Having responded capably to the need to upgrade safety following engine room fires aboard the Carnival Splendor and Carnival Triumph, Carnival is now focusing on new ways to satisfy the 4.5 million passengers it carries on its vessels each year. For starters, Carnival Sunshine (previously Destiny) will make her US debut in November, 2013. “Since her European debut in May, she has introduced several exclusive, never-before-offered innovations for our guests,” says Cahill.
Earlier this year, the vessel underwent a 75-day, US$155m stem-to-stern, top-to-bottom refurbishment. Innovations include adding Speedway Splash, part of the ship’s new WaterWorks aqua park, which has dual 235 ft racing slides; Ji Ji Asian Kitchen, Carnival’s first full-service Asian restaurant; a Latin-inspired venue called Havana Bar; and two new food-and-beverage options, ShakeSpot and JavaBlue Café. “Now that Carnival Sunshine has been in service a while,” says Cahill, “our guests’ reaction has been clear: they regard the ship’s new top-deck amenities as sensational – they’re the heart and soul of this new ship.”
Cahill adds details as to the vessel’s deployment: in April 2014, she will reposition from New Orleans to Port Canaveral, Florida, expanding Carnival’s presence in the Central Florida market. “The ship will not only offer exclusive amenities, but will be the first in the region featuring all of our groundbreaking Fun Ship 2.0 innovations,” he says. Simultaneously, Carnival Dream will reposition from Port Canaveral to New Orleans, expanding Carnival’s capacity by 22 per cent in the latter market for its year-round 7-day Caribbean sailings.
Fun Ship 2.0 is the line’s fleetwide programme, started in late 2011, to upgrade bar, dining and entertainment options. At this point, there are no immediate plans for other ships to undergo quite the makeover that Carnival Sunshine did. But Cahill points out that, by the end of the programme’s first phase in late 2015, a number of the fleet’s 24 ships will have received many Fun Ship 2.0 changes. By that time, Carnival will have invested more than US$500 million in the new programme, in partnership with celebrities and their exclusive brands from the worlds of live comedy, cuisine, sports and video games.
Fast in the wake of the Carnival Sunshine and Carnival Dream redeployments, Cahill adds, will be those of the Carnival Liberty (she was actually the first ship in the fleet, in late 2011, to receive the Fun Ship 2.0 treatment). In May, 2014, Carnival Liberty will join Carnival Sunshine in Port Canaveral and homeport there.
That move will increase Carnival’s capacity in the Central Florida market by another 30 per cent, putting two tricked-out Fun Ship 2.0 vessels at the disposal of Space Coast-embarking patrons. Finally, in January, 2014, Carnival will deploy Carnival Imagination to Long Beach, expanding the line’s West Coast operations, says Cahill.
As remarkable as any of Carnival’s recent adventures in renovation, of course, is the ongoing construction of its latest newbuild, to become the twenty fifth ship in the fleet. The line had confirmed its contract with Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri for the 135,000 gt, 4,000-passenger vessel in October 2012. The company announced in late July that the ship will be called the Carnival Vista. When it debuts in spring 2016, it will be the Carnival fleet’s largest.
Cahill says that the Carnival Vista will boast “many of the exciting features and design elements of the Carnival Breeze” – the latest and largest Carnival Dream-class vessel, which first sailed in 2012. But the ship will also have some truly unique innovations, he adds, thanks to the efforts of Carnival’s redoubtable product development team. Details on Carnival Vista’s itineraries and homeports will be announced later.
Cahill’s and Carnival staff’s enthusiasm over the Fun Ship 2.0 programme, the new ships and their strategic deployment is understandable. Not only have they ached to put the Carnival Triumph and Carnival Splendor mishaps behind them, but, in a way – as a larger sibling subsidiary to Italian carrier Costa Crociere under the corporate parent, Carnival Corp. & plc – the line was triply propelled toward reforms by the Costa Concordia’s fatal, costly 2012 grounding.
Then again, Carnival was already in the throes of accelerating and further articulating its mechanical and safety protocols, designed to make all mishaps far less likely. In April, Carnival announced a US$300 million fleetwide programme to install more advanced fire-suppression systems, additional emergency backup generators, and key reconfigured systems to ensure redundant power for both propulsion and general operations. “Carnival Triumph and Carnival Sunshine have been equipped with many of these upgrades and the programme’s initial phase relating to additional auxiliary generators will be complete by November, 2013,” says Cahill. “We have also formed a Safety & Reliability Review Board comprised of outside experts in marine and occupational safety, marine regulatory compliance and quality control/assurance.”
Cahill is known for both his confidence and competence (born of spending many years, prior to taking Carnival’s top management job, as chief financial officer of its expansive parent). He is not just acutely aware of the need to continually enhance the Carnival vacation product, but elevates the importance of travel agents in getting the word out about it – not to mention in helping to attract new cruisers and retain long-time loyalists.
“Of course, we host travel agent ship inspections, giving agents a chance to see the product firsthand,” he says. Carnival also fields a dedicated team of business development managers throughout North America to assist those agents.
Cahill also points to the debut, in July, of the company’s Carnival Conversations outreach programme. “It includes road show events, agency visits and daily feedback opportunities via our travel agent internet portal, GoCCL.com. Travel agents can attend in person events led by our senior sales executives, in-agency seminars, and seminars at sea – and visit with us at trade shows and conferences.”
The dedicated Carnival Conversations section on the portal has short daily surveys with open-ended questions for agents, explains Cahill. “Once we receive their feedback, we’ll share those responses, to help agents know what programmes and packages they can implement and what will need further review. At this point in Carnival’s history and as always, we truly value travel agents’ role in the cruise selling process and will continue to look for new ways to keep them abreast of the latest developments here at Carnival.”
This article appeared in the Autumn/Winter 2013 edition of International Cruise & Ferry Review. To read the full article, you can subscribe to the magazine in printed or digital formats.