Cuban protesters picket Carnival headquarters

Posted on 13 April, 2016 by Spacejunkie2

A group of about 30 to 40 protesters marched outside Carnival Corp. headquarters in the Doral section of Miami, concerned about next month’s groundbreaking Fathom voyage to Cuba.

The protesters held placards accusing Carnival of “apartheid” because Cuban-born U.S. residents and citizens aren’t permitted on the Fathom trip to Cuba.

The protest was organized by the Movimiento Democracia, headed by Ramon Saul Sanchez, a long-time anti-Castro activist.

Cuban regulations stipulate that anyone born in Cuba cannot reenter the country by ship. Carnival released a statement saying it was sympathetic to the protest but that “we must comply with the visa, entry and exit policies of each country.”

Carnival said it is requesting that the Cuban policy be changed. “There has been a policy change with air travel to Cuba, so we are hopeful that a similar change can also happen with travel by sea,” the statement said.

In addition to picketing Carnival, the Sanchez group plans a flotilla of small boats in Biscayne Bay on May 1 when the first Fathom cruise to Cuba is scheduled to depart. In a website posting, Sanchez said he planned a meeting with the Coast Guard to discuss the idea.

In January, a flotilla of small protest boats at Labadee, Haiti, led Royal Caribbean International to cancel several calls at its private beach destination there.

Carnival reshuffle ‘will help differentiate P&O and Cunard’

Posted on 14 December, 2015 by Spacejunkie2

The reshuffle of Carnival UK’s leadership team will help to create “better brand focus and differentiation” between sister brands P&O Cruises and Cunard.

Speaking at the Clia Cruise Forum in Tilbury, David Dingle, chairman of Carnival UK, said the changes would be particularly beneficial to Cunard in helping to drive international growth for the brand.

In August the line revealed Gerard Tempest, formerly chief commercial officer for Carnival UK, was to leave the company. In his place positions were created at the helm of P&O, with Paul Ludlow put in change, and Cunard, a position which is still being recruited for.

Dingle said all businesses should constantly be under review to ensure their efficiency and development.

He said: “In the UK we went through a period where we tried to create as much organisational synergy for our brands as possible because through that you have greater efficiency, particularly cost efficiency.

“You have to be careful to differentiate still. Going round full circle again (reviewing the business and changing the leadership team) we believe it’s time to drive the brands harder, particularly for Cunard.

“We want to grow the international sourcing of the brand so we have to have much greater brand focus so that’s why we want to have some really brand specific leadership.

“We continue to develop the P&O brand and we’ve revitalized it over the past months and now we want to move forward and capitalise on that and dare I say think about what the next P&O cruises new ship might look for, should we decide to order it.”

Carnival to create Chinese brand in joint venture

Posted on 22 October, 2015 by Spacejunkie2

Carnival Corp. said it is moving forward with plans to form a joint venture with China State Shipbuilding Corp. that would operate a new domestic brand in China.

In an announcement timed to the visit of the Chinese premier to London, Carnival announced that China Investment Corp. will also be a partner in the venture.

The partners formalized the venture at a signing ceremony held today at the Mansion House in London with British Prime Minister David Cameron and Chinese President Xi Jinping in attendance.

“This cruising joint venture is a significant step forward for the cruise industry in China and a tremendous opportunity for us to work together with [China State Shipbuilding Corp. and China Investment Corp.] to grow awareness, interest and demand for cruise vacations amongst domestic Chinese travelers,” said Alan Buckelew, global chief operations officer for Carnival Corp. & plc.

In announcing the venture, Carnival and its partners did not name it or say when its first ship is expected to be ready for sailing. The announcement described the new brand as “the first world-class, multi-ship domestic cruise brand in the Chinese market.”

The parties said the addition of China Investment Corp. to the venture was a sign of China’s “commitment to developing a strong domestic cruise presence and growing demand for cruising as a key driver of the expanding Chinese tourism market.”

One of the largest sovereign wealth management funds in the world, China Investment Corp. has $740 billion of assets under management, Carnival said