Carnival Valor Sets Sail to New Orleans After Drydock

Carnival Valor Sets Sail to New Orleans After Drydock

The Carnival Valor sailed from Barcelona on Wednesday to kick off a repositioning voyage back to its homeport in New Orleans.

The Carnival Cruise Line vessel is now offering a 15-night cruise after spending a few weeks at the Navantia shipyard in Cadiz.v

Before arriving at the Big Easy, the trans-Atlantic crossing will visit destinations in Portugal and Spain, including Málaga, Cádiz, and Ponta Delgada.

The Carnival Valor is then set to arrive in New Orleans later this month, resuming its regular schedule of cruises to the Western Caribbean.

Sailing from Louisiana along with the Carnival Liberty, the vessel offers a series of four- and five-night itineraries to ports in Mexico, including Progreso, Costa Maya and Cozumel.

As part of its routine drydock in Spain, the Carnival Valour underwent technical work, as well as class inspections and general maintenance.

Public areas and staterooms also received upkeep, including the replacement of items such as carpets, upholstery, and furniture.

In line with other Carnival ships, the 2004-built ship saw the addition of a new Heroes Tribute Bar and Lounge.

Currently being rolled out to the company’s fleet, the military-themed venue pays homage to the sacrifices made by Armed Services personnel and their families.

Taking over the area previously occupied by the Skybox Sports Bar, the lounge serves a special menu, with part of its profits donated to humanitarian organisations.

Following the Carnival Valor, the Carnival Liberty is also being dry-docked at the Navantia shipyard in Cádiz.

As the fifth ship in Carnival’s fleet to visit a shipyard in 2025, the vessel is currently undergoing routine maintenance at the Spanish facility.

Other ships that entered drydock this year include the Carnival Sunshine, the Carnival Spirit and the Carnival Miracle.

 

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 Horizon to Drydock, Liberty and Sunshine to Take Her Place

The Carnival Horizon will be out of service longer than anticipated to fix a propulsion problem with the ship now set for a drydocking in Palermo for repairs.

This means sailings on the Horizon are cancelled until January 22 and Carnival is responding quickly, with the Liberty and Sunshine re-entering service to pick up the Horizon’s guests and itineraries from Miami.

Both those ships will sail from Miami in place of the Horizon for the Dec. 19, Dec. 26 and Dec. 31 departures. The Sunshine will then move north to Charleston for a Jan. 13 restart, while the Liberty will pick up the Horizon’s Miami-based Caribbean itineraries that sail on Jan. 8 and Jan. 22.

MSC Group joins international Bahamas hurricane relief effort

MSC Group joins international Bahamas hurricane relief effort

The vast container shipping conglomerate behind MSC Cruises is to provide temporary shelters to people left homeless due to the destruction caused by Hurricane Dorian.

MSC Group’s initial efforts will focus on semi-permanent prefabricated modular housing in the areas most affected by the hurricane as well as making ships available for cargo from the US to the Freeport and Marsh Harbour container terminals.

The operation will involve its cargo shipping, cruising and its charitable foundation.

The latest aid initiative came as the death toll from Hurricane Dorian rose to 23 with fears that numbers could rise at least into the hundreds given the number of people missing across the island nation.

An estimated 76,000 people have been left in need of food and shelter with the International Red Cross estimating that 45% of homes on Grand Bahama and the Abacos – some 13,000 properties – were severely damaged or destroyed.

Dorian hit the Bahamas as a category 5 hurricane with winds reaching 185mph, matching the highest ever recorded at landfall, and stayed over affected areas for two days.

A fleet of ships from various cruise lines has been deployed on aid missions to the islands.

Royal Caribbean ships are to be re-deployed over the next few weeks to tender outside of Freeport, the Bahamas carrying goods and meals. This operation began with Empress of the Seas delivering 10,000 meals and 10,000 bottles of water.

The company is also sending container ships with emergency supplies including 47,000 bottles of water, 362 generators, 250 tarpaulins, 25,000 square feet of plywood, 55,400 nappies and 7,500 pounds of pet food.

Carnival Cruise Line is to divert the ships Carnival Pride and Carnival Liberty next week to deliver food, water and relief supplies in addition to an agreement to run shipments of aid by container ship.

The latest aid initiative came as the death toll from Hurricane Dorian rose to 23 with fears that numbers could rise at least into the hundreds given the number of people missing across the island nation.

An estimated 76,000 people have been left in need of food and shelter with the International Red Cross estimating that 45% of homes on Grand Bahama and the Abacos – some 13,000 properties – were severely damaged or destroyed.

Dorian hit the Bahamas as a category 5 hurricane with winds reaching 185mph, matching the highest ever recorded at landfall, and stayed over affected areas for two days.

A fleet of ships from various cruise lines has been deployed on aid missions to the islands.

Royal Caribbean ships are to be re-deployed over the next few weeks to tender outside of Freeport, the Bahamas carrying goods and meals. This operation began with Empress of the Seas delivering 10,000 meals and 10,000 bottles of water.

The company is also sending container ships with emergency supplies including 47,000 bottles of water, 362 generators, 250 tarpaulins, 25,000 square feet of plywood, 55,400 nappies and 7,500 pounds of pet food.

Carnival Cruise Line is to divert the ships Carnival Pride and Carnival Liberty next week to deliver food, water and relief supplies in addition to an agreement to run shipments of aid by container ship.

Sandals Resorts International has responded with help through its SRI Foundation.

Deputy chairman Adam Stewart said: “All three of the Sandals properties in the Bahamas have been unaffected which gives us the opportunity to focus on recovery and assisting however we can.

“We are proud to be working with the government of Jamaica and the Global Tourism Resilience and Crisis Management Centre to help our neighbouring island of the Bahamas who parts of which were badly affects by hurricane Dorian.

“The foundation, through the efforts of those who have supported us thus far, donated $10,000 worth of water, as a first gesture to those in Abaco, through our partner the Bahamian non-profit group HeadKnowles. A partner of Sandals has also donated $100,000 worth of cleaning material which we will also be collecting in the next 48 hours.”

MSC Group through its MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company has been present in the region for 20 years as the leading cargo import and export operator in the Bahamas. Its local headquarters are based in Freeport, Grand Bahama.

Gianluigi Aponte, executive chairman and founder of MSC Group, said: “It is heartbreaking to see the impact and devastation that Hurricane Dorian has brought over the Bahamas and its population. The thoughts and prayers of my entire family are with the people of the Bahamas and their families and loved ones.

“As a family company and one that has lived off the sea for over 300 years, we are fully committed to supporting both immediate and longer-term relief and recovery efforts in the Bahamas.

“Our businesses have long been closely tied to the Bahamas and its people, with a rich history spanning over many decades. We now look forward to supporting their efforts to rebuild and recover in every way we can and through all our businesses.”

Carnival Cruise Line president Christine Duffy said: “The devastation of the Bahamsa is truly tragic and heartbreaking and we are keeping them in our thoughts as we continue to offer our support and assistance.”

The US states of North and South Carolina are at risk of dangerous storm surges today before the hurricane moves towards Nova Scotia at the weekend.

Carnival Cruise Line's Christine Duffy Interview

Carnival Vista Above.

The U.S. Public Health Service (USPHS) inspects cruise ships that visit U.S. ports to check their sanitation and hygiene conditions and grades them on a scale of 1 to 100. Most ships get a passing grade of 86 or higher, which was why it was so surprising that four ships from Carnival Cruise Line received unsatisfactory grades in a two-month period from Nov. 11 to Jan. 4. Two of the four, the Carnival Breeze and the Vista, are Carnival's two newest ships. The others were the Carnival Triumph and the Liberty. The three ships that were graded under 86 in 2017 represent nearly 20% of all the ships that failed in 2017, out of a total of 256 inspections. Cruise editor Tom Stieghorst spoke with cruise line president Christine Duffy about the run of failures.

Q: How do you account for it? I can't think of a year in which four ships from a single line were graded unsatisfactory, much less four in two months.

Christine Duffy

A: Neither can we. Obviously, it was very concerning to all of us. We have a dedicated shoreside team that manages the work with USPHS and then teams onboard the ships. We've always been very proud of the scores that we've gotten.

Q: What do you say to passengers?

A: I think the most important thing to say is that the findings have really not compromised public health. 

Q: Are there specific issues that produced those low scores?

A: While there's a lot of retraining, and refocus and re-emphasise that we are taking care of, based on some of the scores, a lot of it has been administrative inconsistencies, and also issues where we have been asked to replace certain equipment. So there's different standards and different equipment that we are replacing. But it takes some time from that point to the time when we'll be able to get it onboard the ships. That is all in process. Some of it may be coffee pots, ... salad bowls.

Q: Were all the Carnival ships inspected during November and December graded unsatisfactory?

A: Carnival Glory and Carnival Pride were also inspected during this time and got scores of 99 and 95, [respectively]. 

Q: How alarmed should people be about the "unsatisfactory" label?

A: I think some of this is reminding people that a passing score is 86, which is a pretty high bar. Failure doesn't actually indicate any unsanitary or public health concern. Obviously, if there were, we wouldn't be able to sail. There's been no disruption to any of our guests.

As you know, we are the only industry in hospitality that is in a program where it's voluntary. We pay for all the services that USPHS provides. I think when the program began, it was with the idea that setting the pass/fail at 86 would make sure that all the cruise lines and cruise ships would get information before there was ever a problem, to be able to address it.

Q: One problem that seemed to occur on several ships was the crew working while they were ill. What can you do to discourage sick crew members from working?

A: Some of that was actually people who were not filling out the forms before they were coming back to work. That became a deduction in points. We have reiterated to all of our crew members, to the medical team onboard, to our department managers, that if someone is sick we don't want them working. The last thing we want is to have any issues that would create a public health concern or an outbreak. Fortunately, we have not had those, so clearly, again, I think some of this is we need to do a tighter job on the documentation when someone was writing in and signing out, and so those were part of the administrative inconsistencies that have caused these failures.

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 lands Nick Jonas for shipboard concert

Pop singer Nick Jonas will perform two shows on Carnival ships.

Jonas will play the Carnival Liberty on Nov. 17 and the Carnival Victory on Nov. 18 while the ships are docked in Nassau, Bahamas.

A solo artist since 2010, Jonas was part of the Jonas Brothers off and on from 2007 to 2013.

Tickets are $75 for general admission.  VIP tickets are available for $250 and include seating in the first few rows, a photo opportunity with the artist and a commemorative concert pass.

Safety board: Loose engine bolts led to Carnival Liberty fire

Carnival Liberty

The National Transportation Safety Board issued a final report on the September 2015 fire aboard the Carnival Liberty, pinning the blame on engine bolts that had been insufficiently tightened.

The fire occurred while the Carnival Cruise Line ship was docked in Charlotte Amalie in the U.S. Virgin Islands on Sept. 7. It led to a precautionary evacuation of the ship.

In its report, the board said it found loose bolts on a flange that held a fuel intake line to one of the diesel generators, probably because of improper tightening during maintenance and pipe vibration over time. That triggered an uncontrolled fuel spray from the connection onto a hot part of the engine.

Because the ship was in port and many passengers were ashore, there was confusion in tracking how many people were evacuated.

The report recommends that Carnival better train the crew in the use of the water-based fire extinguishing gear in the engine room. It also said Carnival should establish or improve its procedures for accounting for persons aboard in a mass evacuation in port.

Couple Achieves Cruising Milestone with Carnival

Carnival Cruise Line's Carnival Liberty.

Two-hundred of anything is a lot. So if practice makes perfect, Bernard and Janice Caffary are getting pretty good at this cruise thing.

According to Fox News, Carnival Cruise Line "rolled out the red carpet" for the Lakeland, Florida couple earlier this month after they completed their 200th voyage with the cruise line.

The retired couple achieved the record feat in just 15 years, averaging more than a dozen cruises per year.

The Caffarys completed their 100th sailing aboard the Carnival Sensation in 2015 and are now eyeing the same milestone aboard the Carnival Liberty.

"We love the crewmembers," the couple told Fox News. "We have completed our bucket list of travels. We no longer book to go places but to travel with the crew. They are our family and we are in touch with many from hotel stewards to staff captains."

Carnival pulled out all the stops to recognize the Caffarys' remarkable accomplishment and reward them for their loyalty. Fox News reported the cruise line greeted them with signs at the terminal and onboard. Plus, the couple was celebrated with commemorative gifts and special onboard experiences. 

"[The Caffarys] were also the guests of honor during special VIP celebrations held both in the ship's atrium and the main show lounge attended by dozens of Carnival Liberty team members," Carnival PR Manager Vance Gulliksen told Fox News.

Despite having spent more than $175,000 on their previous trips, the couple has no plans to slow down. The Caffarys have already booked their next 30 Carnival cruises and will at the very least be frequenting the Carnival Liberty through the end of next year.

"We are now booked on the Liberty until December 2018," the couple told Fox News. "We hope to reach [our 100th] sailing on the Liberty just like we did on the Sensation."

The 2,974-passenger Carnival Liberty sails out of Port Canaveral, Florida year-round, offering three- and four-day roundtrip voyages to the Bahamas.

The next step for the Caffarys may be to move in. 

"It's not so unusual for men, women or couples who love cruising to take up residence on their favorite ship," said Telegraph Travel's cruise expert Jane Archer. "Princess Cruises once told me there were more than 100 passengers living on their ships."

Carnival condemns passenger for dangling from ship's railing

Carnival condemns passenger for dangling from ship's railing

Video footage has emerged of a teenager climbing over a cruise ship railing and lowering himself until he is hanging by only his arms as the sea flows beneath him.

Passengers and the teen can be heard laughing as he heaves himself back on board after dangling from the Carnival Cruise Line ship Carnival Liberty for a few moments.

At one point, the boy briefly appears to struggle to lift his weight back onto the lower deck as another a passenger says: "Are you alright?"

click picture above to view the video

The clip was posted on Twitter by Anthony Rosale, who wrote: "Craziest dude I met on my cruise".

The footage was reportedly filmed on the ship while at sea off the Texas coast on November 19.

The stunt was condemned as "incredibly dangerous" by fellow passengers and the ship's owners, The Mirror reported.

Carnival Cruise Line said: "We recently became aware of the video and are investigating.

“We strongly condemn any such behavior by our guests that puts themselves or others at risk."

Carnival switching the Liberty and Valor

Carnival Liberty

The Carnival Liberty's propulsion problems persist, so Carnival Cruise Line said it will continue to operate modified cruises from Galveston, Texas, through the month of November to account for the ship's inability to reach maximum speed.

The five-day cruise departing Nov. 26 will be the Liberty's last from Galveston, as the ship will enter a previously scheduled drydock after that sailing and then be redeployed to Port Canaveral, Fla., to operate short Bahamas cruises starting Dec. 15. The Carnival Valor, meanwhile, will reposition to Galveston from Port Canaveral.

"This change is being made since Carnival Valor is better suited to operate at the higher speeds required for the four- and five-day Mexico itineraries from Galveston while Carnival Liberty is well equipped to handle shorter duration cruises from Central Florida," Carnival said in a statement.

Carnival said its technical team, with the help of outside contractors, "continue to work to fully resolve" the Liberty's propulsion problem.

Carnival canceled two Liberty cruises, the Oct. 31 and Nov. 5 departures, because of the technical issue, and it has modified the Nov. 10, 14, 19 and 26 departures.

For the four- and five-day cruises, Carnival is canceling calls at Progreso, Mexico. During the seven-day cruise departing Nov. 19, calls in Grand Cayman and Falmouth, Jamaica, have been scrubbed. All of the modified cruises' departure and return times have been adjusted.

Guests sailing on these voyages will receive a $50-per-person credit to their shipboard accounts and a 25% discount on a future Carnival cruise. Guests also have the option of canceling and receiving a full refund.

To allow sufficient time for the Valor to reposition to Galveston, the ship's four-day cruise departing Port Canaveral on Dec. 11 will be shortened to three days. Guests sailing on this voyage will receive a one-day, prorated refund of their cruise fare and a $25 per-person credit to their shipboard account. Guests also have the option of canceling and receiving a full refund.

Carnival will automatically transfer reservations for guests on the Liberty to the Valor and vice versa. Carnival noted that the Valor and Liberty are sister ships with similar accommodations and public venues, including Guy's Burger Joint, the BlueIguana Cantina, the RedFrog Rum Bar and the BlueIguana Tequila Bar.

Carnival cancels cruise from Galveston, modifies others

Carnival Cruise Line canceled the scheduled Oct. 31 departure of the Carnival Liberty from Galveston because of a persistent propulsion problem with the ship.

It also has modified the itineraries of the following two cruises departing Nov. 5 and Nov. 10.

The Nov. 5 five-day cruise will include a full-day call in Cozumel, but the call in Progreso will be canceled. The Nov. 10 four-day cruise will include a call in Progreso instead of Cozumel.

Guests sailing on these voyages will receive a $50-per-person credit to their shipboard accounts and a 25% discount on a future Carnival cruise.

Carnival said the ship "is experiencing a technical issue which is affecting the ship's maximum cruising speed."  Outside experts have been brought in to assist with repairs.

Those experts, with the ship's technical team, found a problem that previously hadn't been known with an alternator in a diesel generator, "which cannot be readily fixed," Carnival said in a statement.

Carnival then decided to cancel the Oct. 31 cruise. Guests, who had already arrived for the cruise, got a full refund, a 100% credit toward a future cruise and a $90-per-person reimbursement representing a previously promised onboard credit and stipend for meals in Galveston.

Cruise Ship Passenger Safety In Focus After Woman Falls Overboard from Carnival Liberty

Carnival Liberty

Cruise ship passenger safety in once again in focus following a man overboard incident on a Carnival cruise ship in the Gulf of Mexico.

Samantha Broberg, 33, was reported missing at about noon Friday to crew members on board the Carnival Liberty. A search of the ship turned up empty, and crews later uncovered surveillance video to confirm that Broberg had fallen overboard from the 10th deck at around 2 a.m. Friday as the ship was about 200 miles southeast of Galveston.

A coordinated search involving the cruise ship and Coast Guard aircrews spanned 20 hours and covered some 4,300 square miles of ocean before it was called off Sunday night.

Carnival said in a statement that the video, which has not been released, suggests that Broberg was sitting on a deck railing when she fell back into the water.

A map of the search area provided by the U.S. Coast Guard.

According to the website CruiseJunkie.com, which tracks man overboard incidents on cruise ships, over the past five years an average of 23 people fall overboard from cruise ships each year. So far in 2016, there have been four such incidents, including an incident on May 11 where a man reportedly jumped overboard from the Coral Princess, according to the Cruise Law News website.

Cruise Law News, run by maritime attorney Jim Walker, has been critical of cruise lines for failing to install state-of-the-art video cameras to document such incidents, as well as high-tech motion detection systems that would alert the bridge as soon as a man overboard incident occurs. In the case of the Carnival Liberty, Walker slams the crew of the cruise ship over a 15 hour delay in reporting Broberg missing to the U.S. Coast Guard – the crew did not report Broberg missing until 5 p.m. Friday. Another issue Walker raises is the issue of Cruise Lines over serving alcohol to passengers, as alcohol seems to be the common thread in many of these accidents.

“My thought is that cruise lines owe a duty of reasonable care to passengers pursuant to maritime law,” Jim Walker writes on his website.

So this begs the question: are cruise lines doing enough to protect passenger safety?

Carnival Triumph headed to New Orleans in 2016

Carnival Triumph

Carnival Cruise Line will increase New Orleans capacity when the 3,143-passenger Triumph is transferred from Galveston to replace the 2,052-passenger Elation in the spring of 2016.

The Triumph will sail four- and five-day Mexico cruises from Galveston, starting April 4, 2016. The other ship in New Orleans, the 3,652-passenger Dream, sails seven-day cruises.

The Elation will shift from New Orleans to Jacksonville, Fla., and the Fascination will move from Jacksonville to San Juan. The Elation will sail year-round four- and five-day Bahamas cruises, and the Fascination will sail seven-day Caribbean voyages.

As previously reported, Below is the 12th Feb. article.

Carnival Breeze and Liberty will sail from Galveston

To make way for the new Carnival Vista when it is deployed in Miami in November 2016, Carnival Cruise Line will shift the Carnival Breeze to Galveston, Texas.

Also, Carnival will position the Carnival Liberty in Galveston in 2016. It has just repositioned Carnival Freedom to Galveston, where it is aggressively courting new business.

“Miami and Galveston are among our most popular points of embarkation, and deploying our newest, most innovative ships to these home ports speaks volumes about our confidence in growing these markets,” said Christine Duffy, Carnival’s president.

The Carnival Triumph and Magic, currently sailing from Galveston, will be redeployed with details to be announced at a later date. 

Prior to the start-up of year-round service from Miami, Carnival Vista will operate a pair of voyages roundtrip from New York, beginning with a three-day cruise Nov. 4-7, 2016, followed by an 11-day voyage departing Nov. 7 and visiting Grand Turk, San Juan, St. Thomas, Antigua and St. Maarten.  

Carnival Vista will then offer an 11-day transit cruise from New York to Miami from Nov. 18-29, with calls at Grand Turk, Bonaire, Aruba and St. Maarten.

Its first cruise from Miami will be a four-day cruise to Grand Turk, departing Nov. 29. Thereafter it will do alternating six- and eight-day Caribbean itineraries, mixed with a few one-time, one-off voyages, Carnival said.

Carnival Breeze and Liberty will sail from Galveston

To make way for the new Carnival Vista when it is deployed in Miami in November 2016, Carnival Cruise Line will shift the Carnival Breeze to Galveston, Texas.

Also, Carnival will position the Carnival Liberty in Galveston in 2016. It has just repositioned Carnival Freedom to Galveston, where it is aggressively courting new business.

“Miami and Galveston are among our most popular points of embarkation, and deploying our newest, most innovative ships to these home ports speaks volumes about our confidence in growing these markets,” said Christine Duffy, Carnival’s president.

The Carnival Triumph and Magic, currently sailing from Galveston, will be redeployed with details to be announced at a later date. 

Prior to the start-up of year-round service from Miami, Carnival Vista will operate a pair of voyages round trip from New York, beginning with a three-day cruise Nov. 4-7, 2016, followed by an 11-day voyage departing Nov. 7 and visiting Grand Turk, San Juan, St. Thomas, Antigua and St. Maarten.  

Carnival Vista will then offer an 11-day transit cruise from New York to Miami from Nov. 18-29, with calls at Grand Turk, Bonaire, Aruba and St. Maarten.

Its first cruise from Miami will be a four-day cruise to Grand Turk, departing Nov. 29. Thereafter it will do alternating six- and eight-day Caribbean itineraries, mixed with a few one-time, one-off voyages, Carnival said.

Update: Carnival goes for classic American with new dining experience

Carnival goes for classic American with new dining experience

By Tom Stieghorst

In retooling its main dining rooms, Carnival Cruise Lines is returning to classic American dishes instead of the more exotic and fanciful fare that once captivated cruisers.

At the same time, Carnival will tailor the dining experience to either its “casual” or “cruise elegant” dress suggestions. There are typically two cruise-elegant nights on a seven-night cruise.

The announcement of new “American Table” and “American Feast” dining programs is one of the first upgrades Carnival plans to roll out in a bid to return the conversation about Carnival to its cruise product.

Mark Tamis, senior vice president of guest operations, said the scope of the change makes it a big deal.

“It really touches all of the guests,” he said. “Every Carnival customer who sails will experience this.”

Carnival is putting the spotlight on its complimentary dining at a time when the emphasis industry-wide has been on developing specialty restaurants that boost onboard revenue.

In recent years, Carnival has introduced some free dining alternatives, such as Guy’s Burger Joint, and some extra-charge restaurants, such as Ji Ji Asian Kitchen, on some of its ships.

Other cruise lines have not focused in detail on the main dining product, and Carnival might be hoping to highlight the value of its cruise by putting the complimentary dining front and center.

“Every single person eats dinner in the dining room,” Tamis said. “Ensuring that they have fun, that it’s a great experience and a great value — it’s important to make sure we get that right.”

Tamis said Carnival has been working on the new dining program for more than a year, has undertaken multiple focus groups and surveys and has talked to hundreds of guests individually.

Carnival also consulted with New York-based Union Square Hospitality Group, operator of restaurants such as Union Square Cafe, Gramercy Tavern and Shake Shack. Chefs and managers from Carnival traveled with and talked to Union Square chefs for inspiration, Tamis said.

The result is a menu long on familiarity and comfort, and relatively less ethnic than in the past.

“It’s kind of going away from a menu that was a little eclectic with dishes from around the world, really,” and focusing on American dishes that resonate with the majority of Carnival guests who are from North America, Tamis said.

So, for example, one sample menu includes roast striploin, salmon fish cakes and barbecue pork spare ribs as “mains.” There is also a “From the Grill” section that includes free-range chicken breast, a flat-iron steak and pork chops.

Each American Table menu will also include a “Port of Call” entree and cocktail tied to the day’s port call and a “Rare Find,” which is an exotic item like frog legs or alligator nuggets, which is currently categorized on the menu under “Didja” (as in “Did you ever try?”).

“In the focus groups, the guests told us they loved this idea,” Tamis said. “They didn’t always love eating — and the taste of — frog’s legs. They loved the idea of ordering frog’s legs.”

American Table will be more like a restaurant experience than a traditional main dining room, Tamis said. Fewer dishes will be grouped into plates with an entrée, starch and vegetable.

“It’s not just saying ‘I’ll have the chicken,’ and that comes all composed on one plate,” Tamis said. Also, there will be more appetizers sized to order for the table.

On more formal cruise-elegant nights, Carnival will roll out the American Feast, which is designed to be more celebratory, with supper club fare and dishes prepared tableside. Entrees on one sample menu include broiled lobster tail and slow-cooked prime rib.

The celebration includes a parade of chefs bearing a showstopper dessert, such as sticky toffee brioche with whipped creme fraiche. Diners will be serenaded by waiters, as they are now.

“The service is always very friendly and smiling and very engaging; none of that’s going to change,” Tamis said.

Different decor, menu design and tableware will further distinguish American Table from American Feast dinners.

Carnival Cruise Lines picked Carnival Glory to debut the new dining concepts, because it has a fairly typical seven-night Caribbean itinerary and sails from Miami. “To start with a ship in Miami closest to many of our purveyors and partners is certainly helpful,” Tamis said.

The programs are scheduled to start on the Glory Dec. 8, and will be extended to the Carnival Liberty in January and the Carnival Imagination and Inspiration in February. A fleetwide rollout is expected in the later part of 2014, extending into 2015.

Cruise ships make itinerary changes due to tropical storm

By Gay Nagle Myers

Tropical Storm Chantal has forced three Carnival ships to make itinerary changes as the storm wends its way through the Caribbean.

The Carnival Freedom will skip a call in Ocho Rios, Jamaica, on Thursday and substitute Cozumel instead.

The Carnival Liberty skipped St. Thomas on Tuesday and called in San Juan, is in Grand Turk on Wednesday and will add a stop in Nassau on Friday.

The Carnival Victory skipped a day at sea on Tuesday and called at Nassau, will be in Grand Turk on Thursday and at Half Moon Cay, Bahamas.

Chantal was south of Haiti on Wednesday and is expected to dump heavy rains on Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Jamaica and Cuba on Thursday before heading toward the Bahamas and Florida on the weekend.