Carnival and Royal Caribbean are the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox of the cruise industry, except it's hard to tell which company is the market leader. Both cruise lines dominate the family cruise market and have millions of passengers in their loyalty program.
In many ways, the cruise space has become an arms race with Carnival and Royal trying to outdo each other. Carnival added a roller coaster to its Excel-class ships, so Royal Caribbean built the largest water park at sea on its latest ship, Icon of the Seas.
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The two companies won't admit that they are throwing punches at each other trying to knock each other out, but they appear to be competing for the same customers. It's a lot like Disney World and Universal Studios, trying to add the latest attractions and newest intellectual property.
Not all moves made by competing cruise lines involve building bigger, better ships and new private destinations. Royal Caribbean (RCL) has seen great success both in terms of revenue and social media coverage with his current Ultimate World Cruise.
Sailing, which could be purchased in its entirety or in sections, promised to be the adventure of a lifetime.
“You can spend 274 nights joining like-minded explorers through global discoveries across all seven continents. Or pick a corner of the world and explore every inch of it on one of four Ultimate World Cruise segments, each of which is an immersive 60+ night voyage. Connect with countless different cultures, enjoy the most spectacular landscapes on Earth and marvel at the wonders of the world that showcase humanity's limitless imagination,” the cruise line shared.
Image source: Matt Cardy/Getty Images
Carnival hints at world cruise
Royal Caribbean's Deluxe World Cruise has received a lot of attention on social media because it's fascinating for people to spend so much time together in a small space. It's an event that has generated a lot of drama, but the coverage has drawn a lot of attention from the cruise line.
Carnival does not have a comparable cruise ship. Their longest cruises are repositioning voyages in which ships move from Australia to Seattle. Carnival Luminosa regularly makes that round trip every year.
The cruise line's brand ambassador, John Heald, dismissed the idea of a possible world cruise on his facebook page.
I wonder if it's time we consider taking a world cruise?
150 days.
I wonder if we could fill a Spirit Class ship.
Would anyone, could anyone do this to us?
Spirit class ships are smaller Carnival ships designed for all-weather sailing. They have a covered main pool area so passengers can still swim in colder weather.
Carnival customers respond to world cruise
Heald only posts speculative things on his facebook page when he wants a reaction. His followers did not disappoint. Many like the idea of a world cruise, but question the logistics.
“I would love to go on a world cruise. My challenge today is that I don't have as much vacation time. If the internet on the ship was to the point where I could be sure I could work remotely, I would definitely do it. Consider it! “Especially if there is a business center that those of us who have to work can use to not disturb our spouses in our cabins if we have to work during the night due to time differences,” wrote Heather Corson Moffo.
Many posters seemed to like the idea of sailing around the world on a Spirit class ship.
“If I were retired I would do this in a heartbeat! Especially the Spirit class (perfect size!!),” Tracey McPhee wrote.
“I would be there in a heartbeat!!! Especially in a Spirit class, our favorite!!!!!!” Tonja Senn posts, clearly excited.
The post garnered more than 1,650 comments, with almost all of them supporting the idea of Carnival offering a world cruise.
