Carnival Cruise Line Case
Brittany Reed
January 26th, 2020
Marketing & New Media Strategy
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Case Recap
Carnival Cruise Line is the largest cruise operator in the world, operating ten cruise lines
comprised of 102 ships.
The cruise line is also known for being affordable, family oriented, and
the “Fun Ships” within the industry.
Unfortunately, Carnival has experienced several incidents
over the years, beginning with the maiden voyage of the first cruise ship and continuing to
present day.
These events have ranged from ships running aground or striking a reef, to engine
and laundry room fires and technical malfunctions.
The two most famous examples are the
Costa Concordia and Carnival Triumph disasters.
The Costa Concordia struck a reef and
partially sank off the coast of Italy in January 2012.
Over 4,000 people were evacuated from the
ship, but there were also casualties.
The Carnival Triumph experienced an engine room fire
which caused the ship to lose propulsion and drift in the Gulf of Mexico in February 2013.
While no one was injured during the latter incident, passengers and crew were subjected to
terrible conditions, including non-working toilets, long waits for food, and no air-conditioning.
These incidents themselves, compounded with the inconsistent and problematic way the cruise
line handled them, has resulted in apprehension and fear on the part of potential cruisers in
choosing to sail with Carnival.
Problem Identification and Root Components
The main problem that Carnival Cruise Line faces is a deteriorating reputation because of
its lack of a crisis management plan.
In each incident, the cruise line reacted differently and
utilized different platforms to respond to the public.
During the Costa Concordia incident, which
cost 32 passengers their lives, the initial response only expressed sympathy for the families and
did not admit fault.
A few days later, a second statement was released that hinted that human
error may have been the root cause, but the investigation was ongoing.
The media took this
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information and sensationalized it, causing Carnival to lose control of the conversation.
When
the Carnival Triumph incident occurred, the cruise line decided to bypass its Public Relations
department and traditional media, and released statements on Facebook, most of which were
from employees.
As the situation escalated and the conditions worsened aboard the ship, guests
took to Facebook to voice concerns that were less than complimentary. This strategy was bold
and gave the world real-time updates on the situation at hand, however because Carnival took
responsibility so quickly and publicly, the company opened itself up to potential litigation.
In
this instance, the mechanical malfunction that caused the fire would fall under the
unintentional/accidental category of crises, essentially lessening the liability of Carnival
Corporation.
