Agents Assess Impact of Carnival Ship Malfunctions

The impact of last week’s double-header of Carnival ship malfunctions on an industry still reeling from other high-profile cruise mishaps is under debate.

The Caribbean sailings of two Carnival vessels, the Dream and the Legend, were disrupted due to equipment troubles. (See: Carnival Dream Malfunction Strands Guests and Carnival Legend Limps Home.)

The incidents have not only reinforced the hard feelings some agents already hold toward Carnival, but have sparked concern about potential difficulties attracting first-time cruisers.

At the same time, some agents praised Carnival’s handling of the situation, saying it reacted quickly to keep passengers safe and avert further problems. (See sidebar). Some agents also expressed confidence that cruise sales, which have been strong this year, would not be affected.

Impact on first-timers
“Now with problems developing on a third ship, it’s really going to make some potential cruisers not want to get on a Carnival ship – or any other ship at all,” said Denyse Turner, owner of RX 4 Fun Travel in Fairlawn, N.J.

Also concerned about the impact of the Carnival incidents on potential first-time cruisers is Chuck Flagg, co-owner of The Flagg Agency, in Canton, Ga. “The sense I’m getting is that for first-time cruisers, this is just one more reason why they will never consider a cruise,” he said, adding that none of his existing clients are showing signs of backing away from cruising.

Too much media attention?
Flagg also noted that today’s “24/7 news cycle” means that a disabled cruise ship may get more attention than is really warranted.

“It used to be plane crashes that were always in the news – every week it seemed there was another one,” he said. “Now, unfortunately, it looks like it’s the cruise industry’s turn.”

Agents were clearly frustrated by the attention being paid to the Carnival incidents, which have become fodder for comedians such as Jay Leno, who quipped that a name like “Misery” would be a better fit for Carnival ships than “Dream” or “Triumph.”

“People are really taking this to heart,” said Marlys Aballi, owner of Connection to Cruise in Redlands, Calif. “When I asked a woman at the bank about her reaction, she told me she had cancelled a Carnival cruise and booked an all-inclusive vacation in Mexico instead.”

Public relations needed
To counteract the bad press, Carnival will now need to make a “massive public relations effort,” noted Sandy Anderson, owner of Riverdale Travel in Coon Rapids, Minn.

“Carnival has a great product, but now they have a real challenge to redeem themselves to the public,” she said. “This could really drive some business away from Carnival to other brands – unless they do a really fabulous PR job.”

Aballi said some of her clients already started turning away from Carnival in favor of other lines after the Triumph malfunction happened.  

“I’m currently working on a big group booking with Carnival, but, fortunately, the clients are sticking with it, so far,” she said.

What’s going on?
While acknowledging that malfunctions can occur on any ship or on other modes of transportation, Turner said “it is very disheartening that for the third time in a month the same cruise line has had issues like this.

“It really makes you wonder what is going on – are there some financial problems that are making it hard for Carnival to keep up their ship maintenance?”

Clients have been calling to express their concern, Turner said, adding that she fears some may decide to cancel booked cruises. “I have a Dream sailing coming up in May, so I have to deal with that,” she said.

It’s also giving her a sense of déjà vu. “I’m in the middle of working out some talking points to reassure clients,” she said. “I already had to do some for Triumph. Now what else do you say? It could cast my integrity in a negative light.”

Does not promote Carnival
In general, Turner does not promote Carnival cruises to clients, but only books them when specifically requested. The reason is not because of ship safety but because she objects to the cruise line’s commission policies and other “backend issues,” she said. (See: Carnival Commission Change Hits Hard, Agents Say)

“I’ve been steering clients away from Carnival for about a year, except for groups, as Carnival has the best prices for groups,” she said. “I really try to educate my clients about the other cruise lines – those that maintain their ships well and have a similar price point.”

Despite her concern over the impact of recent incidents, Turner said her cruise business has stayed healthy this year. “People have worries and sometimes it’s challenging to ease first-timers into the idea of cruise, but that’s my job.”

Backing off from Carnival
Another travel seller who says his agency is “backing off” from Carnival is Marty Harris of Springdale Travel in Mobile, Ala. Like Turner, he said it has to do with commission issues rather than safety.

Despite the recent ship malfunctions and the fact that the agency strives to steer clients to other lines, Carnival remains a popular choice for clients, he said.

“Because of our location, Carnival ships tend to be convenient for our clients,” he said. “In the winter, when NCL and Royal Caribbean have ships ported in New Orleans, we can sell them instead.”

While his cruise business has not been negatively impacted this year, Harris said he is concerned that the industry may not be attracting as many first-time cruisers as it should. “When things get sensationalized in the media – and the norovirus is another example – it can scare people off,” he said.

Fran Golden contributed to this report.