"The Fun Ships"- that is exactly what the Carnival ships are. More affordable cruises, lots of neon lights, not that much elegance and formal atmosphere. Carnival is catering towards younger passengers and the main objective aboard the vessels is party, party and party again. Carnival Cruise Lines is now one of eleven cruise ship brands owned and operated by Carnival Corporation & PLC. The company has the largest fleet in the group, with 24 vessels currently in operation. The other brands include Princess Cruises, P&O UK, P&O Australia, Cunard Line, Holland America Line, Seabourn Cruises, Costa Crociere, Aida Cruises, Ibero Cruises and others. Carnival Cruise Line started in 1972 when Ted Arison bought one ship, the "Mardi Gras", for $1, and assumed its debt. At the time, Bob Dickinson worked for Carnival's parent company, American International Travel Service of Boston. In 1973, after Carnival had lost $8 million in six months, Dickinson was sent to Miami to "unload the turkey," as he recalls, noting he had never even seen a cruise ship at that point. Instead, he studied the company's problems and figured they could be fixed. Carnival Cruise Lines employs at the moment about 3,500 people on shore - the majority at corporate headquarters in Miami - and offers over 35,000 jobs on its cruise ships.
What can employees expect from Carnival? Slightly lower salaries and somewhat lower standards when selecting candidates comparing to most of the other major cruise lines. Carnival crew members are like their clientele, they like to party and most of them believe that the more "loose" atmosphere and the presence of younger passengers makes up for the slightly lower salaries.