Articles tagged “carnival”

The last thing Carnival Corp. wants is for its much-hyped new technology to be a flop with guests. So a phased rollout it is — though we wonder why that wasn't the plan from the beginning.

Cruise passengers are still taking the trips they had planned for this time of year in the Caribbean, despite recent storms. As operators seek to reassure travelers that the region is open for business, it's still unclear how demand for cruises next hurricane season will hold up.

One new ship for most cruise lines wouldn't make a world of difference, but for these niche brands, the expansion will be significant.

Carnival Corp. is eager to communicate directly with consumers, and continues to invest in new ways to do so. It will be interesting to see if potential cruise passengers respond to these new methods of engagement.

Cruises have always been complicated to book, so we're curious if customers will appreciate Costa's new approach.

Cruise companies are finally seeing the booking behavior they desired as more passengers reserve their places earlier. But observers wonder if selling inventory too far in advance means cruise lines are leaving money on the table.

Carnival Corp. said its cruise lines have made a case for additional advertising and marketing dollars to generate more bookings — and the parent company is listening. Now we wait to find out how that money gets spent and what kind of results they will see.

Cruise loyalty programs are different from airline and hotel offerings, but Carnival Cruise Line's approach can still be instructive — especially as it evolves.

Carnival Corp. reminds us that China is a small part of its business — which is true. But if the market is going to become the world's largest as the company expects, there are a lot of complications to work through.

In many destinations, tourism profits are "found" money with no strings attached. That's great for short-term gains, and so very terrible for long-term thinking.