Carnival: would a Venezia World Cruise work?

[jimbo5544]

On 2/18/2023 at 6:03 PM, stobe1 said:

"Upper income" is only half of the equation. The other half is finding the passenger demographics that have the ability to be gone for 100+ days. Most of Carnival's prime demographics are younger people and middle aged families.  The people that have the money AND the time to be gone for 3+ months at a time tend to be retirees.  The 30 day one-off sailings sailings tend to be reposition cruises due to fleet homeport reshuffling or positioning to or from dry dock.

 

Carnival does do a variety of Journeys sailings of 10+ days to many destinations that they do not typically visit, of which I have done several.  One particular itinerary for a Journey sailing I would love to see would be a 2 week Amazon river cruise out of Miami (assuming their smaller Fantasy or Spirit class ships can sail the Amazon, much like Holland America does. Perhaps @chengkp75 can chime in the specifics of that idea).

For other reasons, Carnival has ventured more into “unique” longer cruises (one this coming year at 31 days I believe.  I think the ops question is a valid one.  They have taken on ships from Costa that suddenly were not selling in China market.  They have the ships (Venezia would be a great choice, do not know about the economics of one ship compared to another fuel wise) and we are mot talking about filling 50 thousand cabins, just one ship.  In terms of their demographics, for one ship and much longer saisl would be a plus, not a deterrent from my view.  

 

All that said, they are in tough times and it would have to work big time for them to consider it.

[stobe1]

7 hours ago, jimbo5544 said:

For other reasons, Carnival has ventured more into “unique” longer cruises (one this coming year at 31 days I believe.  I think the ops question is a valid one.  They have taken on ships from Costa that suddenly were not selling in China market.  They have the ships (Venezia would be a great choice, do not know about the economics of one ship compared to another fuel wise) and we are mot talking about filling 50 thousand cabins, just one ship.  In terms of their demographics, for one ship and much longer saisl would be a plus, not a deterrent from my view.  

 

All that said, they are in tough times and it would have to work big time for them to consider it.

Anything is possible.

[jsglow]

13 hours ago, MJSailors said:

@EngIceDave I have to debate your theory that Carnval is an entry level cruise experience where customers graduate to a more sophisticated travel experienceafter experiencing the Carnival product in their younger days.

    Our first cruise  was the Big Red Boat out of Port Canaveral. This was in 1986. My DH was 35, I was 33. The next cruise we took was NCL ,NYC to Bermuda in 1993. We were 42 and 40. In 2001,we sailed Cunard,TA from NYC to Southampton ,England. we were 50 and 48. 

Subsequently, we sailed Princess,Celebrity and NCL.

  We have never considered Carnival because of the marketing idea that they were the fun ships (remember the commercials featuring Kathy Lee Gifford?)That style of cruising never appealed to us regardless of the low fares or the extensive drink packages offered by Carnival. 

Carnival’s customer base seems to be people attracted to these low fares,liberal drinking policies and short cruises. Carnival serves a purpose to those who are aware of cost and the opportunity to party for short duration of time. That’s why there are many cruise lines available to offer a cruise product to people who seek various types of vacations. The travel industry is not a one size fits all kind of business. 

    For the President of Carnival to issue a statement about unacceptable behavior on the line’s ships says a lot about the atmosphere on the ships and the passengers’ apparent disregard to having respectful  manners in relating to other passengers on a cruise vacation. Being in such an atmosphere may not be appealing to a wide number of vacationers. Therefore they choose another cruise line for a pleasant vacation experience.

     Carnival is not the type of cruise experience that would support a world cruise. Other lines such as Princess,HAL,Cunard and ,now, Royal Caribbean are cruise lines with  the typical demographics that would attract passengers to such voyages. 

Anyone interested in taking a world cruise would look elsewhere besides Carnival  due to the perceived notion of what can go on during a Carnval cruise..

     It was posted on the RCCL forum that a world cruise in a grand suite category has a price of over $344,000.00 That is quite pricey and certainly not equivalent to the per day charge of a typical Carnival cruise.

As the saying goes- follow the money.

MJ

Says the completely uninformed person who has never, ever, ever been on a Carnival cruise.  Amazing the amount of 'knowledge' you've accumulated about the line from TV commercials dating back 30+ years.  And while I personally agree with you that Carnival is not CCL's 'world traveler' brand and is more geared toward the 'long weekend to week-long vacation' types, your assertions about what the line is and isn't and what the typical cruise experience or passenger mix is like is flat out wrong. I'll leave it at that. Good day.

[Eli_6]

I would be very interested in this if it was during the summer so my kids could go.  Princess has ONE world cruise in the summer.  They are the only one I am aware of that does a summer world cruise.

[Eli_6]

As an aside, on our Europe Carnival cruise, we met MANY people who were on the boat for anywhere from a month to the entire season...which was May to October.  MANY.  In fact, I would dare say that probably at least a third of the people we talked to were there for multiple B2B2B voyages.

 

@MJSailorsCarnival does not just attract lower income cruisers looking to party. Anyone with young kids who is cruising with those kids is pretty much choosing between Carnival, RCCL and Disney.  Many of the upper end cruise lines (like Viking) don't even allow kids--and even the ones that do allow them don't cater to them like Carnival, Royal and Disney.  And Disney simply doesn't have as many boats or routes as Carnival or Royal.  

 

Edited February 21, 2023 by Eli_6

[gkbiiii]

I've long wondered if both Costa & MSC can do World Cruises each year, both lines are bottom feeders, why not Carnival?

[Megan_Strick]

On 2/18/2023 at 5:08 PM, gkbiiii said:

As a Diamond Plus member at Royal Caribbean, I was/am proud & impressed, that Royal Caribbean was able to sellout their fist World Cruise.

Do you think if Carnival was to have a World cruise on Venezia, would it be a success?  Are there enough upper income Carnival cruisers, to sell out such a voyage?

Would you all, be interested in a three month plus voyage?  If so, where would you like ship to go, for a "once in a lifetime voyage?"

 

Some people might think this is an absurd idea, however, there are now 30 day Pacific crossings to Australia, so perhaps it might work.

What are your general thoughts? 

 

Not sure if this is a subtle insult or what???

 

 

[staceyglow]

1 hour ago, Megan_Strick said:

Not sure if this is a subtle insult or what???

 

 

If you have ever priced out a word tour, you would know this is not an insult; just reality.

 

My guess is that even at Carnival-type prices, a 60-day cruise is going to run in the upper-4 figures pp base fare for an inside cabin, so probably well over $20K per couple by the time you do taxes, port charges, excursions, etc. Not too many lower income Carnival cruisers could afford that.

Edited February 21, 2023 by staceyglow

[gkbiiii]

16 hours ago, staceyglow said:

If you have ever priced out a word tour, you would know this is not an insult; just reality.

 

My guess is that even at Carnival-type prices, a 60-day cruise is going to run in the upper-4 figures pp base fare for an inside cabin, so probably well over $20K per couple by the time you do taxes, port charges, excursions, etc. Not too many lower income Carnival cruisers could afford that.

Thanks for your comment, that is what I meant.  With Costa being even a lower price point, it seems to me, this could work in America, as it does in Europe for them.  That's why I thought a joint vessel, should do a three month sailing.  They have years of experience, worldwide contacts, and Carnival has a higher income group, wanting longer, more exotic itineraries.  Plus their chief rival, Royal Caribbean, is doing one: the longest in history at nine months. 

Edited February 22, 2023 by gkbiiii

[jimbo5544]

1 hour ago, gkbiiii said:

Thanks for your comment, that is what I meant.  With Costa being even a lower price point, it seems to me, this could work in America, as it does in Europe for them.  That's why I thought a joint vessel, should do a three month sailing.  They have years of experience, worldwide contacts, and Carnival has a higher income group, wanting longer, more exotic itineraries.  Plus their chief rival, Royal Caribbean, is doing one: the longest in history at nine months. 

The demographics might surprise you.  We are talking about one ship and one world cruise btw. Some of us bottom feeders (way more than needed) would embrace the concept.  The Splendor sold out a 28 day cruise two years ago in 11 days.  There is no need to get into a debate on us bottom feeders, but having seen some of the demographics, I would feel VERY confident they would fill a ship if offered, maybe our food stamps would be taken on the ship as well….who knows. 

[gkbiiii]

1 hour ago, jimbo5544 said:

The demographics might surprise you.  We are talking about one ship and one world cruise btw. Some of us bottom feeders (way more than needed) would embrace the concept.  The Splendor sold out a 28 day cruise two years ago in 11 days.  There is no need to get into a debate on us bottom feeders, but having seen some of the demographics, I would feel VERY confident they would fill a ship if offered, maybe our food stamps would be taken on the ship as well….who knows. 

I said this, because several comments were, how Carnival guests could never afford a World Cruise.  People don't understand that there are segments sold too.

[Eli_6]

I would like to point out that the Greenland and Europe cruises aren't exactly cheap.  Balconies on the Greenland were running 5k+ for two weeks. If someone is staying on a cruise ship for 3-5 months, they are probably paying more on a leg-to-leg basis than what the price of the world cruises are on Princess or HAL or even Cunard...unless they have casino rates.  But I rarely see the casino rates for Europe cruises unless it is a particular sailing that hasn't sold well or a TA or a non-summer sailing. I have never gotten casino rates on the summer Europe cruises on Carnival that I have priced out (i.e. the cruises when my kids are out of school).  

 

I looked at the Princess world cruise that goes during the summer time and I actually thought it was surprisingly affordable if you just do a regular balcony and not a suite.  With that said, I was only looking at 2 or 3 segments (basically half of the circumnavigation) and not the entire cruise.  Ultimately my husband poo-pooed a world cruise because he said the internet wasn't yet good enough to allow him to be able to keep in touch with his office...but I have high hopes in the future once starlink is implemented.  Additionally, after being in Europe with my kids for only 3.5 weeks last summer, I was MORE than ready to get home so while my mind WANTS to do a 45+ day cruise, I think I would probably get on it and become very cranky after awhile.  Surprisingly, I think my husband and I started getting crankier than our kids.  

[Eli_6]

21 hours ago, staceyglow said:

If you have ever priced out a word tour, you would know this is not an insult; just reality.

 

My guess is that even at Carnival-type prices, a 60-day cruise is going to run in the upper-4 figures pp base fare for an inside cabin, so probably well over $20K per couple by the time you do taxes, port charges, excursions, etc. Not too many lower income Carnival cruisers could afford that.

I suspect the cruisers who are staying on the Pride in Europe for b2b2b sailings for several months at a time are paying well in excess of 20k per cabin for the entirety of their voyages.  

[jimbo5544]

2 hours ago, gkbiiii said:

I said this, because several comments were, how Carnival guests could never afford a World Cruise.  People don't understand that there are segments sold too.

I do not want to get into a discussion regarding affordability, I understand your view.

 

Jim

[jimbo5544]

1 hour ago, Eli_6 said:

I would like to point out that the Greenland and Europe cruises aren't exactly cheap.  Balconies on the Greenland were running 5k+ for two weeks. If someone is staying on a cruise ship for 3-5 months, they are probably paying more on a leg-to-leg basis than what the price of the world cruises are on Princess or HAL or even Cunard...unless they have casino rates.  But I rarely see the casino rates for Europe cruises unless it is a particular sailing that hasn't sold well or a TA or a non-summer sailing. I have never gotten casino rates on the summer Europe cruises on Carnival that I have priced out (i.e. the cruises when my kids are out of school).  

 

I looked at the Princess world cruise that goes during the summer time and I actually thought it was surprisingly affordable if you just do a regular balcony and not a suite.  With that said, I was only looking at 2 or 3 segments (basically half of the circumnavigation) and not the entire cruise.  Ultimately my husband poo-pooed a world cruise because he said the internet wasn't yet good enough to allow him to be able to keep in touch with his office...but I have high hopes in the future once starlink is implemented.  Additionally, after being in Europe with my kids for only 3.5 weeks last summer, I was MORE than ready to get home so while my mind WANTS to do a 45+ day cruise, I think I would probably get on it and become very cranky after awhile.  Surprisingly, I think my husband and I started getting crankier than our kids.  

Agreed, the answer is creativity.  Even the HAL world wide cruise has segments.