Last Friday, at approximately 9 a.m., Carnival Cruise Lines’ 2,052-passenger cruise ship, Carnival Imagination, rescued three boaters whose vessel capsized approximately 14 miles north of the sea buoy off the coast of Miami.

            Carnival Imagination was en route to its homeport of Miami when officers on the ship’s bridge saw the capsized vessel.  Captain Candeloro Donato immediately initiated rescue operations, positioning the vessel toward the capsized boat and lowering one of the Carnival Imagination’s rescue boats.  The U.S. Coast Guard was notified, as well.

            The three boaters were safely brought onto the Carnival Imagination’s rescue boat as it stood by under instructions from the U.S. Coast Guard, which dispatched a 33-foot Special Purpose Craft to take them to Miami.

            The 70,000-ton Carnival Imagination operates year-round three- and four-day cruises from Miami.

The Carnival Imagination welcomed a special visitor, rock star Lenny Kravitz who sailed aboard the 2,052-passenger “Fun Ship” during a recent three-day cruise to Nassau.  

During his time on board, Kravitz (center) enjoyed a personal tour of the ship’s bridge conducted by Captain Evangelista Salvemini (left) and Hotel Director Miles Willis.

The Carnival Imagination operates a year-round schedule of three-day Bahamas and four-day western Caribbean cruises from Miami.

But for those of you looking for more information, here’s a link to a video (from Travel Trade) featuring the Carnival Imagination’s Hotel Director, Miles Willis discussing the ship’s refurbishment, from the lighting, to the chairs, spa, waterworks and more.  Watch the video here.  

Check out some photos from Reuters and AP courtesy of Yahoo!

Here’s a quick summary from the USA Today Cruise Log blog

And for an Evolutions of Fun review with a touch of humor visit John Heald’s blog any day this week to find posts and photos from his current trip onboard the Carnival Imagination. 

Through the “Read My Valentine” on-line contest, which runs from Jan. 14 – Feb. 14, 2008, couples can recount a romantic story about their partner on any topic they’d choose – from an interesting “how we met” tale to a memorable Valentine’s Day gesture or their favorite romantic memory from a “Fun Ship” cruise.

The top five entries will be selected by a team of judges from Carnival and then posted on carnival.com where visitors to the site can vote for their number one choice. The contest winner will receive a four-day western Caribbean cruise for two in the luxurious owner’s suite aboard the 2,052-passenger Carnival Imagination from Miami or Carnival Inspiration from Tampa. 

Both of these ships recently underwent multi-million-dollar upgrades as part of Carnival’s extensive “Evolutions of Fun” shipboard refurbishment program and feature such new amenities as a Serenity adults-only area, redesigned main pool, Carnival WaterWorks aqua park, and renovated 12,000-square-foot Spa Carnival health club.

The winner will also have his or her story featured in the summer 2008 edition of Currents, Carnival’s travel publication mailed to more than three million of the line’s past guests.

“Valentine’s Day is a wonderful reminder to people to take the time to express their love for one another. And with Carnival such a popular venue for couples to celebrate special occasions, the ‘Read My Valentine’ promotion is a fun and engaging way to commemorate this treasured day,” said Vicki Freed, Carnival’s senior vice president of sales and guest services.

In addition to being featured on flash banners on Carnival’s Web site, the “Read My Valentine” contest will be promoted via e-mail blasts, CarnivalConnections.com, the line’s online marketing community, as well as on the blog of Carnival Senior Cruise Director John Heald (accessible via carnival.com or johnhealdsblog.com).

Official rules for the contest are posted on carnival.com. 

Carnival is the largest and most popular cruise line in the world, with 22 “Fun Ships” operating voyages ranging from three to 18 days in length to the Bahamas, Caribbean, Mexico, Alaska, Hawaii, New England, Canada, Bermuda, Europe, the Greek Isles and South America.

The line currently has three new ships on order, including the 113,300-ton Carnival Splendor, set to launch Carnival’s first Northern European cruise program July 13, 2008, and the 130,000-ton Carnival Dream and Carnival Magic – to be the largest “Fun Ships” ever constructed when they enter service in October 2009 and June 2011, respectively.

For additional information on Carnival’s “Fun Ship” cruises, contact any travel agent, call 1-800-CARNIVAL or visit carnival.com.

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Carnival Cruise Lines, a unit of Carnival Corporation & plc (NYSE/LSE:  CCL; NYSE:  CUK), is a proud member of the exclusive World’s Leading Cruise Lines.  Our exclusive alliance also includes Holland America Line, Princess Cruises, Cunard Line, Costa Cruises, and The Yachts of Seabourn.  Sharing a passion to please each guest, and a commitment to quality and value, our member lines appeal to a wide range of lifestyles and budgets.  Together, we offer exciting and enriching cruise vacations to the world’s most desirable destinations.