Every night, dinner was a true delight. Most people think of eating on cruises as a caloric adventure because of the "all you can eat" mindset. But, that doesn't necessarily equate to eating good food (only gaining lots of weight). Sure, you could get all you want at RC. But, surprisingly the lunch and dinner meals were gourmet in nature and whether one chose steak, seafood, Italian or even Indian, it all tasted great. In fact, each meal was so scrumptious that we felt as though our family could have been transplanted into a high end New York City restaurant.
There were about 2,500 people aboard our boat. That's a lot of needy souls. Yet, the customer service across the board was truly phenomenal. From the cleaning woman who took care of our room (she literally created animals out of our towels at night for the kids), to the waiting staff (who seemed to have a Radar O'Reilly sense of quickly providing us with something before we even had to ask), to every staff member I came into contact with (who never stopped smiling). Just pretty amazing.
This was a special vacation because we celebrated my parents’ 50th wedding anniversary. I know they really enjoyed having our whole family together to mark this momentous occasion. Here's to them and the hope of more blue skies ahead.
Normally, this inconsequential fact should mean little to you and me. Except, a little birdie (in this case, one of the captain's crew) happened to mention to me that these exact same cruises were only 40-50 percent filled during the same time last year. And, had 20-30 percent vacancies just three and four months ago. After doing a little research on the Web, I found a number of travel publication articles which confirmed the same type of numbers over the last 18 months.
So, what does it mean? To me, it's a tell-tale sign that the masses are finally starting to become consumers again of higher end vacation packages. I'd say that means they also feel more confident that our economy has stabilized and life is getting better, as well.
By the way, I haven't taken a cruise in 20 years (and the one experience I had was commonly referred to as a "booze cruise.") So, I really didn't know what to expect from a Royal Caribbean Cruise line vacation. In the end, I'm not sure that I'm a cruise faring guy (cramped living conditions don't do it for me). But, I have to say that Royal Caribbean's (RC) service is simply fantastic and the overall experience was very positive. So, here's a little bit of a plug for the RC brand since the topic coincides with this post.
Every night, dinner was a true delight. Most people think of eating on cruises as a caloric adventure because of the "all you can eat" mindset. But, that doesn't necessarily equate to eating good food (only gaining lots of weight). Sure, you could get all you want at RC. But, surprisingly the lunch and dinner meals were gourmet in nature and whether one chose steak, seafood, Italian or even Indian, it all tasted great. In fact, each meal was so scrumptious that we felt as though our family could have been transplanted into a high end New York City restaurant.
There were about 2,500 people aboard our boat. That's a lot of needy souls. Yet, the customer service across the board was truly phenomenal. From the cleaning woman who took care of our room (she literally created animals out of our towels at night for the kids), to the waiting staff (who seemed to have a Radar O'Reilly sense of quickly providing us with something before we even had to ask), to every staff member I came into contact with (who never stopped smiling). Just pretty amazing.
This was a special vacation because we celebrated my parents’ 50th wedding anniversary. I know they really enjoyed having our whole family together to mark this momentous occasion. Here's to them and the hope of more blue skies ahead.
Ed, I'm confused. Last month you blogged about barreling through upstate New York and lamenting the depressed state of the local economy. Now, a month later, you're positively beaming about your fellow cruisemates living it up. What's up with that?
Posted by: Steve Cody | April 26, 2010 at 11:28 AM
We’re talking about two completely different demographics (lower middle class/poor versus upper middle class). I don’t see the economy getting any better for the lower classes in upstate NY anytime soon. But, times change quickly. Sometimes, all it takes is a few months for our perception of the economy to go from ok to terrible, or terrible to ok.
Posted by: Ed Moed | April 26, 2010 at 11:52 AM
It sounds like a nice occasion, Ed. Many congratulations to your parents on their 50th.
Steve, Ed's got it right on both counts. Reasonably comfortable middle-class families who watched their pennies in 2009, have work and stayed out of debt are now spending on a little on luxuries like a cruise. That has nothing to do with the miserable lack of opportunities in NY State counties like Delaware, Chenango or Greene. Or, for that matter, Wayne County, Michigan. Nothing has replaced the job erosion these areas have suffered over the last 40-plus years, nor should the current recovery -- if it's real -- have any impact either.
Posted by: BomberpeteNY | April 26, 2010 at 06:54 PM