Carnival

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The first-ever European edition of the Fortune 500, ranking companies by revenue. 

f500 europe 2023 CARNIVAL CRUISE Avalon Exteriors And Landmarks - 2023

Carnival ranks 290 with $12.2 billion in revenue (up 537.7%). The Britain-headquartered hotels, casinos and resorts company has 86,000 employees and made a loss of $6.1 billion.

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Get insights into Carnival including business profile, stock information, news, and rankings from Fortune.

Carnival (CCL): Company Profile, Stock Price, News, Rankings

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Carnival | Fortune

Carnival (CCL): Company Profile, Stock Price, News, Rankings | Fortune

 Arnold, you are the first non-family person to run Carnival. Before you took over as CEO, Carnival that was run by Ted Arison, the founder, and then by his son, Mickey. When you got into the job, what was the most important step that you had to take to establish yourself as the new leader? Well, I had a big advantage. Because I was on the board of directors for almost 13 years before the board and Mickey asked me to take over as CEO. So with that relationship in place, with the board as well as with Mickey was chairman of the board, it was a pretty easy transition for me. And also, I had a bit of a relationship with a number of the leaders of the brands inside the company. Mickey is an extraordinary individual. And even though it is his life's legacy and a lot of his family's net worth, he's very able to step back and allow me to operate. You also became CEO at Carnival at a low point where it was dealing with a number of negative incidents that got worldwide media attention. So you had lawsuits, you had deaths, you had a lot of things to deal with. What did it take, as a leader, to manage through all that turmoil? Yeah, I think the key for any leader is first to listen. So listen, listen, listen. So number one, I listen to our guests. Number two, I listen to our employees. Number three, I listen to all our other stakeholders. And in the process of listening, if you listen carefully, the answers will reveal themselves to you. If you were to be advising another CEO who is in a crisis situation, what would you say was the most important leadership lesson that you learned through those tough times? I would say any kind of crisis situation, number one, try to be prepared for the crisis. So anticipate as best you can. There will always be surprises. When faced with the surprises, listen and reflect. Not through analysis paralysis, so timely decision making. But don't rush. Make certain that you are reflective and you're thoughtful and you're comprehensive but concise. And then the third thing then is to have the confidence and the trust to empower others. You made a number of key management changes when you came in. You brought in new people. What was your message to them about what they had to do to get the results rather than resentment from their teams? It's easy to walk in and see what's broken. If you're not totally familiar with the business, there are a million things that are going right that you don't recognize, because you're not familiar enough with the business. So to just focus on what's broken and think you have the answers is a huge mistake. Because while you're fixing the obvious thing that's broken, you could be breaking 1,000 other things are going to overwhelm that. So it's really important to respect everybody, to respect those that have been there for a long time, those that have been there for a short time. When you're hiring, what is the most important question you ask? What are you looking for. I'm looking for diversity of thinking. What sustains any business over time is innovation. Innovation, by definition, is thinking outside the box. That is diversity of thinking. So I'm constantly looking for diversity of thinking. So if you look at my leadership team, old and new combined, it's characterized by diversity of thinking. You grew up in New Orleans and you have said and talked many times about your teachers and parents who inspired you. What was the best leadership advice that you got from them as you were growing up? Be prepared. So my high school, three times that they would say, gentlemen, prepare yourselves. In the morning, lunch, and at the end of the day. You're going to run the world, prepare yourself. And Vince Lombardi has a great quote, OK, "It's not the will to win, it's the will to prepare to win." So being prepared, being disciplined, make maximizing the probability of success. OK, and then listening to others. And those are two keys. And if you do that well, chances are you'll be successful. 

How Carnival's CEO Got the Company Back on Track

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Arnold, you are the first non family person to run Carnival. Before you took over a CEO Carnival was run by 10 Harrison, the founder and then by his son Mickey. When you got into the job, what was the most important step that you had to take to establish yourself as the new leader? Well, I had a big advantage because I was on the board of directors almost 13 years before how the board and Mickey asked me to take over CEO. So with that relationship in place with the board as well as with Mickey was chairman of the board. It was a pretty easy transition for me, and also I had a bit of a relationship with a number of the leaders of the brand's inside the company. Mickey is an extraordinary individual, and even though you know it is his life legacy and, ah, lot of his family's network, he's very able to step back and allow me to operate. You also became CEO at Carnival at a low point where it was dealing with a number of negative incidents that got worldwide media attention. So you had lawsuits, you had dust, you had a lot of things to deal with. What did it take as a leader to manage all that turmoil? Yeah, I think the key for any leader is first toe. Listen, So listen, listen. Listen. The one I listen to our guest to Allison Tower Employees number three and listen to all the other states stakeholders. And in the process of listening, if you listen carefully, the answers will reveal themselves to you. If you were to be advising another CEO who is in a crisis situation, what would you say was the most important leadership lesson that you learned through those tough times? I would say any kind of crisis situation of the one trying to be prepared for the crisis. So anticipate as best you can. That will always be surprises when faced with surprises. You know, Listen on and reflect. Not through analysis, paralysis so timely decision making. But don't rush, You know, make certain that you are reflective and you're thoughtful and you're comprehensive. And then the third thing then is to have the confidence in the trust to empower others. You made a number of key management changes when you came in. You brought in new people. What was your message to them about what they had to do to get the results rather than resentment from their teams? It's easy to walk in and see was broken. If you're not totally familiar with the business, there are a 1,000,000 things that are going right that you don't recognize because you're not me enough with the business. So to just focus on what's broken and think you have the answers is a huge mistake, because why you're fixing the obvious thing is broken. You could be breaking 1000 other things. I can overwhelm that. So it's really important to respect everybody, to respect those that have been there for a long time. Those have been there for a short. When you're hiring, what is the most important question? You asked, What are you looking for? I'm looking for diversity of thinking. Okay, what sustains any business over time? His innovation, innovation, by definition, is thinking outside the box that is diversity of thinking, some constantly looking for diversity of thinking. So if you look at my leadership team, old and new combined is characterized by diversity of thinking. You grew up in New Orleans and you have said and talk many times about your teachers and parents who inspired you. What was the best leadership advice that you got from them? As you were growing up? Be prepared. So my high school, three times a day, David, say, gentlemen, prepare yourself in the morning lunch, and at the end of the day, you're gonna run the world. Prepare yourself. And Vince Lombardi has a great quote. Okay? It's not the will to win is the will to prepare to win. So being prepared, being disciplined, maximizing the probability of success, okay, and then listening. You know the others on those two keys. And if you do that, well, chances are you.

 Arnold, when people hear the name Carnival Cruises, they think back to a lot of highly publicized negative incidents that involved some passenger deaths, maybe a fire, or some unsanitary conditions. And then you came in. And you changed things up. What do you think was the most important thing that you did to change Carnival's reputation and its image? We spent a lot of time with the media exposing them to crews, making certain that they understood all the information we had, and were being transparent. We relied on the industry association as well. And we just built a relationship with the media so things were put in proper perspective. And then we worked on what we always worked on, which is exceeding guest expectations. And as we do that, then the guests carry the day for us. I mean, since you've come in as CEO, it's almost three years now, you've pulled off a remarkable turnaround whether you look at earnings, or revenues, or cash levels, everything is up. Carnival stock is up more than 50% since you came in. Again, I mean, what was the most critical thing you did to get those kind of results? The most critical thing was simply to unleash the latent potential of the people that were there. The second thing I did was I tapped into our guests and our stakeholders. So listen, listen, listen. Listen first to the guests. They'll tell you what they want. Listen to the employees. They'll tell you how to deliver the guests what they want. And then listen to your leadership. They'll tell you what's going to have them be motivated to deliver. And you're going to be listening to your shareholders this week. You have a meeting here in New York. What are you going to be telling them about the state of Carnival right now? Our message is going to be we have a very strong performance. We grew 40%, '15 over '14. 25%, in '14 over '13. And our guidance is to grow another 20% this year, the midpoint of our guidance. So that we're having a very strong performance, and it's on the basis of our people. Growing 20% this year in earnings, and that's amazing, what's driving that growth? Where is it coming from? The growth is coming from a combination of yield improvement so ticket pricing, on-board spending, and cost containment, managing our costs well. And it's coming from various markets around the world because we're in 700 ports around the world. And let's talk about ticket prices. I'm amazed that you are raising ticket prices. You would think in this environment a lot of the travelers are holding back from taking a cruise because of worries about geopolitical terror and the Zika virus. You're raising prices. Yeah, every year there's something. So this year is Zika. Last year was MERS. A year before, it was Ebola. Every year there's something. Every year there's terrorist activity or some disruption in geopolitical issues and macroeconomic malaise. That happens every year. Our job is to deliver anyway. And so in effect, we're able to raise prices because we are already such a great vacation value relative to land-based vacations. So we have lots of room to raise and still be a better value. You have ships that travel all around the world. How are you reassuring people that it's safe and that you've got a handle on these geopolitical risks? People want to travel. They want to experience new things. Yes, these situations occur, and they may have a disruption in one part of world or another. But the reality is that, in the end, people really want to experience the world. And that's what we do. We help them experience the world and each other. Why is it that your business is growing double digits at a time when so many other American companies are struggling in this slow-growth economy? I think for part of it for the cruise industry is we are so under penetrated. If you add up all the cabins in the world, they add up to less than 2% of the hotel rooms in the world. And basically, we are already such a great value relative to the equivalent land-based vacation that we have room to move and it's still a good deal. How does the US economy look to you right now? Well, the US economy is choppy but, overall, solid compared to other economies around the world. We actually don't see a tight correlation between the economy and our results. We do in consumer confidence in our results see more of a correlation. But in terms of correlation between economies-- because, again, we're under penetrated. We're a great value. So even in times of recession in different places around the world, including the US, we can still grow. 

How Carnival Cruise Line's CEO Changed the Company's Image

Arnold. When people hear the name Carnival Cruises, they think back to a lot of highly publicized negative incidents. Setting involved some passenger deaths, maybe a fire, some unsanitary conditions. And then you came in and you change things up. What do you think was the most important thing that you did to change carnivals? Reputation in this image? We spent a lot of time with the media exposing them to cruise, making certain that they understood all the information we had. And we're being transparent, relied on the industry association as well. And we just built a relationship with the media. So things were put in proper perspective. And then we worked on what we always work. No, this is exceeding guests expectations. And as we do that, then the guest carried the day for us. Since you've come in a CEO almost three years now, you pulled pulled off a remarkable turnaround. Whether you look at earnings or revenues or cash levels, everything is up. Ah, Carnival stock is up more than 50% since you came in again. I mean, what was the most critical thing you did to get those kind of results? The most critical thing was simply tow unleashed the latent potential, the people that were there. The second thing I did was that happened. There are guests in our stakeholders, so listen, listen, listen. Listen. First to the guests, they'll tell you what they want this intended employees. They'll tell you how to deliver the guests, what they want and listen to your leadership. They'll tell you what's gonna have them be motivated to deliver. And you're going to be listening to your shareholders this week. You have AA meeting here in New York. What are you gonna be telling them about the State of carnival right now? That's gonna be We have a very strong performance. We grew 40% 15 over 14 25% 14 over 13. And our guidance is a girl, another 20% on the issue of the midpoint of our guidance so that we're having a very strong performance, and it's on the basis of our people growing 20% this year in earnings. And that's amazing. What's driving that growth? Where's it coming from? The growth is coming from a combination of yield improvement, eso ticket pricing, onboard spending and cost containment, managing our costs well, it is coming from various markets around the world because we're in 700 ports around the world. And let's talk about ticket prices. I'm amazed that you are raising ticket prices. Would think like in this environment. Ah, lot of the travelers are holding back from taking a cruise because of worries about geo political terror. And you know, the Zika virus, You're raising prices. Yeah, every year there's something. So this here is Eka. Last year was murdered a year before with Ebola. Every year there's something every year there's no terrorist activity or some disruption and geopolitical issues and macroeconomic believe that happens every year, our job to deliver anyway. And so in effect, were able to raise prices because we are ready such a great vacation value relative to lambaste vacation. So we have lots of room to raise and still be a better value. You have ships travel all around the world. How are you reassuring people that it's safe and the true? You've got a handle on the geopolitical risk? People want to travel, they want to experience new things. Yes, situations occur and they may have a disruption in one part of world or another. But the reality is that in the in the end, people really want to experience the world, and that's what we do. We help them experience the world in each other. Why is it that your business is growing double digits at a time when so many other American companies are struggling in the slow growth economy? I think part of it for the cruise industry is so under penetrated. You know, if you add up all the cabins in the world, they add up to less than 2% of the hotel rooms in the world. And basically we are already such a great value relative, the equipment, land based vacation that we have room to move and still a good deal. How does the U. S economy look to you right now? Well, the U. S economy is choppy but overall solid compared to all the economies around the world. Well, we actually don't see a tight correlation between the economy and our results. We do and consumer confidence in our results in more of a correlation. But in terms of correlation Tooni comedies, because again we're under penetrated. We're a great value. So even in times of recession, in different places around the world, including the US, we can still grow

[ MUSIC ] Many CEO's are talking about values and purpose as part of their corporate strategy. What does leading with purpose mean to you at Carnival? We don't want to, Not only want to not do harm we actually want to make the environment better. Especially marina environment. Cuz that's the place we operate the most. We're very focused on sustainability whether it's in reduction of fuel consumption, taking care of the environments we operate in, the coral reefs and so on. Whether it's reduction of waste, the reduction of water use on the ships etc. Not only because It's the right thing to do, it's also a good business thing to do. And it gives the employees purpose. And if employees are motivated, and they know that not only they are accumulating wealth for themselves and their family, but they're doing good in the world. It's a very, very powerful motivator. Some people say It's hard to do good and make money. How do you balance those two? I think it's hard to make money if you don't good over time. So, first of all, you need freedom to operate. And if you are a great corporate citizen, you will have freedom to operate. If you are not, Eventually, you will not have freedom to operate, so you will not make money. So in the short term, you might be able to make an extra dollar or two. But in the long term, doing the right thing, being a great corporate citizen of the world, making a positive difference in the communities you touch will come back to you ten- fold over on the financial side. [ SOUND ] [ BLANK_AUDIO ]

CEO Arnold Donald explains his company’s mission

Carnival Is Making a Commitment to Protect the Environment

CEO Arnold Donald explains his company’s mission.

Cuba and China are new markets for you, and I'd like to start with Cuba. You're the first cruise line that's gotten approval to take people into Cuba. And your first launch is May 1st. So how important is Cuba to you? We start selling May 1st So we're really looking to making history and sailing into Havana. We're also gonna go to San Fuego, San Santiago de Cuba, and we'll have an inaugural year so there'll be a cruise every other week there. It's a small, premium ship, the [ UNKNOWN ], 704 passengers on the ship. So a small ship Premium experience and I'm just [ UNKNOWN ] we're thrilled, we're thrilled. Is it booked? It is booked but again there may be a few cabins left so I would encourage people to look and check it out. It's just a wonderful experience to make history. What is the demand and interest for going to Cuba right now? In the US. There's pent up curiosity, a pent up desire to connect with the Cuban people and we look forward to being a small part of being a part of all that. And from the point of view of Cuba, can they handle a big cruise ship like Carnival going into Cuba? Do they have the ports and the infrastructure? Well in Havana they already take a couple of cruise ships a day from Europe and this ship is a relatively small ship, but of course we're now asking for birth for all of our other brands which have larger ships. So what are your projections financially. Looking out a year or two. What are you expecting to get out of Cuba business? Not that way, not in terms of percent of revenues, but we know we're going to have several hundred ports of call per year over time. Into Cuba over time, cuz we have ten brands and almost all of them all want to go to Cuba to have some cause there. And in that regards as a percent of our overall cause, it'll be significant in material and it'll help lift demand because of the increase, help lift yields because it increase demand China is your other new market that you're beginning to penetrate. How's it going over there? China will someday be the world's largest cruise market no question about it. In fact China has the potential to be as large as the entire cruise market in the world is today. We have six ships there. We were the first in China in 2006 with our Costa brand. We've added the Princess brand, we'll add a couple more brands in the next couple of years, but the first Purpose built ship for China, the Majestic Princess and our Princess line that'll launch in 2017. So great grow prospects for China. Are you making money in China? We are making money. In fact, our returns in China are higher than the average for our fleet. That's great. So, what will we be saying about Carnival's business in China A year, two years, three years from now. Today it represent 5 % of our capacity. Three to five years from now that are represent eight or 9 % of our capacity. [ BLANK_AUDIO ]

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