More details on Carnival's Cuba plans

President Obama's trip to Cuban provided the perfect backdrop for Carnival's latest announcement. The company's Fathom brand received permission from the Cuban government to stop at the island. The new Cuban-bound itineraries will start in May.

Look for other cruise companies to announce their Cuban plans soon.

Carnival expands room service fee programs

Back in April we predicted the Carnival's room service fee charges were just the beginning. On Tuesday, the world's most popular cruise line announced that their room service fee structure will now apply to all Carnival ships. The test on three ships last spring was clearly a success.

Our advice is to just skip room service. We have yet to find a cruise ship where food is not plentiful and readily available. Even if you have a great room and great view, there are sure to be other great places to eat on board.

Now that the charge has been rolled out to all Carnival ships, it is only a matter of time before it spreads to more ships within the Carnival Companies. It is also just a matter of time before other formerly included services get fees attached to them.

CruiseTipsTV on Seuss at Sea

With Disney as the established leader in kids-themed cruises, the other cruise lines are constantly improving their offerings. Carnival has partnered with Doctor Seuss to present unique entertainment on their ships. In the video above, CruiseTipsTv has an extensive look at the popular Green Eggs and Ham breakfast. The meal includes a surcharge, but it looks like something young passengers will enjoy.

Carnival's Behind the Scenes video Episode 4

Peter Gonzalez is back in the latest Behind the Scenes: Carnival Vista video. This time Peter's joined by Carnival CEO Christine Duffy. Together they explore the ship's new dining options and talk guilty pleasures of the ship's cuisine.

Adding Duffy is a nice touch. So is focusing on food. Unlike previous episodes that focused on the technology that most cruisers don't appreciate or an on-board experience that not all will try, dining is an essential part of any cruise vacation. Seeing the new locations and learning about the potential menus, sells the idea of what the Vista will be.

Is Carnival the most trusted cruise line?

A Reader's Digest poll named Carnival Cruise Line "America’s Most Trusted Cruise Line." The poll asked 4,500 readers which products and companies they trusted in 40 different categories. Carnival is obviously proud of the acknowledgement and some in the cruise media space are calling it a turnaround. But even if perception has improved for the company there is still work to be done.

Just last month a fire on the Carnival Liberty stranded thousands of passengers in St. Thomas. A few weeks later smoke broke out on the Carnival Pride. Fortunately in both instances passengers were safe, but I am sure the passengers forced off the Liberty aren't totally trusting Carnival right now.

Because they were contained and the passengers were dealt with, nothing reached the level of news coverage that the Carnival Splendor fire did in 2010. That was what did the most to damage passenger "trust." Five years later, with the Splendor somewhat forgotten, when Reader's Digest asks people about cruise companies, they naturally say Carnival. It is the most well-known brand. But even with the award we hope that the company remains diligent and keeps passenger and ship safety as its focus.

Carnival's Behind the Scenes video Episode 3

The Carnival Vista will have many unique features all over the ship. But what really stands out is their new brewery. In Episode 3 of Carnnival's YouTube series Behind the Scenes: Carnival Vista, the company shows how they are building the brewery and explain how sourcing won't be an issue.

Carnival returning to Mobile

The Mayor of Mobile, Alabama announced an agreement for Carnival to return to the southern port. Specifics of the deal (when the sailings begin, what type of ship, etc.) will be announced later this month. But any news is good news as the Mobile Cruise Terminal has been mostly empty since Carnival left the city in 2011.

Mobile's roller-coaster history with the cruise industry is very similar to the travails of other non-traditional cruise ports. Cities all want year-round traffic, invest in facilities and tax breaks for cruise companies, do everything they can to get a ship and then worry about it leaving at the first sign of trouble. Regardless of little victories, the cities will always be at the whim of the cruise lines. Markets get bored or saturated. (How many times can cruise fans in the Gulf area sail the western Caribbean itinerary?) Very few secondary ports have the airports to support flights from around the country to feed the ships. And the drive markets tend to overlap. Mobile will probably get a multi-year run out of Carnival, but it won't last forever.

Mobile is a great city, so this boost is welcome. It will bring in more people to the downtown and will introduce the city to others. Let's hope this works and other cities have success with cruise too. It would be a win-win for civic and cruise leaders.

Carnival announces big plans for Bermuda

After scaling back Bermuda cruises the past few years, Carnival plans to increase trips to the island in 2016. Bermuda-bound ships will depart from five different ports (Baltimore, Charleston, New York City, Norfolk and Port Canaveral). All the ships will dock on King's Wharf.

This is big news for Carnival fans but also big new for Bermuda. With Carnival sailing from new and different ports, there will be more first-time visitors to the island. The hope is that those first time cruisers return as regular tourists. It is also good for Carnival fans in some of those cities who have been longing for different destinations.

Carnival expands social media wi-fi access

After two rollouts of their popular social media access package, Carnival announced that soon their entire fleet will offer the package in 2016. With all Carnival ships involved and many of the other Carnival brands also offering similar packages, it is only a matter of time before all cruise companies provide inexpensive internet access to social media. When this happens look for an explosion of customer-generated cruise content all over social media.

That potential growth of cruise social media will be a win-win for the industry. Better access will make cruisers happy and more posts will serve as a great marketing tool for the cruise companies.

Carnival's Behind the Scenes video Episode 2

Power, paint and propellers are all featured latest episode in Carnnival's YouTube series Behind the Scenes: Carnival Vista.

This Episode still gets a bit too much into the technical and engineering of the ship, instead of just showing Carnival fans what they can expect. However, it does give a sense of Carnival's investment and commitment to new technology. You can infer that if they are implementing cutting edge technology to power the ship, they will also invest in the best possible passenger experience.

Samantha Brown Cruising 101 with Carnival

We've been somewhat nitpicky with Carnival's YouTube videos before, so it is only fair to point out this good clip above. Hosted by Travel Channel star Samantha Brown, this video covers most of the common questions of first-time cruisers.

Carnival uses Brown just like the Travel Channel would. The always perky host gives a tour of the ship while working in policies on food, alcohol and activities. If not for the shortened length and the full screen graphics, it would feel just like a typical Travel Channel special.

The final benefit of hiring Brown for this sort of promotion is that it elevates Carnival a bit to new cruisers. The fun ships aren't always known for their elegance or exclusivity, but Brown's usual resorts stops are. Here she makes the Carnival Breeze look like an upscale spa and resort. By focusing on the luxury, Carnival can impress those new to cruising and begin to change perception with frequent cruisers.

Carnival using Fathom to open up Cuba as a destination

Carnival is coming to Cuba in a roundabout way. The company will sail to Cuba in 2016 from Miami using its brand-new Fathom brand. This makes sense from a strategic standpoint and a political one as well.

First it enhances Fathom's unique selling point. The brand, which is focused on service and environmental oriented travel, can position themselves as one of the first opportunities for many Americans to visit and help in Cuba. The island has welcomed plenty of relief workers over the years, but this will open things to a wider and more diverse group of volunteers. Carnival can also use the smaller Fathom ships to build up its infrastructure on the island in anticipation of its other larger ships coming in the next few years.

Politically, using Fathom works in both Cuba and the United States. The brand is focused on education and giving back. This should work well with the State Department's gradual easing of restrictions. Fathom's passengers won't just be there to drink mojitos and take pictures of old classic cars. This should also appease any Cuban fears of the island being overrun with "ugly" Americans looking to change the country (and politics) overnight.

Carnival improving internet options onboard

After successfully rolling out new internet pricing packages earlier this year, Carnival announced a new batch of ships will soon have the same options. Soon, passengers on the Carnival Glory, Carnival Conquest and Carnival Dream will be able to purchase internet access in bundles for as little as $5 a day.

Like many of the other cruise lines, the cheapest option focuses just on social media. And this is probably the best deal for most, as it allows you to check in on friends, news and share information on your cruise.

More expensive options with more bandwidth are also available. The whole fleet will be outfitted by October. This is a big deal because once Carnival has the access and the pricing on all their ships, other cruise lines will follow.

What Carnival got right and wrong on their Behind the Scenes video

Carnival released Episode 1 of their new series Behind the Scenes: Carnival Vista. Producing a video series with exclusive looks at their newest ship is a great idea. And it seems like Carnival is putting a lot of effort into the look and quality of the videos. But we do have a few nits to pick with the first episode and the direction of the series.

What we like
Peter Gonzalez is the perfect host. He's got the right look and right voice and has just the right energy. How many behind the scenes travel videos have you watched where the host is just too into it and too corny? Gonzalez doesn't come off that way.

The cinematography and editing is very good too. For a YouTube video this looks great. The graphics work well with the images and keep everything moving. The video also captures the scale of the project and the ship.

What we don't like
As cruise junkies, it pains us to write this, but what's the point of this first episode and potentially the series? Clearly Carnival put time and production money into the project. However, who is the target audience? Cruise nuts will get excited about a new ship regardless of how much they see in advance. The cruise media would (and will) gladly cover ship building and at a much lower cost to Carnival. But will this get many non-cruisers to finally take a Carnival Cruise? Are they even going to find the video online? Will the size and scope and unique building process motivate anyone new? As much as those of us in the industry might tire of the same images and selling points (fun and excitement on the seas), that message works. Images of people having a great time on a sunny cruise ship do motivate people to finally try cruising. A state of the art shipyard tour does not.

The series may take a predictable and more marketing-friendly turn. As a fan of ships and ship making, I am thankful to Carnival for making it available. If I were a Carnival stockholder or a cruise seller, I would wonder: "what's the point?"

Much ado about bottled water

There are plenty of cruise policies that are disingenuous money grabs, but we don't understand the uproar over Carnival's new bottled water policy. If they were really intent on just making a few extra dollars on water, they wouldn't be lowering the pricing so dramatically of their own bottled water. There new bottled water pricing is lower than most big box stores. Carnival will still allow passengers to board with non-alcoholic beverage cans, juices and milk.

Even if you were a believer in smuggling alcohol on to the ship in water containers, this policy makes sense. The BYOB abusers slowed down boarding and created problems for Carnival. When passengers are buying alcohol at the ship's bars and restaurants, the ship has a certain level of control over intake and those drinking to dangerous excess.

Currently the policy only impacts Carnival and not the company's other brands. Look for that to change if this step succeeds.

Can Carnival's Fathom project work?

Niche, specialty and theme cruises work. Cruise companies have been selling them for decades. But can a niche market support a 710 passenger ship year-round? Carnival is about to find out as it plans to launch it Fathom brand. Fathom will target those who want to mix social work/volunteerism with travel.

Initially the ship will travel to the Dominican Republic and passengers will be to teach English, help clean water or work in local food cooperatives.

Volunteer tourism is big business. Tens of thousands Americans travel globally to help those in need. Many of those opportunities are done through church groups or global non-profits. Will there be enough people who want to do it through the world's largest cruise line? After a day helping some of the Caribbean's poorest people, will they feel guilty about returning to their floating resort?

Carnival has enough marketing power to fill one small ship for a few months, so there is very little initial risk in the venture. But long-term, Carnival will have to find and develop a new customer base to support Fathom. It is a noble venture, so we hope they succeed, but we doubt that the people who want to spend their vacation helping others also want to spend time on a "fun ship."

Popular Cruising's Carnival Breeze Review

We like to feature the best cruise reviews we can find, so we were due to highlight another effort from Popular Cruising. In this video, Jason tours one of Carnival's most popular ships, the Carnival Breeze. Like all Popular Cruising videos, this covers all aspects of the ship but presents the overflowing detail at an even pace.

Other cruise companies are getting plenty of attention with new launches or new orders, but as this review shows, Carnival's ships and experiences remain very innovative and very fun.

Cruiseline.com Reviews: Carnival Breeze

Cruise reviews are a critical resources as you plan and book your next cruise. However, sifting through the thousands of online reviews can be daunting. How do you find useful tips and get the general consensus on a ship without getting bogged down in the minutia of what one reviewer had at the lunch buffet on the second to last day of their cruise?

Of the many options, we find Cruiseline.com's reviews to provide the right mix of detail and overview. Most of their reviewers are thorough and informative. Yet, you can also just breeze through the summations to get high points, a quick star rating and glimpses into specific aspects of the ship.


Use the reviews of the Carnival Breeze as a example. Cruiseline.com currently has 444 verified reviews and of those reviews, the average rating is 3.5 out of 5 stars. For perspective that rating is above most other Carnival ships. The reviews also tend to emphasize the cleanliness and newness of the ship. To learn more about the Carnival Breeze or other potential cruise options check out other reviews on Cruiseline.com

Florida couple sails Carnival Sensation 100 times

Do you have a favorite cruise ship? Are there some itineraries you want to sail again and again? One Florida couple has taken repeat cruising to a new level. Meet the Caffarys. They have now take 100 cruise on the Carnival Sensation. It has become a second home to them, to the point where they barely get off the ship when sailing. 

While many Cruise lines have permanent passengers, Carnival cannot recall another couple that have taken so many separate trips on one of their ships.