94 pepople were laid off in Miami. The lay offs were across the board, in almost every department; from Mail Room Clerks to res agents, District Sales Mangeers tp Directors and VP's.

What is going on ??????

A Cruise line cannot survive forever running old ships. There comes a point where the maintenance erodes the profits.

Maybe Cunard were having trouble filling Caronia's 732 berths, in addition to the QE2's 1,890? Maybe the QE2 was always passengers first choice, with the Caronia lagging badly behind?

Cunard did not really have a future business plan, in my opinion, until the QM2 concept was drawn up. Selling Caronia may well simply be a way of helping to fund their newbuild? Cunard would probably argue that laying of staff is to make them 'leaner and meaner' for the increasingly competitive cruise market?

The funding for QM2 is coming from Carnival corporation who have about $1 billion in excess cash from what I understand...selling Caronia is of no importance...bottom line is - the writing is on the wall...

As much as I hate to see the name die...sometimes it's inevitable...sometimes it's not worth hanging onto a sinking ship - only time will tell.

Personally...the time I spent w/ Cunard was amazing and the staff are among the best/ nicest in the industry...I really hope this latest measure allows them to get back on track...I do love the product too much to see it disappear....

And re QM2: Is building her stop-able if finances go south? Not at all sure of the construction lingo, but has the keel been laid or other irreversible steps taken so that not building her would be a greater loss than continuing?

I am a little confused as to the layoffs. As I understood all the prior press releases, Seabourn and Cunard were to be separated at the hip (so to speak)so they could operate as separate and distinct entities.

Now Seabourn has two.. soon to be three fewer ships..Cunard has two and a third on the way with more berths than the three sold combined..... Now I hate to bring this up, but would it be possible that Carnival Corp is thinking to have these rez agents, DSM's, etc. handle all lines.....or maybe 1/2 the Fine Family of Cruiselines??? Yikes!!

But it's a good question though....

They will still need "specialist teams"...in Canada only a tour operator is ther to represent the Cunard/ Seabourn brand...jus tspoke w/ a colleague in OZ and things seem fine there...just hope it all works out for the corp.

To answer your question...I wouls say book Caronia...it's a grat ship...and if the ship is sold two things will happen:

a) you'll sail and love her - I believe that if she is sold she will continue her itineraries as planned until the end of 1st quarter 2003

b) you'll be handsomely rewarded if they offer you a "move off" offer.

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Originally posted by locarno:
Carnival was and is very successful with products for the mass market. The K-Mart crowd.

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I thought that Cunard's image and marketing was aimed up-market (up scale) rather than mass-market? That's why Carnival purchased Cunard, another product niche in there portfolio, after all they have got the USA mass market covered!

Carnival has certainly put a lot of capital behind Cunard. And Carnival is certainly a well-run, highly capitalized company. In fact, it's probably the most stable line today. I doubt very seriously that these layoffs signal anything other than a bloated management structure that Carnival inherited and is cleaning up.

quote:

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Originally posted by nathan:

Carnival has certainly put a lot of capital behind Cunard. And Carnival is certainly a well-run, highly capitalized company. In fact, it's probably the most stable line today. I doubt very seriously that these layoffs signal anything other than a bloated management structure that Carnival inherited and is cleaning up.

And Lacarno, why do you always insist on disparaging Carnival and those who happen to like it? I cruise Carnival, and other lines, don't shop at K-mart, and do consider myself a sophisticated, well-travelled individual, and I take exception to your comments.

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If I had been able to get a cruise on the QE2, it would have been most likely a weekend cruise to nowhere, in a cabin no larger than a shoebox. Don't even think about the CARONIA - I MIGHT be able to get a place in the lifeboat or a couch in the crew's lounge...at least with Carnival, I get a 180+ sq. ft. cabin, two port visits and two days at sea for a reasonable price, in a ship with far more facilities and amenities that QE2 can't even hope to offer after countless refits (though I think she is a lovely old girl). Okay, so Carnival ships ain't exactly five-star, but they offer a good solid product.

Besides, what happened to the plans of transferring HAL ships to Cunard? I heard mention of it here a while back...

Thank you for your reply. The Empress of Canada was renamed Mardi Gras, not Carnivale. That was the Empress of Britain. And yes, the Mardi Gras did run aground on her maiden voyage. The bars were opened, and the phrase "fun ship" was born.

Although you stated that you were not going to ask, I will tell you that I have sailed on Carnival, Cunard (the QE2), NCL (the Norway), and am planning Celebrity this winter. As you say, we all know how truthful the internet can be, but I can assure you that those are the lines I have been on. I certainly do not claim to be an expert on cruises, as you seem to be. Nor have I ever had any desire to be in the "hospitality" business. I'm just a lawyer who enjoys cruises, and has a love for the old liners. I recognize and appreciate what exceptional service is. I cruise on Carnival for one main reason: twice a year they sail out of Charleston, so I don't have to sail out of Miami, which I hate. But I have always found them to be professional and offer a good product. I found the quality of the food and service to be far superior to that offered on the Norway. No, it's not upscale. But it's decidedly not down-scale either.

I agree with your assessment of Carnival in the early days. However, that is an image that Carnival has spent a long time shedding. If you think that the K-Mart image is still valid, I would suggest that you have not sailed with them recently. In fact, have you ever sailed on Carnival?

If you re-read your original comment, you claim that Carnival is geared toward the mass-market. The K-Mart crowd. I respectfully disagree.

I also will not question the honesty of your posts, even though you certainly did that with mine.

Make it into a one class ship, but still keep the cabin categories.

Replace the Queen Elizabeth 2's old white lifeboats with nice Red and white modern lifeboats, and same for the Craronia 3.

Add a speed boat and life rafts colored orange with red on the bottom for the QE2 and Caronia.

Try to market job opportunities mostly to British

Make Travelpage re-review her so they give her a better rating when these are done.

Give her Quebec City to Liverpool and Southhampton, when the Queen Mary 2 has New York to Southapmton, Dover, Le Havre and New York to Liverpool.

Keep the Philadelphia cruise port busy with sailings to Southhapmton, Dover with the Caronia until it is sold.

Make new ships for Boston, Baltimore, Portland ME, Galveston, New orleans, and Miami services to Britian.

Like those?

Jesse C