Finally, the world’s largest cruise company Carnival Cruise Lines appears to be making some progress. After the disastrous Costa Concordia mishap that killed 32 people in 2012 in Italy and several subsequent mishaps along the way, Carnival is making progress under the new leadership. Its new CEO Arnold Donald took office in July 2013 and working hard to reestablish the brand and currently spending $700 million on shipboard fire prevention and backup power systems. Carnival accounts for more than 21 percent of the worldwide cruise market.
The British-American owned Carnival is based in Doral, Florida and operates the largest fleet of ships with a total of 24 vessels. Its ten brands range from the lowest-cost brand of Carnival to very pricey British Cunard Line, the world’s oldest line with a 173 year old history. Its strategy is to conduct shorter, less expensive cruises that people love to take. One other crowd pleaser is its Las Vegas style décor and entertainment onboard. Since 1996, Carnival operated the world’s largest passenger ship, Carnival Destiny at the time and its bigger vessel, Carnival Dream came into operation in 2009. Carnival is also building the world’s largest ship ever with a capacity of 4,000 passengers.