carnival Archives – Crown Cruise Vacations
Visiting Santa Cruz: Tenerife Port City Celebrates Extravagant Carnival
January 31, 2019 | Jackie Sheckler FinchStreets are draped in mourning. Wailing “widows” in fishnet stockings and miniskirts lament loudly. Paraders dressed as popes, bishops and nuns bless onlookers and each other.
It’s “El Entierro de la Sardina” or the “Burial of the Sardine” in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, capital of the largest of the Canary Islands. It’s when a gigantic 30-foot papier mache fish is carried through city streets and thrown on a massive bonfire. As the huge fish goes up in flames, fireworks light the night to signal the official end of Carnival.
Carnival’s Warm Chocolate Melting Cake
January 19, 2017 | Jackie Sheckler FinchCarnival Cruise Lines, in particular, has a delicious Warm Chocolate Melting Cake. When it is listed on the menu, that is always my choice, especially if it is served with a scoop of ice cream.
For those who want to try the popular sweet at home, Carnival is sharing its recipe. But, be prepared. Your family and friends might like it so much that you’ll soon be making it for more than special occasions. Or you’ll be booking a Carnival cruise where you can sit back and order the cake without having to make it yourself.
Warm Chocolate Melting Cake
1 pound dark chocolate
1 pound butter
10 eggs
10 ounces sugar
6 ounces flour
Melt chocolate and butter. Mix eggs with sugar and whisk for a few minutes. Add flour. Combine egg mixture with melted chocolate and mix. Pour into individual greased molds. Bake in oven at 400 degree for 14 minutes.
Sprinkle with confectioners sugar and, if desired, garnish with fresh fruit. Serve warm with ice cream. Serves 12.
Photo courtesy of Carnival Cruise Lines
Five Tips for the First Time Cruiser
November 22, 2013 | RogerKey-card-activated electricity system is a useful touch
November 4, 2013 | HeidiWhen my daughter Kelly and I first checked into our cabin on the Carnival Breeze, we saw attendants in the hallway helping cruisers figure out how to turn on the electricity in their rooms.
Have to admit, the first time I went to Europe many years ago and discovered the practical key card-activated electricity system, I was a bit puzzled, too. But I soon learned how useful it is and how it can save on electricity.
A new touch on the Breeze is a slot inside the cabin door is where you put your key card to turn on the electricity.
“It’s to save on electricity,” explains crewmember Zsolt in the guest services office. “The lights and TV aren’t on if you aren’t in the cabin and don’t have your key in that slot.”
Air conditioning continues to work so that the cabin is always comfy when passengers return. But I’m sure many passengers have probably left their cabins without turning off the lights or electricity – an unnecessary expenditure if out of the cabin for any length of time.
The key-card system is also on the Carnival Magic and the new Carnival Sunshine. Another benefit, Kelly and I discovered, is that it’s a handy way to know where your key card is when you get ready to leave the cabin.
By Jackie Sheckler Finch
4 Reasons Why Today Is The Best Day to Plan a Vacation
October 16, 2013 | RogerExtra Donkey Sauce: The Best Burger at Sea
August 19, 2013 | HeidiAfter all, this is the famous Guy’s Burger Joint on the new Carnival Breeze. Created in partnership with Food Network’s spiky-haired Guy Fieri, this poolside restaurant is hopping from noon to 6 p.m. each day.
And it doesn’t cost extra aboard the Carnival Breeze.
Carnival’s Dinner and Dancing
July 15, 2013 | RogerBooze and Books on the Breeze
April 19, 2013 | HeidiMaybe sip a Hemingway’s Papa Doble while enjoying a good novel?
Surprised? The Carnival Breeze does indeed have a bar in the library, along with a first for Carnival Cruise Lines – card-key operated wine dispensers. Makes sense to me.
3 Reasons Today is the Day to Book that Vacation
December 28, 2012 | RogerCarnival Cruise Line Creates Own Beer
December 3, 2012 | HeidiThat’s the Carnival story about the RedFrog. And they’re sticking to it.
In fact, the little tree frog has made himself so at home on the cruise ship that he has his own private label draught beer, custom-brewed specially for Carnival – ThirstyFrog Red.
The first pub ever on a Carnival ship opened in May 2011, on the Magic with ThirstyFrog Red beer and the response was overwhelming. “They ran out of beer the first day,” said Vance Gulliksen, Carnival Cruise Lines spokesman. “This is a huge hit for us. ”
So popular has ThirstyFrog Red become that it is now served on 17 of the 24 Carnival ships. “Carnival is the only place you can get it,” Gulliksen said. “It’s a fun thing to do but we didn’t realize how popular the pub and the beer would be.”
The pub itself is an island-themed watering hole located on the Promenade Deck of the Magic. The décor is decidedly Caribbean meets Key West with nautical styled interiors, warm woods, vibrant tile work, portholes and images of ships at seas, plus foosball and game tables, a jukebox and live music.
The 100-seat indoor-outdoor pub serves Caribbean favorites – Bahamian conch salad, grouper fingers, firecracker Jamaican chicken wings, Jamaican jerk pulled pork sandwiches, beef sliders, coconut shrimp and more – all just $3.33 per dish.
RedFrog Pub also serves top Caribbean rums and regional beers such as Jamaican Red Stripe, plus tropics-infused cocktails with a focus on “Tings.” The drinks are made with Ting, Jamaica’s unofficial national lemon-lime soda.
At $5.50 for a 19-ounce glass, ThirstyFrog Red is an amber beer with a light taste. For its faithful fans, ThristyFrog Red is also served in a 101-ounce tube for $27.95.
“It’s great,” said Sam Wilson of Houston, relaxing in a wooden swing on the RedFrog patio. “If I could get it at home, I would sure buy it. Guess I’ll just have to take more Carnival cruises because I definitely like the Carnival beer.”
Wilson and his friends posed with a smile when a bartender aimed a huge camera in their direction. The pictures of customers are then displayed behind the bar for a colorful collage.
As RedFrog himself might say – “Chill out. Live life to the fullest.”
– By Jackie Sheckler Finch
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