Tag Archives: Carnival Cruise Lines

Carnival creates boutique cruises that include a ‘Throwback Seaday’

Posted on by
Reply

T0309CARNIVALJOURNEYS.JPG

Carnival Cruise Lines is redoubling its push for more interesting itineraries, creating a new cruise collection that has novel onboard features in addition to longer voyages.

Called “Carnival Journeys,” the cruises will feature more local food and entertainment options, fun “Carnival style” enrichment classes, more crew interaction and a “Throwback Seaday” in which the clock will be turned back to 1987.

“We want to create something really different in terms of the experience,” said Terry Thornton, senior vice president of itinerary planning.

So far, 26 cruises have been designated Carnival Journeys. They are all longer than the typical Carnival cruise and include some smaller, less visited ports. Thornton cited Bonaire; Martinique; Grenada; Dominica; and Ixtapa, Mexico, as examples. Cruises will run between 9 and 15 days.

Well under 1% of Carnival cruises will be in the program. Part of the idea is to give experienced cruisers and Carnival’s past guests something new to aspire to. “This will be a natural for people who have cruised before to come back to cruising and find something original and unique,” Thornton said.

For travel agents, Carnival Journeys offer the prospect of higher commissions than are typical for Carnival.

There are five components to the new onboard program. In “Authentic Eats,” Carnival will partner with local restaurants in ports of call to do onboard cooking demonstrations. There will be excursions to the restaurants and market tours with the chef.

“Local-tainment” will feature local bands either on or off the ship; “Academy of Fun,” will offer enrichment, but in a non-stuffy, entertaining way; and a “Throwback Seaday” will bring back the Baked Alaska dessert, the midnight buffet and white gloves on officers, as Carnival featured in 1987.

The fifth component is a heightened opportunity for interaction with the staff at all levels, and more chances to learn about shipboard life.

The first Carnival Journeys cruise is scheduled for Oct. 4 from New Orleans.
___

Correction: The first Carnival Journeys cruise will depart New Orleans, not Galveston as previously reported.

Freedom’s Arrival In Galveston Marked With $100,000 Donation

Posted on by
Reply

Carnival Cruise Line marked the arrival of Carnival Freedom at its new year-round home port of Galveston, Texas on Saturday, Feb. 14, with a celebration honoring U.S. military personnel and their families.

In partnership with Operation Homefront service members and their families were treated to an overnight event featuring a variety of daytime activities, including a Carnival LIVE performance by music superstar Martina McBride, along with dinner and a full evening of entertainment, all compliments of Carnival.

Prior to McBride’s concert, Carnival presented a check in the amount of $100,000 to Operation Homefront.

“We’re excited to kick off Carnival Freedom’s year-round deployment from Galveston with a donation to an organization that touches so many lives and a special event for the brave men and women who serve our country,” said Christine Duffy, president of Carnival Cruise Line. “Martina McBride put on a fantastic show and we were thrilled to honor these deserving military families and provide them with an incredible day and night to remember.”

Carnival Freedom kicked off year-round departures from Galveston yesterday with a special six-day voyage to Mexico and will launch four- to seven-day cruises calling at ports throughout Mexico, the Caribbean, Bahamas and Florida beginning Feb. 21.  Carnival Freedom joins Carnival Triumph and Carnival Magic in Galveston. Together these three ships will carry more than 600,000 passengers annually from Texas — more than any other cruise line.

“Performing for these military families was an incredible honor. And everyone really enjoyed the outdoor setting on the ship’s deck,” said McBride. “I hope that everyone who was there had a special Valentine’s Day experience; I’m so glad I was asked to be part of it.”

“We’re thrilled Carnival Cruise Line honored these service members and their families by providing a truly memorable day and evening of onboard fun and exciting activities,” said Tim Farrell, chief operating officer for Operation Homefront.  “In that spirit, we’re also grateful for Carnival Cruise Line’s generous gift of $100,000, which will help military families here in Texas and throughout the country.”

New cruise port at Dominican Republic’s Amber Cove to open in October

Posted on by
1

T0223AMBERCOVEAERIAL_HR.JPG
An aerial view of Amber Cove.

Cruise passengers will have a new stop in the Caribbean in October when ships pull into Amber Cove port in the Dominican Republic.

The new port facility is expected to revive interest in the north coast of the Dominican Republic, which hasn’t been a regular cruise stop since the 1980s, Carnival Corp. announced Wednesday.

Amber Cove adds more cruising cachet to the Caribbean, already the world’s largest cruising market. It accounts for more than a third of the cruise business globally.

The Carnival Victory will be the first ship to visit the $85-million port on Oct. 6. Other lines in the Carnival family — Carnival, Costa, Cunard, Holland America, German line AIDA and British-based P&O Cruises — will follow suit later this year and in 2016.

Carnival Corp. was a partner in developing the new port facility. Ships (it was built to accommodate super-sized cruise ships) are expected to bring more than 250,000 cruise passengers to Amber Cove in its first year of operation, the announcement says.

The port is near the city of Puerto Plata (it made Travel + Leisure’s Best Places to Travel in 2015 list) where there’s an Amber Museum that displays insects and flowers trapped in the ancient resin and a marine park called Ocean World.

The new stop allows Carnival brands to offer more than 40 new shore excursions — including beaches, water sports, culinary and cultural tours — as well as new itineraries in the central Caribbean.

Thirteen ships across six Carnival brands are expected to make 57 port calls between October and April 2016.

Upcoming visits include Cunard’s Queen Mary 2 on Nov. 22, the Costa Deliziosa on Dec. 31 and Holland America’s ms Eurodam on Jan. 19.