What is the Best Itinerary on Carnival?

[bdeluca03]

On yesterday's Carnival 2024 Q1 Earnings Call CEO Josh Weinstein stated in regards to the impact of new ships on pricing to Lizzie Dove of Goldman Sachs:

 

"Welcome to the first -- I think your first call or the first call since you've been covering us. So the new ships get a premium. There is no doubt that the new ships get a premium. The way we manage brand by brand, how much of that premium to get. It also depends on where we're putting that ship because we're not going to necessarily want to put the best ship on the best itinerary because that's not the good thing for the overall brand."

So if the Jubilee, Mardi Gras, etc. are the newest ships & not getting the best itinerary per Josh Weinstein - what is the best overall itinerary that Carnival Cruise offers?

[mz-s]

Remember that Weinstein is CEO of the entire company - Carnival Corp. Not just Carnival Cruise Line.

[Old Fart Cruisers]

In this case, it seems like Weinstein was talking about the best overall itinerary in terms or profitability.  

 

Asking "what is the best overall itinerary" is almost like asking what is the best food.  Everyone has different likes and dislikes.  Best for one person isn't necessarily what someone else would consider best.  

[bdeluca03]

I personally thought it had to be based on profitability, etc. unless the data Josh Weinstein has access to tells us that if Cozumel is on an itinerary it's 4x more likely to be booked than an itinerary in the same region without it.

Otherwise, I've noticed Carnival does not send it's newest boats to Alaska (Luminosa, Miracle, Spirit) or Europe (Legend) & thought maybe those itineraries are extremely popular & therefore don't need the latest and greatest of the Jubilee, Mardi Gras, etc.

[Saint Greg]

 

35 minutes ago, bdeluca03 said:

So if the Jubilee, Mardi Gras, etc. are the newest ships & not getting the best itinerary per Josh Weinstein - what is the best overall itinerary that Carnival Cruise offers?

 

The newer ships can't go everywhere. If I had to guess what the "best" itinerary was...based on the pricing and comments I've seen/heard over the years on an 8-day cruise I would say the ABC that Horizon and I think Magic do. For Journeys I would say Hawaii which I think Miracle and Radiance do.

[jimbo5544]

8 minutes ago, Saint Greg said:

 

 

The newer ships can't go everywhere. If I had to guess what the "best" itinerary was...based on the pricing and comments I've seen/heard over the years on an 8-day cruise I would say the ABC that Horizon and I think Magic do. For Journeys I would say Hawaii which I think Miracle and Radiance do.

Have not the Hawaii option but totally concur in the Horizon ABC.

[Saint Greg]

Just now, jimbo5544 said:

Have not the Hawaii option but totally concur in the Horizon ABC.

 

I haven't done either. But I am doing the Horizon ABC soon and I have seen the Hawaii prices.

[jimbo5544]

27 minutes ago, bdeluca03 said:

I personally thought it had to be based on profitability, etc. unless the data Josh Weinstein has access to tells us that if Cozumel is on an itinerary it's 4x more likely to be booked than an itinerary in the same region without it.

Otherwise, I've noticed Carnival does not send it's newest boats to Alaska (Luminosa, Miracle, Spirit) or Europe (Legend) & thought maybe those itineraries are extremely popular & therefore don't need the latest and greatest of the Jubilee, Mardi Gras, etc.

I would love to hear their rationale on why older ships to Europe, my gut tells me it is more of a size of ship (less staterooms to sell) than anything else.  It used to be that Carnival only did Europe seasonal sailing when a NEW ship came out and it fit in the grander scheme of things (Liberty/Freedom) as example.

[jimbo5544]

1 minute ago, Saint Greg said:

 

I haven't done either. But I am doing the Horizon ABC soon and I have seen the Hawaii prices.

Done the Horizon itin 4 times and another next spring.  Home run

[cacruisin]

I always assumed they utilized the smaller ships in Europe and Alaska etc due to size of the docking bays and maneuverability of the waterways in the specific areas.  Just like how they all drive tiny cars in Europe because the streets won't allow for huge SUV's (in addition to petrol reasons).  But that's based on nothing beyond my own logic lol

Edited March 28 by cacruisin

[mz-s]

Most of Carnival Cruise Line's profitability is in onboard spend. So the most profitable itinerary for CCL would be a cruise with lots of proprietary ports so they capture most of the spend.

 

1 minute ago, cacruisin said:

I always assumed they utilized the smaller ships in Europe and Alaska etc due to size of the docking bays and maneuverability of the waterways in the specific areas.  Just like how they all drive tiny cars in Europe because the streets won't allow for huge SUV's (in addition to petrol reasons).  But that's based on nothing beyond my own logic lol

 

Royal has Quantum class ships in Alaska.

[ARcruisin2]

 "we're not going to necessarily want to put the best ship on the best itinerary"

I'm going to read into this, new ships draw passengers just for that new ship experience.

Older ships get more interesting ports to interest people in booking them for new location experiences.

[Saint Greg]

31 minutes ago, cacruisin said:

I always assumed they utilized the smaller ships in Europe and Alaska etc due to size of the docking bays and maneuverability of the waterways in the specific areas.  Just like how they all drive tiny cars in Europe because the streets won't allow for huge SUV's (in addition to petrol reasons).  But that's based on nothing beyond my own logic lol

 

NCL has has Breakaway+ class ships doing the Seattle-Alaska cruises Carnival does and Princess has Royal class ships doing them. Carnival definitely has a different strategy. NCL and Princess almost totally abandon the Caribbean during the summer while Carnival stays there year round. Carnival only does the round trip Seattle Alaska cruises where other lines do those and Alaska-Canada cruises.

 

I've noticed the same thing with Hawaii. Other lines have one week cruises between Honolulu and Vancouver. Carnival only does cruises that start and end in the US. They definitely cater to the beginner cruiser who doesn’t have a passport and mostly just wants to go to the Caribbean.

 

Edited March 28 by Saint Greg

[Jamman54]

1 hour ago, Saint Greg said:

 

 

The newer ships can't go everywhere. If I had to guess what the "best" itinerary was...based on the pricing and comments I've seen/heard over the years on an 8-day cruise I would say the ABC that Horizon and I think Magic do. For Journeys I would say Hawaii which I think Miracle and Radiance do.

Have to agree. Going to the Southen Caribbean for the 6th time when we are on the Vista in a few weeks. Will be heading to Hawaii for the 2nd time next year. Many Journeys cruises have some awesome itineraries as well. 😎

[Nachosdelux]

the best itinerary is the one with the fewest (out of control) kids lol

[ninjacat123]

We loved the Magic itinerary SJ, St. Maarten, St. Thomas and Amber Cove.  Loved our Pride cruise from Civitavecchia to Greece, Turkey and Italy. Nassau and Cozumel get a bit repetitive but now with Celebration Key in the mix we might be doing that itinerary as well. As long as I'm on a Carnival ship, I'm pretty happy😊 

[jimbo5544]

3 hours ago, Saint Greg said:

They definitely cater to the beginner cruiser who doesn’t have a passport and mostly just wants to go to the Caribbean.

 

without a doubt their primary focus is the new cruiser and the Caribbean will always be numero uno.

[Saint Greg]

1 hour ago, Nachosdelux said:

the best itinerary is the one with the fewest (out of control) kids lol

So Alaska…

[jimbo5544]

1 hour ago, Saint Greg said:

So Alaska…

Ain't that a fact....

[jimbo5544]

3 hours ago, Jamman54 said:

Have to agree. Going to the Southen Caribbean for the 6th time when we are on the Vista in a few weeks. Will be heading to Hawaii for the 2nd time next year. Many Journeys cruises have some awesome itineraries as well. 😎

Yes they certainly do.  They attract me like a magnet.  The uniqueness is very attractive.

[Honolulu Blue]

15 hours ago, bdeluca03 said:

On yesterday's Carnival 2024 Q1 Earnings Call CEO Josh Weinstein stated in regards to the impact of new ships on pricing to Lizzie Dove of Goldman Sachs:

 

"Welcome to the first -- I think your first call or the first call since you've been covering us. So the new ships get a premium. There is no doubt that the new ships get a premium. The way we manage brand by brand, how much of that premium to get. It also depends on where we're putting that ship because we're not going to necessarily want to put the best ship on the best itinerary because that's not the good thing for the overall brand."

So if the Jubilee, Mardi Gras, etc. are the newest ships & not getting the best itinerary per Josh Weinstein - what is the best overall itinerary that Carnival Cruise offers?

 

I think the newest ships are always going to get the weeklong runs up and down the Caribbean and Bahamas that are Carnival's staple.  They might switch one to 5-4-5 day runs mostly in the Bahamas, or even 4-3-4-3 quick runs to private destinations (with Nassau every once in a while).  

 

My opinion is that Carnival dumped their very best itinerary - the Eastern Caribbean sailings out of sunny San Juan.  I'm sure they had their reasons. 🤑

 

Other standout itineraries Carnival has remaining are (IMHO):

• The 14-day cruises that visit 7 or 8 ports that leave from Florida
• All the longer cruises that go deep into the Southern Caribbean (Cartagena, Panama, Costa Rica)
• The 8-day cruise that goes to two of the ABCs and two other ports
• 7-day Western Caribbean cruises that go to four ports from Florida.  These used to be a Carnival staple but are becoming scarce - look it up if you dare.

14 hours ago, Saint Greg said:

Other lines have one week cruises between Honolulu and Vancouver. Carnival only does cruises that start and end in the US. 

I did an 11-day cruise on Carnival several years ago that went between Vancouver and Honolulu, with some island stops in between.  Mine had an overnight in Honolulu; there were other runs about that time that lasted 10 days and didn't have the overnight.

 

I can't imagine running a cruise either way in 7 days or less; it takes 5 sea days just to get between Hawaii and BC.

[Saint Greg]

37 minutes ago, Honolulu Blue said:

 

 

I can't imagine running a cruise either way in 7 days or less; it takes 5 sea days just to get between Hawaii and BC.

That’s right. The 6-7 days I saw must’ve been POA that don’t leave Hawaii. The others are 13-16 days.

[crooooze]

For us, the best itinerary can be anything other than Nassau, Freeport, Princess Cays.

[Saint Greg]

39 minutes ago, Honolulu Blue said:

My opinion is that Carnival dumped their very best itinerary - the Eastern Caribbean sailings out of sunny San Juan.  I'm sure they had their reasons. 

I think it goes along what I was saying about carnival catering to the beginner cruiser. I don’t think they want regular cruises out of a place that isn’t drivable. 

[grimpil]

15 hours ago, jimbo5544 said:

Done the Horizon itin 4 times and another next spring.  Home run

Doing this one next Apr... first cruise with our Granddaughters!!! My favourite itin so far was B2B in Europe (eastern and western med on the Pride) then journeys out of Manhattan on the Venezia. Dominica, Grenada, St Lucia, Antigua and St Maarten. We have Hawaii coming up this fall so that may change?