April 2016

Carnival Victory scored 100 during its recent United States Public Health (U.S.P.H.) inspection which took place in Port Canaveral, Fla., earlier this month. To earn a 100 score, cruise ships must receive perfect marks on all 44 items that comprise the U.S.P.H.’s comprehensive Vessel Sanitation Program checklist. The unannounced inspections, which are conducted twice a year and required for any cruise ship with an international itinerary calling at a U.S. port, evaluate vessels in a wide variety of areas, including adherence to proper food handling, preparation and storage procedures, and overall galley cleanliness. Ships’ potable water supplies used in spas and pools are evaluated, as well. The 2,758-passenger Carnival Victory recently kicked off a schedule of three- and four-day Bahamas…

A traditional keel-laying ceremony was held at the Fincantieri shipyard in Italy for Carnival Cruise Line’s second Vista-class ship set to debut in spring 2018. The ceremony – which dates back hundreds of years – signifies the official start of construction of a seagoing vessel. The as-yet-unnamed ship will offer a wide variety of the line’s popular dining, bar and entertainment innovations, as well as some features unique to this vessel. Additional design details, as well as the official name of the 133,500-ton, 3,954-passenger ship and itinerary and homeport information, will be announced at a later date.    

  To celebrate the arrival of New Orleans’ newest cruise ship, Carnival Triumph, Carnival Cruise Line and the Port of New Orleans today hosted an entertaining charity event with representatives from four local music organizations competing for $35,000 in donations to music charities. Trumpeter/vocalist Shamarr Allen, competing on behalf of the Louis “Satchmo” Armstrong Jazz Camp; singer Robin Barnes, competing for the Tipitina’s Foundation; saxophonist Derek Douget, representing The New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival and Foundation; and Rebirth Brass Band Drummer and Roots of Music Co-Founder Derrick Tabb participated in a series of hilarious “minute-to-win it” games with Tipitina’s Foundation taking home first prize of $15,000.  The other groups split $20,000 in runner-up contributions toward the charities each were…

Carnival Cruise Line today released the first in a new video series featuring heartwarming meet-and-greet opportunities between seven-time GRAMMY-award winning country superstar Carrie Underwood and U.S. military families recognized through the Honor. Family. Fun. program benefiting Operation Homefront. The video can be viewed here. In the first video, Underwood surprises the Vaughn family, whose patriarch Phillip served in the U.S. Army, at a pre-concert event in Washington, D.C, during her Storyteller Tour.  Underwood thanked Vaughn for his service to our country and invited his family, which includes his wife Jung Sun and kids Tara and Jeremy, to her special private concert for military families pierside aboard Carnival Vista in New York on Nov. 4, 2016. Carnival Cruise Director Butch Begovich…