Cruise line celebrates Facebook milestone

Carnival Cruise Line is boasting that it has -¬---achieved a historic social media milestone-¬~ by becoming the first cruise line to reach one million fans on its Facebook page.

-¬---The unprecedented achievement underscores the site-¬™s tremendous popularity, as well as the company-¬™s commitment to utilising Facebook as a fan engagement tool, with nearly 300,000 fans liking Carnival over the past two months alone,-¬~ it said in a statement.

Carnival claimed it was among the first cruise lines to recognise the power of social media when it launched its Facebook fan page in 2007.

Since then, the company has continually updated and enhanced the site.

-¬---Facebook is so much more than just a social media tool to share company news and information. It is a terrific way to engage our fans with us and with each other in fun, entertaining and interactive ways that capture the essence and spirit of the Carnival brand,-¬~ said Jim Berra, Carnival-¬™s chief marketing officer .

-¬---Facebook also played a key role in the May 1 introduction of the new Carnival Magic, culminating in an innovative day-long social media event that chronicled the ship-¬™s launch and naming through a series of 11 videos, providing viewers with a front-row seat to the festivities,-¬~ the cruise line says.

The page is also a venue for promotions and contests such as the current Fun-A-Thon sweepstakes awarding 24 prizes in 24 hours, including a free Carnival Magic cruise.

Also featured are interactive weekly polls, exclusive videos, and links to the line-¬™s popular YouTube, Twitter and Flickr pages and more.

By David Wilkening, TravelMole US.