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Garvey, Kyle
Carnival Cruise Line
Kyle Garvey
Saint Leo University
MBA 560/MBOL4
Professor Pollard
May 16, 2020
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Garvey, Kyle
Introduction:
Despite being the world’s largest operating cruise line, Carnival has endured its share of trials
and tribulations, which ended in disaster and, at one point, gave the company a bad reputation.
After certain incidents occurred, Carnival’s cruise ships became viewed as dangerous and risky.
When a company’s reputation is damaged, it is important for the company’s management team to
enforce new and improved strategies to better the business. This is why Carnival’s marketing
skills have been reexamined to rebuild Carnival’s reputation and revenue.
Overview:
Carnival Corporation was established in 1972. In the 1990s, Carnival had obtained an
impressive number of cruise operators and merged with P&O in the early 2000s. Today Carnival
manages multiple famous cruise lines such as Carnival Cruise Line, Princess Cruises, Holland
America Line, Seabourn, Cunard, AIDA, Costa Cruise, P&O Cruises, P&O Australia and
Fathom. Princess Cruises is their largest global cruise and tour business with 18 ships which can
house up to 1700 passengers, and AIDA is the German cruise market leader who is based out of
the Mediterranean, Northern Europe, the Caribbean, the Arabian Gulf, and around the region of
the Canary Islands. Together, these companies form the largest cruise industry in the world with
an armada of over 100 ships serving more than 700 ports worldwide and exceeding 254,000
lower bays.
Carnival Cruise Lines is regarded as the “Fun Ships” and pioneer in low-priced, family-
oriented travel holidays in the cruise ship industry. Carnival has endured more lately than ever,
its unusual share of mishaps. Beginning with the maiden voyage of Carnival’s first TSS Mardi
Gras ship running aground on a sandbar, to the devastating Carnival Triumph engine room fire
earlier this year that left the ship shipwrecked for five days in the Gulf of Mexico, disaster
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Garvey, Kyle
management became an unexpected but recognizable phase of the world’s most extensive cruise
line.
Purpose of Research and Review of Literature:
The largest accident was the Costa Concordia that went aground off Italy’s coast in
January 2012. The ship was listing badly and partly sunk, leading many people to die and
criticizing the behavior of the Captain and the crew. Over 4,000 passengers and staff were
evacuated (Banks 2012), and the tragedy killed 32 people (Nadeau 2013). The second big
accident in February 2013, was a fire in the Carnival Triumph engine room, causing the ship to
lose momentum and abandon its floating in the Gulf of Mexico. While no accidents resulted,
passengers reported deplorable conditions, including a 4-5 hour wait for food, no air
conditioning, and toilets that were not functioning (Wilkinson, 2013).
