Ming or Bling ?

The big holy grail of the cruise industry has been trying to capture the new to cruisers and Royal Caribbeans have upped the ante with a new  2020 strategy .They have spent the last 6 months putting together plans including new marketing It wants to allign the right guest to the right product.Next year will be one of the most exciting for them in europe, with Anthem of the Seas sailing from Southampton , Allure of the Seas sailing from Barcelona after a 165 m refit ,Explorer  of the Seas positioned  in Rome after new features added such as a perfect storm waterslide and a Johnny Rockets express diner,  and the  Rhapsody positioned in Venice.

Princess have announced the Sky Princess will have the largest balconies ever seen on a cruise ship, with the two bed roomed suites measuring 1873 square ft with seperate living rooms and 270 degree view balconies.Again they are deploying their own record number of ships in Europe next year with 15% more capacity  than 2019, the launch of the Enchanted Princess, and the Sky Princess with over 3600 passengers sailing out of Copenhagen.

P&O have the Iona debut with the Norwegian Fjords the main attractions on the ship sailing from Southampton all summer.

Celebrity also have the magnificent Apex starting its maiden voyage 01 April 2020

The new MSC Seashore launching in 2021  will have 28 terraced suites and 2 new suites with whirlpools, the MSC Magnifica is also being stretched and over 200 new cabins and  a new water park being added.The Bling is back, with MSC announcing the Swarovski  Crystal suite composed of million crystals as cruise lines step up the wow factor to entice new millennials to sea
MSC have announced the first ever Swarovski suite on the Bellissima their newest flagship , the staircases have been ordained with them since the Fantasia,the new  cabins will be featured in the Yacht club area, signified by the crystal door numbers,with over 700000 crystal in the space, from fully crystallised furniture to crystal embellished wallpaper, if you can’t afford one of these cabins then you can always visit the Champagne bar onboard which has over half a million crystals per square metre. in the design.

But if it’s more Ming than bling you want why not try out the most expensive suite at sea, the Regent suite on the Seven Seas Explorer,with highlights including 2 Picassos to stare at and a vintage Steinway piano worth over a quarter of a million dollars.Prices start from over £56000 for a two week cruises.Oh yes, that’s per person.

So if its not with new ships, new destinations or new innovations and technology, cruise lines are going all out to wow the millennial market, in whatever income bracket they may be, dont forget mostly that you can take the cheapest inside cabin and still have access to 90% of the new facilities. You could always take your Swarovski pendant or bracelet with you.