FORT LAUDERDALE -- Carnival Corp. has opened Princess Cays, one of its private destinations in the Bahamas, to competitor cruise lines, said senior vice president of government and destination affairs Marie McKenzie said at the opening session of the CruiseWorld conference here Wednesday.
The company recently enhanced its nearby island RelaxAway, Half Moon Cay and most of Carnival's brands have opted to "take advantage" of that investment, McKenzie said. Princess Cruises replaced visits to Princess Cays with stops at RelaxAway, Half Moon Cay for published itineraries starting this month.
Travel Weekly editor in chief Johanna Jainchill sat down with McKenzie and Carnival Corp.'s vice president of product development, Ally Nichols, at CruiseWorld, which is produced by Travel Weekly's parent company, Northstar Travel Group. McKenzie emphasized to travel advisors in the audience that "Princess Cays is not closed," and that the team that services RelaxAway, Half Moon Cay now also supports Princess Cays.
"The company smartly came up with a blended operating model to be able to facilitate running both destinations, but I will say most of our brands have decided that they would like to take advantage of the investment and the great experience that we've created at RelaxAway, Half Moon Cay," she said.
New enhancements at RelaxAway include a pier and tram service on the side designed for Carnival Cruise Line and a new beach club and beach facilities on Holland America Line's side.
The Paradise Collection
Carnival Corp. is marketing six ports as its Paradise Collection. Two of those -- Celebration Key and RelaxAway, Half Moon Cay -- are categorized as Paradise Destinations, which are the company's marquee ports, said Nichols. The two ports offer contrasting ways to enjoy the Caribbean, with Celebration Key hosting a more active and resort-like experience and RelaxAway feeling more tranquil and remote, she said.
The other four destinations in the collection are Isla Tropicale in Honduras, Amber Cove in the Dominican Republic, Grand Turk in Turks and Caicos and Puerto Maya in Mexico, which Carnival Corp. considers its gateway destinations. Those ports have Carnival-exclusive amenities like retail spaces, ziplines or beaches.
Working with locals
In addition to developing Carnival properties in the Caribbean, the company consistently communicates with governments, businesses and locals in its destinations to enhance the experience for guests, McKenzie said.
The company encourages local governments to communicate about projects it is working on that may appeal to cruisers, she said. She named Aruba as an example of a destination that has been on top of that effort, including branding the destination and inviting Carnival Corp. to tour new offerings on the island.
"No one knows a destination more than the destination themselves," McKenzie said.
Carnival Corp. also wants destinations to continue developing tours for cruisers to enjoy their time in port, since only a minority of guests purchase tours from Carnival itself.
"Every guest on that ship will rate that destination, and from a Carnival perspective, we want the entire destination rated higher, not just from guests who take tours from us," McKenzie said.