I’m a Carnival Cruise guy. When Sharon and I went into the travel business in 1988 I think Carnival had at most five ships. The Carnival Celebration was the newest and biggest ship on the block. And our agency just prior to our acquisition of the company had been Carnival’s travel agency of the year for the entire country. So on our first day of ownership we were embraced and welcomed into the Carnival Cruise Line family.
It is from this foundation that I have watched the evolution of the brand. I have personally witnessed some of Carnival’s crowning achievements including inaugural sailings and christenings of new ships too many to mention. Sharon and I have enjoyed every minute of all these events.
And as Carnival evolved, so has our travel agency. Today we are still clearly focused on the leisure travel market but a large part of our client base is the baby boomer and senior community. That’s why over the past number of years I was a bit disappointed to see Carnival embrace the shorter, three, four and five day cruise market. Professionally I understood Carnival’s decision to tap into the first time, younger cruise market. Get those cruise rookies on a short cruise and once they try it, the younger audience will be hooked for life. The shorter the cruise the younger the crowd. Didn’t work for my market, but as mentioned I understood.
In this new Carnival environment I still believed there was a place for my “older” clients. It was harder to find Carnival cruises that catered to “my” crowd but I was able to find some longer cruises like a trans Atlantic repositioning or a 15 day Hawaii round trip from California. They were few and far between.
SO, that’s why I was so happy when Carnival recently announced their series of CARNIVAL JOURNEYS cruises. As the title of this article implies, Carnival is moving forward to yesterday. Carnival has introduced a number of longer “Journeys” that will, as Joni Rein, VP of Worldwide sales says be
“a great collection of sailings for your clients who are looking for distinctive voyages that provide enriching experiences onboard, unique and amazing destinations, classic cruising flair and more. “
Additionally, the on board experience will be throw back to cruising of days gone by. Remember flaming Baked Alaska? How about experiencing local cuisine at numerous ports of call? Educational enrichment seminars at sea will be offered. It will be cruising for the “baby boomer” generation.
Call me for information about this series of Journeys cruises. In fact we have put together a group on the January 31, 2016 13 night Mexican Riviera Journeys cruise on the Carnival Miracle. I can provide you with pricing and full details on the exciting, off the beaten path itinerary. Call 1-800-698-1101 or email at www.fairtravel @aol.com. Information is always available on our website by either going to www.fairviewtravelny.com or www.vegasvoyagers.com.
