Carnival Harvard Case

Carnival is “The World’s Most Popular Cruise Line” with 24 “Fun Ships” operating voyages ranging from three to 16 days in length to the Bahamas, Caribbean, Mexican Riviera, Alaska, Hawaii, Canada, New England, Europe, and Bermuda. Carnival’s success is attributed to its marketing program directed towards

Carnival Corporation & plc. is a global company with over 100,000 employees that serve 5 million passengers a year. At the end of 2014 Carnival Corporation & plc. income earnings were $15,884,000 dollars. Tickets sales at $11,889,000 dollars. After paying salaries and other fees Carnival Corporation & plc. income came to $459,000 which is low considering that in 2012 and 2013 income was over $1,070,000 dollars for each year after deducting costs. (Financial Information) The total sales come for the different age demographics, so approximately 50 percent of the predictions for cruise come from the 25-39 age group followed by the 40-59 age group at about 39 percent and the 60 plus age group at 11 percent. (Cruise Demographics)

Carnival is a leader in the cruise industry and it’s highly likely that the consumers would select this company; as it is also a branded company recognizable on the market it allow the process of word of mouth that lessen the power of the consumers from their self.

The success and performance of the company is considered high for the cruise industry. Based on their corporate culture, the company has two main targets - to provide excellence and elegance as the value of their service, and to employ these concepts into their marketing communication in order to sell the experience of traveling

* Distinctiveness of cruise experience: Cruising is perceived as a more expensive vacation alternative compared to land-based trips, however there is a strong belief among consumers that cruising offers high value for the price consumers pay. Cruising is looked at a full package by offering bundles of travel packages including airfare, dining, itineraries, resort stay, and multiple other amenities. Therefore, a cruise offers a distinctive type of experience that most consumers would choose over various other traveling substitutes. (UCLIA)

There are nine main cruise line, these include Ambassador International, Carnival Corporation, Crystal Cruises, Disney Cruise Lines, Louis Cruises, Regent Seven Seas Cruise Lines, Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., Silversea Cruises and Star Cruises (Cruising). The major cruises out of these are Royal Caribbean and Carnival Corporation. These cruises line are known for using their popularity to their advantage by raising their prices at any given time. But on the other hand, all the ships are comparable. All passage can anticipate the equivalent experience on board. In addition Rivalry is at a peek because getting rid of a cruise industry cost more than to just keep into development.

Answer: Carnival should place a high priority on marketing. They can include more varied activities that should be marketed towards different lifestyles. This will attract more people who would not have considered a cruise in the past. They can offer many promotions that lower the cost of their cruise. The company can also offer a large selection of cruise options, with ports located in many countries around the world. (Source: http://www.echeat.com/essay.php?t=31046).

Many of us have heard of problems with Carnival Cruises in recent years. A major incident happened in 2010 when an engine fire aboard Carnival Splendor caused the ship to be stranded 200 miles off the coast of California. Since then, many Carnival cruises have faced similar issues. Carnival Triumph had a fire on board in February of 2013. Then, in March of the same year, Carnival Legend had problems with increasing their ship’s speed. There are always risks when going on a cruise, but could Carnival have avoided the problems that happened?

Carnival has a strong market expansion strategy for selling the mass-market cruise category and first-time cruisers. Furthermore, Carnival Cruise Lines are successful because they have a clear vision and a commitment to their brand essence,

Product differentiation is one of the main strategies in order to face some of the risks; however, Royal Caribbean, as well as, Carnival Corporation and Norwegian Cruises are the most visible players in this industry. It is not easy to differentiate with their huge size, economies of scale. The industry is very lucrative, has high profit margins; hence, the level of risk is extremely high as well.

Carnival Cruise Lines is the largest cruise company in North America and carries more than 60,000 passengers a week. The Carnival experience is the standard against what past cruisers judge their later cruise experiences. Carnival has captured the "fun" psychographic and has a strong reputation for an enjoyable, relaxed cruise. Furthermore, Carnival has a strong market expansion strategy for selling the mass-market cruise category and first-time cruisers. They have a clear vision and knowledge about the industry and a commitment to their brand essence, which is fun. Also, as an extension to their branding of the "fun" ships they are the low-price leaders. Because of their strong brand image they are able to achieve double-digit growth in

Carnival Cruise’s, Disney Cruises and Norwegian was the only other clear competitors to RCL but in terms of subsidiaries Crystal Cruises was the only direct rival in terms of size and scale and position in the industry but in analyzing the demand increase from 1999 to 2001 a 16.7% increase in demand showed that Celebrity cruises had to maintain their position as a luxury brand to continue being a major player in the industry. The demand was strong and the competition was average, as it relates to entries to market the cruise line industry requires multiple stipulations and regulations required thus unless one of the major players mentioned above acquired a smaller cruise line to increase in operations and services Celebrity’s position was relatively strategic and smart. The competitive landscape was relatively small so quality improvement process should be the main focus during this time, they already created the process needed to offer superior service thus tweaks such as management training, career progression programs and increases in standard of performance programs would set Celebrity’s consistent quality assurance position in the industry to better

The best part about going on a Cruise Ship is its affordability. Not only is Carnival Cruise prices appeal to younger people in their twenties but it also travels to almost every part of the world including 20 North American, the Caribbean, Bahamas, Mexican Riviera, Alaska, Canada, Hawaii, Panama Canal, Bermuda, Mediterranean, South America, Tahiti, The Fiji Islands, New Zealand, Norway, the Baltic and the British Isles for a decent price.

For many people, a cruise ship can be the ultimate budget travel destination. A cruise provides a great, one price, vacation, and one of the main attractions to booking a cruise is that just about everything is included in the price.

A pause strategy is the best initial course of action for Carnival Corporation to improve on its health standards, overall safety and public relations. This allows the corporation to consolidate its resources to take more precise action towards its critical issues. Taking a pause strategy approach the corporation can put its growth strategy on temporary hold, keying in on improving ship infrastructure and implementing better safety features. Carnival can begin by issuing more frequent maintenance and upkeep of ships, improving the diligence of sanitization of surfaces, and executing better care and handling of perishables. This strategy gives Carnival Corporation the opportunity to show progressive action towards improving overall customer health and safety. Carnival can then utilize this to apply a marketing strategy showcasing its efforts to continually keep customer wellbeing at its