The media attention on cruise during the Covid-19 pandemic will undoubtedly put some people off cruising, the boss of Carnival Corporation has admitted.
Chief executive Arnold Donald said: “There is no question, with so much media attention around cruise [during the coronavirus crisis], that there will be people who may have been considering a cruise but haven’t done it yet, who will now be having second thoughts.”
But he said it was recoverable.
“Time, exceeding expectations and great service has allowed us to be wildly successful before this and I’m confident we will return to that level of success over time.”
He said loyal customers were already booking for this summer and for 2021.
“There are so many people who love cruising. A number of our brands have been around for a very long time and have a pretty loyal customer base of cruise guests. People are booking for 2021 – we have some even booking for this summer.
“There is demand. The re-start of cruising will not be uniform. It will be to certain destinations, certain locations and certain times – not the whole fleet at first, so we will have plenty of these people who love cruising to fill those ships.”
But Donald said: “The vast majority of the population are not cruisers. We were busy knocking down myths about cruising before and we will have to return to that. And the most powerful way of doing that is with travel agents and through guest testimonials which give us credibility.
“We’ve had so many supportive messages from guests – including some who were on the ships during really stressful times recently, and that gives me optimism for a brighter future.
“We will also do it through marketing and communications – focusing on the actual protocols on board to give people comfort they need to experience a cruise.”