Despite the recent slew of problem-laden ships, Carnival Cruises has managed to record a profit in the last three months, thanks to a lower fuel prices and a series of deals and discounts responsible for luring travellers on board their cruise liners.
Carnival Corp, the world's largest cruise company, recorded $37 million in profit during the last three months, despite leaving 4,200 passengers on board a ship without power or working toilets back in February according to the Associated Press. Since then, the Carnival Corp. has offered discounts to former passengers ranging from 15 per cent for six or seven day cruises and 25 per cent off future three or five-day Carnival cruises, notes the Daily Mail.
The company has also been offering sales and "deep discounts" to passengers unaffected by the Triumph fiasco, which has kept travellers signing up for cruises, albeit at a slower pace. In it's most recent debacle, a Carnival cruise ship, named the Legend, cut short its voyage for the Grand Cayman Islands on Thursday after "technical issues" affecting the ship's sailing speed. The Legend is set to return to Tampa Bay, Fla. on Sunday and passengers will be compensated with $100 credit and half off of a future cruise, notes the Tampa Bay Times.
A day earlier, Carnival Dream became stuck at a port in St. Maarten, an island in the Northwest Caribbean, after its backup diesel generator ran into issues during a scheduled maintenance check. The generator failure caused periodic problems with some restrooms and elevators, shutting down one public toilet after it overflowed and causing another to malfunction in a passenger cabin, Carnival spokesman Vance Gullikso told NBC News.
Unlike the power issues that plagued Carnival's Triumph and left passengers stranded in the Gulf of Mexico, all 3,646 passengers on board the Dream were able to depart and fly back home from St. Maarten, notes the Daily Telegraph. Fodor is also reporting that passengers inconvenienced the Dream's abrupt change of plans will be receiving a 50 percent discount off their next Carnival cruise.
On Tuesday, Carnival Cruise Line's President and CEO, Gerry Cahill, announced that the company would be undergoing a fleet-wide check on all its ships, focusing on fire prevention, engine room management and the services provided when an emergency generator is activated.
"This review is very comprehensive, it will take us a little bit of time to complete it, but you can rest assured that it is our highest priority throughout the entire organization," said Cahill at a cruise industry conference.
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