Remember when Carnival did its merger with Holland America? Travel
agents were very concerned at that time about Carnival ruining the
HAL brand. When Royal Caribbean purchased Celebrity, the same
concerns existed perhaps some were justified. So why have we not
heard the same grumblings over the imminent takeover of P&O
Princess by Carnival? Could it be that there is not really that
much to differentiate Princess from the other mass-market cruise
brands?
Let’s face it: If you were blindfolded and removed the employee
name badges, you could be two days into a cruise before you would
know if you were on Carnival, Royal Caribbean or Princess.
Unfortunately for the consumer, the major cruise lines (much like
the major airlines) have spent more time trying to be like the
other guy than being different from the other guy. True, Carnival
has the “fun ship” identity, and Royal Caribbean is pounding away
at the adventure-seekers with its “get out there” theme, but what
brand message does Princess really have? Instead of exploiting
their “Love Boat” franchise with a full-blown “romance at sea”
theme, they have become just another big cruise line.
The concern now is that with Princess in its fold, Carnival will
virtually dominate the number of berths in Alaska next year. But
don’t forget: All Royal Caribbean has to do is reposition one of
their behemoth Voyager-class vessels to compete in the Mexican
Riviera and Alaska, and the playing field will become a little more
level.
From a pure marketing perspective, Royal Caribbean and Celebrity
both have slicker and clearer brand messages to the consumer. And
of course, Royal Caribbean now has $62 million more to spend to
promote Alaska in 2003. Could it be that Richard Fain planned this
all along?
