24 Cruising makes it easy for guests to travel to impressive destinations like Glacier Bay National Park in Alaska continue to relax, our ‘closer to home’ itineraries play out, and our brands continue to hone all aspects of their revenue-generating activities,” says Weinstein. “We’ve come a long way in an incredibly short amount of time, successfully restarting the world’s biggest cruise business by bringing all our ships back into service thanks to the tireless efforts and dedication of our employees. “This year, we’ll concentrate on filling our ships, enhancing the guest experience, optimising our vessels, getting back to strong profitability, and making incremental steps towards achieving our environmental and sustainability goals. Most importantly, we’ll also be focusing on supporting our employees and making our organisation an even more diverse, equitable, inclusive and enjoyable place to work.” Buoyed by the success of Carnival Corporation’s restart, Weinstein is confident that both his company and the rest of the global cruise industry are set for a successful future. “There’s a lot of pent-up demand for travel and cruises offer tremendous value for money,” he says. “If you compare the cost of cruising with one of Carnival Corporation’s brands with the price you’d pay for an equivalent land-based holiday, you’ll find that we can be anywhere from 25 per cent to 50 per cent cheaper. There’s also nothing quite like waking up to a view of the ocean and exploring a new destination every day. Plus, there’s the added perk of only having to unpack once.” Weinstein is a man who practices what he preaches. Since joining Carnival Corporation, he has become a cruise convert and now personally advocates it as the ideal holiday for any traveller. “My wife and I have probably been on more than 20 cruises now and we’ve visited some remarkable bucket-list destinations that are best seen from the water, such as Alaska’s Glacier Bay National Park and the Norwegian fjords,” he says. “In recent years, we’ve often cruised with our children, my parents and my sisters and their families, and we’ve created some amazing memories together.” One such memory is now “crystallised in family lore”, says Weinstein, recalling the day he and his wife let their oldest two girls go to the children’s club by themselves for the first time. “We’d always done everything together during family holidays, but the club seemed like fun, so we decided to let the girls try it for 30 minutes,” he says. “We nervously watched as they walked in together holding hands and spent the next half an hour fretting about them, but we needn’t have worried – they were having an amazing time. In fact, when my wife went to collect them, one of our girls looked at her and very deliberately turned around to carry on playing with the toys! We tried to convince her it was time to leave but she was adamant that she would much rather stay there than come with us as she was having so much fun!” For Weinstein, this memory encapsulates what makes a cruise the top holiday of choice for many guests. “No matter what their age or interests, every guest can find something they like when they’re sailing onboard one of the amazing cruise ships operated by our brands,” he says. “Cruises are an ideal option for everyone, but they’re particularly well suited to groups of friends and multigenerational families because you can switch between doing things together and splitting up and doing your own thing. We look forward to welcoming guests wanting to make their own amazing memories this year.” KEYNOTE
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