Carnival Cruise Lines

Carnival Cruise Lines is a British-American owned cruise line based in the Doral suburb of Miami, Florida (Carnival Cruise Lines, n.d.). The company offers vacations that appeal to a wide range of lifestyles and budgets. Carnival was founded in 1972 as an independent company by Ted Arison. The cruise line company became known as the world’s most popular cruise line and in 1987 it made an initial public offering of 20 percent of its common stock. The public offering provided the company with an influx of capital that allowed the company to begin expanding through acquisitions. The company formed Carnival Corporation & plc in 1994 and Carnival Cruise Lines became its flagship brand (Mission & History, 2010). Carnival Corporation has acquired representation in virtually every market segment of the cruise industry. In April 2003, agreements were finalized to combine Carnival Corporation with P&O Princess Cruises plc, creating the world’s first global cruise operator. Carnival Corporation & plc encompass 12 highly recognizable brands and the company became one of the largest and most profitable leisure travel companies in the world. The company is now one of the 11 individual worldwide cruise ship brands owned and operated by Carnival Corporation & plc. The corporation operates 97 ships and Carnival Cruise Lines is its largest and leading brand in North America, based on passengers carried under the Carnival Corporation. Carnival is also the corporation’s most profitable cruise line in the world. The cruise line has 22 ships in operation and two future ships in development. Carnival has 3,800 shore side and 33,500 shipboard employees.

*Carnival pioneered the concept of shorter, less expensive cruises. Howard Frank, the chief operating officer of Carnival Cruise Lines, says their ships are called the fun ships because unlike its competitors, Royal Caribbean International and Norwegian Cruise Line, Carnival offers a wide range of activities on board instead of just