MIAMI, Oct. 16, 2018
/PRNewswire/ -- Carnival Cruise Line – The World's Most
Popular Cruise Line®" – today announced a dry dock that will
transform Carnival Victory into Carnival Radiance – representing
the final phase of a $2 billion fleet
enhancement program that has brought a consistent level of
experiences from WaterWorks aqua parks, specialty dining,
entertainment, enhanced accommodations and amenities, to the more
than five million passengers who annually sail with the line.
The refurbishment of Carnival Victory will add the line's
popular culinary, bar and entertainment innovations and complete an
"any ship, any port, any itinerary" level of service and offerings
across its fleet of 26 ships that is unparalleled in the cruise
industry. Following a 38-day dry dock in Cadiz, Spain, Carnival Radiance will enter service in
2020. Homeport and itinerary details for the new Carnival
Radiance will be announced in mid-November.
Carnival Cruise Line fans who want to be the first to book on
Carnival Radiance can get a head start by clicking here where they
can register to get a "first to know" alert and special promotional
offer when itineraries are opened for sale.
"We have been investing in our products, amenities and
experience offerings at unprecedented levels which are driving
higher results in guest satisfaction, passenger yields and onboard
revenue," said Christine Duffy,
president of Carnival Cruise Line.
"Our guests and travel agent partners can count on a high degree of
consistency and quality vacation offerings across all our fleet and
homeports regardless of what ship they're sailing on. Ultimately,
this effort is about driving demand by giving each and every guest
a memorable vacation and offering a reason to come back to Carnival
again and again. And it's clearly working based on extremely
positive feedback from the more than five million guests we carry
each year."
As part of the fleet enhancement program, popular features are
nearly ubiquitous across the fleet through a combination of branded
offerings which provide guests with a consistent level of dining,
entertainment and amenities, including:
- Casual F&B options, Poolside venues like Guy's
Burger Joint and Guy's Pig & Anchor Smokehouse Bar-B-Que, in
collaboration with Food Network star Guy
Fieri, BlueIguana Cantina & Tequila Bar, RedFrog Rum Bar, as well as
upgrades to Lido Deck buffets and The Deli, and popular features
like Swirls self-serve ice cream stations, coffee bars and 24-hour
pizza.
- Specialty dining, including The Chef's Table fine dining
experience, the cocktail pharmacy-themed Alchemy Bar, as well as
Italian, sushi and seafood options.
- Shopping and Personal Care, including Cherry on Top
sweet shops, Pixels photo galleries, expanded retail outlets and
offerings and renovated fitness and spa facilities.
- Outdoor Decks and Attractions, including massive new
water parks with huge slides and kiddie splash zones, Serenity
adults-only areas, new miniature golf courses and more.
- Youth & Family Entertainment, including game
arcades, and dedicated Camp Ocean, Circle "C" and Club O2
facilities hosting supervised children's programming for kids
2-17.
- Theater & Live Entertainment, including Punchliner
Comedy Clubs, Playlist Productions shows, Rock Band 2.0, live
entertainment, deck parties, onboard programming and piano
bars.
- Technology upgrades, including fleetwide roll-out of the
Carnival HubApp to allow all guests to check-in online, book
dining, spa treatments and shore excursions, keep abreast of ship
news and activities, and communicate with their fellow
travelers.
- Award-winning enhanced NextGen Connectivity solution that
creates a best in class Wi-Fi experience onboard enabling guests
who want to be connected a content rich experience and ability to
seamlessly access their favorite social media applications, news,
email, and the internet with enhanced speed.
Carnival launched its fleet enhancement program in 2011.
Since that time, it has completed refurbishments to more than 20
ships, taken delivery of three new ships and has three additional
ships scheduled for delivery through 2022.
Since the fleet enhancement program was launched, Carnival's
annual passenger count has grown from 4.1 million to 5.2 million
guests; the number of children under 18 sailing annually has grown
from 650,000 to 800,000; its employee base has grown from 34,000 to
40,000; its voyage operations have grown from 1,400 to 1,700
sailings per year; and its lower berth count has grown from 58,000
to 70,000.
Duffy said that Carnival's top quality offerings and consistency
across its fleet have attracted more guests that are new to cruise,
as well as solidified Carnival cruise brand loyalists by providing
new and exciting shipboard choices.
"Our guest satisfaction ratings continue to trend upward
reflecting our ability to exceed our guests' expectations by
delivering an excellent experience. And our strong
product offerings and outstanding facilities allow our friendly and
attentive crew members to focus on delivering first-class customer
service, which they do in unmatched ways every day."
As Carnival completes this phase of the capital investment and
fleet expansion program, it is focusing more intensely on providing
a better onboard technology experience for guests.
The Carnival HubApp is now available across all 26 ships in the
fleet and running ahead of projections with regard to customer
adoption. Since its introduction in January 2015, it has generated more than 4.5
million downloads from Apple's App
Store and Google Play, earning a 4.6+ rating. Recent
data shows that nearly two- thirds of all staterooms had at least
one guest who downloaded the app, and more than half of all guests
interacted with the HubApp at least once during the
cruise.
More than 20 percent of onboard specialty dining and tour
excursion purchases are placed using the HubApp, contributing to
the double digit lift in onboard revenue since the HubApp was
introduced. This summer on its two new Vista-class vessels,
40 percent of guests purchased the HubApp's onboard chat feature
and the HubApp is also driving internet revenue, with penetration
now averaging more than 50 percent of all guests across the
fleet.
The enhanced NextGen connectivity system has proven extremely
successful on Carnival Horizon and Carnival Vista, enabling fast
and reliable Wi-Fi at sea. Further deployment of this technology on
Carnival Radiance will provide even more guests the opportunity to
enjoy superior connectivity while they access their favorite social
media sites, news, email or even stream their favorite content.
Carnival is now piloting a "pizza anywhere" delivery capability
on select vessels with the eventual goal of allowing guests to
order food and drink options directly from the HubApp for delivery
to their location on board. Along with the added HubApp
benefits, Carnival is investing in an enhanced Wi-Fi infrastructure
to bring more robust service across the Carnival fleet by 2021.
"We are excited by the exciting new choices added across our
fleet, but more importantly by the positive reaction from our
guests. When you combine all the great amenities and
offerings onboard with the best employees in the cruise industry,
we have a recipe for success that will continue to fuel our
growth," said Duffy.
To learn more about Carnival Cruise Line, visit Carnival.com.
For reservations, contact any travel agent or call 1-800-CARNIVAL.
Carnival can also be found on: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and
YouTube.
Journalists also can visit Carnival's media site,
carnival-news.com or follow the line's PR department on Twitter at
twitter.com/CarnivalPR.
About Carnival Cruise Line
Carnival Cruise Line, part of Carnival Corporation & plc
(NYSE/LSE: CCL; NYSE: CUK), is "The World's Most Popular Cruise
Line®" with 26 ships operating three- to 24-day voyages to The
Bahamas, Caribbean, Mexican Riviera, Alaska, Hawaii, Canada, New England, Bermuda, Cuba, Australia, New
Zealand, the Pacific Islands and Southeast Asia. The
line currently has three new ships scheduled for delivery – the
133,500-ton Carnival Panorama set to debut in 2019 and two
as-yet-unnamed 180,000-ton ships in 2020 and 2022.
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SOURCE Carnival Cruise Line