Sweet Ratings

by Don McCann

My wife recently received a gift card for Godiva, so we set out for a trip to the mall to make our selections.  Talk about a kid in a candy store, how fun is it to gaze over all of those chocolate pieces of heaven and get to select some for ‘free’?!  Anyway, after some careful consideration, we made our selections (she allowed me to share in the decision making process).  As we exited the store, it occurred to me that any chocolate is a treat, but somehow they seem ‘rated’ and this reminded me of my own profession in the cruise business.

We’re frequently asked to ‘rate’ the different cruise lines and it occurs to me that one parent company embodies a similar rating scenario as some chocolates!  Royal Caribbean Cruises Limited is the parent to three familiar cruise lines.  First, you have the Hershey’s of the cruise industry – Royal Caribbean International; very popular, available to literally everyone, and always a treat.  Then there is the sister line, Celebrity Cruises, or I’d say the Dove of this group; widely available, well known, but just a bit more special and a ‘step up’.  Lastly, the boutique segment – Azamara Club Cruises or the Godiva of this family; definitely a special treat, a little more expensive, but well worth it, and something to savor!

OK, so maybe it’s a bit odd to make such analogies, but such enjoyable delights being compared make perfect sense to me; what do YOU think?!