Tag Archives: Alchemy Bar

Carnival Miracle will undergo an extensive refurbishment

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Dear Travel Professional,

We’re excited to start the New Year off with some great Carnival product news for you and your clients!

Carnival Miracle will undergo an extensive refurbishment this spring that will add an array of new and exciting on-board innovations, from unique bar concepts like RedFrog Pub and Alchemy Bar to fun entertainment choices such as Playlist Productions and Hasbro, The Game Show, and the family-friendly Seuss at Sea program!

The new features – part of our ongoing Fun Ship 2.0 product enhancement initiative – will be added during a two-week-long dry dock that will take place March 7-21, 2015.

The exciting new enhancements include:

  • Red Frog Pub – our Caribbean-inspired watering hole featuring the region’s best rums and beers – including Carnival’s own ThirstyFrog Red – enjoyed in a distinct British-West-Indies-meets-Key-West atmosphere
  • Alchemy Bar – at this vintage-themed cocktail “pharmacy,” mixologists “prescribe” concoctions from different elixirs and ingredients with creative names like “Forty is the New Twenty” and “Restorative Basil Drop”
  • Playlist Productions – these four spectacular shows – 88 Keys, 80’s Pop To the Max, Getaway Island and Heart Of Soul – combine captivating live performances of recognizable pop and rock songs with dazzling special effects to create unforgettable evenings of entertainment
  • Seuss At Sea – part an exclusive partnership with Dr. Seuss Enterprises, Seuss at Sea brings the whimsical world of Dr. Seuss to life with fun activities like the Green Eggs and Ham Breakfast with the Cat in the Hat and Friends, Seuss-a-Palooza Story Time, and more
  • Hasbro, The Game Show – this audience-participation favorite features larger-than-life adaptations of the company’s iconic and popular games with titles like Connect4 Basketball, Sorry Sliders, and Yahtzee Bowling
  • Cherry On Top – this “candy and more store” celebrates the joys of simple indulgences with bins of bulk candy, fun fanciful gifts and novelties, custom apparel and more
  • New SPORTS Bar – at this sports lovers’ paradise, guests can catch live sporting events and check out scores on the real-time 24/7 sports ticker
  • Spin U – developed in partnership with legendary DJ IRIE – Carnival’s official DJ who has entertained crowds from South Beach to Las Vegas – this fun DJ academy provides aspiring spin-masters ages 15-17 all they need to know to “hit the decks” and rock the club!

These innovations complement a wide range of existing onboard features such as the Punchliner Comedy Club presented by George Lopez, a Serenity adults-only retreat with magnificent ocean vistas, a classic American-style steakhouse serving prime cuts of beef and other gourmet cuisine, a nine-hole miniature golf course, a 14,500-square-foot health and wellness center, and The Taste Bar offering bite-size samples from popular Fun Ship 2.0 dining venues.

Carnival Miracle Itineraries
Carnival Miracle operates year-round departures from Long Beach, California (perfectly placed for the LA stay before or after your Guests’ cruise) featuring three different week-long Mexican Riviera cruise options: a three-port itinerary featuring Puerto Vallarta, Mazatlan and Cabo San Lucas; a two-port option that includes a stop in Cabo San Lucas, along with a two-day overnight stay in Puerto Vallarta; and a third choice featuring a day-long visit to Puerto Vallarta, along with a two-day call at Cabo San Lucas.

Carnival Miracle will also offer 15-day Hawaii cruises round-trip from Long Beach departing Oct. 17 and Nov. 28, 2015, and Jan. 16, 2016, along with a special one-time 13-day Mexican Riviera cruise departing Jan. 31, 2016.

Erin Johnson
Marketing Director
Carnival Cruise Lines UK & Ireland
ejohnson@carnival.com

Carnival Cruise Line and EA Sports parting ways

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Carnival Cruise Line is phasing out a partnership with video game maker EA Sports that put the EA brand on a number of sports bars on Carnival ships.

The brand will no longer appear on new sports bars built as part of Funship 2.0 renovations, starting with the Carnival Miracle in March.

Carnival and EA Sports, a brand of Electronic Arts, Inc., first collaborated in 2011 when Carnival put EA Sports Bars on the Carnival Magic and Carnival Liberty. They have since been installed on other ships such as Carnival Dream and Carnival Sunshine.

The existing bars branded as EA will continue under that name, spokesman Vance Gulliksen said. “Going forward, any additional sports bars introduced on our ships will not be EA Sports branded. While we will continue to feature sports bars, which are a popular feature on our ships, over time the EA brand will be phased out,” he said.

The bar on the Carnival Miracle, named Sports Bar, will be installed during a two-week drydock in March that will include a host of Funship 2.0 features such as RedFrog Pub, Alchemy Bar, Seuss at Sea, Hasbro the Game Show, Cherry On Top and more.

The Miracle operates year-round from Long Beach, Calif.

Competition raises the bar for cruise cocktails

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By Tom Stieghorst
*InsightTastes coming to a bar on a cruise ship near you: cucumber, elderflower and ginger.

Those were some of the ingredients in drinks that made it to the finals of the ninth annual Bacardi Cruise Competition, a contest for bartenders on cruise lines and ferries.

Six finalists were chosen from among nearly 1,800 competitors, including three from Carnival Cruise Lines and two from Norwegian Cruise Line.

The winner, however, came from the lone ferry entry, Tallink Silja Line. Estonian native Liisi Kutt’s entry was the Summer Fairy, a blend of prosecco, several fruits and fruit-flavored liqueurs and geranium flowers.*TomStieghorst

The cocktail is both a wordplay on ferry and a light, ethereal drink meant to capture the evanescence of the Baltic summer. Judges for the competition liked Kutt’s inspiration for the drink and the overall mix of flavors.

Judge Julio Cabrera, winner of Bacardi USA’s Most Inspired Bartender 2013 and bartender at Regent Cocktail Club on Miami Beach, said that simplicity is also a quality he looks for.

“On cruise lines, they don’t have the range of ingredients we can find on land,” Cabrera said. Balance and creativity are two other criteria, he said.

Several cruise lines have jumped on the trend toward more creative cocktails. Celebrity Cruises has its Molecular Bar and Carnival has the Alchemy Bar, which tend to work fresh herbs, along with gels, infusions, foams and atomized sprays into their offerings.

Norwegian Cruise Line recently expanded its partnership with Gabriel Orta of Miami-based Bar Lab Cocktails.

These trendy bars can be a real addition to a cruise ship’s overall appeal. While guests from top metro areas may be able to sample molecular cocktails at home, many passengers might never encounter them except on a ship.

The Bacardi-sponsored competition is a popular one with cruise ship drink slingers. There’s a $5,000 cash prize, and the winner moves on to compete in the Bombay Sapphire Most Imaginative Bartender contest in Las Vegas this week.

Kutt is looking forward to seeing Las Vegas. Her plans for the Bacardi prize money include getting a tattoo representing her winning drink. “I don’t know where,” she said.