Can a cruise line be flexible? - Chapter 8 Thoughts

     I recently got to hear Christine Duffy, the president of Carnival Cruise Line, speak at an event in Memphis, TN. She actually spoke directly on the idea of flexibility at Carnival. She believes that Carnival, while always looking ahead, is quite inflexible when it comes to making quick decisions. While having a new program or new technology on a cruise is something they are always looking at, it often takes a long time to implement their newest ideas. This is due to the fragmented organization of their team. You have two different sides - shoreside and on the ship. You also have upwards of 30-40 teams across those two different sides. Therefore, things take a long time to change the course of the ship. Pun intended.

     While Carnival may take a long time to adjust to new practices, they are flexible in the way they bring about new ships and remodel others. When looking at flexibility and actions, Carnival Cruise Line deploys the option to expand and the option to shut down and restart simultaneously. The first thing to discuss is the option to expand. Carnival continuously expands their fleet. They just had a new ship launch in May 2018 called the Carnival Horizon. They had another new ship in 2017. They have more new ships coming in 2019, 2020, 2022, and 2023. Carnival is constantly looking to expand upon their fleet in order to bring more customers to cruise with all new, unique experience. Each new ship features something new, such as an IMAX theater, SkyZone within the ship, or a ride all the way around the top of the ship. They ensure they expand yearly to stay relevant in the marketplace.

Carnival Horizon, which launched in May 2018

     While Carnival is always expanding, they are also taking the option to shut down and restart at the same exact time. While new ships enter the market, Carnival takes one ship off to completely shutdown, remodel, and re-release in the following year. This ensure that they are keeping their brands top of the line. The ships they are taking off of the market are the oldest ones that don't have the nicest amenities or funnest attractions. Therefore, they are rarely full. Once taken off the market, the company remodels the entire ship to make everything new as well as bring new experiences on board. While Carnival doesn't come off as extremely flexible in decision making, I do think they are flexible when it comes to launching and maintaining their brand of ships. Carnival continues to ensure it is always bringing new experiences while keeping their ships nice for every single cruise that occurs.

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