New Carnival Mardi Gras Christened at Port Canaveral

Posted on 24 October, 2021 by Spacejunkie2

Carnival Cruise Line has christened Mardi Gras at Port Canaveral, Fla. at a “Universe of Fun” celebration in the first ship naming ceremony held in the U.S. since the cruise industry’s restart this summer.

Carnival’s Chief Fun Officer Shaquille O’Neal attended the festivities and cut the ribbon of his first Big Chicken restaurant at sea that debuted on Mardi Gras when she began cruise operations on July 31.

Miss Universe, Dominican Republic, Kimberly Jimenez served as the ship’s Godmother and officially named the ship and was joined by Miss Universe, Andrea Meza and Miss USA, Asya Branch who sang the national anthem. The event featured a “World of Nations” flag procession to highlight the diversity of the 120 nationalities of Carnival crew members, and, of course, a Mardi Gras parade with a Second Line Band.

“Today’s naming ceremony of our flagship Mardi Gras, the first in the industry since our restart of operations, signifies excitement and optimism as we look to bring our entire fleet back into guest service by spring 2022,” said Christine Duffy, president of Carnival Cruise Line. “This ship has been amazing guests during her pre-inaugural season and the celebration today with our Chief Fun Officer Shaq, our Godmother Kimberly, and so many special guests, was extremely gratifying and emotional.”

Following remarks by Duffy and Carnival Corporation President and CEO Arnold Donald, Carnival friends and partners Romero Britto, Emeril Lagasse, Kathie Lee Gifford, Vanna White and Guy Fieri provided their congratulations on the ship’s naming and helped bring the champagne bottle to the ship.

Godmother Jimenez blessed the ship in both English and her native Spanish and activated the traditional champagne bottle break, officially naming the ship. In a celebration of the ship’s name, a special Mardi Gras parade with Duffy, Donald and O’Neal leading it, capped off the festivities.

MSC Seashore to Be Named at Ocean Cay in The Bahamas on Nov. 18

Posted on 8 October, 2021 by Spacejunkie2

MSC Cruises has revealed that its latest flagship, the MSC Seashore, will be officially named at Ocean Cay MSC Marine Reserve in The Bahamas on Nov. 18, making this the first naming ceremony for a cruise ship to be held at a private island.

According to a press release, the event will be attended by travel advisors and media as well as other key company stakeholders.

Departing Miami on Nov. 17, invitees will be able to get a first look at the new ship before she starts her inaugural seven-night cruise and U.S. season on Nov. 20 and make the most of the onboard entertainment, different activities as well as various bars and restaurants.

As with every new MSC Cruises ship, Hollywood royalty Sophia Loren will perform the role of Godmother as she officially names her 16th MSC Cruises ship. The festivities will take place both onboard and on the island as the ship will remain docked throughout the night, with a gala dinner, live entertainment and more.

The naming of the MSC Seashore will see the formal inauguration of Ocean Cay MSC Marine Reserve, which opened in late 2019 and closed shortly after due to the pandemic.

MSC said that the island has since gone through further work and significant improvements and this is “an opportunity for MSC Cruises to showcase the island to the invitees on this occasion.”

The MSC Seashore will become the third MSC Cruises ship based in the U.S and the company is offering a range of different length cruises from mini cruises, regular seven-night sailings to longer cruises of eight nights and 11 nights.

New for this season is Port Canaveral where the MSC Divina began operating in September. This new homeport is convenient and easily accessible and is close to popular attractions and major cities like Orlando, Tampa and South Florida for those wishing to make the most out of their holiday either before or after the cruise, MSC said.

When the MSC Seashore arrives, the MSC Meraviglia will move to Port Canaveral for the rest of the season and the MSC Divina will move to PortMiami.

The MSC Seashore will remain for summer 2022 in Miami offering cruises with the MSC Divina out of Port Canaveral.

Carnival Cruise Line Announces Ship Restarts For January and February 2022

Posted on 8 October, 2021 by Spacejunkie2

Carnival Cruise Line announced plans for more ship restarts for January and February, as it works towards the return of its full fleet sailing from U.S. homeports in the spring of 2022, according to a press release.

With 17 ships scheduled to be operating by year-end, Carnival Sunshine will restart from Charleston on Jan. 13 and Carnival Liberty from Port Canaveral on Feb. 11.

With today’s announcement, Carnival’s U.S.-based operations will cover the following homeports and ships by February, and represents 90 per cent of Carnival’s U.S.-based capacity:

• Galveston: Carnival Breeze, Carnival Dream and Carnival Vista
• Miami: Carnival Freedom, Carnival Horizon, Carnival Sunrise and Carnival Conquest
• Port Canaveral: Mardi Gras, Carnival Elation, Carnival Magic and Carnival Liberty (effective Feb. 11)
• New Orleans: Carnival Glory and Carnival Valor
• Long Beach: Carnival Panorama, Carnival Radiance and Carnival Miracle
• Baltimore: Carnival Legend
• Tampa: Carnival Pride
• Charleston: Carnival Sunshine (effective Jan. 13)

“Our restart plan continues to excel across all metrics, and we are looking forward to completing the restart of the fleet in the new year,” said Christine Duffy, president of Carnival Cruise Line. “We appreciate the support and patience of our guests, travel agents and port and destination partners who have been key to this successful restart.”

Duffy said that Carnival continues to carefully monitor the status of public health and adjust its operating protocols accordingly. “We are optimistic that vaccines will be approved for children between the ages of 5-11 before the end of the year and we look forward to welcoming more families back on board,” she added. As it relates to ships operating in January and February, Carnival will continue to operate vaccinated cruises under its current protocols.

Cruises on Carnival’s three remaining U.S.-based ships – Carnival Ecstasy from Jacksonville, Carnival Paradise from Tampa, and Carnival Sensation from Mobile – have been cancelled through February.

In addition, Carnival Splendor from Sydney, Australia is cancelled through Feb. 7, and Carnival Spirit from Brisbane, Australia is cancelled through Feb. 20.