Carnival Updates Guests with "Improvement" Plans

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In a letter from CEO Gerry Cahill, Carnival tries to restore guests' confidence in the brand after several technical and other issues on ships during the past few months. In addition to this letter, Carnival has posted a video on YouTube and created a News and Updates page on Facebook.

Carnival Letter to Guests
In some respects, the letter is a confusing mess. Although the $300 million is more clearly explained in the video, this letter makes it sound as though Carnival is buying hotels: "$300 million to expand the availability of hotel services." Cudos to having some of the main point upfront ("Our goal is to drive continual improvement across all aspects of our customer experience"), but isn't much of the main point at the end, where Cahill thanks guests for their loyalty?

Also, the letter seems overly jargony for typical Carnival guests. The company just wants them to book another cruise, right? The encouragement could be clearer and more direct.

Discussion and Assignment Ideas:

  • Compare Carnival's guest letter, video, and Facebook page. What differences do you see, and how do you account for them; for example, what are the audiences for each?
  • Rewrite the Carnival letter. How can you improve the content, organization, and tone?