Damage Control has become the norm this month for management and Public Relations at Carnival Cruise Lines as four different ships have experienced some sort of malfunction. The first incident occurred on the Carnival Triumph, dubbed the "cruise from hell"as an engine fire caused a loss of power stranding over 4,000 passengers in the middle of the ocean and leaving bathrooms unusable.
So what has Carnival done to compensate these passengers for the worst vacation of their lives? $500. Yes, only $500 for living in a human waste basket for a week. In 2012, Carnival had a revenue of over $15 billion. I think they have the funds to give those passengers and other potential Carnival cruise goers more of an incentive to travel with their company instead of a competitor such as, say, Royal Caribbean who has had no negative light shed on them in recent years.
On top of insulting its Triumph passengers with just $500, PR at Carnival Cruise Lines has done a terrible job of connecting with its customers through social media or any other media outlet for that instance by keeping mum about the whole situation in general. Carnival CEO Micky Arison, was seen court-side at a Miami Heat game during the whole Triumph fiasco.
Could this month, filled with misery, malfunctions, and failure to communicate to its customers be the fall of one of the most popular cruise lines in the world?
-Danny Vliet
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