Gerry Cahill, Carnival's president and CEO, uses the word 鈥渞edundancies鈥� a lot. To put his use of it in context, he鈥檇 surely prefer to talk about enjoyable Fun Ship 2.0 redundancies than the troubling ones Carnival has faced over non-Fun Ship issues that plagued the line earlier in the year.
Safety is preached by all cruise lines. That likely makes new fire suppression and detection equipment, plus generators that Carnival is installing on its ships to keep a ship operating, somewhat redundant.
Yet they became necessary after the fire on the Carnival Triumph last year, as was an assessment of Carnival鈥檚 safety by an outside board.
鈥淚t was a major setback for Carnival,鈥� Cahill said.
鈥淚t forced us to look at things in a different light. While we go into dry dock to go through the process of ensuring safety on each of our ships, we鈥檙e also upgrading our customer amenities as each ship receives some version of Carnival Fun Ship 2.0, which is what the customer will notice.鈥�
While the 鈥渇un鈥� issues are more visible, discerning customers are much more attuned to safety expectations.
鈥淔irst, we had to do a better job of communicating with our employees,鈥� said Cahill.
鈥淭hey are the front line for passengers and need to know exactly what is happening through a continuous process.
鈥淧ast Carnival guests came back but we cater to a North American clientele and so the newbies to cruising are an important market.
鈥淭hat led us to the new 24-hour guarantee 鈥� try us and if you do not like what you see after the first 24 hours we鈥檒l refund your money and send you home, simple as that.鈥�
Cahill said Carnival鈥檚 pricing makes a three-to-seven-day cruise very attractive and expects it will stay that way into 2014 to rebuild the customer base.
鈥淚t鈥檚 not where we would like to be, it鈥檚 where we have to be,鈥� he said.
Carnival鈥檚 new online and TV campaign shows loyal customers鈥� talking about their good Carnival experiences in the hope that the message will get through to the new customer.
鈥淲e could have told the story ourselves,鈥� added Cahill, 鈥渂ut we felt our regulars could do a better job.鈥�
About the future, Cahill said: 鈥淪afety will always be top of mind but we will make customer upgrades on all ships over the next few years in just about every aspect of customer service.鈥�
For much cheaper than a new ship, the company turned the Destiny into a virtual and critically acclaimed new ship, Sunshine. What does that say about new-builds?
鈥淣ot on our horizon right now. We鈥檙e spending a lot on our current fleet and that鈥檚 our priority.鈥�
Our discussion touched on growing markets, such as Australia and Asia. Carnival does have ships there but my sense is Cahill鈥檚 preference is to cruise out of North America to offer the warmth 鈥� literally and emotionally 鈥� to long-time customers and first-time cruisers.
听
Phil鈥檚 Pick of the Week
It's all about Carnival so that makes my choice quite easy.
Keep in mind that prices change frequently but these were available at time of writing based on per person, double occupancy.
This seven-day cruise leaves Miami on Jan. 25 and stops in Cozumel, Belize, Mahogany Bay and Grand Cayman. Prices start at $319, a balcony is $619 and a suite $989.
Check your cruise travel agent or go to carnival.com
