Carnival Cruise Line Ranked By BrandIndex As Number One Improver Among All U.S. Brands Over The Past Year

Rankings Assess Consumer Perceptions of U.S. Brands In Wide Range of Categories

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Jan 15, 2015, 11:03 ET

MIAMI, Jan. 15, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Carnival Cruise Line has been ranked as the most improved U.S. brand in consumer perception for the past year in YouGov's BrandIndex Buzz Rankings Report, which evaluates consumer perceptions of companies across multiple categories.

BrandIndex's rankings noted that Carnival's change in consumer perception score for the full year 2014 was nearly double the improvement level achieved by the company ranked second on the most improved list.

Carnival's brand recovery has been supported by a number of new onboard family and entertainment programs and groundbreaking consumer initiatives. These include:

Carnival LIVE — The introduction of this highly successful live concert program in 2014 featured shipboard concerts by Jennifer Hudson, Daughtry, Lady Antebellum and others. This first-of-its-kind concert series continues in 2015 with a diverse roster of popular music artists, including Journey, Little Big Town and Rascal Flatts.
Seuss at Sea — First introduced this past year and scheduled to be rolled out fleetwide by the end of 2015, this exclusive partnership with Dr. Seuss Enterprises brings the beloved brand and characters to Carnival ships while offering a variety of exciting and immersive family experiences.
Shore Excursion Best Price Guarantee — The only guarantee of its kind in the cruise industry, the program provides guests who find a lower price on a shore excursion offered by another operator either before or during their cruise with a refund equal to 110 percent of the difference, provided in the form of an onboard credit.
Great Vacation Guarantee — Renewed for 2015, the Great Vacation Guarantee is a unique, hassle-free program that provides a 110 percent refund, complimentary transportation home and a $100 shipboard credit for a future cruise if guests are dissatisfied with their cruise for any reason and notify shipboard personnel within 24 hours of departure.
Camp Ocean — Introduced in 2014, Camp Ocean features more than 200 fun, engaging and educational experiences in this new marine-themed program which immerses children ages 2 to 11 in the wonders of the oceans and features colorful, undersea-themed play spaces.

"Over the past year, we've launched several industry-first innovations that have been very well received by our guests and provided an exceptional and enjoyable vacation experience for more than four million consumers," said Jim Berra, chief marketing officer for Carnival Cruise Line. "Our 2014 performance in the BrandIndex Buzz Rankings Report is an encouraging indicator of our continued growth as a high quality, fun, reliable vacation brand."

About BrandIndex
BrandIndex continuously measures consumers' perceptions of thousands of brands across dozens of business sectors based on the results of more than 2.5 million consumer interviews it conducts each year. The firm bases its buzz measurement on whether people have heard positive or negative things about a brand by word of mouth from friends or relatives, or in the media.

About Carnival Cruise Line
Carnival, a unit of Carnival Corporation & plc (NYSE/LSE: CCL; NYSE: CUK), is "The World's Most Popular Cruise Line®" with 24 ships operating three- to 16-day voyages to The Bahamas, Caribbean, Mexican Riviera, Alaska, Hawaii, Canada, New England, Bermuda, Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands. The company currently has two new 133,500-ton ships on order -- Carnival Vista, set to debut in 2016, and an as-yet-unnamed vessel scheduled to enter service in 2018.

SOURCE Carnival Cruise Line