Carnival Cruise Lines plans to market its year-round Australian cruises to firsttimers and ‘free spirits’. IN AN INTERVIEW WITH CRUISE WEEKLY, JENNIFER Vandekreeke, CCL’s new director, Australia, said the line is confident it can introduce more locals to “the wonderful world of cruising” when Carnival Spirit is based fulltime in...
Carnival Cruise Lines plans
to market its year-round
Australian cruises to firsttimers
and ‘free spirits’.
IN AN INTERVIEW WITH CRUISE WEEKLY, JENNIFER
Vandekreeke, CCL’s new director, Australia,
said the line is confident it can introduce
more locals to “the wonderful world of
cruising” when Carnival Spirit is based fulltime
in Sydney from 2012.
As the first person to be appointed to the
newly created role, Vandekreeke has high
hopes for CCL’s inaugural foray overseas.
“We believe there is still plenty of room for
growth here,” she said.
“We feel that the combination of a quality
experience and free-spirited fun is a perfect
fit for the Australian market.”
Formerly based in Miami as CCL’s director
of advertising, Vandekreeke also plans to
implement some key ideas from the US to
Australia in a bid to lure “cruise rookies”.
“We have created a lot of material such as
videos and website content that brings the
cruise experience to life and helps cruise
rookies envision themselves on a cruise,” she
said.
“In our experience, once a cruise rookie
understands the cruise experience, they
realise that it’s a great fit for what they’re
looking for in a holiday and they can’t wait to
get onboard and experience it for themselves.”
A main point of differentiation for Carnival
Spirit will be its onboard space, with balconies
in two-thirds of staterooms, Vandekreeke said.
She also confirmed that TTW will retain its
role as CCL’s representative for overseas markets.
“Travel the World has been a highly valued
partner of Carnival Cruise Lines and they will
continue to represent our North American
and European itineraries.”
