First read is on us.

Subscribe today to keep up with the latest travel industry news.

Carnival Expanding Cheap Social Media Access to Entire Fleet


Skift Take

By offering low-cost social media access to passengers, Carnival Cruise Lines will enable cruisers to generate positive online marketing for the company. Perhaps they are seeing the value, and cost-effectiveness, of relying on customer testimonials instead of traditional marketing methods.

Carnival Cruise Lines will expand cheap social media access to its entire fleet in early 2016, allowing passengers to share their experience online without expensive data fees.

For $5 per day, Carnival will provide cruisers with unlimited access to social networks including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, and Pinterest. The discounted Internet plan is already available on 13 of the company’s 24 ships.

The cruise line is looking to help passengers create more social media content while on vacation.

“In today’s world, consistent and reliable access to fast internet is important to consumers, many of whom want to share their unique vacation moments as they happen,” Gabriela Gonzalez, vice president of photo and guest technology for Carnival Cruise Lines, told Skift. “Our new social media packages provide vacationers an affordable way to both stay in touch with friends and family, and also instantly refresh their social media feeds with fun and memorable photos.”

Carnival also offers a $16 per day Value plan and $25 per day Premium plan, aimed at passengers looking to Skype and stream video. Users can still only use one device at a time on one plan, however.

The cruise line will also expand the availability of its Carnival HUB app, which allows intraship communication for $5 per cruise, to all vessels by mid-2016. The app is currently only available on Carnival’s newest ship, Carnival Breeze.

Up Next

Hotels

LVMH’s New Luxury Travel Push With Belmond

In 2025, Belmond is rolling out offerings with old-school opulance that feels ripped from the pages of an Agatha Christie novel — if Christie's characters had wellness spas and farm-to-table dining. Think of Belmond is an anti-Aman: less minimalist zen, more maximalist glamour.
Experiences

Why the Need for Play Is Reshaping the Travel Industry

As the experience economy evolves the travel industry, brands are under pressure to meet rising expectations for activity-led bookings. In a fireside chat at Skift Global Forum East, Ross McAuley, MD advisor and director general of Play Qiddiya City DMMO, pulled back the curtain on how play serves as a bridge between destinations and travelers in this new reality.
Sponsored
Tourism

How Saudi’s First Helicopter Company Is Shaping Its Key Sectors: Watch Video

As Saudi Arabia continues to diversify its economy under Vision 2030, new transportation solutions are reshaping key sectors. The country’s premiere commercial helicopter service, The Helicopter Company (THC), is actively contributing to the Kingdom’s transformation through its diverse services.
Sponsored