42
KarenDevertriedanelevator
onlytofindit packedwithfellow
passengers.“Somuchforsocialdis-
tancing!”shejokedaloud.
Asthelockdownprogressed,
theshipbecamea fixtureoncable
newsandsocialmediaaroundthe
world,livestreamedbyfrustrated,
scaredpassengersasif it werethe
TitanicoftheTikTokage.Ofthe
first 46 crewandpassengerswho
weretestedforthevirus, 21 were
positive.PresidentTrumpsuggestedtheyshouldbeprevented
fromdisembarking.Atthetimethenumberofconfirmedcases
intheU.S.wasstilllow,andTrumpimpliedthatthevessel’s
caseloadwouldmakeit lookliketheU.S.wasdoinga poorjob
ofhandlingthepandemic.“Idon’tneedtohavethenumbers
doublebecauseofoneship,”hesaid.
Butthiswasn’tCarnival’sfirstoutbreak,noritslast.In
February,anotherofitsoceanliners,theDiamondPrincess,
accountedformoreconfirmedCovid-19infectionsthanany
nationexceptforChina.Sincethennocruiseoperatorhasbeen
hitharderthanCarnival.Atleastsevenmoreofthecompany’s
shipsatseahavebecomevirushotspots,resultinginmore
than1,500positiveinfectionsandatleast 39 fatalities.Carnival
notesthat“othercruisecompanieshavebeenimpacted.”
Carnival’sshipshavebecomea floatingtestamenttothe
viciousnessofthenewcoronavirusandraisedquestions
aboutcorporatenegligenceandfleetsafety.Presidentand
ChiefExecutiveOfficerArnoldDonaldsayshiscompany’s
responsewasreasonableunderthecircumstances.“Thisis
a generationalglobalevent—it’sunprecedented,”hesays.
“Nothing’sperfect,OK?Theywillsay,‘Wow,thesethings
Carnivaldidgreat. Thesethings,20/20hindsight,they
could’vedonebetter.’”
Donaldsaysthatif hiscompanyfailedtoprepareforthe
pandemic,it failedinthesamewaythatmanynationaland
localgovernmentsfailed,andshouldbejudgedaccordingly.
“Eachshipisa mini-city,”hesays,andCarnival’sresponse
shouldn’tbecondemnedbefore“analyzingwhatNewYork
didtodealwiththecrisis,whatthevicepresident’stask
forcedid,whattheItalians,Chinese,SouthKoreans,and
Japanesedid.We’rea smallpartoftherealstory.We’rebeing
pulledalongbyit.”
IntheviewoftheCDC,however,Carnivalhelpedfuelthe
crisis.“MaybethatexcusefliesaftertheDiamondPrincess, or
maybeaftertheGrandPrincess,” saysCindyFriedman,the
experiencedepidemiologistwholeadstheCDC’scruiseship
taskforce.“Ihavea hardtimebelievingthey’rejusta victimof
happenstance.”Whileit wouldhavebeentoughtogetevery-
oneaboardtheshipsbacktotheirhomeportswithoutinfect-
ingmorepeople, Friedman says several of the plagued Carnival
ships didn’t even begin their voyages until well after the com-
pany knew it was risky to do so. She says its actions created
a “huge strain” on the country. “Nobody should be going on
cruise ships during this pandemic, full stop,” she says.Donald andhisteamsay they’re
makingeveryefforttoprotectand treat
their remaining passengers. The com-
pany has attempted to dock its fleet
until the pandemic subsides. All but
about 3,200 passengers and crew are
back on shore.
Carnival’s future is less clear.
Australian police have launched a
criminal probe into whether the com-
pany’s Princess Cruises subsidiary
misled authorities about an outbreak
aboard a ship docked in Sydney, and its Costa Cruises sub-
sidiary is facing multiple passenger lawsuits regarding its
Covid-19 response. (Princess says it’s cooperating with the
investigation, while Costa says: “We are prepared to vigor-
ously defend ourselves.”) Carnival canceled all its cruises in
mid-March, and its share price is down 75% so far this year.
Its executives speak about their next moves in militaristic
terms. They’re setting up “situation rooms,” cutting through
the “fog of war,” countering the virus on “the front lines.” Says
John Padgett, Carnival’s chief experience and innovation offi-
cer: “The cruise space is as bad as it gets. It’s Armageddon.”One side effect of an Armageddon is to render the recent
past faintly ridiculous. Last September, in Brooklyn, Padgett
boarded another docked ship to show off his company’s new
MedallionClass badges. The electronic fobs were meant to
double as cabin keys and credit cards, while also tracking
passengers’ locations as they moved around the ship. The
offering was part of a big digital overhaul to be introduced
on at least six ships in 2020. “We’re trying to eliminate guest
friction,” Padgett said.
Carnival’s business had experienced a remarkable turn-
around after Donald became CEO in 2013. Over the next
five years, the company’s market value roughly doubled, to
$51 billion. In 2017, Donald invested in building a 180,000-ton
megacruiser called the Mardi Gras, Carnival’s largest ship
ever, which cost about $1 billion and is supposed to begin
sailing in 2020 with the seas’ first onboard roller coaster.
Before the Covid-19 crisis began, the company’s nine cruise
brands employed 150,000 people.
Carnival was founded in 1972 by Ted Arison, an Israeli-
American who wanted to transform the image of the cruise
industry from stuffy ultraluxury to a middle-class splurge with
a party atmosphere. Arison’s first ship, also named Mardi Gras,
had only 300 passengers and got stuck 20 minutes after leav-
ing Miami on a sandbar where it remained for 28 hours. In the
1980s and ’90s, Arison’s son Micky bought up a string of com-
petitors, took the company public, and made his family one of
the wealthiest in America. By the turn of the century, Carnival
owned 36% of the North American market. Micky Arison bought
the Miami Heat and became friendly with Donald Trump.
(Carnival sponsored The Apprentice more than once.)
After the Great Recession crippled the cruise business,
Arison began to look like a less capable steward. In 2012, PREVIOUS SPREAD: RUTH PETERKIN/SHUTTERSTOCK. DONALD: RICK WILKING/REUTERS“Nothing’s perfect, O K?”
Donald