Carnival Live makes debut with sellout Styx concerts

Posted on 17 April, 2014 by Spacejunkie2

By Tom Stieghorst

Carnival Cruise Lines said the first in a series of big-name concerts attracted a sellout audience.

Show lounges on Carnival Fantasy and Carnival Fascination were filled for the 1980s rock band Styx, which performed while the ships were docked in Nassau.

Carnival live video

Carnival Cruise Lines CEO Gerry Cahill told a group of travel agents Monday that the audience was a lot of “40s and 50s” who brought their children to the shows.

“We wanted to put energy in the product, and we’re trying to give you something to sell,” Cahill told the group, which was part of the company’s ongoing Carnival Conversations initiative.

Carnival has 49 Carnival Live performance dates scheduled, with 15 artists ranging from Jennifer Hudson to Olivia Newton-John. Tickets are priced between $20 and $40, with a limited number of VIP seats going for $100 to $150.

The shows occur in port at Nassau, Cozumel and Catalina Island, Calif.

Carnival to sail 11-day cruises from Galveston

Posted on 8 April, 2014 by Spacejunkie2

By Tom Stieghorst

Carnival Cruise Lines said that it will offer the Texas market longer cruises for the first time, with four 10- and 11-day sailings between Galveston and San Juan.

A pair of 11-day cruises will also feature a first call for Carnival in Bonaire. Those sailings, scheduled for Oct. 24, 2015, and Jan. 16, 2016, will also stop in Grand Cayman, Aruba, Grenada, Martinique and St. Maarten before concluding in San Juan.

The 10-day departures from San Juan are scheduled for Nov. 4, 2015, and Jan. 27, 2016, and will stop at St. Thomas, St. Kitts, St. Maarten, Antigua, Grand Turk, and the private Bahamian island of Half Moon Cay.

Galveston cruises on Carnival currently depart on four- and five-day Mexican and seven-day Caribbean itineraries.

Carnival said a desire for longer, more varied itineraries was one of the themes that emerged from its series of Carnival Conversations meetings with travel agents.

Carnival says it set single-month booking record

Posted on 4 February, 2014 by Spacejunkie2

By Tom Stieghorst

Carnival Cruise Lines said it booked 17% more reservations in January than in the same month in 2013, setting a new single-month record for bookings.

More than 565,000 people reserved space on a Carnival cruise in January, the line The Carnival.com website attracted 13 million visits, another all-time high.

Carnival said the increase was achieved without addition of a new ship over the 12-month period.

President Gerry Cahill attributed the upturn to the line’s “Moments that Matter” ad campaign which began in the fall, attractive promotions, product enhancements and recognition of Carnival’s value by consumers.

“We are seeing heavy sales growth in all channels, particularly via our travel agent partners, and we would like to express our tremendous appreciation for their support,” Cahill said.

Cahill said Carnival has continued to roll out its $500 million Fun Ship 2.0 product-enhancement program across the fleet, which includes dining, bar and entertainment upgrades.

In 2014, a total of 11 Carnival ships will feature major Fun Ship 2.0 enhancements.