Carnival Freedom Battles Fire in Bahamas

Carnival Freedom Battles Fire in Bahamas

he Carnival Freedom suffered a fire on Saturday afternoon while sailing in stormy weather in the Bahamas.

Unconfirmed eyewitness reports posted to social media said the fire was due to a lightning strike, with the crew quickly getting the fire under control and eventually putting it out.

Video posted from passengers aboard showed the portside of Carnival’s whale-tail funnel on fire. Carnival Cruise Lien said on social media that part of the funnel had then fallen onto the open deck.

The ship reported the fire just after 3:00 p.m. local time while it was 20 miles off Eleuthera Island, Bahamas, heading to Freeport after a cancelled call to Princess Cay due to weather.

http://video.foxbusiness.com/v/6349626885112 

Carnival said the U.S. Coast Guard has been notified and that it had activated the company’s response team to support the ship’s crew.

“There are no operational issues with the ship’s systems and the ship is expected to arrive to Freeport on Sunday morning,” Carnival said in a statement posted on social media.

“The captain has made multiple announcements to guests and crew and advised all but essential safety personnel to stay away from all open decks. There are no injuries. The port side portion of the funnel has fallen onto Deck 10 and the fire response is putting out the flames.”

Carnival also said it did not expect any impact to the next Carnival Freedom voyage scheduled to depart from Port Canaveral on Monday, March 25.

Of note, the this is the same ship that had a funnel fire in 2022, with Carnival having to replace the funnel at a drydock in Spain late last year.

Carnival Freedom Returns To Service With New Look

Carnival Freedom Returns To Service With New Look

Once again sporting an iconic winged funnel, the Carnival Freedom marked its return to service by welcoming guests onboard in Barcelona, Spain, for a 14-day transatlantic voyage to its homeport of Port Canaveral, Fla.

The ship underwent an extensive refurbishment that included the installation of the new funnel, the addition of the signature Carnival red, white and blue hull livery and other enhancements, the company said in a press release.

Earlier this month, the 2,980-guest ship entered its 16-day dry dock at the Navantia shipyard in Cadiz, Spain. The ship’s transformation is a milestone for the shipyard. While the yard’s team members have worked on other projects across the fleet, this is the first time they have designed and manufactured a Carnival funnel.

Among the other enhancements is a newly installed Heroes Tribute Bar, which is an expanding venue across the Carnival fleet and honors military veterans and active-duty service members. Carnival Freedom now also features a Dreams Studio, where guests can capture memories that become keepsakes from their cruise with the help of Carnival’s photography staff. Some of the other work includes an expansion to the ship’s casino, and renovations and upgrades across the ship’s staterooms and public areas.

Carnival Freedom’s two-week-long transatlantic Carnival Journeys cruise from Spain is offering guests an unforgettable journey that includes visits to Valencia, Malaga and Las Palmas, Spain as well as Bermuda. From Port Canaveral, the ship offers four- and five-day sailings to destinations in The Bahamas, such as Nassau and Princess Cays, as well as other Caribbean destinations, including Grand Turk. Many new itineraries were recently opened for the ship, and among them are sailings that feature Carnival’s upcoming exclusive destination, Celebration Key, as a port of call beginning in 2025.

Carnival Adjusts Itineraries of Multiple Mardi Gras Departures

Carnival Adjusts Itineraries of Multiple Mardi Gras Departures

Carnival Cruise Line is adjusting itineraries of multiple Eastern Caribbean sailings onboard the Mardi Gras.

Affecting a total of 21 cruises with departure dates between December 2022 and April 2024, the change will see a call to San Juan, Puerto Rico, being replaced with a visit to Nassau, The Bahamas. 

According to a statement sent to booked guests, the itinerary alteration is part of a “operations plan refining.”

Any pre-purchased Carnival shore excursions for San Juan will be automatically refunded to their original form of payment, the company said.

New shore tours for the visit to Nassau will be available online shortly, Carnival added.  

After debuting in July 2021, the Mardi Gras continues to offer year-round departures from Port Canaveral.

Sailing from its Central Florida homeport every Saturday, the 5,200-guest vessel offers week-long departures to both the Western and Eastern Caribbean.

Visited destinations include Grand Turk, Amber Cove, Cozumel, Costa Maya, Roatán and more.

In 2023, the LNG-powered ship is also set to offer a one-time cruise to the Southern Caribbean. Sailing in August, the eight-night voyage features visits to Aruba and Bonaire, as well as to Grand Turk.

Along with the Mardi Gras, two additional Carnival ships sail from Port Canaveral on a year-round - the Carnival Freedom and the Carnival Liberty.

Offering three- to five-night cruises to the Bahamas and the Caribbean, the vessels will soon be joined by the Carnival Magic for the upcoming winter season.

Before repositioning to Norfolk in May, the Dream-Class cruise ship offers six- and eight-night cruises to the Eastern and Southern Caribbean.

Itineraries include visits to popular ports such as St. Maarten, St. Thomas, St. Kitts, La Romana, Aruba, Bonaire, Princess Cays, Half Moon Cay and others.

Similar itineraries will be offered by the larger Carnival Vista during the 2023-2024 winter cruise season. 

Carnival Freedom Makes Line’s First Call to Grand Turk Since Resumption

The Carnival Freedom arrived in Grand Turk, Turks and Caicos, on Dec. 15, marking the line’s first time back to the port since resuming service.

According to a press release, the 2,974-guest Freedom is on a six-day Eastern Caribbean cruise that departed PortMiami on Dec. 12, and featured ports include Half Moon Cay and Amber Cove.

“We are delighted to bring the Carnival Freedom back to Grand Turk and to offer our guests the opportunity to experience all of this port’s beauty once again,” said Christine Duffy, president of Carnival Cruise Line. “On behalf of Carnival, I would like to thank the Turks and Caicos Islands government and all our partners on the ground in Grand Turk for working with us to make this opportunity possible.”

By year’s end, Carnival will have 19 ships in operation as the line’s restart of operations continues. All 22 of Carnival’s U.S.-based ships will be back in guest operations by March 2022.

Carnival Cruise Line Announces Ship Restarts For January and February 2022

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.

Carnival, Royal Caribbean, Norwegian Differ on July U.S. Cruising Plans

The three largest cruise brands are targeting different restart plans that should get the green light to cruise in July from U.S. ports, according to recent announcements and comments from executives.

Carnival Cruise Line

Carnival Cruise Line said earlier this week it is hoping for a July restart in the U.S. on select ships.

Carnival hopes to begin operating sailings on three ships from Florida and Texas, including the Carnival Vista and Carnival Breeze from Galveston, and Carnival Horizon from Miami.  

The Miami-based company also said that if it can find a solution to allow cruise ships to visit Alaska, the Carnival Miracle will assume some of the Carnival Freedom's departures from Seattle. 

Royal Caribbean International 

“We believe we are now seeing a clear way forward to safe cruising in the near future,” said Richard Fain, chairman and CEO of the Royal Caribbean Group, on the company's business update call in late April.

Added Michael Bayley, CEO and president of the Royal Caribbean International brand: “With what (CDC letter) we received last night July looks very realistic (for restarting cruises in North America).”

As for the Alaska season, Fain noted there are uncertainties and that service resumption may require a waiver from the Passenger Vessels Service Act as long as Canada will not allow ship calls. Alternatively, Canada could allow technical calls.

“Given the momentum, there is the reason for optimism,” he added.

Norwegian Cruise Line

Norwegian Cruise Line had intended to restart in the United States on July 4, having submitted what it referred to as an ironclad plan and letter to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in early April.

But as of early May, and with no reply from the CDC, company executives said that a July restart from U.S. ports won't be happening.

"The July U.S. launch at least from our company, it's just not possible," said Frank Del Rio, president and CEO, on the company's first-quarter earnings call in early May.

"It was possible back in early April when we proposed to the CDC 100 per cent vaccination. We've always said it takes about 90 days to stand up a vessel.

"So from April 5, when we submitted our proposal, 90 days would have been early July and that was possible, but today we're in early May, so now we're looking past that. But look there is more to it than just what the CDC says, there is only so much capacity to be able to stand up vessels."

Del Rio said getting a cruise ship ready to sail after a 15 to 18-month layup was not an overnight process.

 

Carnival to restart operations from three U.S. ports

The Carnival Dream will sail from Galveston starting Aug. 1.

Carnival Cruise Line plans to resume service on Aug. 1 with sailings from Miami, Port Canaveral and Galveston on eight ships. 

Carnival is calling it the first phase of its resumption plan. The cruise line’s operations pause will extend in all other North American and Australian markets through Aug. 31.

The cruise line said that any resumption of cruise operations “is fully dependent on our continued efforts in cooperation with federal, state, local and international government officials.”

Carnival has not provided itinerary details, but plans to launch the Carnival Dream, Carnival Freedom and Carnival Vista from Galveston; the Carnival Horizon, Carnival Magic and Carnival Sensation from Miami; and Carnival Breeze and Carnival Elation from Port Canaveral.

Carnival said it would “engage experts, government officials and stakeholders on additional protocols and procedures to protect the health and safety of our guests, crew and the communities we serve. We appreciate the understanding and support of our guests and travel agent partners and look forward to welcoming them on board as the environment for travel and tourism improves.”

The line also announced additional cancellations beyond Aug. 31 on the Carnival Spirit, which cancelled its Alaska cruises from Seattle as well as its Vancouver-Honolulu cruise on Sept. 25 and Honolulu-Brisbane transpacific cruise on Oct. 6.

When Carnival Cruise Line Ships Are Expected to Start Sailing Again

Carnival Cruise Line has said it intends to start cruising again with some ships in mid-May, while other itineraries and ships are projected to start service again later this year.

A look at the expected first sailing of each Carnival ship as the cruise industry gets back into service (all information is subject to change due to the COVID-19 crisis):

Carnival Breeze
Date: May 16, 2020
Homeport: Port Canaveral
Length: 7 nights
Itinerary: Amber Cove, St. Thomas, San Juan and Grand Turk

Carnival Conquest
Date: May 15, 2020
Homeport: Miami
Length: 3 nights
Itinerary: Nassau

Carnival Dream
Date: May 16, 2020
Homeport: Galveston
Length: 5 nights
Itinerary: Costa Maya and Cozumel

Carnival Ecstasy
Date: May 14, 2020
Homeport: Jacksonville
Length: 4 nights
Itinerary: Freeport and Nassau

Carnival Elation
Date: May 16, 2020
Homeport: Port Canaveral
Length: 5 nights
Itinerary: Nassau, Princess Cays and Grand Turk

Carnival Fantasy
Date: May 16, 2020
Homeport: Mobile
Length: 5 nights
Itinerary: Costa Maya and Cozumel

Carnival Fantasy

Carnival Fascination
Date: May 15, 2020
Homeport: Bridgetown, Barbados
Length: 7 nights
Itinerary: San Juan, St. Thomas, St. Maarten, St. Kitts and St. Lucia

Carnival Freedom
Date: May 17, 2020
Homeport: Galveston
Length: 7 nights
Itinerary: Roatán, Belize City and Cozumel

Carnival Glory
Date: May 17, 2020
Homeport: New Orleans
Length: 7 nights
Itinerary: Montego Bay, Grand Cayman and Cozumel

Carnival Horizon
Date: May 16, 2020
Homeport: Miami
Length: 8 nights
Itinerary: Aruba, Bonaire, La Romana and Amber Cove

Carnival Imagination
Date: May 14, 2020
Homeport: Long Beach
Length: 3 nights
Itinerary: Ensenada

Carnival Inspiration
Date: May 15, 2020
Homeport: Long Beach
Length: 3 nights
Itinerary: Ensenada

Carnival Legend
Date: November 15, 2020
Homeport: Tampa
Length: 7 night
Itinerary: Grand Cayman, Roatán, Belize City and Cozumel

Carnival Legend

Carnival Liberty
Date: May 15, 2020
Homeport: Port Canaveral
Length: 3 nights
Itinerary: Nassau

Carnival Magic
Date: May 17, 2020
Homeport: Miami
Length: 6 nights
Itinerary: Half Moon Cay, Amber Cove and Grand Turk

Carnival Miracle
Date: October 4, 2020
Homeport: San Diego
Length: 4 nights
Itinerary: Catalina Island and Ensenada

Carnival Panorama
Date: May 16, 2020
Homeport: Long Beach
Length: 7 nights
Itinerary: Cabo San Lucas, Mazatlán and Puerto Vallarta

Carnival Paradise
Date: May 14, 2020
Homeport: Tampa
Length: 4 nights
Itinerary: Cozumel

Carnival Pride
Date: May 17, 2020
Homeport: Baltimore
Length: 7 nights
Itinerary: Grand Turk, Half Moon Cay and Freeport

Carnival Radiance
Date: November 8, 2020
Homeport: Port Canaveral
Length: 7 nights
Itinerary: Cozumel, Belize City, Roatán and Costa Maya

Carnival Radiance

Carnival Sensation
Date: May 14, 2020
Homeport: Miami
Length: 4 nights
Itinerary: Key West and Cozumel

Carnival Spirit
Date: July 7, 2020
Homeport: Seattle
Length: 7 nights
Itinerary: Tracy Arm Fjord, Skagway, Juneau, Ketchikan and Victoria

Carnival Splendor
Date: June 19, 2020
Homeport: Sydney, Australia
Length: 3 nights
Itinerary: No ports of call

Carnival Sunrise
Date: May 15, 2020
Homeport: Norfolk
Length: 5 nights
Itinerary: Nassau and Freeport

Carnival Sunrise

Carnival Sunshine
Date: May 16, 2020
Homeport: Charleston
Length: 5 nights
Itinerary: Nassau and Half Moon Cay

Carnival Valor
Date: May 14, 2020
Homeport: New Orleans
Length: 4 nights
Itinerary: Cozumel

Carnival Vista
Date: May 16, 2020
Homeport: Galveston
Length: 7 nights
Itinerary: Montego Bay, Grand Cayman and Cozumel

Galveston Continues Expansion of Cruise Products

For the Port of Galveston, the major news for 2018 is the continued expansion of cruise products and related services available, according to Interim Port Director Peter Simons.

Carnival Cruise Line is moving the Carnival Vista to Galveston later in the year replacing the Breeze. The Vista will sail alongside the Liberty and the Freedom.

“To accommodate the Vista we are in the process of doing some infrastructure upgrades in Cruise Terminal No. 1,” said Simons.

Last fall, the port also welcomed the Vision of the Seas, and Simons explained that while she was originally intended to be a seasonal product, she is replacing the Enchantment of the Seas on a year-round basis.

“We will have three Carnival and two Royal Caribbean ships year-round, and Disney seasonally from October to January,” he added.

The current scheduling has two ships in port on Saturdays, two on Sundays, one each on Mondays and Thursdays, and Disney on Fridays.

Terminal Expansion

“We have completed the expansion of Cruise Terminal No. 2, and when we did the design for that, we planned for larger ships and more passengers. Both of our terminals are able to handle bigger ships and more capacity,” he said.

“What we are doing though on the channel side is adding mooring structures to accommodate the longer Carnival Vista, and we are also finishing a mooring improvement project at Terminal No. 2 that will enable us to handle even larger ships in the future. We are upgrading the main mooring to be 200-ton bollards – the longer dock will also allow us easier access to the loading doors.

“We are also in the conceptual stage, looking at the designs and options for a third cruise terminal. There is definitely demand to sail from Galveston on weekends and we want to be able to accommodate what we see as future growth in that market.”

Simons said the port is talking to cruise lines about how to fund the new terminal. He said the port’s options were either bank financing or teaming up with a cruise line.

Meanwhile, he is also looking at how to provide the next generation of ships with LNG.

Team Effort

At press time, Galveston projected just short of 1.9 million passengers embarking and disembarking on some 258 sailings for 2017, up from 1.7 million passengers for 2016. For this year, the forecast is for 308 sailings and more than 2 million passengers, according to Simons.

“We see a lot of people coming down a couple of days early for special events, so there is a fair amount of extra local spending in connection with the cruise traffic. The vast majority of the passengers are drive-ups regionally and usually from the lower Midwest, but even as far north as Illinois and South Dakota. The fly-ins are typically from the West Coast.

“There is also a wide variety of things to do both on Galveston Island and in the vicinity that we are working with the cruise lines on for pre- and post-stays,” he added.

Simons, who joined the port in 2012 and was director of operations before being named interim port director, credited the port staff, the longshoremen and the stevedores for Galveston’s growing cruise traffic. He said it was a team effort with very attentive and hard-working people, making the cruise lines feel comfortable here and helping to grow their business. 

Carnival cancels more Galveston cruises

Galveston Cruise Port.

Carnival Cruise Line has now canceled two cruises from Galveston that it had hoped to offer in a shortened format.

Based on the uncertainty of the port reopening, Carnival said the Aug. 26 sailing of Carnival Freedom and the Aug. 27 departure of Carnival Breeze have been canceled.

Carnival, which had previously canceled the five-day Carnival Valor sailing from Galveston departing Aug. 26, also canceled the next Carnival Valor cruise leaving Aug. 31.

Guests will have a full refund processed to the original form of payment within three weeks, and will receive a 25% future cruise credit if a reservation is made in the next 60 days.

Coast Guard and port officials can’t say with any certainty when the port will reopen, Carnival added, but suggested it won’t be until late this week at the earliest.

The three Carnival ships will make stops in New Orleans during the next two days to let guests disembark if they want to make independent arrangements to return home. They can also wait and sail back to Galveston, Carnival said.

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

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.”

Seuss proving a coup for Carnival

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 introduces Internet plans based on type of usage

Carnival Cruise Line is testing a new method of delivering Internet service to guests, giving them a choice of three packages based on their online activities instead of charging guests for minutes used.

Carnival is piloting the new Internet packages on three ships: the Freedom, Sunshine and Breeze.

The least expensive option is the social media package, which enables guests to use Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, Snapchat and Pinterest for a flat fee of $5 per day or $25 per voyage during the initial testing period. 

Those who want to check email and surf the Web can upgrade to a value package for $16 per day or $60 per cruise. 

A premium package provides “the fastest available connection speed,” said Carnival, and is for heavy Internet usage. Those who want to use the Skype video calling application must buy the premium package. It costs $25 per day or $99 per cruise.

Guests do not have to log on or off while their plan lasts. 

On Carnival’s other ships, the cruise line charges $29 for 45 minutes, $59 for 120 minutes, $89 for 240 minutes and $159 for 480 minutes.

Also, the cruise line is piloting a free smartphone app on the Carnival Breeze. The app provides a searchable deck plan, information about restaurants, the guest’s Sail & Sign account balance, itinerary details and a schedule of shipboard events. 

A chat feature that costs $5 for the entire cruise enables guests to exchange messages with traveling companions. 

The mobile app and new Internet packages will roll out to additional ships following successful completion of pilot programs, Carnival said.

Dispatch, Carnival Freedom: Winging it in Curacao

By Tom Stieghorst

With 1,600 cruises to the Caribbean and the Bahamas each year, Carnival Cruise Lines is trying to mix up the lengths and destinations on its itineraries to give loyal guests something new to try. Cruise editor Tom Stieghorst recently sampled one of the more unusual itineraries, an eight-day cruise out of Fort Lauderdale on Carnival Freedom with two port calls, Aruba and Curacao, deep in the southern Caribbean. His first dispatch follows.

CURACAO — By the time we got to Curacao on the fifth day of our cruise, my 15-year-old daughter had made friends aboard, including a boy who persuaded my daughter that organized shore excursions were a waste of money, and that the way to go was to debark, explore and meet the locals on their own ground.

We decided to give it a try.

The first half hour was spent walking into Willemstad, across the pontoon bridge into the old Dutch downtown. It felt pretty touristy, full of clothing stores and watch purveyors. We stopped to buy a batido, a tropical fruit smoothie, from a street cart vendor and talked with her for a while.

We had arrived in Curacao at 1 p.m. and, less than a week after the summer solstice, the glare and heat were relentless. Carnival Cruise Lines is trying to offer some new itineraries, and the late arrival meant we would spend until 11 p.m. docked in the city, with an evening to spend ashore.

But the afternoon stretched ahead. We were on our own and none too sure of what to do next. We pushed on, walking out of the downtown into a new district that turned out to be rather fascinating.

The Pietermaai area of Willemstad is on the rebound from what was a low point in its history. It is full of old Dutch residences and small commercial buildings. Some of the mansions along the shore were obviously showcases in their day. Today, many of them are in shambles.
Among the ruins, however, are restored buildings housing a fine dining restaurant or a chic boutique. In contrast to the bleached concrete and faded red roof tile of the abandoned buildings, some of the restored ones sported deep blue or bright red paint jobs. 

We scouted several attractive restaurants as potential dinner venues. But we had walked for a good hour in the heat and we were a mile or more from the ship. It was time to think about getting back. 

Just then, a jitney pulled up to us. We were obviously tourists in need of transportation to Mambo Beach. We asked the fare and it was $2 each. We didn’t know where Mambo Beach was or if the jitney was safe, but one way or another, our adventure was about to get more interesting.

On the way to the beach, we chatted in Spanish with the driver and passengers about the multiplicity of languages spoken in Curacao. We got to Mambo Beach and it turned out to be where many of our fellow cruise ship passengers had been taken on their excursion.

Later that night, we returned to Pietermaai to dine at the Crystal restaurant, a small home that had a beautifully lit bar, white walls, a cool tile floor and hurricane shutters on the open windows. The Caribbean night had turned magical and my two daughters and I enjoyed a great meal and local hospitality before heading back to the ship for our late departure.

It was a fine ending to an interesting day, made possible because we got out on our own and did a little exploring. Over the course of the eight-day cruise, we also took some fun excursions organized by the ship, but the day and night in Curacao is what I’ll remember most from our trip.

Carnival Freedom passengers sound off

By Tom Stieghorst

I was aboard the Carnival Freedom on an eight-day cruise through the Caribbean last week. The ship was fresh out of a drydock and sported the new Camp Ocean children’s play areas.

At the conclusion of the cruise I asked 10 passengers, or couples, about the highlights and lowlights of their cruise.

The passengers ranged in age from young adult to retired. Several were African-American, two were Hispanic, and they came from seven states, including Utah and California. Three were from Florida.

A few general impressions stood out. Overall, the satisfaction level was pretty high. Several struggled to find anything negative to say, and no one was more negative than positive.

The excursions were one highlight for most of those interviewed, especially the tour guides. If there was a complaint it was that the excursions, and the port calls in general, went by too quickly.

“A little more time in port would have been great,” said Danilo Martell of Corona, Calif.

Although Grand Turk, the Dominican Republic, Aruba and Curacao each had their individual followings, Sarah Hoetzlein of Pittsburgh said the 11 p.m. departure from Curacao made that her favorite.

“I would love it if they stop later, so you have some night time,” she said. At other ports, she said, the beach excursion “is all you have time to do.”

Several mentioned the entertainment as a highlight, including Diana Jensen of Salt Lake City, who said the production shows were “the best thing on the ship.”

Others mentioned “sharing time with friends” and “there’s always something to do” as highlights and the level of service got high marks, except for the sea day brunches where the staff was “nonattentive” and the line to get in was long at times.

Several mentioned that they would like more food choice in the “tween times” after major meals, when the lido deck buffet is closed and deli sandwiches or pizza are the culinary offerings.

Katie Kivett of Nashville appreciated that Carnival is one of the few lines that allows children under 2 into the babysitting program, but didn’t like that her 15-month-old son was not allowed in the pool.

Other lowlights: motion sickness, the boarding process stalled and no one offered an explanation, there’s not enough to do at night for nondrinkers, some of the food was just “OK.”

Other highlights included the size of the beds, windows, closets and drawer space in the forward-facing cabins on the lido deck, the abundance of high-chair and crib accommodations for infants, the classes, casino and art auctions, and the dune buggy, power snorkel and catamaran excursions in Grand Turk, La Romana and elsewhere.

Carnival promotion rewards Galveston cruise bookings

By Tom Stieghorst

Carnival Cruise Lines said travel agents can earn triple the normal amount of points in its rewards program by booking cruises from Galveston during July.

The line said the promotion, running through July 31, will give agents 450 points for new online bookings from Texas ports, up from the standard 150 points.

Beginning at the 2,500-point level, the points can be redeemed for Carnival logo items, $50 and $100 gift cards, iPads and other items.

Carnival will transfer a third ship, Carnival Freedom, to Galveston beginning in February.

Joni Rein, executive vice president of worldwide sales at Carnival, said the points boost was a thank you to agents that have helped Carnival build business from Galveston. 

Carnival dining changes slow to gel

By Tom Stieghorst

ABOARD CARNIVAL FREEDOM — Carnival Cruise Lines’ implementation of a new main dining room program is taking longer than anticipated, said the line’s chief marketing officer, Jim Berra.

After a news conference, Berra said Carnival has been tweaking the features of American Table and American Feast, the dining room concepts it developed with the input of Union Square Hospitality Group.

Four of Carnival’s 24 ships have been piloting the concept. Berra said Carnival wants to make sure it has the bugs worked out before the changes expand to the rest of the fleet. There is currently no ship being targeted for expansion of the program, he said.

Carnival has been doing what Berra termed “A/B testing” of variations on ships with similar itineraries. One discovery is that the idea of sharing common appetizers at a table isn’t playing as well at sea as it does in land restaurants. It works best during “Anytime Dining,” when guests are generally eating with people they know, but less well when dining with strangers, Berra said.

He said the upgraded bread and water service has been well received, as has the “Port of Call” items on the menu, which are matched to the port the ship is visiting on the day of the meal.

American Table is the everyday complimentary dining in Carnival’s main dining room on the Carnival Glory, Liberty, Inspiration and Imagination.

American Feast is a more elegant, celebratory version that is offered twice during each voyage.

Both feature redesigned menus, a new style of service and cuisine with an emphasis on American origins.