Weinstein of Carnival Corporation: Innovating to Boost Demand for Cruise Vacations

Carnival Corporation’s record-breaking results were not achieved by chance, said President and CEO Josh Weinstein.

Instead, they come as a result of broader work to increase demand and customer base, he added during Carnival’s first quarter earning calls on Wednesday.

“Our record booked position and activity did not just happen, and it is not the result of pent-up demand for repeat guests built up during the pause,” Weinstein said, noting that this situation is now “years in the rear-view mirror.”

“It is because we have been creating more consideration and broad-based demand for cruise travel in all of our source markets across our well-balanced portfolio,” he explained.

As a result, Weinstein added, Carnival Corporation brands are now capturing more new passengers than ever before which, coupled with a growing base of repeat guests, drives greater overall demand.

“Our brands are delivering sustainable revenue growth that hit the bottom line. At the same time, our brands are continuing to pull the booking curve forward,” he said.

To sustain momentum and capitalize on this untapped revenue opportunity, Carnival Corporation has “more in the pipeline,” Weinstein noted.

“We have three fantastic new ships driving increased consideration and demand to their respective brands,” he said, mentioning the Carnival Jubilee, the Sun Princess and Cunard’s Queen Anne.

Carnival Corporation is also investing in a modernization program for AIDA Cruises fleet and a new private destination for Carnival Cruise Line in the Bahamas, Celebration Key.

“Our exclusive destination, purpose-built for that brand’s target guests, is really starting to capture the imagination as they launched a new marketing campaign right in the heart of wave season,” Weinstein said.

“Although early days, Celebration Key has already delivered initial halo for bookings in the second half of 2025 across 18 Carnival Cruise Line ships departing from 10 homeports,” he said.

“We expect ticket revenue uplift from this incredible destination as the guest experience delivers unmatched fun as well as incremental in-port spending.”