Carnival cruisers don’t want popular Royal Caribbean offering
Something Royal Caribbean has had major success with isn’t what most loyal Carnival cruisers want.
Royal Caribbean goes big on the idea of making the most of weekend getaways. When it launched Utopia of the Seas in summer 2024, billing it the “world’s biggest weekend,” it set out to wow new cruisers with one of its most exciting cruise ships yet.
In deploying Utopia to sail short three- and four-day cruises from Port Canaveral, Royal Caribbean aimed to draw first-time cruisers in with a short commitment — a taste of cruising that would hopefully blow them away and lead them to book longer sailings.
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That strategy has proved successful for Royal Caribbean, with demand for Utopia of the Seas exceeding the cruise line’s expectations and attracting many Millennials and younger travelers to give cruising a try.
Carnival Cruise Line, on the other hand, uses it newest Excel-class ships to sail longer itineraries. Like Utopia of the Seas, the Excel-class Carnival Mardi Gras sails from Port Canaveral, but offers six- and seven-day Caribbean itineraries.
Should Carnival be placing more emphasis on weekend getaway cruises as it plans its deployments to appeal to both new and loyal cruisers?
That’s what one loyal passenger recently suggested to Carnival Cruise Line Brand Ambassador John Heald, who gathers tons of passenger feedback daily on his popular Facebook page.
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Carnival brand ambassador polls loyal passengers on three-day cruises
“Hey there John, can you explain why there are so few three-day cruises?” an unidentified passenger asked the brand ambassador.
Although Carnival does offer three-day Bahamas cruises from Florida on older ships as well as a strong schedule of three-day Baja Mexico getaways from Los Angeles, the cruise line has leaned into longer sailings in recent years.
“These used to be a great way for us to take short breaks over the weekend with family,” the passenger explained. “Please bring back more three-day cruises, John.”
As he often does with passenger requests, Heald asked his Facebook followers to share their opinions on three-day cruises in a poll.
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The results were surprisingly definitive, proving that a focus on longer sailings certainly makes sense for the cruise line when it comes to retaining loyal Carnival cruisers. About 1,700 passengers voted in favor of more three-day cruises while more than 17,000 indicated that three-day cruises are too short for them.
This doesn’t mean that offering weekend getaway cruises on an exciting new Excel-class ship wouldn’t be a good strategy to attract more first-time cruisers, however.
But when it comes to keeping loyal Carnival cruisers sailing, longer cruises are clearly the way to go.
Loyal Carnival cruisers want longer vacations
“Although I love cruising, 3 days is just not worth the hassle!” Susan Natale explained in the comments on the post. “It would take me longer than 3 days just to get ready for the cruise!”
Short three-day weekend cruises typically only make sense for those loyal cruisers who live close to a cruise port, as some passengers pointed out in the comments.
“A three-day cruise would be great if you lived near a port city,” Mark Hale wrote. “Since we have to fly in, I want to make it worth the trip!”
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Flights can be quite costly too, so passengers want to feel like they’re getting their money’s worth by enjoying a longer vacation at sea.
“For me, a 3-day cruise is a waste of time. It costs me almost as much to get to the port as it does to cruise,” Sandra Watkins explained. “I’ve only been on one 3-day cruise and that was because it was between 2 longer cruises and cheaper than a hotel room. Otherwise, nope!”
For others, short cruises can be a turn-off because they’re known to attract a rowdy, party crowd.
“Three-day and four-day cruises have turned into ‘booze cruises’ for the most part,” Jacquie Brown Reid noted. “I prefer longer cruises.”
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Make a free appointment with Come Cruise With Me's Travel Agent Partner, Postcard Travel, or email Amy Post at amypost@postcardtravelplanning.com or call or text her at 386-383-2472.
