Poll - Do cruise advertising slogans mean anything to you?

[Paul Motter]

How do you feel about advertising slogans in the cruise lines. Do they make a difference in how you perceive the cruise line using one? Do you feel they accurately depict the cruiseline? Or does they just go in one ear and out the other? Do you "buy" these slogans, do you even think about them?

I am referring to:

* Carnival advertises that they are the Fun Ships.
* RCL suggest active lifestyle ("Get out there")
* Holland Amercan tags its ads with "Signature of Excellence"
* NCL talks about Freestyle Cruising.

And.. Of the four slogans up above - please reply and put them in the order of most effective (descriptive, catchy, accurate) to least effective.

[Paul Motter]

My personal opinion of effectiveness...


* Carnival advertises that they are the Fun Ships.
* NCL talks about Freestyle Cruising.
* RCL suggest active lifestyle ("Get out there")
* Holland Amercan tags its ads with "Signature of Excellence"

But that also reflects how long each slogan has been in use, I believe.

[dina]

All I know is when I hear the song they play on TV with Carnival.. I start singing with it and want to immediately book my next trip.

[Paul Motter]

Originally Posted by dina

All I know is when I hear the song they play on TV with Carnival.. I start singing with it and want to immediately book my next trip.

Are you referring to "Somewhere, beyond the sea?"

Remember the old song, "If you could see me now, upon a funship cruise?"

Speaking of songs, I actually get emails from people asking me who does that song (Bobby Darin originally) and the Royal Caribbean song (I don't know)

[Trip]

Remember a few years back,Carnival had dancing lobsters,and tropical palm tree ads? I loved those..ANYTHING that smacks of the tropics and it grabs my attention. RCI too, once had an ad, with a sound track done by monks,..It was wonderful! Whatever they do, if it's a commercial for a ship..I watch!

My very first cruise was on Carnival, beacuse in 1990, they were the Fun Ships, and they heavily advertised.

What I don't like is the advertising on the hulls of ships...The logo, on the sides of RCI ships..where is my paint remover?

That big non smoking icon that was on the Paradise..ugh

The paintings on the NCL ships, I think it would be nicer on the dining room menus..JMHO

[DougR.]

Gee I thought HAL's slogan was "For the newly wed and nearly dead>"

[Mike M]

Most of the slogans are so vague that it really doesn't define what the cruise line is really like. It may lead you to further investigate what the line entails but I would never book based on a slogan.

Take care,
Mike

[dina]

Originally Posted by Paul Motter

Are you referring to "Somewhere, beyond the sea?"

Remember the old song, "If you could see me now, upon a funship cruise?"

Speaking of songs, I actually get emails from people asking me who does that song (Bobby Darin originally) and the Royal Caribbean song (I don't know)

Yes indeed. That's the song. Instead of Nemo, I immediately smile and remember my cruise.

[cruisinforever]

First of all, RCCL slogan is fine by me and especially seeing their ads in the middle of a blizzard! #2 Carnival "Somewhere beyond the Sea" always brings a smile (grew up listening to Bobby Darin). Don't remember too much about ads for HAL or NCL. Speaking of NCL, we saw the Norwegian Jewel in Boston last October and they took a beautiful ship and ruined it with the gross exterior paint. For me esthetics count as well as ambiance within the interior of a ship.

Betty

[Paul Motter]

honestly, I find it hard to believe that the slogans don't have some influence on your perception of each line. these companies spend a lot of time & effort working on branding these thoughts into your heads.

Should I suppose that it is because you are all knowlegeable cruisers that your perception goes beyond the slogans?

[UConn1]

Originally Posted by Paul Motter

and the Royal Caribbean song (I don't know)

That is Lust for Life, originally done by Iggy Pop I believe.


Jodi

[David West]

Every time I see Carnival's or RCCL's commercial on TV, it makes me wish I was on a ship I think I could actually live on a ship.

Happy cruising to all;
David

[Irish]

I agree with Dina, I just love the song "Somewhere, beyond the sea?" I too, I immediately smile and remember my cruise. When it comes on I start singing and everyone knows why and to please be quite. I can't wait until Feb. Not only is it me anniversity, but also our next cruise.

"Somewhere, beyond the sea?"
"Somewhere, beyond the sea?"
"Somewhere, beyond the sea?"
"Somewhere, beyond the sea?"
"Somewhere, beyond the sea?"
"Somewhere, beyond the sea?"

John 8)

[Mike M]

Originally Posted by Paul

Should I suppose that it is because you are all knowlegeable cruisers that your perception goes beyond the slogans?

If I wasn't so knowlegeable the Carnival mascot "Funship Freddie" would make me run as far away from Carnival as I could.

Take care,
Mike[/quote]

[Ewokdude]

It somewhat does for a 14 year old. With Carnival, My brother and I like to make fun of what they show in the comercial. RCCL advertises the Freedom OTS way too much, so it doesnt have much of an influence on me. I really havent seen HAL's or NCL's advertisments(other than on The Apprentice) so i cant comment there.

I guess you can say I "out smart" the commercials in a sense.

[Sea Trekker]

I put all commercials on mute then run to the fridge for ice cream or the bathroom. the only commercials I like are where the animals talk & do cute tricks.

[rollerdonna]

Advertising slogans don't have any effect on me, but I sure do like the Carnival commercials with "Somewhere, Beyond the Sea.." I think the only TV commercials I have seen here are Carnival and RCCL with the extreme sports featured. (no interest there...)

donna

[ms_Kalamity]

Can I vote for the theme song from "The Love Boat"

Jane

[Cruznut2]

When I hear the "Somewhere...Beyond the sea" music I have to smile and hum along. Then find myself singing it all day. It seems to stick in my head. I have a drawer full of Kathie Lee singing and dancing her way through tapes I use to sell cruises. Never did a Royal Caribbean Cruise. I doubt that I will. their action advertising really wears me out!!!! I do not think I would enjoy Holland America. From what I am hearing the "atmosphere" is a bit stiffer than the relaxed atmosphere I like. I did do Celebrity and found the atmosphere to be too stiff and more formal than I like. Dont get me wrong, I enjoy Formal nights but the general atmosphere of a Celebrity ship was too formal for me. Patty recognises the "Beyond the Sea " advertising and announces "There is MY boat"

Laura

[mehawk]

Hey Paul, good looking picture. I choose Carnival. I have always had a great time with them and I stick by them. DF and I will cruise with them twice this year!!

[Paul Motter]

Once again - I am surprised all the "branding" done by the cruise lines does not have more effect on our readers. I expected people to look inside and say "well, I suppose those tag lines are engrained in me somewhat."

Hey cruise lines - maybe you've been wasting too much money on TV advertising - time to focus on a little more WEB advertising?

[Fern]

Paul said:

Should I suppose that it is because you are all knowlegeable cruisers that your perception goes beyond the slogans.

Yes, I think you should suppose this! Even "new" cruisers have generally read these boards for a while before posting.

You'd have to ask people who have never cruised whether these advertisements made a difference in what they booked .

You're preaching to the choir !

[susancruzs]

I love the song, Beyond the Sea but it does not make me want to cruise with Carnival again. I tried it once, food and service was better than I expected but the ships themselves are just not my cup of tea.

I'm tired of RCI's theme song and their sports marketing, get out there, etc. I think it is time for a new ad campaign.

I don't remember seeing an ad for HAL, possibly they don't target the Chicago area market for some reason???

I like the Love Boat Theme, too!

[Paul Motter]

HAL does very few commercials, but NCL does a lot of commercials usually regionally in cities they sail out of. NCL has been doing fantastic job of "product" placement lately with the Donald Trump show "The Apprentice" and the new documentary with Rosie O'Donnel on HBO.

BUt HAL does magazine ads with "Signature of Excellence" all the time.

Who can name Princess Cruises' Slogan?

[susancruzs]

I do see an NCL ad now and then, being in the Midwest, rather far from the coasts has something to do with the marketing, I'm sure! :-)

Is the Princess slogan, Escape Completely? I remember taking my first Princess cruise in 1986 on the Royal Princess and almost everyone was from west of the Mississippi. I didn't even know much about Princess at that time but once onboard I knew it was a step up from NCL.

I considered HAL and Princess pretty much for the older set and seeing as the cruise was 14 days, I was the youngest person onboard (at 39)!!!!

[Fern]

Who can name Princess Cruises' Slogan?

I can! But I had to look at the Princess site to find it!

We're going on our second Princess cruise in November, but I had no idea what their slogan was! We plan on escaping, completely. I don't remember seeing any commercials for any lines except Carnival and RCL here in Arkansas.

[nlb1050]

Carnival, RCCL and Celebrity are the only ones that really advertise around here and to be honest I look up to see if it is a new one but that's it. They never really make me want to cruise with them.

[Sailing gal]

I always look and think about them. I can only remember RCCL and Carnival. Oh yeah, I forgot Disney. They advertise around here. That is appealing as a Mom.

Karen

[superhero184]

from someone who is going to take their first cruise this july, id say yes, the slogans do help me make up my mind. At first, i saw a carnival commerical and instantly started researching it because i wanted a fun ship. but i found many views suggesting the ships were not only fun ships but more like party ships, and i wanted a cruise both me and my dad would benefit from. Something with teen things for me and adult things for dad. That was when i saw an RCCL commercial and decided that was the one for us. we were looking to get out there and explore the islands, not party it up on some ship for 5 days. As for disney, i loved walt disney world so i figured a cruise would be better if anything, but after looking into it i decided that it was too little kid geared and too expensive.

[dina]

I never notice this before but since reading this post it really stood out. I get Gourmet magazine. I never realized how many pages of ads for the different cruise lines are in it. It's amazing and every single one of them are all advertisement about dining options and the quality of the food. This is not so much surprising considering the magazine the ads are in. Has anyone else noticed this?