Tag Archives: Carnival Cruise Lines

Carnival moves toward shipbuilding in China

Posted on by
Reply

By Tom Stieghorst
Carnival Corp. said it signed a memorandum of understanding that could lead to a cruise ship being built in China.

The memo is an agreement between Carnival Corp. and the China State Shipbuilding Corp. (CSSC) to explore the formation of a joint venture.

The goal of the venture would be to construct a modern cruise ship in China together.

China State Shipbuilding Corp. is the largest shipbuilder in China, according to a Carnival Corp. announcement.

The Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri could partner in the joint venture should it be formed, Carnival Corp. said.

There is no firm agreement to build yet, nor is it clear who would own or operate any ship that results from the joint effort.

Carnival Corp. said the venture is “aimed at accelerating the development and growth of the Chinese cruise industry.”

The agreement was made official at an Oct. 14 signing ceremony at the ninth China Cruise Shipping and International Cruise Expo in Tianjin.

“This really is a breakthrough day for all of us at Carnival as well as our friends at the CSSC,” Carnival Corp. CEO Arnold Donald said.

Carnival Corp. said its contribution to the venture would be to use its design and shipbuilding expertise to create the “vision, definition and overall specifications” for the China-built cruise ship.

The memorandum also includes the exploration of other possible joint venture opportunities with CSSC including the potential to form a domestic cruise company, port development, talent development and training as well as supply chain and logistics, Carnival Corp. said.

No major cruise line has ever built a ship in China, although a few have been built in Japan.

A Chinese Ministry of Transport forecast estimates there will be 4.5 million cruise passengers sourced in China by 2020.

Two Carnival Corp. brands, Costa Cruises and Princess Cruises, are already selling cruises in China. Carnival said it will have 220 port calls from five brands in China in 2014.

Cruise lines alter itineraries due to Hurricane Gonzalo

Posted on by
2

By Tom Stieghorst
Winds and rain from Hurricane Gonzalo have forced cruise ships in the Caribbean east of Puerto Rico to alter their itineraries.

Carnival Cruise Lines and Royal Caribbean International are among the cruise lines that have skipped ports of call because of the storm.

Royal Caribbean said Jewel of the Seas did not call at St. Maarten on Oct. 13. The ship spent Monday at sea before returning to the scheduled itinerary, calling at Antigua on Tuesday, Oct. 14.

Explorer of the Seas departed San Juan at 9 p.m. on Oct. 13, instead of staying overnight.

Allure of the Seas is sailing a modified western Caribbean itinerary. The ship will now visit Falmouth, Jamaica on Oct. 15 and Cozumel on Oct. 17.

The storm led to Carnival Liberty staying at sea for a second day rather than calling at St. Thomas on Oct. 14. The cruise will go to Grand Cayman and Cozumel before returning to Port Canaveral. Carnival Breeze will stay at sea rather than call at La Romana, Dominican Republic, on Oct. 14.

Carnival Conquest’s original eastern Caribbean itinerary out of Miami was scrapped in favor of a western Caribbean route that will stop in Cozumel, Belize, Mahogany Bay (Honduras) and Costa Maya (Mexico).

The hurricane is expected to strengthen from its current Category 1 status and move toward Bermuda later this week.

Beyond the marketing pitches

Posted on by
Reply

By Tom Stieghorst
*InsightSometimes the reasons people cruise can’t be found in any catalog or sales brochure. The passenger who took 33 consecutive cruises aboard the Carnival Elation earlier this year is an extreme example.

Mark Fosselman found himself on the same itinerary over and over again following the loss of his wife, Becky. She had been in ill health, and the two had shared numerous cruises on the Elation before she passed away in April.

Fosselman told Carnival that the ship held special memories for him and that cruising was very therapeutic in helping him mourn his wife and come to terms with her death.*TomStieghorst

There are many conventional selling points to a cruise. But often it isn’t the size of the cabin, or the itinerary or the food that people care most about when they’re on a cruise.

When I asked a man on a recent cruise why he was on the ship, there was no hesitation: “I wanted to spend time with my brother,” he said. The passenger lived in Tennessee, his brother in Michigan. They didn’t see each other regularly, and a weeklong cruise was a chance to catch up.

More than marketing slogans or ad campaigns, the human need for connection and recognition often drives the choice of a cruise vacation. One passenger on another cruise I took recently was astonished to be the center of attention after his family surprised him with a cruise for his 90th birthday.

Another person on the cruise was aboard with someone who had started to show signs of memory loss. She said she took the cruise because she wasn’t sure in a year or two if her traveling companion would even be the same person.

So it is fine to have the latest and greatest technology on a ship, hot new entertainers or interesting new shore excursions. Onboard spending credits or free gratuities may be the way to seal the deal if someone is close to making a purchase.

But just as often it is the soft things, the human things, that start passengers thinking about taking a cruise. Cruise lines have started to pick up on this in their advertising, for example in Carnival Cruise Lines’ “Moments That Matter” spots or the Princess Cruises “Come Back New” campaign. They’re definitely not hard sell, but effective in the long run, it seems to me.