Margaritaville at Sea Launches ‘Three Sail Free’ Sale

Margaritaville at Sea launched “Three Guests Sail Free” allowing paying passengers to add up to three additional guests for free, depending on the stateroom capacity.

The company’s biggest offer yet applies to all sailings and itineraries on both the Paradise and Islander ships in 2024, according to a press release. 

Guests also have the option to pay monthly via uplift with 0 percent interest for up to nine months.  The offer is valid for bookings made between January 9 and Feb. 12, 2024.

“There is nothing better than sailing the open ocean and exploring new destinations with friends or loved ones, and our new offer lets our guests bring up to three of their favorite people along for the journey,” said Christopher Ivy, CEO. “And with two ships, four ports of call, and two- to 5-night itineraries, there has never been a better time to bring your entire crew aboard Margaritaville at Sea.”  

Weinstein: ‘Costa On The Rebound’

Costa Favolosa entering the port of Liverpool, photo credit Spacejunkie2 (Flickr Account)

“Costa is one of those brands that’s really on the rebound,” said Josh Weinstein, president and CEO of Carnival Corporation, speaking on the company’s third-quarter earnings call.

Weinstein credits Costa President Mario Zanetti with leading the turnaround of the Italian brand, which is launching a new marketing campaign.

“Their research based on their market and the segment that they’re trying to hit in their market was all about experiences and leaning into particular messaging in particular ways to convey it because the product for Costa is already fantastic,” Weinstein said.

He continued that Costa and AIDA posted solid numbers for August, with occupancy coming in at 119 per cent, above the 109 per cent average number Carnival reported for its nine brands.

“In fact, in Q3, AIDA and Costa delivered higher yields than 2019,” he said, noting they did this with the absence of Saint Petersburg in what would have been high-yielding Baltic itineraries.

Carnival Corp Posts 109% Occupancy in Third Quarter

P&O one of the Carnival Group, photo credit Spacejunkie2 (Flickr account)

Carnival Corporation’s nine brands enjoyed full ships in the third quarter of 2023 as the company delivered a profit of over $1 billion and record revenue.

The ships on average were 109 percent full. Cruise ship occupancy is calculated by having two people in each stateroom, bringing a ship to 100 per cent. Any additional guests, such as children, will push a ship over the 100 per cent mark.

The company said that the 109 per cent occupancy number was better than its own expectations and marked a return to historical levels, compared to just 84 per cent in 2022 and 113 per cent in 2019, the last normal year prior to the pandemic.

“On the European front, occupancy came in better than anticipated for Costa and AIDA, with both brands hitting 119 per cent occupancy in August. Not to be outdone, P&O Cruises achieved its highest occupancy in over a decade,” said Josh Weinstein, president and CEO, on the company’s third-quarter earnings call.

“And so I can’t say that their yields were higher. But I can tell you that their occupancy is back, and they are well on their way, and that’s absolutely as expected,” said Weinstein, commenting on the company’s P&O brand.