I. Strategic Recommendations A. Pause Strategy (CI#1, 2, 3): Carnival Corp has been known for health and safety records, a key component in consumer decision-making in the cruise industry. In order to begin improvements, a pause strategy needs to be utilized to allow the company to take a step back from aggressive growth and focus more towards consumer necessities. Many complaints stem from issues like sanitization of rooms, quality of food, and ship malfunctions. Keying in on ship maintenance, restoration, and efficiency will significantly decrease the chance of malfunctions. While implementing more stringent and attentive guidelines towards guest amenities and conditions of food storage/quality to help increase consumer appeal.

Pros * Allows focus towards proactive improvement of overall health and safety environment * Opportunity to address customer complaints with effectiveness * Better consumer reports from changes * Proliferation of trust and support from consumers * Reduction of direct costs from efficiency of improvements/upgrades

Cons * Overall growth will be put on hold * Hard to estimate overall initial costs of improvements * Costs associated with implementation process * Strategy is temporary; Follow-up plan must be ready

B. Marketing Strategy (CI#1, 2): Carnival Corporation & PLC is a global cruise company, consisting of some of the industries most recognized brands. In order to reach the different consumer demographics and utilize their nine different cruise lines, Carnival Corp would benefit from an incentivized marketing strategy. A plan that would be based off a reward system, where customers would be given points by submitting their cruise experiences and referrals from others. By keeping a larger and easier(therefore cheaper) to obtain prize set, customers are more likely to participate. This would make meeting customer complaints and demands faster and much more consistent. The results would increase customer satisfaction and subsequent awareness.

Pros * Implementation process would be fairly simple * Costs would be lower than other methods of advertisement * Consistency of addressing customers allows greater awareness * Direct approach allows transparency of any issues/complaints
Cons
* Reward program may not take effect with customers * Must be diligent in accurately addressing responses, causing little room for error * Chances of error are increased due to the scope of application

C. Research & Development Strategy (CI#2): With global trends for ‘going green’ becoming more and more prevalent, Carnival Corp is at viable point in time to capitalize on the advantages of an applied R&D strategy. Using a plan that makes ships more environmentally friendly and energy efficient will improve on public image and operating costs. Incorporating alternative energy methods, such as solar panels and wind turbines, would allow ships to help mitigate power costs without constant supervision or interaction. This would eliminate any associated costs of operation outside of the initial execution. Any reductions of costs would be able to be redirected towards other areas of need.

Pros * Positive image associated with sustainability and energy efficiency initiatives * Modern technology for alternative energy is more readily available * Cost reduction from energy efficiency

Cons * Efficiency as a whole may not outweigh costs to execute * Compliance with regulations may hinder some application * Cost of maintenance may be costly and hard to predict

II. Recommendation: Pause Strategy followed by a Marketing Strategy
A pause strategy is the best initial course of action for Carnival Corporation to improve on its health standards, overall safety and public relations. This allows the corporation to consolidate its resources to take more precise action towards its critical issues. Taking a pause strategy approach the corporation can put its growth strategy on temporary hold, keying in on improving ship infrastructure and implementing better safety features. Carnival can begin by issuing more frequent maintenance and upkeep of ships, improving the diligence of sanitization of surfaces, and executing better care and handling of perishables. This strategy gives Carnival Corporation the opportunity to show progressive action towards improving overall customer health and safety. Carnival can then utilize this to apply a marketing strategy showcasing its efforts to continually keep customer wellbeing at its forefront.