Carnival Cruise Line makes plea amid America’s growing divisions
The cruise line’s brand ambassador wants passengers to help him convey who is welcome on board Carnival cruise ships.
As political tensions rise between the U.S. and its neighbors, Canadians who haven’t already scrapped their U.S. travel plans this year are becoming increasingly worried about how they’ll be received by Americans.
This is especially true for those with plans to sail on Carnival Cruise Line, which refers to itself as America’s cruise line.
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Although Carnival has a strong American feel and caters to the U.S. market, the cruise line’s workforce hails from all around the globe. The company aims to create an atmosphere on board its ships where people from all cultures and walks of life feel welcome and are respected.
Whether passengers really experience that type of environment on a cruise ship can depend on how passengers treat each other, however.
In an effort to promote the cruise line’s values, Carnival’s brand ambassador, John Heald, recently posted a video message on his Facebook page with a special request for his 600,000 followers.
“I would be very grateful if you could share this with someone else who cruises with us as I think it is a very important message to get across,” the brand ambassador wrote.
Sign up for the Come Cruise With Me newsletter to save money on your next (or your first) cruise. Image source: John Heald/Facebook
Carnival passengers worry about fitting in, feeling welcome on board
Heald, who responds to hundreds of messages from Carnival passengers every day, explained that he’s noticed a trend among some of his messages in the last few weeks. More and more, passengers are becoming worried about how other passengers will treat them on board Carnival cruise ships.
Heald read two of these passenger messages in his video.
“My husband just retired after working with the Department of Transportation for 32 years. And we have booked our first cruise ever,” a passenger named Rachel wrote to the brand ambassador.
“We saw the Carnival commercials on TV and looked on the internet. Everyone looks so good. They are beautiful people,” Rachel’s message continued. “They dress so nice all the time. My husband and me are nothing like that. We are very excited to cruise, but now we wonder if we will fit in.”
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Heald also shared a message he received from Patricia, a concerned Canadian cruiser.
“We are cruising on the Panorama in two weeks. Not sure if you are aware of the ongoing tensions between Canada and the United States,” Patricia wrote to the brand ambassador. “I have never had a concern before about traveling to the U.S. However, in recent weeks, there has been a rise in the number of altercations between the two nationalities. I'm not going to lie. This concerns me deeply.”
“While cruising in the past, when I chat with people and they find out I'm Canadian, yes, I do say, eh, often, it is always a friendly conversation. Now I'm concerned that I may be met with a negative reaction,” Patricia explained.
Cruise line brand ambassador wants to make it clear: Carnival is for everyone
As he shared Rachel and Patricia’s messages with his followers in a video, Heald wanted to convey that Carnival passengers are regular people just like him. He asked his followers to help him demonstrate that by sharing selfies with the words, “I cruise Carnival.”
“Yes, our commercials do look like this with beautiful people. That's TV for you. But the reality of it is that people look like me, which is why I'm doing this video,” Heald explained.
The brand ambassador wanted to make it clear that the fun of a Carnival cruise is for people from all walks of life.
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“We absolutely do not want you to worry a single tiny bit. Everybody will look like you. And that means everybody will look like they're having fun,” Heald continued. “It doesn't matter who you are, what you look like, where you're from, what you do for a living. It's nothing to do with anything, but having fun.”
And when it comes to Canadians, Heald pointed out that there are hundreds of Canadians sailing on Carnival ships on any given day and each one is met by the crew with the same warm greeting as any other passenger.
“Carnival Cruise Line has been and always will be for everyone,” Heald emphasized. “Carnival Cruise Line is for you. Carnival Cruise Line is for everyone.”
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