Carnival Announces Queen Latifah as Godmother to New Carnival Horizon

Posted on 2 March, 2018 by Spacejunkie2

PHOTO: Queen Latifah will be the godmother to Carnival Cruise Line’s Carnival Horizon. (photo courtesy of Carnival Cruise Line)Carnival Cruise Line just revealed its latest in a lineup of traditional ship godmothers—Queen Latifah. She will serve the honorary role for the company’s upcoming new Carnival Horizon when she officially names and christens the vessel in New York City on May 23, 2018.

”With her fun-loving spirit and positive, can-do attitude, Queen Latifah embodies our brand and knows how to ‘Choose Fun’ in everything she does,” said Christine Duffy, president of Carnival Cruise Line, in a press release.

“Knowing that she is a long-time supporter of St. Jude and has performed and won ‘Lip Sync Battle’ made her the ideal candidate to serve as godmother to our newest ship.”

Queen Latifah is a multifaceted dynamo as a Grammy award-winning musical artist, television and film actress, label president, author, entrepreneur and now godmother. The announcement follows Carnival bringing on a similarly energetic personality in Shaquille O’Neal as its “CFO,” or Chief Fun Officer.

”Carnival is an iconic American brand and it’s an honour to be named godmother of Carnival Horizon and take part in the event on May 23, honouring the special children of St. Jude – a cause that is very near and dear to my heart,” said Latifah, in the release.

The New York City naming ceremony will bestow a check to partner St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital with funds raised during onboard and shoreside activities and events prior to the party. As previously revealed, artwork from over 30 St. Jude patients will be displayed on the ship’s triple-decker “Dreamscape” atrium LED sculpture.

The invitation-only overnight gala on May 23 will also consist of a special “Lip Sync Battle: Horizon” showcase reproducing the popular Paramount Network television series.

Latifah can currently be seen in the cast of the FOX series “STAR.” Her accolades include an Oscar nomination, a Golden Globe nomination and a SAG Award nomination for portraying Mama Morton in “Chicago.” She also got an Emmy nomination, a Golden Globe win and SAG Award win for performing in “Life Support” and “Bessie.”

Additionally, she is the first hip-hop artist to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and she has six Grammy nominations and a Grammy Award for Best Solo Rap Performance to her name. Her Flavor Unit Entertainment production company produces television shows and films.

Latifah joins a list of high-profile Carnival godmothers that include Marcia Gay Harden, Kathy Ireland, Mira Sorvino, Katie Couric and Judi Dench.

After the christening, Carnival Horizon will commence a summer season from New York until September when the ship will transfer to year-round Caribbean voyages from Miami.

The Horizon will be similar to sister-ship Carnival Vista with favourite features such as the SkyRide and IMAX Theatre along for the ride, but it will introduce a number of new ones as well. Fresh onboard will be Guy’s Pig & Anchor Bar-B-Que Smokehouse|Brewhouse with fare from Food Network star Guy Fieri as well as a Dr Seuss-themed water park in collaboration with Dr. Seuss Enterprises.

Guests will be catered to in accommodations encompassing Cloud 9 Spa cabins with pampering perks, extra spacious Family Harbor staterooms and tropical-themed Havana cabins and suites with private daytime access to a Cuban-inspired bar and pool.

Carnival Corp. demonstrates Medallion’s bandwidth potential

Posted on 28 February, 2018 by Spacejunkie2

Image result for carnival medallion technology

Carnival Corp. staged a live teleconference from the decks of the Regal Princess, demonstrating the new Medallion technology’s bandwidth and connectivity.

The ship is the first to implement Medallion, part of which is a faster and more reliable internet connection.

During the demonstration in the Bahamas, Carnival attempted to harness 1.5 gigabytes per second of bandwidth to show that connectivity is a rapidly fading concern on ships. Carnival showed that games and video streaming ran adequately on the Medallion internet.

John Padgett, Carnival’s chief experience and innovation officer, presided over the demonstration and said that the largest bandwidth reported to date by a cruise ship had been 580 megabytes per second.

Unlike homes, cell phones or most hospitality venues, cruise ships at sea are out of touch with the usual transmission networks for Internet signals and must rely on satellites. Until recently that service has suffered from slowness, unreliability and expense.

“There’s always been a liability associated with cruising and that has been connectivity,” Padgett said.

He said he hoped the stress test would prove that cruise ships now have the same technical capacity as land resorts for connectivity.

“Once we dispel the myth that connectivity is a problem, we’ll open up the cruise market to new demand,” Padgett said.

To gain better connectivity, Carnival has partnered with SES Networks, which has an array of high and mid-earth orbit satellites, which can shorten the time that signals travel back and forth in the atmosphere, improving connectivity.

Steve Collar, CEO of SES Networks, said on the conference call that the quality of Internet service is affected by the distance to the satellite and by the amount of bandwidth devoted to the transmission.

He compared earlier service on cruise ships to a four-lane highway, and said the bandwidth in the demonstration is more like a 50 or 100 lane highway. The precise amount of bandwidth in use during the call will be subject to later verification.

“Now it’s about making that bandwidth affordable, and seamless and efficient,” Collar said.

Padgett said the super-fast Internet for now is available only on the Regal Princess and he declined to give a timetable for its implementation on other Princess or Carnival Corp. ships. But he said there’s been much progress in making the Internet service faster and more reliable.

“All of our ships have connectivity, and we’ve made a dramatic improvement across the fleet over the past few years,” Padgett said.

Carnival to sail Miami cruises to Havana

Posted on 28 February, 2018 by Spacejunkie2

Carnival Sensation

Carnival Cruise Line will add Havana as a regular destination for a second ship in 2019, as the Carnival Sensation will sail Cuba-bound voyages from Miami.

The Carnival Paradise, sailing from Tampa, currently operates cruises that visit Havana.

In 2019, the Sensation will sail a series of 17 five-day cruises. The first voyage to feature Havana will depart April 22, 2019, and include Havana, Nassau and Princess Cays.