Carnival Cruise Line
Carnival Corporation is the industry leader in cruise lines. Through various mergers and acquisitions of smaller, more upscale, cruise lines, it has been able to target almost all market segments of the cruise line industry. Currently Carnival Corporation owns and operates Holland America Lines, Costa Cruises, Cunard Line, Princess Cruises, Windstar Cruises and The Yachts of Seaborn. These cruise lines combine to give Carnival Corporation approximately 40% market share of the cruise travel industry. The Carnival cruise is the largest and targets middle class travelers of which many are first time cruisers. The other cruise lines are more upscale and specialized with Costa Cruises offering European cruises and Windstar offering actual sailing ships. ... Numerous accolades from the press and industry surveys almost unanimously rate Carnival above all competitors. At the heart of Carnival Corporation lies its mission statement, which reads: “Our mission is to deliver exceptional vacation experiences through the worlds best-known cruise brands that cater to a variety of different lifestyles and budgets, all at an outstanding value unrivaled on land or at sea.” To achieve this mission its founders combined classic cruise elegance, modern convenience, and a price competitive with land-based vacations. The cruise experience is designed to be as stress free as possible and it starts with luggage, often the most stressful of vacation misfortunes. ... This is only the beginning of many services offered by Carnival. ... They are the traveler’s liaison to the services the ship has to offer and I have been able to find very few accounts of cruisers having bad stewards on Carnival lines. ... As expected seafood selections on Carnival are almost always good but beef quality has room for improvement with one reviewer receiving a steak that was difficult to cut, much less eat. ... Carnival has achieved its high status through various marketing strategies. ... Carnival is positioned at the bottom in the range of lines in terms of price and luxury. ... Carnival seems to have hit the right mix in terms of quality and price to provide an exceptional value to the cruise customer. It is intended that the first time cruiser will go on a Carnival cruise and have an enjoyable first cruise experience.