Company Overview:
When
Carnival Cruise Lines came on the scene in 1972
it was a mom-and-pop operation working out of
Ted Arison's kitchen with exactly one vessel to
its name -- and not a sleek,
bells-and-whistles-laden one at that. Like many
children born during that era, Carnival outgrew
its humble beginnings. Today it is not only the
biggest, but arguably the most successful
passenger shipping company ever; powerful enough
to form the foundation for megopoly parent
corporation, Carnival Corp, which carries one in
four passengers today on no fewer than 79 ships.
You get the impression they must have done
something right. Indeed, almost everything
right.
Once referred to by competitors
as the K-Mart of the cruise industry, synonymous
with average food, "Animal House" partying and
gobbling up every competing cruise line in site,
Carnival has changed its identity. Instead of
rapid expansion, the line is now more focused on
self- improvement. Today, Carnival serves some
of the most delicious food at sea, has top of
the line entertainment, boasts stylish ships
with commodious cabins and is the standard
bearer for mid-priced cruise lines. Still, never
forsaking its "Fun-ship" trademark, Carnival
boasts the youngest median passenger age at sea
-- but today it is largely due to the great
number of families cruising together. But there
is no shortage of graying baby boomers, and
seniors with lead in their pencils, sailing
Carnival to the Caribbean, Mexico, Panama Canal,
Bahamas and Hawaii. And during the last few
years they have even added Alaska, Canada/New
England and even Europe.
At the bottom of the pyramid that forms
the Carnival Cruise Lines fleet are the circa
1985-model Holiday and Celebration (sister ship
Jubilee was re-assigned to one of Carnival's
Euro subsidiaries a few years ago). These ships
are nearly bereft of balcony cabins and mostly
sail on 4 and 5-night cruises featuring lots of
nightlife and casino gambling.
A large
portion of the foundation of the Carnival fleet
are the eight nearly identical, 70,367-ton circa
1990s-model Fantasy-class vessels including
sister ships Ecstasy, Fascination, Imagination,
Inspiration, Paradise, Elation, and Sensation.
The Fantasy-class ships each carry 2,044
passengers, in large, under-decorated cabins
lacking balconies. But they each offer a unique
decor by famous Carnival ship interior designer
Joe Farcus that puts the accent on great
nightlife, good food, excitement and relaxation.
But it was in 1996, with the introduction of
what was then the largest cruise ship in world,
the 101,351-ton Carnival Destiny, that the
company truly hit its stride for the 21st
century.
With Destiny, Carnival began
offering an abundance of the now uber-popular
balcony cabins in a big way, with sister ships
Carnival Triumph (1999) and Carnival Victory
(2000) soon to follow. These 2,642 passenger
vessels (3,360 total if the upper berths are
full) feature three-deck show lounges,
15,000-square-foot spas, four swimming pools
with water slides, and plenty of on board
shopping. All balcony cabins on Carnival ships
built since 1996 have with mini refrigerators,
toiletries, hair dryers and bathrobes.
In
November 2002, as an improvement to the
Destiny-class, Carnival launched Carnival
Conquest, the first of five 110,000-ton
Conquest-class ships similar in design to the
Destiny class, but slightly bigger and able to
carry 2974 voyagers. Carnival Glory followed in
July 2003, Carnival Valor (the first ship with
bow-to-stern wireless Internet access) in
December 2004 and Carnival Liberty in July 2005.
The last scheduled sister, Carnival Freedom,
will enter service in spring 2007.
Somewhere in the seemingly never-ending
quest for size (other cruise lines also jumped
on the bandwagon to make bigger & bigger ships
starting in 1998) Carnival did something
different, and very right, by introducing an
additional and relatively smaller class of
vessel known as the Spirit-class. These
88,500-ton ships carry 2,124 passengers each,
and are the longest in the fleet at 963 feet,
yet narrow enough to fit through the Panama
Canal. These sisters (Spirit, Legend, Pride and
Liberty) have a very inviting
space-per-passenger ratio, and the
technologically advanced Azipod propulsion
system. Eighty percent of cabins on these ships
have ocean views, and 80 percent of those have
private balconies. In a stroke of genius to
accommodate all these balcony cabins, the public
rooms were repositioned to the lower decks three
and four. You'll find two consecutive decks of
bars, lounges and public areas, the upper with a
wrap-around promenade. It's aboard these ships
that you'll find Carnival's first
reservations-only, specialty restaurants,
offering prime beef, seafood and the famous
stone crabs from Joe's Stone Crab restaurant in
Miami.
Many cruisers seem to prefer the
Spirit Class, the namesake of which was launched
April 29, 2001. Carnival Pride followed on
December 30, 2001, Carnival Legend in August
2002, and Carnival Miracle in February 2004.
|
| | |
Carnival Cruise Lines
Experience:
Bring
some heavy-duty sunglasses; thanks to the
boundless imaginative (some would say
hallucinogenic) designs of inventive designer
Joe Farcus, Carnival ships are fervently garish.
So much so that we feel compelled to coin a word
to describe them; Farcusian. You can be munching
a slice of pizza in Imagination's Lido deck, for
instance, minding your own business, and
suddenly realize you've been mesmerized by the
bright purple and green neon tubing on the
ceiling. Bring a sense of humor along with the
sunglasses, and be ready to dispel all
preconceived notions of acceptable color
combinations.
Think Mardi Gras at sea. By
day, young singles sip little-umbrella-laden
cocktails, and then dance on deck to a live
band. But it's by night that the action really
goes into overdrive, with dozens of venues
offering everything from lavish production shows
to R-rated comics. There's a jazz bar whose
patrons are urged to sing. You can hear funky
blues or enjoy some torrid disco action. And
both the casino and disco stay open very late,
while the library, just for comparison, is open
60 minutes per day!
You'll encounter a
very wide range of passengers, from singles, to
the retired, to multi-kid young families, the
latter especially during the summer and school
vacation periods. When you want to get away from
it all, you'll do so in some of the largest
cabins at sea. The food's mostly delicious, and
you'll marvel at how well managed everything is,
especially considering how many passengers are
apt to be aboard.
The price you pay for
the never-ending fun on these ships is that you
begin to feel as though you're never more than a
few seconds from an announcement of another zany
contest -- belly-flopping or hairiest chest,
anyone? In fact, if you plan on using your
cruise to catch up on some much needed rest and
a trashy novel, a set of eyeblinders and ear
plugs are recommended.
That said,
Carnival can be one of the best deals around.
With outside staterooms, even balconies,
available for less than a thousand dollars per
person per week (if you shop around), Carnival
may well offer the most bang for the mid-price
cruiser's buck.
| | | |
Fellow Passengers
Carnival carries a
wide cross-section of salt-of-the-earth
Americans: high-rolling, single
twenty-somethings, young parents with toddlers,
baby boomers, and empty-nesters. During the
summer and school breaks, Caribbean, Mexico and
Bahamas cruises can carry up to 700 children
each. Carnival has now lived down its reputation
as a "party-ship," but unfortunately, there are
apt to people who still haven't gotten the
message. So, if you have a neighbor who feels
its appropriate to continue drinking until 2:00
am with the cabin door open, be sure and call
the front office - anonymously.
| | | |
Taking Kids:
The exemplary "Camp
Carnival" is available on all ships year-round
for Toddlers (2-5) Juniors (6-8) Intermediate
(9-12) and Teens (13-15), with supervised
activities for each in facilities open from 9:30
a.m. to 10 p.m. daily. Group babysitting is
available in the playroom between 10 p.m. and 3
a.m. and, 8 a.m. to noon on port days for a fee.
There is no in-cabin babysitting. Cribs are
available upon request, but bring your own
stroller.
The recreational fitness
program "ExerSeas" aims to get the next
generation of couch potatoes up and burning off
some calories. "A-B-Seas" is a reading and
writing program that a lot of little ones seem
to relish, while H2Ocean features a wide variety
of enjoyable-looking hands-on science projects.
The line's popular EduCruise program has also
been expanded to include even more interactive
projects focusing on the cultures, landmarks,
history and geography of the destinations to
which Carnival sails.
The youth spa
program, recently introduced on Carnival
Miracle, allows kids ages 12-14 and their
parents to indulge in luxurious body and beauty
treatments together on port days in the ship's
health and fitness center at a discount. Offered
to mother/daughter and father/son combinations,
packages include hair and nail treatments,
health evaluations, and foot and scalp massages.
Fantasy, Spirit and Conquest-class ships all
have dedicated teen areas, including a
club/coffee bar and a high-tech game room.
| | | |
Shore Excursions:
Carnival's shore
tours, geared toward the up-and-at-'em type who
loves water sports, party boats, and general
sightseeing, tend to be a bit costlier than on
other lines. Read the descriptions and book
online at www.carnival.com, or arrange your own
excursions after doing some research of your
own.
| | | |
Repeat Passenger Programs:
Return
passengers receive Carnival "Currents" magazine,
and discount coupons. There's a big "Festivale
Party" for recidivists on 5-day or longer
cruises. For more information call
1-888-CCL-GUEST.
| | | |
|
|
|
Back to Top
| |
