I love taking cruises.
Those are my vacations
of choice.
But cruising is changing,
going from being a treat,
a luxury,
to simply being a means
to visit a lot of places
easily
on one vacation.
When I first started cruising,
cabins were tidied
three times a day.
I thought this was
unnecessary
but I certainly saw it
as a luxury,
as being pampered.
Today,
cabins are tidied
once a day
but only
if the cabin is unoccupied
during that small slice of time.
In the past,
there were gleaming white table cloths
on the dining room tables.
Dinner was a production.
Today,
there are no table cloths
on the cafeteria-style table tops.
I feel like I’m eating
in a food court.
There are no individual toiletries
in the cabins.
There are pumps of shampoo and body wash
and no lotions.
The tissue is the cheapest stuff
ever produced.
There have been a thousand reductions
in quality,
a thousand cost savings
in every area.
And that has made
cruising a commodity,
replaceable,
not as magical.
If you cut quality everywhere,
your product or service
can’t claim to be a luxury
or a treat.
Those cuts will be noticeable.