Background
I was excited when I got an invitation to meet with Carnival in person during their visit to Atlanta. I normally have standing Tuesday evening plans, but I shifted my schedule around to be able to attend. The day finally came, and I was aiming to be 10 minutes early. Unfortunately, a truck overturned on the interstate, and I ended up being 35 minutes late. I missed the opportunity to do any networking, but fortunately the program began shortly after my arrival.
Travel agents are important to Carnival, because we help a lot of clients book cruises. They have a sales team that flies around the country to organize events like this to strengthen relationships and emphasize that travel agents are indeed important. Having never attended an in person professional event before, I was not quite sure what to expect. I was curious about how many travel agents attended, and I would guess between 100 and 150.
The old saying goes that you learn something new every day in the travel business. I took a few notes and will share what I think will be of interest to most people. None of it is anything surprising, but it did cover topics that we don’t think about every day.
Recently Retired Ships
Carnival has an aging fleet and recently retired six of the oldest Fantasy class ships. I knew that they retired several ships at the beginning of the pandemic and some more in 2022, but what surprised me is that they were all Fantasy class ships. If you think about it, Carnival doesn’t have more than five ships in any one current class, so I never made the realization that they had eight Fantasy class ships operational for over 20 years. I took a couple of cruises each on the Carnival Sensation and Carnival Fascination. While they were older ships, I always enjoyed the experiences. Usually ships are retired once they reach approximately 30 years of service. Here is a list of all of the Fantasy class ships and their status:
| Ship Name | Carnival Service Dates | Gross Tonnage | Flag | Status | Scrap Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carnival Fantasy | 1990 – 2020 | 71,909 GT | Panama | Scrapped | 2020 |
| Carnival Fascination | 1994 – 2020 | 71,909 GT | Bahamas | Scrapped | 2022 |
| Carnival Imagination | 1995 – 2020 | 71,909 GT | Bahamas | Scrapped | 2020 |
| Carnival Inspiration | 1996 – 2020 | 71,909 GT | Bahamas | Scrapped | 2020 |
| Carnival Sensation | 1993 – 2022 | 71,909 GT | Bahamas | Scrapped | 2022 |
| Carnival Ecstasy | 1991 – 2022 | 71,909 GT | Panama | Scrapped | 2022 |
| Carnival Elation | 1998 – Present | 71,909 GT | Panama | In Operation | N/A |
| Carnival Paradise | 1998 – Present | 71,909 GT | Panama | In Operation | N/A |
Capacity and Pricing
Even though six older ships were retired, the Carnival fleet currently has 11% more capacity than before the pandemic. This is likely due to the newer ships having capacity for more guests. In case you didn’t know, cruise prices have significantly increased this year as a result of post-pandemic demand. Carnival used to be known as the price leader of the cruise industry, but guests prefer to sail with Carnival, since they see more value for their money. This means that Carnival might no longer be the cheapest cruise line out there, but they continue to offer an excellent value for the money spent.
Positive Guest Reviews
It is very common for businesses to survey their customers. We are all familiar with the survey that Carnival sends after you return home from a cruise. One of the first questions that you’ll see is how likely would you be to recommend Carnival to your friends and family on a scale from 0 to 10? If you pick a 9 or 10, then you’re considered to be someone who would promote the brand in a positive light. If you pick a 7 or 8, then you’re considered to be passive– you like Carnival but you’re not happy enough to promote it. If you pick a 6 or less, then you’re considered an unhappy customer who will probably not sail with Carnival again. Combine all of these ratings, and you arrive at something called the Net Promoter Score or NPS for short.
Carnival Cruise Line has the highest NPS in the Carnival Corporation, which means that guest expectations are consistently being exceeded.
Carnival Is world’s Most Popular Cruise Line
Carnival currently has a fleet of 25 ships with the Carnival Jubilee to be added in December and the Carnival Firenze to be added in May 2024. They mentioned that one out of every five people go on a Carnival cruise. Carnival has more members of the military and senior citizens sail with them. They also have more first time cruisers. As a travel agent, I can verify that a good portion of my clients are either senior citizens or first time cruisers. Carnival sails over six million guests per year! In 2018, 50% of cruisers lived in North America, and there were 14.2 million North American passengers that year. With these numbers, it sounds about right that one in five cruise passengers boards a Carnival ship every year.
Other Interesting Facts
- They mentioned that most guests are booking their cruises about eight months out.
- The average age onboard a Carnival cruise is 48.
- Carnival was voted best dining in the contemporary cruise market. This market consists of Carnival Cruise Line, Royal Caribbean International, Norwegian Cruise Line, and MSC Cruises. Now, if I hadn’t sailed Royal Caribbean before, then I would have been a bit skeptical believing this. Comparing main dining room to main dining room from that cruise, I came to the conclusion that I liked Carnival’s cuisine slightly better than Royal Caribbean’s cuisine. Now this experience is only from having been on a single Royal Caribbean cruise in 2019, but the food quality, taste, and presentation was roughly the same to me between the two cruise lines. I didn’t try any Royal Caribbean specialty dining on that cruise. On my most recent cruise on the Carnival Celebration, Rudi’s Seagrill served me the best meal that I have ever eaten onboard a cruise ship.
Specialty Rooms
Some time was quickly spent going over the various specialty rooms that Carnival offers for sale to its guests. These rooms offer extra benefits, and I’m slowly working my way into experiencing some of these rooms for myself.
Family Harbor Stateroom Benefits
- Family Harbor Lounge – Available exclusively to guests booked in Family Harbor staterooms. Lounge is open between 6AM – 9PM. Use Sail & Sign card to enter. The lounge is a secluded space designed as the ultimate family hangout. A selection of board games, family movies, and video game consoles are available.
- Breakfast and Snacks – Available in the lounge on the following schedule:
- Continental breakfast buffet on port days, 6:30am-9:30am and sea days, 7:30am-10:30am
- Afternoon snack selections daily, 3:00pm-5:00pm
- Evening cookies and milk daily, 7:00pm-9:00pm
- Kids under 12 dine for free off of the kids’ menu in Fahrenheit 555, Rudi’s Seagrill, and Bonsai Sushi. Children must dine with adult. If booking specialty restaurant prior to the cruise, you must pay for the kids, and the money will be refunded once onboard.
- One free Night Owls evening at Camp Ocean for children 11 years of age and under.
Havana Cabana Stateroom benefits
- Havana Stateroom Features
- Tropics-inspired Havana Cabanas feature outdoor patio cabanas, facing the expanded ocean-air deck, offering magnificent sea views.
- Children must be 12 years of age or older in order to cruise in Havana accommodations. The Havana experience is designed to be a place where guests can relax and recharge in a more intimate and private setting and the age requirement will enable us to sustain the desired atmosphere.
- The lounging hammock chair on the patio cabanas has a weight limitation of 298 pounds.
- Havana Bar Features
- Celebrating Cuba’s gloried past, the Havana Bar serves traditional cocktails and transforms into a sizzling Latin dance club at night.
- The Havana Bar is open to all guests, daytime and nighttime.
- Serving classic Cuban cocktails, Cuban coffee and Cuban sodas ($).
- Entertainment: Latin trio or DJ several evenings per cruise as well as Latin-inspired ‘Havana Nights’ evening.
- Havana Pool Area Features
- The ocean-air deck offers stunning views of the ocean and is for the exclusive use of guests occupying the Havana accommodations as well as guests occupying Carnival Excel Presidential Suites or Grand Suites.
- Excel Class (Mardi Gras, Carnival Celebration, and Carnival Jubilee) – This area features a relaxation pool and bar, complete with comfy seating, perfect for soaking up the sun while enjoying a refreshing mojito.
- Vista Class (Carnival Vista, Carnival Horizon, and Carnival Panorama) – This area features two large hot tub spas, an infinity pool and relaxation area complete with colorful umbrellas, faux palm trees, thatched patio huts and comfy seating, perfect for soaking up the sun while enjoying a refreshing mojito.
Cloud 9 Spa Rooms
Guests in Cloud 9 Spa accommodations have easy access to the spa, unlimited use of the Thermal Suite facilities within the spa and are eligible for exclusive spa packages and discounts (applicable to the first two-adults in each Cloud 9 stateroom). These staterooms and suites have additional in-room, spa-related amenities and decor different than other accommodations – in harmony with the soothing and relaxing theme of the Cloud 9 Spa. Guests must be at least 18 years of age to receive body treatments or utilize spa facilities, as well as use of the Thermal Suites, Hydrotherapy Pool and large hot tub spa.
Carnival Home Ports – Atlanta
Most of the US population lives within an eight hour drive of a Carnival home port. Carnival has more home ports than any other cruise line in the United States. They went on to list all of the ports that were within an eight hour drive of Atlanta. I have personally cruised from all of these ports, except for Mobile, Alabama, and the hours of driving to each port sounds right to me.
| Home Port | Driving Hours from Atlanta / Notes | Cruise Ship | Itinerary |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mobile, AL | About 4.5 hours | Carnival Spirit | 6 – 8 Day Sailings |
| Charleston, SC | Just under 5 hours– Port closes in December 2024 | Carnival Sunshine | 4 – 10 Day Sailings |
| Jacksonville, FL | About 5 hours | Carnival Elation | 4 – 5 Day Bahamas |
| Tampa, FL | Just under 7 hours | Carnival Paradise | 4 – 6 Day Sailings |
| Port Canaveral, FL | About 7 hours | Mardi Gras | 6 – 8 Day Sailings |
| Carnival Freedom | 4 – 13 Day Sailings | ||
| Scheduled through April 2024 | Carnival Liberty | 3 – 14 Day Sailings | |
| Starting in May 2024 | Carnival Glory | 3 – 4 Day Bahamas | |
| Starting in November 2023 | Carnival Vista | 3 – 8 Day Sailings | |
| Starting in December 2024 | Carnival Venezia | 4 – 14 Day Sailings |