Cunard and Seabourn for Sale? Carnival Says No
Welcome to the Thursday rumor mill! Today we have some juicy rumors about Carnival Corporation brands and a spokesperson for the company calling them false. Let’s dive in and see if we can figure out the truth.
Carnival Corporation TradeWinds Report
Yesterday on their website, TradeWinds, a global shipping news source, reported that Carnival Corporation was contemplating a sale of two major cruise brands; Cunard Line and Seabourn Cruise Line. The news reportedly came from inside sources at Carnival Corporation, though none were named specifically.
In their article, TradeWinds reported that the sale was due to an older customer base at both those cruise brands and Carnival’s desire to target a younger clientele. Obviously, the need to generate revenue in the wake of COVID-19 is a factor as well. Cruise lines are hurting and the sale of high profile brands like Cunard and Seabourn would help keep things afloat.
Cruise lines are scrambling to retrofit their ships in the age of COVID-19 including innovations like virtual muster drills and perhaps reducing the size of their overall fleet would help Carnival Corporation would reduce costs and the cruise line would see a return on all these upgrades a bit sooner.
Not So Fast, Rumor Mill
If you cover the cruise industry, you know award-winning journalist and cruise blogger David Monk. He’s written for major publications all over the world and his Twitter account, @Shipmonk, is a wealth of information about all things cruising. In a tweet this morning, David had a quote from Carnival Corporation spokesman Roger Frizzell regarding a potential sale:
.@CarnivalPLC denies it is considering selling @cunardline and @SeabournCruise brands. Spokesman Roger Frizzell said: ‘There is no truth to this rumour. Cunard and Seabourn are iconic brands for our company, and both lines have a strong track record of success over the years.’
— Dave Monk (@shipmonk) July 30, 2020
Of course, spokespeople don’t always tell the truth, but that is a very strong denial of the reports that the cruise lines are for sale. Could Carnival have discussed the possibility? Of course. Does it look like it will come to fruition? Not according to the cruise conglomerate.
Who do you believe? Let us know!