FACULTY OF BUSINESS, ECONOMICS AND

ACCOUNTANCY

BY33803 TRANSPORTATION AND TRAVEL

SEMESTER 2, 2020/2021

GROUP ASSIGNMENT: DREAM EXPRESS

PREPARED FOR: DR ROSENI BINTI ARIFFIN

PREPARED BY

Name No matric
MELISSA WONG PAU YU BB18110868
EMILY WONG SZE YING BB18110859
NOR AZLIAYANA IZZATI BINTI SHAMSUL AZLI BB18110891
ZHANG JINMIN BB18270035

1.0 Executive Summary

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Carnival Corporation & plc is one of the the largest travel leisure company and British American cruise

operator with its mission to deliver joyful vacation experience for visitor. Beside that, Carnival

Corporation also offer a broad range of vacation options for millions of guests with a wide variety of

leisure-time activities that accommodate people from multiple backgrounds, cultures and languages. In

addition to this, Carnival Corporation & plc, top priorities are to operate safely, to protect the

environment, and to be in compliance everywhere we operate in the world. Carnival Corporation also

know as Fun Ships this is because they provide a lot of other traveling related services such as shore

excursions, interesting onboard experience and much more for visitor. For example, Carnival Cruise Line

has offers a number of different cruise packages such as Bon Voyage Package and a number of various

destinations. However, because of COVID-19 pandemic, Carnival cruise line has lost 4.4 billion and

impact on the company’s liquidity and financial position. Many operators have temporarily suspended all

voyages, with many others canceling a number of cruises. In other words, half of the guests affected by

cancellations and have requested full refunds, with the rest prepared to reschedule. In addition to this,

because of some incidents that are making the whole cruise industry take a hit and Carnival Cruise Line

has facing some local and marketing issue. In early 2012, one of the Carnival Cruise brand Costa

Concordia sank has causing the death of passengers and brought into question the integrity of the Captain

and crew thus Carnival Corporation have suffered a great amount of accident while in operation. Carnival

Cruise Line has been busy implementing new health protocols and working on a safe return to operations.

For example, visitor need to get their documents in order before even arriving at the terminal and this

could include testing history and any COVID-19 exposure. Carnival also require visitor to provide more

details or to submit original document confirming a legible negative test result before boarding to cruise.

Carnival Corporation & Plc has been recognized for their corporate social responsibility in the U.S and

one of the charter member of the Maritime Anti-corruption Network (MACN) which is comprised of over

thirty maritime companies that have joined forces to combat corruption affecting the maritime industry.

2.0 The Tourism Industry

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Cruise tourism can be defined as a form of travelling for leisure that involves an all-inclusive holiday on a

cruise ship. Tourist able to experience a multi-center holiday, where they spend time at various

destinations throughout their trip (Stainton,2020). Cruise tourism also provides and offers food and

beverage, accommodation, casino, shopping and other services to tourist. Carnival Corporation & plc is a

British-American cruise operator and known as “The World Most Popular Cruise Line” where the

company carries millions of guests every year. Carnival Corporation & plc currently is the world largest

travel leisure company with a combined fleet of over 100 vessels across 10 cruise line brands. There were

nine cruise lines under Carnival Corporation & Plc which was Carnival Cruise Line, Princess Cruises,

Holland America Line, Seabourn, Cunard Line, AIDA Cruises, Costa Cruises, P&O Cruises (UK) and

P&O Cruises (Australia). Carnival Corporation’s nine cruise line brands offer a broad range of vacation

options for millions of customers with a wide variety of leisure time activities, that accommodate people

from different backgrounds, cultures and languages.

Carnival Corporation & plc main competitors is Royal Caribbean Group. Royal Caribbean Group is

American global cruise holding company and it is world second largest cruise line operator. Carnival

Corporation & plc revenue in 2021 is $8.83 billion while Royal Caribbean Group revenue is $5.05 billion

(Kolmar, 2021). Both companies are well known cruise company in the world. Royal Caribbean well

known has the world biggest cruise ship Symphony of the Seas. The ship is nearly 1,200 feet and it can

carriers more than 5,500 guests while the largest ship in Carnival is Carnival Panorama, where the ship

has 1,055 feet with capacity 4,008. This shows Royal Caribbean has the biggest ship than Carnival.

Royal Caribbean has been ranked as Best Cruise Lines; the cruise line has built a reputation for being a

cruise line that offers a lot on board activity options to guest. Guest can enjoy rock climbing wall, ice

skating rink, Broadway shows and other activities in Royal Caribbean cruise line.

Current situation of Carnival Corporation & plc is positioned for a phased resumption in cruise travel,

where multiple cruise brands under Carnival Corporation & plc can be restarted independently and

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tailored to environment of their respective source market. For example, Carnival Cruise line one of brand

under Carnival & Corporation & plc has confirmed to return guest operations on July. These cruises

available only for guests who have received their final dose of COVID-19 vaccine at least 14 days prior

to the beginning of the cruise and they need to have proof of vaccination. Carnival Corporation & plc has

been working with public health and policy experts to supports its ongoing efforts with enhanced health

and safety protocols to help against and reduce the impact of COVID-19 during cruise vacations

(Corporation, 2021). The company continue to work with health authorities and government to ensure

health and safety protocols follow with the requirements of each location.

Carnival Corporation & plc is a top player among cruise company. Royal Caribbean and Norwegian

Cruise Line is also included in popular cruise company in the world. Norwegian Cruise Line is an

American cruise line and also the third largest cruise line in the world. The reason Carnival Corporation

& plc is top player is because the held the largest market share of the cruise market at 39.0 % in 2020.

Royal Caribbean and Norwegian Cruise Line market share lower than Carnival Corporation & plc.

Market share of Royal Caribbean and Norwegian Cruise Line is 24 % and 8.3 % in 2020. Ways to

differentiate between these three-cruise company is through their own characteristics where guest can

choose cruise line that suitable with their preferences. Carnival Cruise line has branded itself as “The Fun

Ships” because this cruise line has water parks, sport courts, various contests, dance parties and other

activities where this kind of activities suitable for children and teens (Mayntz, 2021). While Royal

Caribbean is “Fun Family Adventures”, they have unusual activities such as zip lines, skydiving, escape

rooms, climbing walls and more. The ships have unique themes and outstanding architecture and they

also offer wide scope of itineraries where guests can enjoy more activities on board. Norwegian Cruise

Line is more to freestyle cruising because they give passengers more freedom to choose among different

dining option and activities.The company well known for high quality entertainment, in their resident

Broadway style where entertainers perform magic, comedy, acrobatics and more. They also offer a range

of inclusive packages for guests to let them pick the best deal that suit with their interests.

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3.0 The company/ Country

Briefly describe their major tourism product/service.

Carnival & Corporation Plc is one of the most well-known cruise lines is Australia, North America,

Germany, Italy, and United Kingdom. Besides that, largest leisure travel companies with a portfolio of

nine of the world's leading cruise lines sailing to all seven continents. With operations in North

America, Australia, Europe and Asia, its portfolio features Carnival Cruise Line, Princess

Cruises, Holland America Line, Seabourn, P&O Cruises (Australia), Costa Cruises, AIDA Cruises, P&O

Cruises (UK) and Cunard. Besides that, Carnival also offers a number of different cruise packages such as

Bon Voyage Package and a number of various destinations for visitor. For example, carnival cruise line

also offers onboard activities such as art galleries, water park, Sport Centre, Shopping Centre, Library and

many more. In addition to this, Carnival Cruise Lines also provide 3 to 24 days leisure cruises, departing

from every coast in Us, Canada, Puerto Rico and Barbados that featuring day and nighttime

entertainments such as musical performance, stage shows, nightclubs, deck parties, shore excursions,

casino and water slides while at sea.

Carnival Waterworks
Kids of all ages will love the brightly coloured
Carnival Waterworks water parks found on most
Carnival Cruise Line ships.

Shopping centre
Shopping options onboard for visitor who are looking for a
souvenir to take home for a friend or a present for a loved
one back at home

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Skybox Sports Bar
Carnival Cruise Lines has offered the perfect place for
watch the big game, keep up with your favourite teams and
There are drinks, snacks and everything you need to cheer
for the big play at this fully-stocked sports bar.

Art Gallery
Visitor have the opportunity to view the most popular art
in the world as you cruise the globe and surrounded by an
impressive array of artwork by well-known masters to pop
artists.

Sky Zone
Visitor have opportunity to experience the first-ever Sky
Zone at sea. Carnival has offer uniquely fun indoor
trampoline park and challenge zone for visitor.

Havana Bar and Cafe

Dining on a Carnival Cruise is a celebration of fun flavors
and dining experiences. Casual dining, main dining,
specialty restaurants and room service are all great options
and offer something for visitor.

Spa & Fitness

Carnival Cruise Line has offer Massages, facials, body
wraps, thermal suites and more for visitor to improves
blood circulation hence sending more oxygen and
nutrients through the body and cells

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3.1 What is their business strategy?

Product line

This Carnival Corporation & PLC who is the world's largest leisure travel company, offers outstanding

vacations at an incredible value to tourists all over the world. These brands make up the world's largest

cruise operator because they have 223,000 total of lower berths and also a fleet of 87 ships visiting around

the world. From now until 2025, they will receive a total of 16 new ships. Their product line make guest

have a choice to choose what is the best for their vacation.

Promotion

This cruise company offers a wide range of vacation possibilities to millions of consumers, including a

wide range of recreational activities that cater to people of all origins, nationalities, and languages.

Carnival is the first cruise line to provide a customer loyalty program for their guest. Guest will be

receiving a “Sail & Sign” card that served as identification, a cabin key, and a credit card that could be

used to buy nearly anything on board.

Place

This company uses the Internet to publish all of their cruise information to their target markets. The

website platforms are www.carnival.com and www.carnivalcruise.com. This information is available for

their clients, guests, and travel professionals. Separate areas for guests and travel experts are available on

the Carnival international website. Travel professionals can obtain sales and marketing materials, images

of ship, pricing, product information, and the most recent specials especially discount.

Price

This Carnival & Corporation PLC brands have different pricing levels depending on the source market,

the ship, the duration, the itinerary and the kind of guest accommodation. In a dynamic pricing

environment, cruise rates fluctuate often and are influenced by a variety of factors, including the number

of guest demand and the number of available staterooms for sale in the marketplace. Early booking, travel

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agent programmer and former guest appreciation are just a few of the exclusive offers that company have.

The cruise ticket price includes accommodations, meals, access to amenities, and others.

3.2 What is the overall image of the company/country in your opinion? How does this fit with the

image they are trying to project?

In my opinion Carnival Corporation & Plc is a leader in contemporary cruising and operates 24 ships

designed to provide fun and memorable vacation experiences at a great value. Beside that, they care about

their customer needs and desires by offer them more affordable offers and discount. Carnival Corporation

broad product selection is geared to suit every conceivable taste, price preference and target market,

including contemporary, premium and ultra-luxury. In addition to this they brand truly cater to the desires

of different cultures, offering multiple languages and meeting varying entertainment and vacation

preferences. Carnival Corporation & plc, has highest responsibility and top priorities are to operate safely,

to protect the environment, and to be in compliance everywhere we operate in the world.

3.3 Local and Marketing issue

Carnival Corporation & plc is a British-American cruise operator, currently the world's largest travel

leisure company and of the world’s most widely recognized cruise brands. However, all the great things

they have to offer, because of incidents that are making the whole cruise industry take a hit. According to

(Greenburg, 2009) in early 2012, one of the Carnival Corporation brand Costa Concordia sank causing

the death of passengers and visitor brought into question the integrity of the Captain and crew. In addition

to this, Carnival Corporation have facing a great amount of accident while in operation. For example, the

incidents include engine room fire that lest the stranded for several days, person missing, death, technical

malfunction, struck a reef and partially sank, among others. With all these misfortunes the cruise line is

facing marketing issues due to the damage to their reputation caused by social media.

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According to (Bryce, 2014) during the accident the public received the information more quickly from

social media such as Facebook and Tweeter. Passenger aboard began to tweeting and posting negative

things that happen in cruise while they were stranded which made the public form their own views related

to the accident. According to (Robbert 2006), one of the passengers has posted photos of the pathetic

condition on social media, which results in the trending “#cruisefromhell” hashtag in both Facebook and

Twitter because of one of the incidents affected the ship’s state as air conditioning stopped functioning

and bathrooms overflowed causing raw sewage to seep into the walls and carpets.

The biggest issue about Carnival Cruise line were so open about the incidents on social media for the

whole world to see and engaged its Facebook page and Twitter handles in crisis communication whereby

updates on the proceedings were posted at intervals. For example, openly spoke to the Facebook

comments that were left by passengers that were aboard the ship during the time of the crisis.

In addition to this, Carnival communicate their customers by utilizes many social media platforms

ensuring that everyone express their complaints with their vacation experience through various social

media platforms resulting in outstanding media coverage where the world watches and makes their own

conclusions. The social media platforms were used to reply to queries from the public on the

developments. However, it ignored negative comments and focused on issues such as refunds and

reimbursements. Unfortunate things happen and all the past incidents the cruise line went through are

completely normal.

3.4 How they plan and manage their workforce?

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Carnival Corporation & plc has recognized by Newsweek’s first ranking of America’s most responsible

companies. Carnival Corporation & plc is a diverse organization and each of the operating plan has their

own unique culture based on their headquarters location, guests served and the diversity of their

employees. In addition to this Carnival Corporation has maintaining a diverse workforce by promotes an

open, tolerant and positive work environment where everyone’s different talents and strengths can be

utilized. Carnival Corporation has work to attract, motivate, develop and retain the best talent from the

diversity the world offers. Moreover, it does not discriminate against any qualified individual on the basis

of sex, race, colour, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, age, marital status, mental, physical or

sensory disability, or any other classification protected by applicable local, state, federal, and

international law. Carnival Corporation has promoted a greater understanding among people by break

down barriers and bring together many cultures, backgrounds, beliefs and points of view and every person

shall be treated with dignity, courtesy and respect. Carnival Corporation has continue promote sustainable

tourism and create more opportunity for employee to build a rewarding career to further drive employee

engagement.

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3.5 Major Impact of COVID-19 to the company/country

The global pandemic has devastate the cruise tourism with widespread disruption and cancellations

affecting millions of cruise passengers. Many workers are relying on the revenue earned from guests on

visiting ships and the related tourism activities including restaurants, attractions and tours are also badly

impacted. In addition to this, Carnival cruise line has lost 4.4 billion and impact on the company’s

liquidity and financial position during pandemic. Carnival Corporation and its brands was the first to

pause guest cruise operation the company of some of its brands in the face of the impact of the COVID-

19 global pandemic, followed on March 13th 2020 by the rest of its brands and the other cruise companies.

Carnival Corporation will be announced brand new health and safety COVID cruise policies and

procedures with the Have Fun. Be Safe program to “maximize the health and safety of guests and crew.”

However, some of these measures has laying off some of its crew members, wage cuts and hour

reductions across the company, including senior management. At the beginning of the outbreak, Carnival

cruise line brand were prevented from docking in many ports and has banned all ships arriving from

foreign ports and directed all foreign flagged ships to leave the country.

Carnival Cruise lines normally get bookings six months to a year in advance, however because of the

corona-virus outbreak first hit ships in Asia early this year Carnival and its peers have steadily had to

cancel, refund or re-book thousands of tickets for customers. Many operators have temporarily suspended

all voyages and half of the guests affected by cancellations and have requested full refunds, with the rest

prepared to re-book. Carnival Cruise line have no revenue and they will be laying off hundreds of

employees due to the corona-virus pandemic to save their operation cost.

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4.0 Social Responsibility

Donate second-hand goods

Carnival Corporation brands are reusing materials and equipment either onboard or donating items in

good condition to others. The cruise company also recently donated 100 TVs, three grand pianos and 20

laptops to organizations in Florida. In Vietnam, schools, churches and temples received donations of 680

footstools. Blankets and towels are other items that the production line often donates to non-profit

organizations in the port community. Besides that, donated various used and repairable goods such as

furniture, refrigerators, bed frames, cribs, toys, shower curtains and tableware.

Organize minimization program that consists of reducing, reusing and recycling.

Carnival Corporation brands has work to reduce the volume and toxicity of our waste. For example,

Carnival Corporation has encouraged guests to turn off lights, use recycling bins and reuse towels to

reduce water consumption in the laundry room. Beside that adopted LED lighting as much as possible to

save energy and redesigned food, supply procurement and packaging requirements to reduce plastic

products on board. Carnival has launched an incentive program in its 25-ship fleet to make crew members

excited about recycling and recycle everything from cardboard, plastic, aluminum and glass to cooking

oil.

Ship-to-shore Food

Carnival Corporation & Plc has collaborated with his cruise line brand to ship-to-shore food program in

Italy and worked for eight months with the food bank program Fondazione Banco Alimentare ONLUS

and key stakeholders, such as the Customs Agency and the Maritime Health Organization Agency, to

design the blueprint to be used in the maritime sector. Besides that, Carnival Corporation & Plc has

brought the food to the nearby town of Varazze, where the organization runs a home for 20 children, and

provides food aid to over 280 people in need, including refugees.

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4.1 Are they significant current or past ethical issue as relates to marketing？

One of the current or past ethical issue related to marketing is lack of emergency training and problem

resolution during a disaster and post incident response. Carnival’s employee poorly trained in how to

handle emergency situations will arise due to the nature of their business and has breakdown Carnival

Cruise Line mission when the incident and become the front line news in social media

Beside that the employee must learn to prevent the events of mass hysteria and panic for travelers on the

sea and another incident was reported in 2012, Carnival Cruise Line did not learn from the disaster of the

first incident in 1972. Next, Carnival Cruise line only provide opportunity for specials and promotions on

their website, thus people that doesn’t have access to the internet has a disadvantaged.

Carnival Cruise line has facing some issue like crashes, fires, the person missing, rape and robbery and

they don’t have any explanation about these mishaps because all the mishaps are sudden and unbelievable

thus give a negative issue for visitor.

Next raises the prices of the fuel is one of the issues that related to marketing the U.S. Environmental

Protection Agency has changed laws to reduce the sulfur content (emission) in fuel oil used aboard ships.

This increases the demand for lower sulfur fuel, which raises the prices of the fuel. Carnival may have to

deal with a significant increase in fuel prices. Moreover, in December 2008, passengers on the Carnival

owned Oceania cruise ship were attacked by Somali pirates. The ship sped away and no one was injured,

but the threat of terrorism and pirates overtaking cruise ships is a concern for companies in this industry

and also give visitor a negative affect of cruising.

4.2 Is this company/ country both socially responsible and ethical in your opinion

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In my opinion Carnival Cruise lines is responsible and ethical this is because Carnival Corporation & plc

has established an ethics and compliance program to promote the company’s commitment to achieve and

maintain a high standard of professional and ethical conduct. Besides that, in 2018 Carnival Corporation

& plc has been recognizing excellence in the workplace and in areas key to exceeding guest expectations

and providing extraordinary vacations, including vacation value, cruise ships, onboard entertainment,

shore excursions, itineraries, nightlife and overall customer service. Carnival also play an active role in

collaborative efforts to improve ethical business conduct around the world. For example, Carnival cruise

line is one of the charter member of the Maritime Anticorruption Network (MACN) which is comprised

of over thirty maritime companies that have joined forces to combat corruption affecting the maritime

industry. In addition, Carnival Cruise line has operated with integrity, trust and respect for each other

communicating, coordinating and collaborating while being openness and transparency at all times. To

support the Company’s commitment to ethical business behavior, Carnival Corporation & plc introduced

mandatory ethics training during 2011. All employees must complete the computer-based Code of

Business Conduct and Ethics training biennially, while additional ethics training is assigned based on

employee position and responsibilities. Certain employees in sensitive roles receive ethics training

annually. The Boards of Directors and senior management also receive this training. Training completion

rates are monitored and transmitted to the Corporate Compliance Officer annually. In addition to this,

Carnival Cruise line has developing a Business Partner Code of Conduct & Ethic that focuses on business

integrity, protecting the environment, respecting labor & human rights, complying with health, safety &

security and protocols reporting concerns

Conclusion

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In conclusion, Carnival Cruise lines is one of the most successful cruise company and it is recognized as

the “Fun Ships” for visitor who want to experience cruise holiday. It has changed the perspectives of

people about cruise travelling, from just work and business-related travel to enjoyment and adventure.

Last but not least Carnival Cruise line mission is to provide a luxurious cruise experience to all visitor and

suitable to all age group. Carnival Cruise Line had successfully utilized the mass market cruise customers,

who were the first time visitors instead of emphasizing on the repeat customers as the market and size of

new visitors was larger than the old visitors.

Reference
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Bryce, K. (2014). The Role of Social Media In Crisis Management At Carnival Cruise Line. Journal of
Business Case Studies, Volume10, Number 3. The Clute Institute, Volume 10, Number 3.
Corporation, C. (2021). Carnival Corporation & plc Provides Fisrt Quater 2021 Business Update.
Retrieved from https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/carnival-corporation--plc-provides-
first-quarter-2021-business-update-301263597.html
Greenburg, P. (2009). Three Passengers Fall Off Carnival Cruise Ships In Three Weeks.
Kolmar, C. (2021). 15 largest cruise lines in the world. Retrieved from
https://www.zippia.com/advice/largest-cruise-lines/
Mayntz, M. (n.d.). Different Between Major Cruise Lines- Which is Best for you? Retrieved from
https://www.cruisehive.com/differences-between-major-cruise-lines-which-is-best-for-you/39637
RJ., K. (2006). Burnishing the Brand. Cornell Hotel and Restaurant Administration, 47(3):286-300.
https://doi.org/10.1177/0010880406291258
Stainton, H. (2020). Cruise tourism explained. Cruise tourism explained: What,why and where. Retrieved
from https://tourismteacher.com/cruise-tourism/

Appendix

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