Carnival’s newest godmother a distinguished, and strategic, choice

Posted on 11 October, 2016 by Spacejunkie2

Barber the Godmother of the Carnival Vista

Carnival Cruise Line’s choice of an active duty member of the U.S. military, Deshauna Barber, to name its newest ship, got me wondering who the Navy chooses to christen its new warships.

There have been four Navy ships launched this year, including three littoral combat ships, the USS Sioux City, USS Wichita and USS Manchester.

The Sioux City was christened by Mary Winnefeld, wife of a retired admiral. The Wichita was christened by Kate Lehrer, a novelist and wife of former PBS News anchor Jim Lehrer, who is from Wichita. The Manchester was christened by New Hampshire’s senior U.S. Senator, Jeanne Shaheen.

Also named this year was the Navy’s second stealth destroyer, the USS Michael Monsoor, named for a former Navy SEAL and Medal of Honor winner who jumped on a grenade in 2006 in Iraq to save his squad. The ship was christened by his mother.

It’s that tradition of valor and service that Carnival will be tapping into on Nov. 4 when Barber names the Carnival Vista.

Carnival planned the New York City event as a tribute to the military, a group that the cruise industry has increasingly courted. Hundreds of military families were invited to overnight on the ship and attend a gala honoring Operation Homefront, a nonprofit that provides assistance to the families of service members, and featuring a concert by country music super star Carrie Underwood.

Barber will be the icing on the cake.

The daughter of a retired Army master sergeant who was a member of the special forces, Barber currently serves as logistics commander for the 988th Quartermaster Detachment Unit in Rockville, Md.

She also happens to be the reigning Miss USA.

Carnival has had beauty queens name its ships before – Miss Universe Yvonne Ryding christened the Jubilee in 1986. It has had a soldier – Iraq POW Jessica Lynch named the Miracle in 2004. And it has had an African-American godmother before – Tracy Wilson Mourning, wife of former Miami Heat center Alonzo Mourning, named the Carnival Breeze in 2012.

That Barber is all three certainly makes her a distinguished choice.

The U.S. military is disproportionately rural and Southern, according to demographic studies. As a cruise line with 10 home ports stretching from Galveston to Norfolk and drawing from most of the southern states, Carnival is smart to make the military a target market.

Carnival Corp reports strong forward bookings following record summer

Posted on 27 September, 2016 by Spacejunkie2

Overall forward bookings for Carnival Corporation cruise brands for the first half of 2017 are ahead of the same time last year at “considerably” higher prices.

The disclosure from the world’s largest cruise line conglomerate – which accounts for 10 lines including P&O Cruises and Cunard – came as it projected profit growth of almost 25% this year.

The group reported net income for the three peak summer months to August 31 up to $1.4 billion from $1.2 billion in the same period last year.

President and chief executive Arnold Donald said: “We delivered the strongest quarterly earnings in our company’s history affirming our ongoing efforts to expand consumer demand in excess of measured capacity increases and leverage our industry leading scale.

“Revenues during the peak summer season were bolstered by strong performances from both our North American and European brands and across all major deployments including the Caribbean, Alaska and Europe.”

Looking forward, the company said: “At this time, cumulative advance bookings for the first half of next year are ahead of the prior year at considerably higher prices.

“Since June, booking volumes for the first half of next year are lower than the prior year, as there is less inventory remaining for sale, at significantly higher prices.”

Donald added: “We are well on track to deliver nearly 25% earnings growth in 2016. With cash from operations expected to reach a record $5 billion this year, we continue to fund our growth and return cash to shareholders.

“Looking forward, we are well positioned for continued earnings growth given the current strength of our booking and pricing trends in 2017.”

Carnival building two Vista-class ships in China

Posted on 23 September, 2016 by Spacejunkie2

Buhdy Bok (left), president of Costa Group Asia, and Carnival Corp. CEO Arnold Donald at the China Cruise and Yacht Industry Association conference, after Donald announced an agreement to build ships in China. Photo Credit: Arnie Weissmann

Carnival Corp. has signed a memorandum of understanding to build two Vista-class cruise ships in China intended for use by a Chinese cruise brand.

The ships have been discussed in general terms as part of an earlier disclosure of a shipbuilding joint venture between Carnival, China State Shipbuilding Corp. and Italian firm Fincantieri.

The agreement was announced at the 11th annual China Cruise Shipping and International Cruise Expo in Tianjin, China.

The memorandum specifies that the first of the two ships would be delivered in 2022. There is also an option to build two more Vista-class ships. The first Vista-class ship, the Carnival Vista, entered service last May.

Carnival said that the agreement is “non-binding.” If the ships are built, it would be a groundbreaking development, marking the first time that sophisticated cruise ships are built in China for the Chinese domestic market.

A Carnival joint venture in China would operate the new ships as part of plans to launch the first multi-ship domestic cruise brand in China.

If the joint venture is finalized, in all likelihood older ships from Carnival Corp. brands would sail for the new brand in advance of the 2022 newbuild, said Roger Frizzell, chief communications officer for Carnival Corp.

Other partners in the operating joint venture include China State Shipbuilding Corp. and the China Investment Capital Corp.

“Being able to offer cruises on China-built cruise ships represents a new opportunity for us to generate excitement and demand for cruising amongst a broader segment of the Chinese vacation market,” said Alan Buckelew, Carnival Corp.’s global chief operations officer.

Separately, Carnival and its Chinese partners announced that the Chinese central government has granted approval for the cruise joint venture to incorporate in Hong Kong.