Tag Archives: Carnival Cruise Lines

Carnival Cruise Line to return to Europe

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Carnival Cruise Line will make a return to Europe in 2016 when it launches new ship Carnival Vista.

The news comes after the line announced in May 2013 that it would have no ships sailing in Europe during 2014 and 2015, citing increasing airfares as the reason behind the decision.

New itineraries for summer 2016 on Carnival Vista include Athens, Barcelona, Dubrovnik, Izmir, Corfu, Livorno, Marseille, Messina (Sicily), Naples, Rome, Trieste and Valetta.

The ship will have its first European sailing on May 1 and will then have 18 sailings in Europe before moving on to New York in October. The ship’s official homeport has yet to be revealed.

The ship will have the first IMAX cinema at sea, as well as new dining options, more alfresco dining and the biggest Waterworks of any Carnival ship. The ship will also have a new Havana pool at the back of the ship, with Havana cabana staterooms available to book.

Mark Tamis (pictured), senior vice president of guest operations, said: “I really feel and we do [at Carnival] that this is the greatest ship to date and certainly the best ship to come from Carnival Cruise Line.

“This is about building on past success. This is built of the success of Carnival Breeze and what is rolling out across the whole Carnival fleet.

“We set out to make this our most innovative ship to date. This is about creating connects and a connection to the sea. This ship, like no other ship, brings that all together.“

When the line announced it was pulling away from Europe in last year, the company said it didn’t believe Americans, who make up the vast majority of its passengers, would pay increased airfares to cross the Atlantic.

In May last year, agents were praised for switch-selling customers to book a Caribbean cruise with Carnival rather than a European one.

During a VIP agent trip on Carnival Breeze last year, Lynn Torrent, executive vice-president os sales and guest services, said the line’s bosses were watching the moves being made by other international brands. She said Carnival was sitting back and seeing what other lines were doing in the UK market before making a decision.

Seuss proving a coup for Carnival

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With the addition of Dr. Seuss characters and the makeover of Camp Carnival into Camp Ocean on some of its ships, Carnival Cruise Line has more appeal than ever to the family cruise segment.

The changes, announced a year ago, bring an instantly recognizable name to Carnival’s kids offerings.

“For Dr. Seuss, as soon as you mention Cat in the Hat, they already know who it is,” said Ana Klacinski, youth director on the Carnival Freedom.

It’s a step up for Carnival, which competes at sea with characters from Nickelodeon (Norwegian Cruise Line), DreamWorks (Royal Caribbean International) and, of course, Disney on Disney Cruise Line.

Now Carnival offers a kids parade through the Freedom once each cruise, led by characters from “The Cat in the Hat,” as well as a Green Eggs and Ham breakfast featuring Sam I Am.

At the same time, Carnival has significantly improved the kids facilities on the Freedom and other ships. Seuss is now playing on 10 of Carnival’s 24 ships, and Camp Ocean has been installed on the Freedom, Breeze, Magic and Triumph.

The big change is to give each age group its own themed space to play in, from Penguins (ages 2 to 5) to Stingrays (6 to 8) to Sharks (9 to 11). Klacinski said kids are excited to see the play space has lost its day-care vibe.

“They have a name, but not only that, they have their own space that they don’t have to share with anybody,” she said. “And they love it.”

The Freedom also received a Dr. Seuss Bookville area adjacent to Camp Ocean. It provides space for unscheduled time that children and parents can play together and an introduction to Seuss books guests may not know.

Part of the magic of the Seuss parade is its mystery, Klacinski said. It begins with an announcement that Seuss characters are onboard and an invitation to gather in a lounge 15 minutes before the parade. No one knows quite what for. When the time is ripe, a chant begins: “Dr. Seuss is on the loose!”


One by one, the characters are introduced and then the parade begins, through the ship, with kids banging noisemakers and keeping the chant going until arrival at the ship’s main theater, where they’re invited on stage for a group reading of “The Cat in the Hat” while parents watch.

“It’s like a good, family-friendly event and comedy show at the same time,” Klacinski said.

The Green Eggs and Ham breakfast, held later in the cruise, attracted about 50 kids and parents on the cruise I was on. Food, including mint-green scrambled eggs, is served by wait staff attired as Thing One and Thing Two from “The Cat in the Hat,” and Sam I Am appears to greet and hug kids.

Chuck Soukop, a passenger from Punta Gorda, Fla., said he was delighted with the upgrades to Freedom’s kids programming. “It’s nice to have something for the kids to do that isn’t as expensive as Disney [Cruise Line],” he said.

Carnival Vista launch event, January 22nd, 2015

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Carnival Vista launch event

News on the Carnival Vista has remained rather elusive since we first heard details of its existence, but all that is about to change. This is because we were recently contacted about the Carnival Vista launch event, which should help to paint a clearer picture of what to expect.

The date for the Carnival Vista launch event will take place on January 22nd, 2015. However, we believe that there are to be two events, one will be in New York, with the other being in London.

We will be heading to London on the evening of Jan. 22nd for a special dinner that will begin at 7PM. During the evening Carnival Cruise Lines will announce the launch of its latest ship, the Carnival Vista during a special presentation.

People that attend, including us, will then be given further information to take away with them.

There has been a great deal of hype in regard to this new cruise ship, so depending on what time we get back from the event, we hope to share many of those details with you on January 22nd. However, we can tell you that Carnival will take delivery of its new ship in the Spring of 2016.