Carnival Cruise Lines

Infobox Company
company_name = Carnival Cruise Lines
company_
company_type = Subsidiary of Carnival Corporation & plc
foundation = 1972
location = Miami, Florida, USA
key_people =
area_served =
industry = Transportation
products = Cruises
revenue =
operating_income =
net_income =
num_employees =
parent =
subsid =
homepage = http://www.carnival.com/
footnotes =

Carnival Cruise Lines is a cruise line operating a large number of cruise ships. Originally an independent company founded in 1972 by Ted Arison, it is now a branded division within Carnival Corporation & plc, a publicly traded company which owns a number of different cruise brands. [cite web|url=http://www.carnivalcorp.com |title=Carnival Corporation official website | publisher=Carnival Corporation & plc |accessdate=2008-07-29]

Carnival was a pioneer in the concept of cheaper and shorter cruises. Its ships are known for their Las Vegas-style decor and entertainment. The line calls its ships "The Fun Ships" and there is a wide range of activities offered on board. Its trademark is the smoke stack, or funnel, which is red, white and blue and shaped like a whale's tail. The mascot for Carnival is "Fun Ship Freddy", a character in the shape of Carnival's distinctive funnel.

In 1996 the "Carnival Destiny" of 101,000 gross tons became the largest passenger ship in the world at the time. As of 2007, the latest and largest ship in the Carnival Fleet is the "Carnival Freedom", a Conquest Class ship and Carnival's second ship to be based in Europe. The company announced three new ships in early 2007: the "Carnival Splendor", to debut July 2, 2008, the "Carnival Dream", set to debut in October 2009, and the "Carnival Magic", set to debut in June 2011.

Current Ships

Holiday Class

Spirit Class

Future Ships

Former Ships

* Two more Destiny class ships sail for Carnival's sister company Costa Cruises, the Costa Fortuna and the Costa Magica.
* The Carnival Destiny was built with one deck less than the rest of the Destiny class ships.
* Two more Spirit class ships of sail for Carnival's sister company Costa Cruises, the Costa Atlantica and the Costa Mediterranea.
* The Conquest Class is based on the overall design of the Destiny Class, but has a longer length. Because of its longer length, the Conquest Class has expanded facilities compared to the Destiny Class. All ships have a reservations-only restaurant. The Carnival Valor, Carnival Liberty and the Carnival Freedom, slightly differ from the rest of the fleet because they have Carnival's Seaside Theater installed by the main pool on the Lido Deck. The Carnival Victory has one installed too.
* The Carnival Splendor will be the first of the newest class of ships. This ship is quite unique in the Carnival fleet, offering facilities other ships don't have. This is due to the fact that the ship was originally designed for Carnival's sister company Costa Cruises. Costa Cruises currently operates two sister ships to the Carnival Splendor, the Costa Concordia and the Costa Serena. The inaugural voyage for the Carnival Splendor will be on 2 July 2008 from Genoa, Italy to Dover, England and will then have Carnival's first voyages to Northern Europe.
* On 3 April 2008 Mickey Arison, the chairman of Carnival Corporation & plc, stated that due to the low value of the US dollar, inflation and high shipbuilding costs, the company would not be ordering any new ships for their US-based brands (Carnival, Princess Cruises and Holland America Line) until the economic situation improves. [cite web |url=http://www.cruisebusiness.com/news.php?u=20080403224002 |title=No newbuildings for Carnival's US brands at current dollar-euro rate - Arison |accessdate=2008-04-03 |date=2008-04-04 |format= |work=Cruise Business Review |publisher=Cruise Media Oy Ltd ]

Timeline

1970s

* 1972 – Purchase of the Empress of Canada
* 1972 - Maiden voyage of Carnival’s first ship, the TSS Mardi Gras, which runs aground on sandbar outside the Port of Miami.
* 1975 – Carnival purchases Empress of Britain, enters service as the TSS Carnivale.
* 1978 – The Festivale, formerly the S.A. Vaal, undergoes $30 million refurbishment, begins service for Carnival as the largest and fastest vessel sailing from Miami to the Caribbean.

1980s

* 1982 – Debut of the Tropicale, the first new cruise ship the cruise industry had seen in many years; ship marks the beginning of an industry-wide multi-billion-dollar shipbuilding boom.
* 1984 – Carnival becomes first cruise line to advertise on network television with the premiere of new advertising campaign starring company spokesperson Kathie Lee Gifford (then Kathie Lee Johnson).
* 1985 – Debut of 46,052-ton Holiday
* 1986 – Launch of 47,262-ton Jubilee
* 1987 – The 47,262-ton Celebration enters service
* Carnival earns distinction as “Most Popular Cruise Line in the World,” carrying more passengers than any other.
* Carnival Cruise Lines undertakes its initial public offering on Wall Street, raising approximately $400 million to fuel future expansion; entity later becomes Carnival Corporation & plc, a multi-line worldwide cruise conglomerate.

1990s

* 1990 – The 70,367-ton Fantasy – the first and namesake vessel in the highly successful “Fantasy-class” -- enters service as first new ship ever placed on three- and four-day Bahamas cruise program from Miami. Eventually, Carnival would construct eight “Fantasy-class” vessels, the most cruise ships in a single class.
* 1991 – Launch of 70,367-ton Ecstasy
* 1993 – Introduces its third 70,367-ton , Sensation
* 1994 – Debut of 70,367-ton Fascination
* Parent company renamed Carnival Corporation to distinguish between it and its flagship brand, Carnival Cruise Lines. Company is later renamed Carnival Corp. & plc following the combination with P&O Princess Cruises, creating the world’s largest cruise vacation group.
* 1995 – 70,367-ton Imagination enters service
* 1996 – Launch of sixth “Fantasy-class” vessel, the Inspiration
* Launches the first passenger vessel to exceed 100,000 tons, the 101,353-ton Carnival Destiny, at the time the world’s largest cruise ship
* 1998 – Introduces seventh “Fantasy-class” vessel, the Elation, the first new cruise ship deployed on the West Coast
* The eighth and last in the “Fantasy-class” series, the Paradise, enters service. Paradise was the first and only non-smoking cruise ship in the world.
* 1999 – Debut of the 102,000-ton Carnival Triumph, the second “Destiny-class” vessel

2000s

* 2000 – A third “Destiny-class” vessel, the 102,000-ton Carnival Victory, is launched.
* 2001 – Introduces a new class of vessel with the launch of the 88,500-ton Carnival Spirit, the first new “Fun Ship” ever positioned in the Alaska and Hawaii markets. Also, Supermarket Sweep begins the Carnival Cruise Week. The catchphrase was: "Next time you're an ocean liner and you hear their beep — [a foghorn sounds] — think of all the fun you can have on "Supermarket Sweep"!".
* 2002 – A second “Spirit-class” vessel, the Carnival Pride, is launched
* Carnival’s third “Spirit-class” ship, Carnival Legend, enters service
* Debut of the 110,000-ton Carnival Conquest, the largest “Fun Ship” ever constructed.
* 2003- Second 110,000-ton “Conquest-class” ship, the Carnival Glory, begins year-round seven-day cruises from Port Canaveral, Fla. on July 19
* 2004 – Carnival Miracle, the fourth in the “Spirit-class,” begins a series of 12 voyages from Jacksonville, Fla. – the first “Fun Ship” sailings from that port – February 27
* A third 110,000-ton “Conquest-class” ship, the Carnival Valor, begins year-round seven-day service from Miami December 19, becoming the largest "Fun Ship" ever based at that port.
* 2005 – A fourth 110,000-ton “Conquest-class” vessel, Carnival Liberty, debuts July 20, operating the line's first-ever Mediterranean cruises.
* 2007 - Carnival Freedom, the fifth 110,000-ton vessel, debuts March 4
* 2008 - The 112,000-ton Carnival Splendor debuts July 2
* 2009 - Carnival Dream, a 130,000-ton vessel, to be the largest "Fun Ship" ever constructed - is scheduled to enter service in October [ [http://www.carnival.com/CMS/Articles/dream_magic.aspx Carnival Cruise Lines - News Release ] ] .
* 2011 - Carnival Magic, a 130,000-ton vessel, currently scheduled to enter service in June

Hurricane Katrina charters

Three of the Carnival cruise ships were chartered by the United States government for six months to serve as temporary housing in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. The "Holiday" was originally docked in Mobile, Alabama and later Pascagoula, MS, and the "Ecstasy" and "Sensation" were docked at New Orleans, Louisiana. The six-month contract cost $236 million. The contract was widely criticized because the vessels were never fully utilized, and Carnival received more money than it would have earned by using the ships in their normal rotation. [ [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/09/27/AR2005092701960_pf.html $236 Million Cruise Ship Deal Criticized] — Washington Post, September 28, 2005] Carnival did not have the same fuel, entertainment, staffing, and other expenses they would have incurred had the ships been on their normal routes, but the line also did not receive revenues from on-board gambling, alcoholic beverages, and other product and service sales that would have been generated had the vessels been engaged in cruising.

ee also

*Carnival Air Lines
*Carnival Cruise Lines Tycoon

References

External links

* [http://www.carnival.com/ Carnival Cruise Lines website]
* [http://www.cruisejunkie.com/ Cruise Junkie website]