Tag Archives: Carnival Corp.

Caribbean cruise pricing strengthens, analyst says

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Norwegian Star in Cabo San Lucas By Dave Jones

Prices have substantially risen for cruises in the Caribbean, according to a survey taken by Wall Street brokerage Susquehanna Financial Group.

In a report published Dec. 14, analyst Rachel Rothman said first-quarter prices in the Caribbean are up 13.8% at Carnival Corp., 7.6% at Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., and 26.1% at Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings. Rothman noted that the comparison at Norwegian is skewed by the replacement of the Norwegian Pearl and Epic with the newer Getaway and Escape in the Caribbean.

For the second quarter, the survey showed Carnival’s Caribbean pricing is up 15.7 %, while RCCL and NCLH are down 5.8% and 6.6%, respectively.

In the Mediterranean, Carnival’s first-quarter pricing is up 23% but Norwegian Cruise Line is down 6.5%. The report noted that Royal Caribbean and NCLH’s Oceania and Regent Seven Seas brands don’t offer Med cruises in the first quarter.

Amber Cove welcomes first ship

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The Carnival Victory in Amber Cove on Tuesday.

The arrival of the Carnival Victory opened the new port of Amber Cove in the Dominican Republic on Tuesday. It is the first of many Carnival Corp. ships that will dock at the $85 million facility.

Amber Cove is expected to revive cruise tourism on the north coast of the Dominican Republic, which has been dormant for 30 years.

The port includes a pier capable of simultaneously docking two of the cruise company’s largest vessels. It has a shopping village, bars and restaurants, a pool, ziplines, rental cabanas and a large excursion-staging area.

Carnival Corp. has said that Amber Cove will be included on stops from eight of its 10 cruise lines, although at least half of the passengers are expected to come from Carnival Cruise Line.

Amber Cove will serve as a base of operations for the Fathom social-impact brand when it begins sailing to the Dominican Republic next April.

Fathom and Signature sign preferred-supplier deal

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Fathom, Carnival Corp.’s social-impact cruise brand, has inked a preferred-supplier agreement with Signature Travel Network.

The deal will allow Fathom to leverage Signature’s cooperative travel network of 205 travel agency members.

Signature President Alex Sharpe said no other company provides what Fathom offers. “We believe Fathom will be a tremendous asset to our portfolio,” he said.

Fathom signed a similar deal with Ensemble Travel Group in August.

Fathom recently retained veteran Carnival Corp. executive Maurice Zarmati to help develop sales support tools. The cruise line expects to begin weekly cruises to the Dominican Republic next April.