Carnival pares fare structure to three core categories

Posted on 15 October, 2013 by Spacejunkie2

Carnival pares fare structure to three core categories

By Tom Stieghorst

Carnival Cruise Lines announced a long-anticipated simplification of its fare structure, paring the core categories from six to three.

The new structure preserves an Early Saver category that had been both praised and panned by agents. It gives passengers a price-protection guarantee that means agents have to adjust fares when prices fall. Carnival said it is ideal for closing early business because it closes three months prior to sailing for cruises of five days or less and five months on cruises longer than that.

Guests choose cabin assignments and there is a nonrefundable deposit and $50 fee for changes to the reservation.

After Early Saver fares close, Super Saver fares kick in. Deposits are nonrefundable but the cabin assignment is Carnival’s choice.

The third major category is Fun Select. It offers a two-category upgrade and the fare is fully refundable before final payment. Guests pick the cabin.

Carnival said the Fun Select Plus, Easy Saver and Instant Saver fare codes have been eliminated.

“Based on input from our travel agents, we modified the core fare structure to include those fare codes that offered the customer value and choice,” said Brenda Yester, senior vice president of revenue management for Carnival Cruise Lines. “By offering three fare choices instead of six, it simplifies the decision-making process and makes the overall sales experience easier for our travel professionals and their clients.”

Carnival Sunshine to be heavily promoted in social media

Posted on 15 October, 2013 by Spacejunkie2

Carnival Sunshine to be heavily promoted in social media

By Tom Stieghorst

Carnival Cruise Lines will unleash social media in a concentrated promotion of the Carnival Sunshine on a cruise starting Oct. 11.

The “Nine Days of Sunshine” program will employ Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and cruise director John Heald’s blog to ramp up awareness of Sunshine before its repositioning to New Orleans in November.

Sunshine, which received a $155 million renovation earlier this year, is now sailing in the Mediterranean. The “social media takeover” of the ship include daily Instagram posts of the ship’s spaces and live “meet the crew” chats.

Heald will take viewers on a video tour of the ship’s spaces and post original content on his blog and Facebook page.

Viewers can help direct content for the promotion through daily Instagram polls.

And guests on the current cruise can post Instagram “video shout-outs” to friends and family back home, Carnival said.

Carnival Corp.’s Arison praises agents in new ‘open letter’ ad

Posted on 7 October, 2013 by Spacejunkie2

Carnival Corp.’s Arison praises agents in new ‘open letter’ ad

By Tom Stieghorst

Carnival Corp. is making it personal.

In a new advertisement scheduled to appear this week in several publications, including Travel Weekly, Carnival Corp. Chairman Micky Arison spells out his appreciation for travel agents, citing their crucial role in making Carnival’s brands successful over the years.

The ad takes the form of an open letter and bears a photo of Arison and his signature at the bottom.

Micky Arison, CEO It is an unusually direct communication from Arison, who recently stepped down as CEO of Carnival Corp. while retaining the title of chairman. In the letter, Arison also introduces his chosen successor as CEO, Arnold Donald, as someone travel agents can trust.

“Together, we will continue to work hard to exceed guests’ expectations and to position Carnival brands as your customers’ cruise lines of choice,” Arison writes.

Roger Frizell, vice president for corporate communications at Carnival Corp., said of Arison, “This is something he wanted to do as a way to reach out to the travel agent community to personally thank them for their support over the years, while also using the opportunity to introduce Arnold as our new CEO.”

The letter carries the logos of all 10 Carnival Corp. brands, clearly differentiating it from initiatives announced recently by Carnival Cruise Lines under the Carnival Conversations banner.

“The fact that it comes from the chairman says a great deal,” said Stewart Chiron, a Miami-based travel agent and a regular commentator on broadcast and cable networks.

Chiron said the letter sends a message of stability, direction and continuity at the top during a period of corporate transition.

It also reflects Arison’s genuine sympathy for agents, he said, adding, “I know his support for travel agents has been unwavering over the years.”

Meanwhile, the Carnival Cruise Lines brand continues to roll out changes built on the feedback it received in Carnival Conversations.

The latest volley is the reinstatement of a printed brochure, which was announced by Mike Julius, Carnival Cruise Lines’ senior managing director of U.S. trade sales, at the end of September.

“Travel agents have told us loud and clear that they want a printed brochure,” Julius said when making the announcement. “We’re thrilled to introduce one that is customized with the information that matters most to them.”

Although the number of pages is still being decided, the brochure will be printed in an 8½-by-11-inch format and will contain enough content to be more like a catalog than a brochure.

It will include deck plans, which agents complain are hard to share with clients in an online format, and detailed itineraries by destination as well as cabin photos, a Frequently Asked Questions page and an At-a-Glance ship-deployment grid.

Travel agents can pre-order the free brochures beginning Nov. 15 through GoCCL.com. Carnival Cruise Lines said it expects to begin shipping them late in the year, in time for the start of Wave season on Jan. 1.