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A third of first-time cruisers ‘end up on wrong ship’
One in three first-timer cruisers go on the wrong ship, according to Carnival chief executive Arnold Donald.
He said the key to keeping cruisers coming back was to make sure they choose the right ship, the one best suited to what they like, the first time they cruise.
"As long as they go on the right ship, they keep coming back," he said, "But about one in three people go on the wrong product first time, which is something we have to change."
Carnival, which owns 10 cruise brands, is planning to increase the amount it spends on marketing to try to bring more first-time cruisers into the market.
The company’s share price fell 6% yesterday after the announcement of its third-quarter results revealed that pre-tax profits were down 30% to £584 million on sales up less than 1%.
Carnival, which suffered more bad publicity early this week when its latest ship – the Royal Princess – suffered a power outage in the Mediterranean – warned that revenue yields would fall about 3% to 4% this year.
It also forecast a worse-than-expected 4% cost increase for 2014.
However, Carnival chairman Micky Arison, who was in London yesterday to reveal the group’s P&O Cruises brand would name its latest ship Britannia, said the group would overcome recent setbacks.
He admitted the Costa brand could take another couple of years to recover from the sinking of the Concordia in Italy in January 2012 with the loss of 32 lives. Even with discounts of up to 12% the brand has yet to bounce back, said Arison, but he said it would remain the top cruise brand in Italy, France and South America.
"The brand obviously had a great setback but if you look at brands that have had setbacks they recover," he said. "If they understand their customer and offer great value over time they recover."
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
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