Costa Cruise SWOT Analysis, Competitors & USP

Carnival Corporation & Plc

Cruise ship holiday and vacation

Tourism and Hospitality

Cruising Italian Style

Part of Carnival Corporation & Plc, world’s leading cruise ship operator

Vacation goers, casual tourists

The elite class who like to travel in luxury

Best of Italian hospitality, cuisine and entertainment around the world

Below is the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities & Threats (SWOT) Analysis of Costa Cruise. Strengths are:

1. Being part of such a large company it has significant cost advantage over its competitors
2. Known for tons of entertainment onboard the cruise ship, christened “Fun Ships”
3. Global presence with 25 ships with more to be inducted
4. Over 250+ different destinations worldwide and 60 embarkation ports

5. Operations in Mediterranean, Northern Europe, Caribbean, Central America, South America, Indian Ocean, Far East and Africa as well as Grand Cruises and Around the World cruises, that allow guests to visit different continents in a single holiday

6. Very high customer satisfaction, majority of the passengers served were satisfied

7. Excellent brand presence and marketing due to strong parent brand

Here are the weaknesses in the Costa Cruise SWOT Analysis:

1. Cases of accidents in the past have affected the brand image
2. Intense competition and very less service differentiation as compared to all cruise liners

Following are the Opportunities in Costa Cruise SWOT Analysis:

1. Expansion from Cruise line to Luxury Liners, which will give higher margins as well as elite customers 
2. Addition of more ships will help the company to address the rising demand for cruise services across the world
3. Merge with other smaller players to increase number of ships and capture higher market share

4. Very low market penetration in Asia of cruise liners and growing demand for luxurious vacations especially in China

The threats in the SWOT Analysis of Costa Cruise are as mentioned:

1. Carnival Corporation the parent company of Costa Cruise has been allegedly taking advantage of tax loophole which has enabled it to avoid paying US corporation taxes till now, new tax regulations could change that
2. Increasing awareness about environment and newer environmental regulations could eat into company’s profits
3. Accidents can affect the brand image and business

Below are the top 3 Costa Cruise competitors:

1. Royal Caribbean Cruise line 
2. Star Cruise Line
3. MSC Cruise