Carnival Cruise Line Archives - Page 6 of 8

Articles tagged “Carnival Cruise Line”

Carnival steering cruise biz through uncharted social waters

by Chris Owen on Dec 27, 2010

Riding the bumper of last weeks designation as official confetti sponsor of the Times Square New Years Eve 2011 celebration, Carnival Cruise Lines launched this week a campaign that “inspires people to try new things to add more fun to their lives.” Carnival kind of “fun” that is.

Last week, Carnival invited everyone to get in on their signature “fun” by visiting their New Years Eve “Wishing Wall.” Visitors have been sharing their hopes and dreams for 2011 on slips of red, white and blue paper that will be added to the confetti used on New Years Eve. Make that a ton of confetti all falling literally in-your-face engagingly on Times Square.

“As a company that is built upon fun and memorable vacation experiences, we thought that it was time to help Americans put fun on the front burner,” said Jim Berra, senior vice president and chief marketing officer.

Born this week is Carnivals “Hey America, DidJa Ever?” element where the line is collecting the “Top 100 Firsts” from over 420,000 Facebook fans. Fans are encouraged to tighten up relationships by sharing experiences through photos and videos aimed to create events and memories. Carnival will help make those dreams come true for fans giving away anything from cruise vactions for four to appearing on stage with a favorite band.

Carnival is tightly focused on incorporating the fun element in life for all, consulting Robert Mack, celebrity life coach and author of the best-selling book, “Happiness From the Inside Out: The Art and Science of Fulfillment.” He reasons that to live your best life, inspirational personal goals are the key, saying “If you can stay engaged and keep it fun, you’ll be more committed.”

Indeed, the line has quietly committing itself to social platforms, capitalizing on the signature “fun” element that pervades their culture. Carnival’s senior cruise director John Heald has a popular long-running blog, the company’s twitter handle, @CCLSupport, takes care of guest relations issues swiftly, the line’s website promotes more interactivity and even the line’s new batch of commercials feature actual guests having a good dose of that fun.

It looks to be a seamless package with plenty of room for expansiion that other lines will no doubt try to duplicate shortly.

Flickr photo by familymwr

Breaking- Blizzard bearing down on cruise ports, delay announced

by Chris Owen on Dec 27, 2010

Strong winds and heavy snow closing in on the United States East coast promise to alter the travel plans of guests booked on sailings the first part of the week. Already, one delay has been reported and cruise lines are keeping a close eye on the storm and it’s effect on ships and airline schedules.

Carnival Fantasy’s arrival in Charleston, South Carolina, normally at 8 a.m. EST, “will be delayed by several hours due to inclement offshore weather” reports WCSC- TV news in Charleston. Embarking guests have been advised to arrive at the cruise port after 1:30 p.m. EST.

While no other ship delays have been announced so far, several other ships are scheduled to sail today. Norwegian Jewel sailing from New York should sail at 4 p.m. EST and Carnival Pride from Baltimore is scheduled to sail at 4:30 p.m. EST. No delays on those ships have been reported yet.

Delays to airline schedules for passengers both arriving and departing U.S. East coast airports servicing cruise passengers could cause modification of itineraries later in the day. During a major weather event, cruise lines sometimes hold sail-away, departing later than normal, to allow extra time for embarking guests to get to the ship.

This weather event prompts review of some important tips about cruise vacations:

Always arrive early to the city where your embarkation port is located, a day early in the Winter is a good idea just for this reason.
This weather event, which could cause cruise passengers to miss flights or the departure of a ship is also a really good reason to buy travel insurance that includes coverage for disruption of travel plans to or from the port.
Should travel plans be disrupted, those who booked using a travel agent may have an advantage over those who booked online.

Flickr photo by nesnet

2 unique new cruise ships sailing in 2011

by Chris Owen on Dec 24, 2010

2010 was a good year for new cruise ships. Highlights included Norwegian Cruise Line’s Norwegian Epic that set the bar solidly higher for at-sea entertainment, highlighted by a Cirque Dreams and Dinner experience that was well received. Answering that call for improved entertainment, new largest-ship-in-the-world Royal Caribbean’s Allure of the Seas followed nicely in the footsteps of older sister Oasis, clearly establishing herself as a unique ship of her own.

Looking forward to 2011, more new ships are on the horizon including Oceania Cruises new Marina, nearly double the size of the line’s existing three ships; Celebrity Silhouette, the fourth Solstice-class ship from Celebrity Cruises and another new yacht from Seabourn, the Seabourn Quest among others. Today we focus on two different ships by two different lines that will probably be the most talked-about of the bunch.

Disney Dream – at 128,000 tons, Disney Cruise Line’s new entry, the first of two with Disney Fantasy coming out next year, promises to steer Disney in a unique new at-sea direction. Sailing from Port Canaveral, the new ship will more than double the size of the Disney fleet carrying up to 4000 guests. Called “the most anticipated ship of 2011” by CruiseCritic.com editor Carolyn Spencer Brown

Carnival Magic – the second of Carnival Cruise Line’s Dream-class ship and will offer 3,693 guests a 7 to 12 day Mediterranean sailing in the Summer followed by a unique first for Carnival; home-porting a new ship in Galveston Texas. 130,000 ton Carnival Magic will make a total of 23 ships in the fleet. Look for this one to be launched with some unique, social ways capitalizing on Carnival’s signature “fun” element.

Carnival cruises to higher profit, forecasts future pricing

by Chris Owen on Dec 23, 2010

Carnival Corporation, the world’s largest cruise company, posted an almost 30% gain in net income over last year this week, signaling smooth sailing ahead for the operator of 98 ships spanning 11 different cruise lines. During an earnings call this week, the cruise giant shed some light on a number of topics and inadvertently gave some advice for those getting ready to buy a cruise.

Last month’s would-be PR nightmare, a fire aboard nearly-new Carnival Splendor turned out OK for the line with Chairman and CEO Mickey Arison noting “We didn’t see any impact at all” on bookings after the event. Quickly moving to do right by affected guests probably helped that potential PR disaster pass. Earlier this week, a U.S.Coast Guard safety alert acknowledged it was swift action by the ship’s quick response team firefighters that extinguished the fire.

Recent booking volumes were strong and prices were higher than a year earlier. But looking ahead to next year, prices right now are higher but occupancies are lower. Carnival has high hopes for upcoming “wave season” that begins in January, a time when a whole lot of people book cruises.

Should that not happen at the rate they anticipate, should bookings not pick up pace, look for prices to drop, a sure-fire way cruise lines fill ships.

Advice? If buying a Carnival cruise, ask your travel agent about their popular Early Saver fare, guaranteed to be the lowest by the line…no matter what happens to pricing in the future.

Top 3 stupid things to do on a cruise

by Chris Owen on Dec 18, 2010

A cruise vacation can be a great way to travel. Once on the ship, you’re in a closed environment that is protected from many of the potential dangers that await those traveling some other way. But while cruise lines say things like “Do whatever you want to, it’s your cruise”, or “You are free to do...whatever!” there are limits. While there are a lot of stupid things to do on a cruise, here’s the top three:

1. Get in a big argument with somebody and call them names. If you happen to have a short fuse or are really impatient, check that at the gangway. Once you are on board the ship how you behave can have a real impact on the experience. You’ll hear the captain referred to as the “master of the vessel” and with good reason. He has the authority to throw you off the ship at the next port with no refund and no way to get back home except on your own if you cause trouble. Not long ago, a drunken brawl on Carnival Dream resulted in 10 guests waving good bye to a ship that left them behind.

2. Practice your swan dive over the side of the ship. This will most likely kill you and is something to avoid. You really have to try to make this happen too. Falling off the ship is a lot like falling off a 10-story building; your odds of survival are not good. If the impact of hitting the water doesn’t kill you, strong currents created by the ship’s movement will.

3. Stock up on drugs while ashore. If you want to buy drugs ashore you can on pretty much any Caribbean island. Just look for the cool guy with the Bob Marley look and you’ll get hooked up fast. Odds are you can get them back on the ship pretty easy too. They don’t strip-search embarking passengers. Where you will run into problems is back home when it’s time to get off the ship. Drug sniffing dogs that check luggage coming off the ship will find your “souvenirs” and you will go to jail.

If you follow the golden rule of cruise ship conduct “Don’t do anything that would require talking to security or having your body identified” you should be OK.