Seatrade Insider reports that speaking at the P&O Cruises’ Azura launch party in London, Carnival UK ceo David Dingle told Seatrade Insider about the decision to wind down the Ocean Village brand and switch the ships to Australia.
He said: “Ocean Village has done a great job in broadening the market here but the high cost of fuel and airfares had begun to have an impact while, at the same time, the Australian market is now on an upward curve.”
“Although it has a smaller population, cruising has a much smaller penetration than in the UK so there is enormous potential.”
Asked if there could be revival of an Ocean Village-style brand in the future, he said, “You can never say never but, if you look at the trend in North America, it is towards larger and larger brands and away from niche ones.”
“On the other hand, there could be a opportunity when one of the other Carnival brands has ships they want to move on that are larger, more modern and fuel-efficient than those Ocean Village now operates,” remarked Dingle.
A Report by The Mole
