Either there’s been a dip in the advertising by major cruise lines, or it just seems that way. Everybody’s just a little gun shy about promoting cruises when bodies are still being discovered off the shores of Italy.
The cruise pendulum continues to swing towards river cruising, and there is no shortage of 
advertising these days by the river cruisers, almost all of which are adding ships to their fleets.
Meanwhile, the ocean-going companies are taking heat.
Carnival, for example, was heavily criticized for commercials that ran on NFL playoff telecasts two days after the tragedy involving a ship from a cruise line it owns, Costa. Given that the accident was Friday night and the telecasts were Sunday afternoon, the criticism seems a little harsh…nevertheless, scheduled ads were pulled from NBC by Tuesday.
Yesterday, Carnival spokesman Vince Gullicksen told examiner.com:
“We are actively evaluating marketing across the brands and geographic regions with each brand being sensitive to their specific audiences. For the Carnival Cruise Lines brand, we have suspended broadcast and digital advertising, as well as direct mail marketing for the time being.”
Princess and Avalon are offering an ocean-river cruise combo, giving passengers a chance to get a taste of both worlds and do some head-to-head comparison. The two cruise lines tested the market last summer and obviously found it to be fertile.
In May, the Emerald Princess leaves Copenhagen on a tour of Baltic and Scandinavian cities, returning to the Danish port 11 days later. Passengers who take the new “cruisetour” are transported to an Avalon Waterways ship to cruise the Rhine River, from Basel to Amsterdam, for a week.
Since the Emerald carries 3,000 passengers and Avalon ships carry fewer than 150 passengers, it’s not for everyone.
Like all innovations, it will likely be copied, for the benefit of both ocean and river cruise lines.
Passengers, too.
DAILY DEAL:
Celebrity Infinity
7 nights
September 7, 2012
Seattle (return): Ketchikan, Juneau, Tracy Arm/Inside Passage (cruising), Skagway, Victoria
Inside $809
www.celebritycruises.com