CARNIVAL Cruise Line (CCL) will aim to lift bookings by more than half as it prepares for a 54% increase in capacity when Carnival Splendor joins Carnival Spirit for year-round sailings from Australia late next year.
Having released details of some of the ship’s new features on the weekend, the line’s Vice President for Australia & New Zealand Jennifer Vanderkreeke acknowledged that meeting the extra capacity in a single year was “a tough thing to do”, but expressed confidence in demand for the family-friendly brand.
“We’ve done it before – we went from zero ships to an entire ship to a ship and a half, all over the course of a few years,” she said.
“We know we can do this and we know we can do this well.
“We know who our target market is and we know how to communicate with them.”
CCL had opted to introduce the capacity in two stages, Vanderkreeke said.
With Carnival Splendor to be based in Sydney from Dec 2019, the existing Carnival Spirit will leave Australia for a series of Alaska cruises before returning for year-round sailings from Brisbane in 2020, utilising the city’s new cruise terminal.
The 3,700-guest Carnival Splendor will be the newest and largest ship to be home-ported year-round in Australia and will be fitted with new features including revamped waterslides (TD yesterday).
Other new additions for the Australian market will include a RedFrog Pub, RedFrog Rum Bar, Blue Iguana Tequila Bar and the Alchemy cocktail bar.
An adults-only Serenity Retreat will be created on an aft deck, while American restaurateur and author Guy Fieri will provide his Guy’s Burger Joint.
Source: traveldaily