We love to cruise and we have been on 5 Carnival Cruises in the last 8.5 years. Our first cruise was on the Facination during Hurricane Frances in 2004 and though our 4 night cruise became a 7 night cruise, Carnival did an exemplary job of keeping us safe, informed and entertained throughout the storm. We have cruised as a couple 3 times on the Facination, the Inspiration and the Legend, and as a family twice on the Imagination and the Valor.
It is no secret that Carnival has had a tough year with major problems with the Triumph and the Dream as well as power issues on the Legend. I have faith in Carnival and I hope to cruise with them again soon. Many companies get to a place where they have too many problems and they need to re-evaluate how they do business. Carnival is at that point and yesterday they announced a $300 million program to significantly enhance emergency power capabilities, introduce new fire safety technology, and improve the level of operating redundancies across its entire 24-ship fleet.
“All of Carnival Cruise Lines’ ships operate safely today. Each vessel already has effective systems in place to prevent, detect and respond to emergency situations, and we meet or exceed all regulatory requirements,” said Gerry Cahill, president and CEO of Carnival Cruise Lines. “However, by applying lessons learned through our fleet-wide operational review after the Carnival Triumph fire and by taking advantage of new technologies, we have identified areas for enhancement across our operations. These initiatives reflect our commitment to safe and reliable operations and an enjoyable cruising experience for the nearly 4.5 million guests who sail with Carnival Cruise Lines each year.”
The initial increase in emergency generator power across Carnival Cruise Lines’ fleet of 24 ships will be completed over the next several months. An additional emergency generator will be installed on each vessel to provide for 100 percent of stateroom and public toilets, fresh water and elevators in the unlikely event of a loss of main power. The work is already underway and will not affect scheduled itineraries. Upon completion of the initial phase, the line will install a second permanent back-up power system on each ship to provide an even greater level of hotel and guest services if main power is lost. These additional services will include expanded cooking facilities and cold food storage, as well as internet and telephone communications.
What are your thoughts? Have you cruised Carnival before? Would you cruise them now or in the near future? I’d love to go, I’m thinking the October 26 sailing of the Carnival Liberty out of Miami sounds great at $409 per person for a 7 night Eastern Caribbean cruise. Hey, a girl can dream.
Disclosure: This post is for informational purposes only and is not sponsored by Carnival Cruise Lines. All opinions are 100% mine.
I’m going with a group of 18 on Carnival Victory out of Miami in June. Will let you know how it goes but every person we have dealt with for our reservations has been wonderfully cooperative, even on days when they were probably hesitant to answer the phones!
I’ve never taken a cruise, but my aunt and cousins did last year. They loved it. I’m glad to see Carnival is making some changes. I think it will make customers feel better about choosing to go on one.
Lindsay recently posted..It’s All Good: My Fruttare Fruit Bars Moments
A cruise to Miami with a pile of good books sounds like a good idea.
Pam Brown Margolis recently posted..U #atozchallenge
I’ve been on Carnival once and it was just OK. There were too many activities that featured alcohol. My daughter, Sammi loved the kids club though. I doubt I’d cruise on Carnival again, though.
ConnieFoggles recently posted..Baby Nursery Ideas with SunnyBump
SOunds fun but I want to make sure they have all the kinks worked out before giving them a try.
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