Carnival Cruise Lines Reports Record Wave Season
Carnival Cruise Lines Reports Record Wave Season Activity
Summer Price Increase Effective March 22
MIAMI, Feb. 24 -- Carnival Cruise Lines is reporting record wave season
bookings, with strong reservations activity for 2010 departures. As a result
of the strong booking volumes, a general price increase will be implemented
effective March 22 for all summer sailings in June, July and August.
For the period of Jan. 1 through Feb. 21, 2010, bookings were at
unprecedented levels for the line's 22 ships which operate three- to 15-day
voyages from a variety of convenient North American home ports.
Carnival President and CEO Gerry Cahill said, "We're seeing significantly
increased volume as consumers are taking advantage of the incredible value
that a Carnival cruise provides. And while pricing hasn't fully recovered to
2008 levels, we are increasing prices and will implement an across-the-board
increase effective March 22."
He said that the price increases will vary by departure date but will be
up to 5 percent.
Cahill attributed the record booking activity to a wide range of factors,
including strong travel agent partner support, targeted marketing
initiatives, itinerary enhancements and the wide variety of close-to-home
departure points.
Wave season typically runs from about mid-January through early spring
and is traditionally the busiest, most important booking period in the cruise
industry.
Carnival Cruise Lines is the largest and most popular cruise line in the
world, with 22 "Fun Ships" operating voyages ranging from three to 15 days in
length to The Bahamas, Caribbean, Mexican Riviera, Alaska, Hawaii, Panama
Canal, Canada, New England and Europe.
Carnival also has two new ships on order -- the 130,000-ton Carnival
Magic, which is scheduled for delivery in 2011, and a sister ship set to
debut in 2012.
For additional information on the Carnival vacation experience, contact
any travel agent, call 1-800-CARNIVAL or visit carnival.com.
Carnival also can be found on:
Twitter: www.twitter.com/carnivalcruise
Facebook Fan Page: www.facebook.com/carnival
Flickr: www.flickr.com/photos/carnivalcruiselines/
Journalists also can visit Carnival's recently enhanced media site,
www.carnivalpressroom.com.
Carnival Cruise Lines, a unit of Carnival Corporation & plc (NYSE/LSE:
CCL; NYSE: CUK), is a proud member of World's Leading Cruise Lines. Our
exclusive alliance also includes Cunard Line, Holland America Line, Princess
Cruises, Costa Cruises and The Yachts of Seabourn. Sharing a passion to
please each guest and a commitment to quality and value, World's Leading
Cruise Lines inspires people to discover their best vacation experience.
Together, we offer a variety of exciting and enriching cruise vacations to
the world's most desirable destinations. Visit us at
www.worldsleadingcruiselines.com
SOURCE Carnival Cruise Lines
CONTACT: Jennifer de la Cruz, 1-800-438-6744, Tim Gallagher,
+1-305-599-2600, ext. 16000