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• 4 min de lectura
Carnival Corp. is leaning into consumer demand for Northern Europe and "coolcations" to the point that its Europe capacity will equal its Caribbean capacity for the first time in 2027.
Each market will have a 34% share.
This happens during a period of relatively flat capacity growth, so Carnival is shifting is deployment mix to opportunities the company finds most attractive.
In the case of Northern Europe, this capitalizes on guest interests in cooler weather destinations and outdoor activities like hiking, exploring the Norwegian Fjords and enjoying the northern lights, Carnival Corp. CEO Josh Weinstein said Tuesday.
"Of course the Caribbean remains an important part of our strategy and will benefit from the continued expansion of our Paradise collection porffolio (of exclusive destinations), even as we diversify our footprint more globally," Weinstein said. This includes an industry-leading presence in Alaska, which he called "the ultimate coolcation," and where Carnival offers integrated land and sea experiences.
Europe isn't new for Carnival; it's been a growing piece of the company's business, particularly Northern Europe which Weinstein said is in "heavy demand" by both Americans and Europeans.
"We have a great foothold there. We actually have more European sailings outside of the Med than in the Med," Weinstein said during the company's third quarter earnings call Tuesday.
This also enables an extended season and "pushing into the shoulders more, which is what guests are looking for."
Weinstein was asked about the Iran war's impact. While there was a demand slowdown in the spring and high airfares hurt long-haul travel, "We saw almost a double-down on Europe for next year, particularly for third quarter, which is the biggest part of the year for European deployment.
"There certainly was a large cohort of people into the spring and early summer who said we're not going this year but we are going next year, so that bodes very well for 2027."
Is there a Carnival shift in leveraging cooler weather experiences versus beach?
It's not really new; Carnival can supply both, Weinstein said.
Europe, particularly Northern Europe, is on the wish list of many Americans. And for Carnival's European brands, it's "in the backyard" for Germany, the UK, even for Italy, which has a "very strong presence in Northern Europe," the Carnival chief elaborated.
The Baltic, Scandinavia, the Norwegian Fjords, Iceland — there's "a lot of opportunity for things that are on people's list."
"... We believe Northern Europe has been more beneficial for us over the last couple years and we expect that to continue."
Relative to the Caribbean, Weinstein reiterated his preference for no growth there versus the industry's 2027 increase of 37% growth over a three-year period.
Still, he called the Caribbean "an amazing part of our portfolio, and we are absolutely committed to it forever, hence the investments we've made in our Paradise Collection. Carnival Cruise Line has been the leader in the Caribbean all-year sailings and we expect that to continue."
The added capacity by competitors causes pressure but Carnival's still looking at a yield increase of 3% this year "including our Caribbean portfolio, against the backdrop of a pretty volatile world."
Regarding the Caribbean, Carnival management was asked about Royal Caribbean's Sandals investment and whether something like that would make sense for Carnival.
"We are laser-focused on improving our cruise business," Weinstein said. "We are very proudly a cruise company and everything we do is to enhance the cruise experience for guests.
With eight brands, "We are in a great position to improve the business on the assets we've got," he continued. Land-based assets like Celebration Key and Alaska lodges in Carnival's portfolio are "ancillary to the cruise business" and "They're high-returning," Weinstein said.
"We're focused on the returns, we're focused on the cruise business."
See also Seatrade Cruise Review's September cover story, 'Europe off-peak: Cruising without the crowds,' available to read online or download here.
