Carnival Cruise Lines is renewing its Great Vacation Guarantee which provides consumers an opportunity to receive a 110 percent refund, complimentary transportation home and a 0 shipboard credit on a future cruise if they are dissatisfied with their vacation for any reason.
In the year since Carnival originally introduced the guarantee, the line’s 24 ships have carried 4.5 million guests and the guarantee has been invoked only 47 times.
Carnival says that both consumers and travel agents have lauded the guarantee, the only one of its kind in the cruise industry, with many travel agents citing it as an excellent sales tool to entice first-time cruisers to set sail. “You are statistically more likely to date a supermodel than you are to invoke the Great Vacation Guarantee,” said Jim Berra, Carnival’s chief marketing officer.
“However, we believe it is important to keep the guarantee in place given its effectiveness in communicating to consumers that we stand behind our product and are extremely confident you will have an exceptional vacation experience when you sail with Carnival.
”
Berra added that with more than 300 new spaces and experiences added to Carnival’s fleet under the company’s multi-million-dollar Fun Ship 2.0 enhancement program, guest satisfaction has increased considerably since the program was first introduced.
To exercise the Great Vacation Guarantee, guests notify the ship’s guest services desk within the first 24 hours of the voyage to receive a full refund of their cruise fare plus an additional 10 percent, along with complimentary return air transportation from the next port of call, and complimentary ground transportation and hotel accommodations (if necessary), along with a $100 shipboard credit to be used on a future Carnival cruise.
The Great Vacation Guarantee is valid on all three- to eight-day voyages to The Bahamas, Caribbean, Mexican Riviera, Alaska, Bermuda, Canada and New England through December 31, 2015, including holiday sailings. The program applies to U.S. and Canadian residents only and guests must possess a valid passport to return to the U.S. by air.
Carnival Cruise Lines, www.carnival.com/vacationguarantee, www.GoCCL.com