Cruise line upgrades safety equipment

Cruise lines constantly preach safety. And some, such as Carnival, are making cruising safer by installing fire suppression and detection equipment, and generators to keep a ship operating. They’re a necessity Gerry Cahill, Carnival’s president and CEO, had to face in the aftermath of the fire on the Carnival Triumph earlier this year — as was an outside safety board to assess safety plans going forward.

In my conversation with Cahill, he noted: “It was a major setback for Carnival.”

“It forced us to look at things in a different light,” said Cahill. “While we go into dry dock to go through the process of ensuring safety on each of our ships, we’re also upgrading our customer amenities as each ship receives some version of Carnival Fun Ship 2.0, which is what the customer will notice.”

While the “fun” issues are more visible, discerning customers are much more attuned to safety expectations.

“First, we had to do a better job of communicating with our employees,” said Cahill. “They are the front line for passengers and need to know exactly what is happening through a continuous process. Past Carnival guests came back but we cater to a North American clientele and so the newbies to cruising are an important market. That led us to the new 24-hour guarantee: Try us and if you do not like what you see after the first 24 hours we’ll refund your money and send you home … simple as that.”

Cahill says Carnival’s pricing makes a three-to-seven-day cruise very attractive and expects it will stay that way into 2014 to rebuild the customer base.

“It’s not where we would like to be. It’s where we have to be.”

Carnival’s new online and TV campaign shows loyal customers talking about their good Carnival experiences in the hope that message will get through to the new customer. “We could have told the story ourselves,” adds Cahill, “but we felt our regulars could do a better job.”

Here’s what he says about the future: “Safety will always be top of mind but we will make customer upgrades on all ships over the next few years in just about every aspect of customer service.”

Pick of the Week

Sticking with the focus on Carnival, this choice was quite easy. Keep in mind prices change frequently but these were available at time of writing and are based on per person, double occupancy.

This seven-day cruise leaves Miami on Jan. 25, 2014, and stops in Cozumel, Belize, Mahogany Bay and Grand Cayman. Prices start at $319; a balcony is $619 and a suite $989. Check with your cruise travel agent or go to Carnival.com.