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.
Prior to its deployment to Australia in fall 2014, the Carnival Legend will operate two repositioning cruises: a 13-day Panama Canal cruise and a 23-day transpacific voyage.
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