Premier Custom Travel Official Statement on Recent News Headlines

Earlier today, a nationally-broadcast television morning show aired a report on the cruise industry that was misleading, irresponsible, and completely unbalanced in its perspective. At Premier Custom Travel, we believe that facts matter more than website clicks or number of viewers. Here are the true, undistorted facts in regards to the story told by the media.

Here is the “headline” of the story – “CARNIVAL CANCELS SAILINGS UNTIL 2021, SELLS SHIPS.” While technically this is all true, it is incredibly misleading and incomplete. Headlines should tease the full story, not contradict the actual facts.

First and foremost, let’s clear up who “Carnival” is. There is Carnival Cruise Line, the brand, which has 25 ships in its fleet presently or being built. Then there’s Carnival Corporation & plc, which is the parent company of the cruise line. Carnival Corp. owns nine brands including Carnival (the brand), Princess Cruises, Holland America Line, Cunard, and several more. In total they have around 100 ships.

A quick glance at the headline above would lead any rational person to assume that Carnival has canceled all their sailings until 2021. Note that they even have the Carnival Cruise Line (not corporation) logo to the left. Imagine having a cruise booked for Christmas 2020 and seeing this headline. You’d wonder why you hadn’t received word of your cancellation. You might wonder if your travel agent isn’t being responsive or sending you timely updates. In short, you’d be angry. But the complete truth tells a different story.

Let’s start with the cancellations. As of today, Thursday, September 17, 2020 at 11:28am, Carnival Cruise Line has canceled cruises on only 4 ships into 2021, all of which are headed to dry dock for upgrades/improvements prior to returning to service. Beyond those four ships, the rest of the Carnival Cruise Line fleet is only on pause through October 31, 2020. Could that date change? Certainly, but as of this writing, it is correct. The word “some” between cancels and sailings would make the headline much more accurate, but it’s not quite as dramatic, is it?

“Sells ships” is also misleading. One could easily mistake that phrase to mean that Carnival sold all their ships, which is certainly not the case. Some media outlets are reporting that Carnival Cruise Line is selling 18 ships, which is also inaccurate. Carnival Corporation is selling 18 ships, but not 18 from any one brand in its portfolio. Keep in mind that they have nine brands and ships age. It is normal to sell older ships, although COVID-19 has certainly accelerated the process to some degree. But combine the two ledes of the headline above and it paints a very misleading story.

Beyond the headline, the full report is questionable in its journalistic integrity. There is not a single on-camera interview with anyone even indirectly related to the actual cruise industry. No representatives from CLIA – Cruise Lines International Association, not a single spokesman for Carnival Cruise Line or Carnival Corporation & plc, not even a travel agent who specializes in cruises. Instead, the only person interviewed is someone from “The Points Guy” website. What are his qualifications to speak about this story? I (Chris Grum, the author of this blog) carry several industry certifications, including the highest available for cruise expertise. Does the “expert” in this story? I doubt it. Why did GOOD MORNING AMERICA choose to not include the other side of the story or a rep from the actual industry? One can only assume two scenarios – they were either in too much of a rush to complete the story, or they simply didn’t care. Perhaps a little of both.

While I wish this was the only example of lax journalism involving the cruise industry, it is more the rule than the exception. You’ll frequently see the media call the Norovirus the “cruise ship disease” despite the fact that you are much more likely to catch it on land. But if a ship has a single person get sick, the media is all over it. Do you hear the same reporting when someone falls ill on an airplane or at a hotel? From time to time, you’ll see a media report of someone “falling off” a ship. While each of these cases is terribly sad, it is virtually impossible to accidentally fall overboard. Yet that part of the story is never told, nor are the many great stories about ships rescuing stranded boaters or refugees, or quite frankly any other positive news from the industry.

During my over two decades in the media, I was taught to verify facts, get more than one source, and tell the full story. It’s okay to “tease” a headline, but you’d better deliver the goods. Today, a large number of headlines are misleading at best and fraudulent at worst. The writers and presenters don’t care about facts, they care about clicks and ratings. Premier Custom Travel has, from the beginning, endeavored to present the facts and truth with integrity. As the owner, I would rather have a low website visitor total and have them trust what they find rather than a large click count based on deception.

Unfortunately, ABC News isn’t the only source of misinformation when it comes to my industry. There are several well-known websites that specialize in cruise news and information, often publishing misleading or completely false information. One is forum-based and the general public is the biggest contributor, so mistakes and errors will happen. This is at least somewhat understandable. But other websites advertise themselves as “cruise” news outlets, yet they frequently report inaccuracies or blatant lies as complete facts.

Cruises will be back. Carnival Cruise Line will be back. Some sail dates will be canceled, some ships sold. It happens. When it does, Premier Custom Travel will accurately report these changes/cancellations as we have done since March. You can see the facts on our COVID-19 Changes and Cancellations page.

If you take anything away from this article, please let it be this: Be careful who you trust for information. Before you accept it as fact or share it with your friends and family, verify. Is this story being told by more than one source? Who is the source? Are they trustworthy? Anyone can post “facts” on a message board. It doesn’t make it true.

Imagine if you owned a business. Now imagine if someone was spreading misinformation about your business in an already precarious world. Then imagine seeing your friends and family sharing that information as fact, further damaging your company and industry’s reputation.

I don’t need to imagine it — because it is happening. And the sad part is it is completely preventable.

Will you be a part of the solution?