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Luxury Institute Survey: Wealthy Americans Rate Seabourn, Silversea
and Lindblad Most Prestigious Luxury Cruise Lines for 2006
NEW YORK Aug. 28, 2006
In a world of plentiful cruise line options, which brands do wealthy
consumers rate the most luxurious? According to the 2006 Luxury Brand
Status Index survey of Luxury Cruise Lines, conducted by the Luxury
Institute, Seabourn was rated the most prestigious Cruise Line among
its peers. Silversea was a close second, followed by last year's
winner, Lindblad Expeditions. Crystal Cruises rounds out the "A List"
of Luxury Cruise Lines. Regent, (formerly Radisson Seven Seas Cruises)
also moved up in the rankings.
Twenty brands were rated including: Carnival Cruises, Celebrity
Cruises, Clipper Cruise Lines, Costa Cruise Lines, Crystal Cruises,
Cunard Line, Delta Queen Steamboat, Disney Cruise Lines, Holland
America Line, Lindblad Expeditions, Norwegian Cruise Line, Oceania
Cruises, Orient Lines, Princess Cruises, Regent (formerly Radisson
Seven Seas), Royal Caribbean, Seabourn Cruise Lines, Silversea Cruise
Lines, Viking River Cruises, and Windstar Cruises.
Seabourn received the strongest ratings in delivering consistently
superior quality, and was rated the cruise line "most used by people
who are admired and respected" by wealthy consumers. Silversea nearly
matched Seabourn in uniqueness and exclusivity scores and in making
the customer "feel special across the entire customer experience." No
surprise then, that high net worth customers rated Seabourn and
Silversea similarly as "worthy of a significant price premium."
Interestingly, last year's winner, Lindblad, was rated highest in
willingness to recommend the brand to people whom wealthy consumers
care about most.
Here is a sampling of what high net worth peers said about Seabourn:
-- "Vessels are very exclusive, smaller, and very luxurious."
-- "Very exclusive. Awesome service. Great attention to detail."
-- "Luxury, luxury, luxury - but you pay for it!"
"We live in a transparent world where the only 'expert' opinions that
count are those of consumers, not pundits or reviewers," said Milton
Pedraza, CEO of the Luxury Institute. "Particularly in the cruise line
industry we find most executives are open to a candid dialogue in the
form of independently derived quantitative ratings from prospects and
customers. Most cruise line executives understand that customer
feedback is a gift that needs to be embraced and are committed to
creating memorable one of a kind experiences for their customers.
Those that do not will find that the "real new sheriff in town" are
their customers, not shareholders, and the new weapon of choice for
consumers, particularly the powerful wealthy, are objective and
independent, validated customer reviews from an impartial entity."
A nationally representative sample of 1,000 wealthy consumers was
surveyed online. Respondents had an average household income of $616k
and average net worth of $3.8m. Survey results are weighted to match
the demographic and net worth profile of the same audience according
to the latest Survey of Consumer Finances from the Federal Reserve.
About the Luxury Institute
The Luxury Institute is the uniquely independent and objective
research institution that is the trusted and respected voice of the
high net worth consumer. The Institute provides a portfolio of
proprietary publications and research that guides and educates high
net-worth individuals and the companies that cater to them on leading
edge trends, high net worth consumer rankings and ratings of luxury
brands, and best practices. Publications include the monthly Wealth
Report, the Luxury Brand Status Index surveys, the Luxury Best
Practices surveys and the Luxury Consumer Experience Index surveys. To
reach the Luxury institute, please call 646-792-2669 or go to
www.luxuryinstitute.com.
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