Carnival Corporation & plc
Carnival Corporation & plc is a British-American cruise operator, currently the world's largest travel leisure company, with a combined fleet of over 100 vessels across 10 cruise line brands. A dual-listed company, Carnival is composed of two companies, Panama-incorporated US-headquartered Carnival Corporation and UK-based Carnival plc, which function as one entity. Carnival Corporation is listed on the New York Stock Exchange and Carnival plc is listed on the London Stock Exchange. Carnival is listed in both the S&P 500 and FTSE 250 indices.
The Panama-incorporated entity Carnival Corporation has headquarters in the United States, with operational headquarters located in the city of Doral, Florida. The UK entity Carnival plc is based in Southampton.
History
Carnival Corporation was founded as Carnival Cruise Line in 1972. The company grew steadily throughout the 1970s and 1980s, making an initial public offering on the New York Stock Exchange in 1987. The capital generated was used to finance acquisitions. Between 1989 and 1999, the company acquired Holland America Line, Windstar Cruises, Westours, Seabourn Cruise Line, Costa Cruises and Cunard Line. The name Carnival Corporation was adopted in 1993, to distinguish the parent company from its flagship cruise line subsidiary.P&O Princess Cruises plc was formed in 2000, following the demerger of the cruise ship division of the P&O group. Originating as the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company in England in 1837, P&O operated the world's first commercial cruise ships. Restructuring of the P&O group in the 20th century led to its cruise operations being rebranded as P&O Cruises and P&O Cruises Australia, with the company acquiring Princess Cruises in 1974. Following the demerger in 2000, the company also acquired AIDA Cruises, as well as establishing the A'Rosa Cruises and Ocean Village brands.
In 2003, Carnival Corporation acquired P&O Princess Cruises plc. It was agreed that P&O Princess Cruises plc would remain a separate company, listed on the London Stock Exchange and retaining its British shareholder body and management team. The company was renamed Carnival plc, with the operations of the two companies merged into one entity. Carnival Corporation and Carnival plc jointly own all the operating companies in the Carnival group. Prior to Carnival Corporation's acquisition, P&O Princess Cruises plc had agreed to a merger with Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. The deal unraveled as Carnival Corporation initiated a hostile takeover with improved terms for British shareholders.
Carnival sold Windstar Cruises to Ambassadors Group in February 2007 and Swan Hellenic to Lord Sterling in March 2007.
In October 2015, CSSC Carnival Cruise Shipping, a joint venture between Carnival, the China Investment Corporation, and the China State Shipbuilding Corporation, was founded, with operations expected to commence in 2019.
In March 2018, Carnival Corporation announced its intention to invest in the construction of a new terminal in the port of Sasebo, Japan. It is expected to open in 2020.
In June 2018, Carnival Corporation announced that it had acquired the White Pass and Yukon Route from TWC Enterprises Limited for US$290 million. The properties acquired were port, railroad and retail operations in Skagway, Alaska.
Current operations
The Carnival group comprises nine cruise line brands and one cruise experience brand operating a combined fleet of 104 ships.The following operating companies have full executive control of the Carnival brands in their portfolio, with the exception of CSSC Carnival Cruise Shipping in which 40% is controlled:
Carnival of the Americas
- Carnival Cruise Line – headquarters in Miami, Florida, US
Carnival United Kingdom
- P&O Cruises – headquarters in Southampton, UK
- Cunard Line – headquarters in Southampton, UK
Holland America Group
- Holland America Line – headquarters in Seattle, Washington, US
- Princess Cruises – headquarters in Santa Clarita, California, US
- Seabourn Cruise Line – headquarters in Seattle, Washington, US
- P&O Cruises Australia – headquarters in Sydney, Australia
Carnival Australia
- Carnival Cruise Line Australia – headquarters in Sydney, Australia
Carnival China
- Carnival Cruise Shipping – headquarters in Hong Kong, China
Costa Group
- Costa Cruises – headquarters in Genoa, Italy
- AIDA Cruises – headquarters in Rostock, Germany
Brands and ships
AIDA Cruises
AIDA Cruises originated from the state-owned German shipping conglomerate Deutsche Seereederei, established in Rostock, Germany, in 1952. The company entered the passenger market in the 1960s, but after the unification of Germany in 1990, the company was privatised and its passenger ships acquired by Deutsche Seetouristik. In 1996, the company launched its first new cruise ship AIDA, but after failing to achieve a profit, the ship was sold to Norwegian Cruise Line, continuing operations under a charter agreement. In 1999, Deutsche Seetouristik was acquired by British shipping company P&O, with the AIDA name being repurchased from NCL. P&O subsequently formed AIDA Cruises as a subsidiary brand, with two new ships ordered to form a fleet. AIDA was renamed AIDAcara, with AIDAvita and AIDAaura launched in 2002 and 2003 respectively.AIDA Cruises ships
- AIDAcara
- AIDAvita
- AIDAaura
- AIDAdiva
- AIDAbella
- AIDAluna
- AIDAblu
- AIDAsol
- AIDAmar
- AIDAmira
- AIDAstella
- AIDAprima
- AIDAperla
- AIDAnova
- ''AIDAcosma
Carnival Cruise Line
Carnival Cruise Line ships
- Carnival Breeze
- Carnival Conquest
- Carnival Dream
- Carnival Ecstasy
- Carnival Elation
- Carnival Fascination
- Carnival Freedom
- Carnival Glory
- Carnival Horizon
- Carnival Imagination
- Carnival Legend
- Carnival Liberty
- Carnival Magic
- Mardi Gras
- Carnival Miracle
- Carnival Panorama
- Carnival Paradise
- Carnival Pride
- Carnival Sensation
- Carnival Spirit
- Carnival Splendor
- Carnival Sunshine
- Carnival Sunrise
- Carnival Valor
- Carnival Victory
- Carnival Vista
Costa Cruises
Costa Cruises ships
- Costa Deliziosa
- Costa Diadema
- Costa Fascinosa
- Costa Favolosa
- Costa Firenze
- Costa Fortuna
- Costa Luminosa
- Costa Magica
- Costa Mediterranea
- Costa Pacifica
- Costa Serena
- Costa Smeralda
- Costa Toscana
- Costa Venezia
Carnival CSSC
Cunard Line
The second oldest brand in the Carnival group after P&O, Cunard Line originated in 1840 and celebrated its 179th anniversary in 2019. It was founded by Samuel Cunard, who was awarded the first trans-Atlantic mail contract in 1837 and established the British and North American Royal Mail Steam-Packet Company in 1840. After initially dominating the trans-Atlantic route, the need for new capital led to the company being re-organised as the Cunard Steamship Company Ltd in 1879. The early 1900s saw increased competition for speed, particularly from Germany, which led the British government to subsidise the building of Mauretania and Lusitania, which both won the Blue Riband. Competition continued to increase however and by the early 1930s, Cunard was experiencing financial difficulties. To secure further government subsidy, it agreed to merge with its chief rival White Star Line, to form Cunard-White Star Line in 1934. Cunard later purchased the remaining White Star shares in 1947, reverting to the name Cunard Line in 1949. Cunard continued to operate independently until 1971, when it was acquired by the conglomerate Trafalgar House, which was in turn taken over by the Norwegian company Kværner in 1996. In 1998, Carnival Corporation purchased a controlling stake in Cunard, completing the acquisition in 1999 to become sole shareholder. Since that time, Cunard has been one of Carnival's most high-profile brands, with the continued popularity of the famous Queen Elizabeth 2 and the development of the world's largest trans-Atlantic Ocean liner Queen Mary 2, which continues to be the flagship of the fleet.Cunard Line ships
- Queen Elizabeth
- Queen Mary 2
- Queen Victoria
Holland America Line
Holland America Line ships
- MS Eurodam
- MS Koningsdam
- MS Nieuw Amsterdam
- MS Noordam
- MS Oosterdam
- MS Nieuw Statendam
- MS Ryndam
- MS Volendam
- MS Westerdam
- MS Zaandam
- MS Zuiderdam
P&O Cruises
P&O Cruises ships
- Arcadia
- Aurora
- Azura
- Britannia
- Iona
- Ventura
P&O Cruises Australia
- Pacific Adventure
- Pacific Aria
- Pacific Dawn
- Pacific Encounter
- Pacific Explorer
Princess Cruises
- Caribbean Princess
- Coral Princess
- Crown Princess
- Diamond Princess
- Discovery Princess
- Emerald Princess
- Enchanted Princess
- Golden Princess
- Grand Princess
- Island Princess
- Majestic Princess
- Pacific Princess
- Regal Princess
- Royal Princess
- Ruby Princess
- Sapphire Princess
- Sea Princess
- Sky Princess
- Star Princess
- Sun Princess
Seabourn Cruise Line
- Seabourn Encore
- Seabourn Odyssey
- Seabourn Ovation
- Seabourn Quest
- Seabourn Sojourn
- Seabourn Venture
Former brands
- A'Rosa Cruises – Established by P&O Princess in 2001, sold following the Carnival merger in 2003
- Fathom – Established by the Carnival Corporation in 2015 – Ended cruise operations in 2017. Its functions were reduced to operating as a tour group until the end of 2018.
- Fiesta Marina Cruises – Established by Carnival Corp in 1993, liquidated in 1994. The sole ship was sold to the Epirotiki Line.
- Ibero Cruises – Established by Carnival Corp in 2003, liquidated in 2014 with ships transferred to Costa Cruises and Cruise & Maritime Voyages.
- Ocean Village – Established by P&O Princess in 2003, liquidated in 2010 with ship transferred to P&O Cruises Australia
- Swan Hellenic – P&O Princess subsidiary since 1983, liquidated in 2007 with ship transferred to Princess Cruises
- Windstar Cruises – Carnival subsidiary since 1989, sold to Ambassadors International in 2007.
Repeated violations of environmental laws
For dumping oiled waste into the seas and lying to cover it up, Princess Cruise Lines was fined $40 million in 2016. According to federal authorities, it was the "largest-ever criminal penalty" for intentional vessel pollution. Officials said that these practices began in 2005 and persisted until August 2013, when a newly hired engineer blew the whistle. As part of its plea agreement, ships of the parent company Carnival Cruise lines were subjected to a court supervised environmental compliance plan for five years.
For violation of the probation terms of 2016 Carnival and its Princess line were ordered to pay an additional $20 million penalty in 2019. The new violations included discharging plastic into waters in the Bahamas, falsifying records, and interfering with court supervision.
Notable former ships
Carnival has had various notable ships in the past including:- Pacific Princess – Became famous for appearing in the romantic comedy anthology TV series The Love Boat and was featured in nearly every episode. She sailed for Princess Cruises from 1975–2002.
- Queen Elizabeth 2 – The flagship of Cunard Line when acquired by Carnival Corporation. She was sold to Istithmar World in 2008.
- Rotterdam – The flagship of Holland America Line for 40 years. She was sold to Premier Cruises in 1997 and renamed Rembrandt. She currently operates under her original name as a floating hotel and museum in Rotterdam, Netherlands.
- Costa Concordia – Struck a rock and sank off the coast of Isola del Giglio, Italy in 2012, in the Costa Concordia disaster. 32 passengers and crew members were killed, along with 1 salvage operator, while 64 other people were injured.
- Adonia – First cruise ship to sail to Cuba from the United States mainland since the United States embargo against Cuba over 40 years ago. She was sold to Azamara Club Cruises in 2018 and renamed Azamara Pursuit.
- Oriana – The first cruise ship commissioned for the UK market. She was sold to Astro Ocean in 2019 and renamed Piano Land.