Agents 'saddened' by news of Carnival Cruise Line UK closure

Agents have reacted with sadness to the news Carnival Corporation will be closing Carnival Cruise Line’s UK office.

Last week the cruise giant announced it had “made the difficult decision” to “sunset” the Carnival Cruise Line UK team after “careful consideration of our strategic objectives for the market".

A spokesperson confirmed: “We are currently having individual conversations with the Carnival Cruise Line team in the UK to discuss potential future opportunities within the wider business.”

Carnival Corporation is also the parent brand for Princess Cruises, Cunard, P&O Cruises, Seabourn and Holland America Line.

Samantha Roberts, USA travel specialist at Ocean Holidays and Carnival Fun Ambassador for 2024, told Travel Weekly: “We’re saddened to hear about the closure of the UK office.

“The Carnival Fun Ambassador programme has played a significant role in the professional development of many agents across the industry, including myself.”

She added: “The Carnival Cruise Line UK team has consistently delivered and been a huge support to us and many others.

“I wish them all the best for the future and look forward to seeing the continued success of the team in their future endeavours.”

This was echoed by Ocean Holidays chief executive officer Harry Hastings who said the company’s relationship with Carnival goes back to when it was first set up.

He said: “Whether it be supporting Ocean Florida when we were founded a stone’s throw away from Carnival’s offices at Tower Bridge more than 20 years ago or the excellent relationship we have with Iain and the team today, Carnival Cruise Line’s UK team have always been a critical part of our partnership with Carnival’s cruise lines.

“We wish them all the very best and look forward to continuing to grow our partnership with Carnival Corporation.”

Meanwhile, Ian Gilder, managing director at Adore Cruises, said he was “not shocked” by the news but feels “heartbroken for the staff”.

He explained: “I have worked with them for many, many years and I hope they will be in new jobs shortly.

“The staff are genuinely amazing and I cannot see them being out of work very long and whoever picks them up is getting an asset.”

Gilder added that he saw Carnival Cruise Line in the UK as “not the key focus” for Carnival Corporation as there were other brands “with more hardware and bigger brand names”, but predicted the line would still get business from UK tour operators.

He added other factors behind the decision could be Carnival Cruise Line being “well sold” in the US and competing against other bigger lines in Europe.

Harry Lightfoot, Fusion Holidays director, mirrored these thoughts as he said the news did “not surprise” him and that he empathises with the staff affected.

“It’s a brand that we have always struggled to make traction with in the UK for various reasons,” he said.

“I just feel sorry for the staff who have given it everything they can to try and succeed.”