Carnival Corporation to absorb P&O Cruises Australia into Carnival Cruise Line
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- Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä
- Category: Top Headlines Top Headlines
- Published: 04 June 2024 04 June 2024
Carnival Corporation & plc, the world's largest cruise company, today announced that in March 2025, the company will sunset the P&O Cruises Australia brand and fold the Australia operations into Carnival Cruise Line, the most popular cruise line in the world.
This change is the latest in a series of strategic moves designed to increase guest capacity for Carnival Cruise Line, the company's flagship brand and the highest-returning brand in Carnival Corporation's global portfolio. This will result in the addition of eight new ships to Carnival Cruise Line's fleet since 2021, including the successful shift of three vessels from sister brand Costa Cruises. In addition, the company recently placed its first new ship order in half a decade for two new Excel-class cruise ships to join Carnival Cruise Line in 2027 and 2028.
"Despite increasing Carnival Cruise Line's capacity by almost 25% since 2019 including transferring three ships from Costa Cruises, guest demand remains incredibly strong so we're leveraging our scale in an even more meaningful way by absorbing an entire brand into the world's most popular cruise line," said Josh Weinstein, chief executive officer of Carnival Corporation & plc. "In 2019, Carnival Cruise Line was 29% of our total capacity, and when we complete this move early next year, Carnival Cruise Line – our highest-returning brand – will make up approximately 35% of our total global capacity. While our company's overall growth between 2019 – 2028 is projected to be less than 2% (CAGR), the majority will be for Carnival Cruise Line, which will grow by approximately 50% over that time period."
In addition to further optimizing the composition of Carnival Corporation's global brand portfolio, the realignment will strengthen the company's performance in the South Pacific through numerous operational efficiencies.
"P&O Cruises Australia is a storied brand with an amazing team, and we are extremely proud of everything we have accomplished together in Australia and the broader region," said Weinstein. "However, given the strategic reality of the South Pacific's small population and significantly higher operating and regulatory costs, we're adjusting our approach to give us the efficiencies we need to continue delivering an incredible cruise experience year-round to our guests in the region. Carnival Corporation & plc remains committed to Australia and we will continue to be the largest cruise operator in the region with 19 ships calling on 78 destinations and representing almost 60% of the market."
Building on shared legacy in the region
As the P&O Cruises Australia brand retires early next year, the Pacific Encounter and Pacific Adventure ships will be rebranded and operated by Carnival Cruise Line brand. Pacific Explorer will exit the fleet in February of 2025. Current itineraries will operate business as usual, and guests will be notified in the coming days of any changes to future bookings as a result of this announcement.
When the transition is complete next year, Carnival Cruise Line – which has served the South Pacific since 2013 – will have four ships in the market, including Sydney-based Carnival Splendor and Carnival Luminosa sailing seasonally from Brisbane, in addition to their new sister ships Encounter and Adventure.
"We look forward to building on the history and heritage of P&O Cruises Australia by bringing some of our innovations to more cruise guests in the region," said Christine Duffy, president of Carnival Cruise Line. "While we plan to make some technology upgrades and other small changes to the two P&O Cruises Australia ships, they will continue to be geared to the unique Australian market with a familiar feel and much of the same experiences for P&O Cruises Australia guests. The most notable change will be the availability of our popular HubApp, enabling guests to make online dining and excursion reservations, request food and beverage delivery, and chat with other guests, among other features. P&O Cruises Australia guests will also be invited to participate in Carnival's loyalty program and promotional offerings specific to Carnival ships sailing in the region."
"Over the coming months, we will find ways to celebrate and honor P&O Cruises Australia – a valued part of our legacy and an important contributor to the tourism industry in the South Pacific," said Weinstein. "We value the connection our P&O Cruises Australia guests, employees, travel advisor partners, public officials and destinations have with our company and are committed to building on this association moving forward as Carnival."
Royal Caribbean Group introduces industry-first loyalty status match program across its brands
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- Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä
- Category: Top Headlines Top Headlines
- Published: 31 May 2024 31 May 2024
Royal Caribbean Group has announced that loyalty members from its three wholly-owned brands – Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises and Silversea – will attain equivalent tier status on any one of its brands. This shared status adds to members’ existing benefits and unlocks new ways to see the world, with more than 50 ships sailing to nearly 1,000 destinations across all seven continents.
Now, loyalty members have another reason to experience all Royal Caribbean Group has to offer, with a product to meet them for each of life’s moments. As the first major cruise company to offer loyalty status matching across its core brands, the Royal Caribbean Group Loyalty Status Match program allows members of Royal Caribbean’s Crown & Anchor Society, Celebrity Cruises’ Captain’s Club and Silversea’s Venetian Society to enjoy reciprocal tier status no matter which brand they sail with.
Royal Caribbean Group’s industry-leading portfolio offers everything one could want in a vacation, including land-based vacation experiences through Perfect Day at CocoCay and Royal Beach Club collection, and its cruise brands Royal Caribbean International delivering thrilling vacations for the multi-generational and contemporary market, Celebrity Cruises elevating premium travel, and Silversea offering the finest ultra-luxury and expedition experiences.
“We strive to provide guests with experiences within our portfolio of brands that meet them for all of life’s moments,” said Jason Liberty, president and CEO, Royal Caribbean Group. “Each of our differentiated brands have passionate fans who take pride in the status they've achieved through repeat sailings. In a first for the cruise industry, our new Loyalty Status Match program rewards guests traveling across our brands, and this is one more step in our journey of transforming a vacation of a lifetime into a lifetime of vacations.”
The new program is part of Royal Caribbean Group’s ongoing commitment to deliver the best vacations responsibly. By aligning its three industry-leading brands and recognizing guest loyalty across the fleet, the Loyalty Status Match program aims to provide an unparalleled vacation experience that rewards guests. Program highlights include:
Seamless Status Recognition: Members of Crown & Anchor Society, Captain’s Club and Venetian Society are now eligible to receive one-for-one status match across all three brands after enrolling in each program.
– Onboard Benefits: When sailing on each sister brand, guests can enjoy the onboard benefits offered by each brand for their equivalent tier status.
– Effortless Tier Matching: Guests already enrolled in multiple loyalty programs will be automatically matched across brands within 7 days to ensure guests receive their appropriate loyalty status.
– Enhanced Travel Experience: Status match enables guests to select from a broader and more diverse range of vacation experiences and destinations.
Now, loyalty members can be status matched for upcoming travel on a sister brand. For example, a Venetian Society member with 250 VS Days and an upcoming sailing on Celebrity Cruises can enroll in Captain's Club, which would give them Elite status once their loyalty accounts are connected.
The applicable terms and conditions are also changing to make clear how member data will be shared across the various loyalty programs and highlight other important legal terms. Please refer to the updated loyalty program terms and conditions for full details. Loyalty Status Match program terms also apply.
New benefits onboard for members who have their status matched will begin with sailings departing on June 5, 2024.
PortMiami’s 2023 economic impact tops $61 billion
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- Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä
- Category: Top Headlines Top Headlines
- Published: 18 May 2024 18 May 2024
PortMiami’s annual economic impact has increased significantly to $61.4 billion, up from $41.4 billion in 2016, according to a new study conducted by Martin Associates. The study also shows that the number of jobs supported by the seaport’s cruise and cargo activity has grown to 340,078 jobs from 334,500.
The study utilized the same methodology that was used to measure the seaport’s 2016 economic impacts, and measured PortMiami’s impact in terms of jobs, business revenue, consumer spending, and state and local taxes:
– $61.4 billion total economic activity, which accounts for 3.9 percent of the $1.6 trillion Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for the state of Florida.
– $2.2 billion in state and local taxes, of which $1.6 billion is attributed to Port users.
– 340,078 jobs support by port activity, including 29,423 direct local jobs.
“PortMiami is not only one of Miami-Dade County’s most important economic engines, its economic impact is also felt regionally and globally,” said Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava. “This report confirms the seaport’s vital role in supporting good-paying local jobs and contributing to the growth of our community, in addition to our commitment to resilience and reducing our carbon footprint with shore power and our net zero plan.”
The economic impact analysis was based on data developed through extensive interview and telephone survey program of the seaport’s tenants and the firms providing cruise and cargo services at PortMiami. Additionally, a survey of cruise passengers and cruise vessel crew was conducted to develop passenger spending profiles pre- and post-cruise as well as the spending characteristics of the vessel crew during each port call at Miami.
“The seaport continues to play a critical role in the economic vitality of our region. We will continue to invest in our infrastructure to ensure that PortMiami remains a world class cruise and cargo port,” said Hydi Webb, Director and CEO, PortMiami. “I want to thank all the seaport’s partners for their unrelenting support. Our continued growth and success are a result of strong collaborations.”
PortMiami is recognized as the Cruise Capital of the World and Cargo Gateway of the Americas. The seaport operates as a landlord port and partners with 23 cruise line companies, including Carnival Corporation, Royal Caribbean Group, MSC Cruises, Norwegian Cruise Line, and Virgin Voyages; and three cargo terminal operators including Port of Miami Terminal Operating Company, Seaboard Marine, and South Florida Container Terminal.
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