CARNIVAL CRUISES PULL OUT OF UK AND EUROPE

Carnival cruise lines has written a letter to Travel Agents and other Travel Trade Partners in the United Kingdom and Ireland and announced it would be pulling ships deployed in the region back to the US home ports.

In the letter Adolf Perez, Carnivals Managing Director for the UK and Ireland, cited ‘Marketing Conditions, and increasing air fares and the fact that most of the lines guests are from the US’, as the reason for the move.

“We have decided not to deploy a Carnival Ship to Europe for 2014″. then Perez added ” Carnival is committed to the UK and Irish Markets”

In 2013, Carnival had one ship deployed in the region , The Carnival Legend, which sails Baltic and Mediterranean cruises from the UK and Barcelona. Carnival Sunshine, is also sailing the Mediterranean, until November. Carnival also announced yesterday that it would be re-deploying Carnival Legend out of Sydney, Australia in 2014.

It would be interesting to find out what your thoughts are. Do you think Carnival was way to ambitious in thinking the UK and European Market to fill up these ships? and also the fact that due to the cost of air fares being more cost effective in America helps the ships sail on full capacity with the US customers?, or was it that The ships were “Too American” for european and UK customers?.  Please  let me know what you think.

Apparently the decision was not based on the poor take up of the ships or a poor performing UK market and that Carnival wuld still have a UK based office and still sell to the UK, just not on UK and Europe based ships.

You ever know things may change for 2015 and that a ship may return for Europe, but I guess we will watch this space. I was hoping to sail on the Carnival Sunshne in 2014, maybe I’ll just be happy with the Oasis Of The Seas out of Barcelona!!!