Carnival Corp. will send a ship from its namesake brand,
Carnival Cruise Line, to prospect for Chinese passengers starting in 2017.
In an interview, the cruise line’s president, Christine
Duffy, would not say which ship would go to China, but said it would not be the
new Carnival Vista, a vessel due to enter service next spring.
Duffy was in Shanghai, where she announced the news to
Chinese travel partners, media and dignitaries.
“Given that Carnival is the brand that started it all with
modern-day cruising and is such an iconic brand and well-known not only in
North America but around the world, we think that this announcement reinforces
the level of opportunity all of the cruise industry sees in China,” Duffy said.
Carnival Corp. also will position a ship from German brand Aida
in China in 2017, giving the company four brands catering to Chinese
clientele, including Costa and Princess.
Duffy said Carnival Cruise Line was still working out which ship it will
send and what the itineraries will be. “We’ll pretty much have an announcement
on the ship and other details coming in the next month or so,” she said.
Carnival Corp. already has a lot of the administrative,
sales and purchasing infrastructure in place in China to support Costa and
Princess. Duffy said Carnival Cruise Line would be
working closely with Costa in China, with a separate management organization
than for the rest of the brand.
China is only the second regional market after North America
to get a year-round Carnival vessel. The Carnival Spirit moved to Australia
full-time in 2012.
“It really is America’s cruise line,” Duffy said. “It is an
American experience that we will be bringing to China and introducing to
Chinese people.”
However, there will be some adaptations to Chinese
preferences, she said. “There are things that are important to the Chinese
guests, but what we’re not changing is the Carnival experience.”
With the introduction of its own ship, Carnival can begin
building brand loyalty in the world’s most populous country, which could lead
to more Chinese cruisers on Carnival ships in the Caribbean and elsewhere.
“There are so many Chinese guests coming to the U.S or Australia, for them to
be able to be able to be introduced to cruising and Carnival as a brand, certainly
we think there is value in having introduced them in their own home country to
cruising and to Carnival."
Duffy said she thinks Carnival is distinct enough that
Chinese customers won’t confuse it with Costa, Princess or Aida. “Princess is much
more positioned as a premium brand in
this market,” she said.
She said Carnival has a lot of experience with short cruises,
which dovetails with the preference of many Chinese vacationers.
Duffy said there’s no threat to U.S travel agents in
Carnival’s decision to begin offering cruises to Chinese travelers from Chinese
ports.
"I think the bigger message to the travel agent
community in the U.S is that Carnival Cruise Line is still very, very committed
to the U.S market. We made this decision based on the fact that we have new
ships coming into the brand in the U.S. So we are not reducing the capacity of
Carnival Cruise Line in the U.S.,” she said.
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CORRECTION: Carnival Cruise Line and Aida will position ships in China in 2017. A previous version of this report incorrectly said the ships would reposition to China next year.