Make no mistake: Carnival Cruise Line’s returning WUATA (Why Use a Travel Advisor) program is a whole lot bigger than last year. In fact, in 2020, there will be WUATA Parties in 100 cities, up from just four events in 2019. The brand’s goal is to draw 25 times more consumers than the last series to educate them on the importance of using professional travel services when booking a Carnival vacation.
Each complimentary WUATA Party — which will be hosted by a region’s business development manager at a local movie theater from 9:30 to 11 a.m. — will include industry insights, product updates, activities, classic movie snacks and prize giveaways.
We spoke with Adolfo Perez, senior vice president of global sales and trade marketing for Carnival to learn more.
How is WUATA different for 2020?
“100 Reasons WUATA” is a yearlong campaign that will include monthly initiatives such as giveaways, events, rewards and more to help support our trade channel. The program builds on last year’s campaign, which had four marquee WUATA Parties.
WUATA parties will now feature a military recognition component, as military members and veterans are important to Carnival.
Credit: 2020 Carnival Cruise LineOur way of supporting agents and getting the value message out to consumers is increasing the parties to 100 cities in North America and the Caribbean. This way, we can truly canvas the nation and give many more advisors and clients the opportunity to attend the great events.
We’ve also added a military recognition component to each party, which will include recognition and a gift from Carnival. The military is special to Carnival, so we work hard to find ways to truly thank them for their sacrifice.
What kind of event presence will Carnival have in the Western U.S.?
As you know, California and the Western states are a big focus for Carnival. We are the only cruise line to have three year-round ships in the region, including the new Carnival Panorama in Long Beach, Calif. Not to mention, we’ve upped our expansion on the West Coast to offer cruises from San Diego and San Francisco.
We’re committed to the West, and our investments there prove that. We currently have seven events scheduled for California, and we’re not finished yet.
Which of those events will you attend?
This year, I will be attending four events: Atlanta, New Orleans, Chicago and Houston — maybe more. We’ll see what my schedule allows.
How has reception for Panorama been?
As we expected, putting our newest ship in Long Beach was the right decision. We’ve had a great response to Panorama from both sales and guest satisfaction. It’s a great ship with some great new venues for our guests to enjoy.
According to Perez, the new Panorama ship has been received well by guests.
Credit: 2020 Carnival Cruise LineIs capacity filling as expected?
Panorama has been performing very well since we opened the ship for sale.
How will this all play into the launch of Carnival Mardi Gras later this year?
We have a lot more initiatives to announce over the rest of this year — stay tuned.
The Details
Carnival Cruise Line
www.carnival.com
WUATA
wuata.com
