Carnival Cruise Line passengers vote against US ports
With economic concerns and increasing political tensions on the mind of many U.S. travelers, it's no surprise that more people are choosing domestic vacations this summer.
As the U.S. continues to issue heightened travel warnings for U.S. citizens visiting certain countries, it wouldn't be shocking if more cruisers decided to stay closer to home for their next cruise vacations.
Related: US shares troubling 'violent crime' warning for more cruise ports
Some cruise lines like Norwegian Cruise Line have reported experiencing a softening in bookings for Europe cruise itineraries this summer, although demand remains strong from Caribbean cruises departing from U.S. ports.
Americans are increasingly choosing to forego long-haul international trips, but they aren't ditching travel altogether. States across the U.S. like Florida and Texas are reporting sharp increases in the numbers of domestic tourists visiting this year.
With domestic destinations trending, you might expect Carnival Cruise Line - which prides itself on offering more accessible U.S. home ports than any other cruise line - to feature more cruise options that sail to close-to-home destinations.
That's not the case, however, and it doesn't seem to be what Carnival passengers want, either.
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Although Key West, Florida, has long been a staple of Caribbean cruise itineraries, other U.S. cruise ports (outside of Alaska and Hawaii) have traditionally served much more often as departure ports for cruises than as cruise ports of call.
This is changing, however, as popular U.S. cities like New Orleans, San Francisco, Boston, and Portland, Maine are increasingly being featured as stops on cruises departing from other destinations.
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Cruise lines like Princess Cruises, Celebrity Cruises, and Virgin Voyages are leading this trend, and although Carnival does offer some U.S. port stops, they're not a big focus. Carnival's cruise itineraries lean heavily into The Bahamas, Caribbean islands, and Mexico.
Despite current travel trends, Carnival Cruise Line passengers are continuing to show strong interest in sailing to these popular destinations outside of U.S. waters as they plan for their next cruises.
It turns out that most Carnival cruise passengers don't actually want more cruises that visit U.S. ports of call, at least according to a June 16 poll conducted by Carnival Cruise Line Brand Ambassador John Heald on his popular Facebook page that's followed by more than 600,000 people.
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Poll results showed that thousands of Carnival cruisers don't want the cruise line to lean into the growing cruise trend that's seeing more U.S. ports of call featured on cruise itineraries.
The poll was driven by a recent message Heald received from an unidentified Carnival passenger who said:
"Please include more American ports as places we visit during the cruise. Why does Carnival Cruise Line not include New Orleans, San Francisco, and Boston? These are just as good and fun places to visit as most of your selections in the Caribbean."
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Through votes in the poll, about 5,700 Carnival cruisers indicated that they agreed and would like to visit those U.S. cities during their cruises.
Many more passengers rejected the idea, however.
About 15,000 Carnival cruisers voted for the poll option, "I really do not have interest in having places like New Orleans, San Francisco, and Boston as part of my cruise itinerary."
In the comments on the poll post, some Carnival cruisers explained that the Caribbean is far more interesting to them than U.S. cities.
"If I'm taking a Caribbean cruise, get me there as fast as possible, without stopping at additional U.S. ports," Bob Riedle commented.
(The Arena Group will earn a commission if you book a cruise.)
Make a free appointment with Come Cruise With Me's Travel Agent Partner, Postcard Travel, or email Amy Post at amypost@postcardtravelplanning.com or call or text her at 386-383-2472.
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