He strutted down the street like he was cock of the walk.

“He’s beautiful and he knows it,” a woman said, watching me try to take a photo of the confident rooster.

I think she was right. Perhaps this preening critter knew that he was a popular sight and that he could come and go as he pleased – protected by the laws of this American city. Read more...

The tantalizing sizzle of hamburgers frying on a griddle sure caught my attention. I don’t even like hamburgers but I had to try one of these tempting beef sandwiches.

After all, this is the famous Guy’s Burger Joint on the Carnival Breeze. Created in partnership with Food Network’s spiky-haired Guy Fieri, the poolside restaurant is hopping each day. Read more...

Imagine soaring high above the sea in a zooming roller coaster. Carnival Cruise Line is building the first roller coaster at sea for its magnificent Mardi Gras, set to debut in August.

“Whether guests want to get an adrenaline rush or take it slow and enjoy the breathtaking views, BOLT will have it all,” said Carnival Cruise Line President Christine Duffy. Read more...

By Jackie Sheckler Finch

Chrome and silver. Gold and purple. Neon lights. Orange leather seats. Triangle-patterned bar stools. Plush sofas. Squiggles and curlicues galore. The Carnival Sensation décor, to me, looked like retro ‘60s mod.

I almost expected to see movie secret agent Austin Powers sashaying down the ship promenade. I lived through those times so I like the styling of the 25-year-old ship.

The heart of the ship is the soaring glass-and-metal atrium. Two rocket-shaped glass elevators zoom up and down for great views. The Atrium Bar is a hopping place with drink specials and live music on a raised stage over the bar.

The Deck 7 atrium is home to Guest Services, Shore Excursions, and a five-station Internet Café. Deck 8 has Fantasia Lounge and the ship’s Fun Shops offering Carnival souvenirs, toiletries, cruise clothes, handbags, designer watches, sunglasses, jewelry, liquor, cigarettes and more.

The Promenade on Deck 9 is aptly named. It’s a good place to walk, glance in the galleries, see the action in the casino, browse Pixels photo gallery, stop by the new Cherry on Top gift and candy store, and more.

The ship’s photographers do a good job and I’m sure those ship photos often become valued family memories. The photographers roam around taking casual photos and they also set up beautiful backdrop sets for special nights, particularly during the captain’s dinner which is the only dress-up night on our five-day cruise.

Photos are displayed on large boards and can be bought or not. Life goes so quickly and I know from my own experience that families often put off having a professional photo taken, thinking we’ll do it later. But later might not come. On my home office desk are two ship photos of a cruise I took with my grandson Logan and my sister Elaine. Brings back happy memories.

Can’t get there from here

Built in 1993, Carnival Sensation does have some inconveniences. It is one of those you-can’t-get-there-from-here ships. For my first night’s dinner, it was a bit of a hunt to find my Fantasy Dining Room on Deck 8 forward.

Sounds reasonable to walk up to Deck 8 or take an elevator there but if you arrive at the wrong end of the ship, you’re out of luck. You can’t just walk to the other end of the ship on Deck 8. There is no thruway. Instead, you have to either go up and come down or go down and come up.

Quite a few of us seemed lost that first night. One woman said she would just follow me. With my sense of direction, that might not have been a wise move. But we did find our Fantasy Dining Room.

On Deck 0 is the medical center. Two self-service coin-operated laundries are busy places on Deck 6 and Deck 7.

At the top of the ship on Lido Deck 10 are two whirlpools, the main pool and an activity stage where dance lessons are offered and games such as corn hole are played. Carnival Waterworks is on Deck 11. For folks at least 21 years old, Serenity Whirlpool is located on Deck 9.

The Carnival Sensation is a grand old lady who is not ready to hang up her traveling shoes. And she shouldn’t.

Photo by Jackie Sheckler Finch

To celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Wheel of Fortune slot machines featured aboard all Carnival ships and in casinos worldwide, Carnival and International Game Technology will reward players with free cruises and a variety of exciting giveaways throughout 2016.

The brands are also partnering with the most successful syndicated game show in television history, Wheel of Fortune, on a first-ever Carnival Cruise Line-themed week featuring an exciting viewer sweepstakes.

“Wheel of Fortune slots and Carnival cruises are synonymous with fun and excitement, so IGT’s partnership with Carnival Cruise Line provides the ideal way to celebrate 20 years of Wheel of Fortune slots,” said Victor Duarte, IGT global chief product officer, gaming. 

“We appreciate the continued partnership between Carnival Cruise Line and IGT.  Featuring Wheel of Fortune slots on all 24 Carnival cruise ships gives the games great exposure to millions of people, and has played a valuable role in helping IGT’s Wheel of Fortune slots become the most popular casino slot brand of all time,” Duarte said.

Winners will participate in the onboard Spin N Sail slot tournament featuring the IGT Wheel of Fortune slot machines exclusively during an eight-day Caribbean cruise aboard the Carnival Magic from Port Canaveral, Fla., in November 2016.

The $200,000 prize pool, provided by IGT, includes a $100,000 grand prize to be taken home by one lucky winner.  IGT customers across the U.S. and Canada will host qualifying events where winning players are awarded a free cruise for two and an entry into the grand finale $200,000 tournament.

“We’re also excited to offer a variety of special Wheel of Fortune-themed activities on board and be a part of Spin & Sail Week on this iconic show,” said Mike Hunssinger Turek, vice president of casino commercial operations for Carnival Cruise Line.

Introduced in 1996, the Wheel of Fortune slot machines have become a player favorite in shipboard casinos, including all 24 Carnival Cruise Line vessels, as well as in casinos on land.  IGT has placed more than 200 versions of Wheel of Fortune slots in casinos around the world, and the game has awarded more than $3 billion in jackpots and minted more than 1,000 millionaires.  Players enjoy how Wheel of Fortune slots capture the spirit and creativity of the popular television game show produced by Sony Pictures.

Throughout 2016, Carnival will also host a number of Wheel of Fortune-themed events across the fleet that will include special branded items and on-board activities and games every sailing, including the popular Wheel of Fortune scratch-off game where guests can win up to $30,000.

Additionally, each sailing will feature a Wheel of Fortune prize wheel offering a wide range of prizes, everything from Carnival logo items and Casino Cash to entry into the $200,000 Spin N Sail slot tournament.

The 20th anniversary Wheel of Fortune slot festivities will also include a “Spin & Sail Week” with five Carnival Cruise Line-themed shows airing this spring on the iconic game show that inspired the slot machine. “Spin & Sail Week” airing March 21-25, 2016, will feature a custom, tropical-themed set with high-definition Carnival ship images and footage.

Contestants will be able to win Carnival cruises to a variety of exotic destinations including the Caribbean, Mexico, Hawaii, and Alaska.

In preparation for the broadcast, Pat Sajak, Vanna White and the Wheel of Fortune crew went on location to shoot customized segments aboard a Carnival Cruise Line ship.

The “Wheel of Fortune Spin & Sail Sweepstakes,” will encourage viewers to watch “Spin & Sail Week” on Wheel of Fortune and enter each night’s bonus puzzle solution at www.wheeloffortune.com.

Twenty winning entries will be selected, and the grand prize will be an eight-day Caribbean cruise aboard Carnival Magic to be taken in November 2016 with a guaranteed spot in the Spin N Sail $200,000 slot tournament.

Photo of Pat Sajak and Vanna White aboard a Carnival ship courtesy of Carnival Cruise Line

By Marie Poynter

If you’re an IMAX fan, get ready to enjoy the huge theater experience at sea. The new Carnival Vista will have cruising’s first IMAX theater when it debuts in Europe in May 2016.

Designed as the ultimate family vacation, the new Carnival “Fun Ship” will also feature Family Harbor staterooms and suites with a “family concierge,” an exciting suspended cycling experience named Skyride and much more. Read more...

Chances are your children like them. And youngsters know exactly where such creative food came from – Dr. Seuss.

Now children of all ages will enjoy an exciting new partnership with Dr. Seuss Enterprises and Carnival Cruise Lines.

“It is fun to have fun but you have to know how,” said the Cat in the Hat in the iconic Dr. Seuss book.

For the funnest fun of all, Carnival Cruise Lines will be offering an industry first with its Carnival Seuss at Sea Program.

Roll-out of the Seuss at Sea program began aboard Carnival Splendor in February 2014 with implementation across the full 24 “Fun Ship” fleet in 2015, as well as Carnival Vista when that ship enters service in early 2016.

The program offers a variety of exciting and immersive onboard youth, family, dining and entertainment experiences featuring the amazing world and words of Dr. Seuss.

“Dr. Seuss inspires imaginations across generations and encourages a playfulness and whimsy that is often lost in today’s ‘always on’ society,” said Susan Brandt, president of Dr. Seuss Enterprises.

“We’re excited to be working with Carnival Cruise Lines to bring some of the timeless magic of Dr. Seuss to the families that sail each year. Seuss at Sea will let kids and parents alike explore their imaginations through the memorable onboard experiences we’re building together.”

The Seuss fun on Carnival will happen for the whole cruise, starting in the main dining room during The Green Eggs and Ham Breakfast with the Cat in the Hat and Friends. Attendees will have the opportunity to kick off their day dining on playful foods straight from Dr. Seuss’s imagination – green eggs and ham, moose juice and goose juice, along with colorful fruit and pancake stacks, funky French toast and more, with traditional breakfast favorites also available.

To help set the tone on the first sea day of each cruise, Carnival’s wait staff will wear Dr. Seuss-inspired uniforms. Popular Dr. Seuss characters such as the Cat in the Hat, Thing One and Thing Two, and Sam will be joining guests at their tables for fun interactions and one-of-a-kind photo opportunities.

Every ship in the Carnival fleet will have a selection of classic Dr. Seuss books, toys and themed activities for children to enjoy.  Special showings of beloved Seuss movies will be shown outdoors on the giant screen of the Seaside Theater on Lido Deck as part of the cruise line’s Dive-In Movies programming.

At other times during the voyage, children and families will have the chance to meet and interact with favorite Dr. Seuss characters and participate in special photo opportunities featuring colorful and zany Dr. Seuss-inspired artwork, as well as through events and activities such as the Seuss-a-palooza Character Parade where guests can join Dr. Seuss characters in a swirly conga line along the Promenade.

Carnival Cruise Lines estimates it carries more than 700,000 kids aboard its fleet each year — nearly half of the total number of kids carried by the entire North American cruise industry.

Story and Photo by Jackie Sheckler Finch

But Carnival Cruise Lines has now come up with a cruise industry first to be sure passengers get the best shore excursions possible. Carnival just announced a guarantee that guests who book a Carnival shore excursion and find a comparable tour at a lower price will receive an onboard credit of 110 percent of the difference.

“Many of our repeat guests who have booked Carnival shore tours previously are already knowledgeable on the outstanding value our tours provide,” said Mico Cascais, vice president of tour operations for Carnival Cruise Lines.

“However, our research indicates that many others, particularly first-time cruisers, are interested yet concerned as to whether or not they are getting the best deal,. The best price guarantee program will assure our guests they are getting both the highest quality and the best value on all of our tours.”

I’ve long known that the shore excursions offered by a cruise company are the best way to go. The excursions have to be well organized, reasonably priced, safe and interesting or the cruise line would not keep offering them.

I once saw a couple returning to our cruise ship shaking their heads and vowing never TO take a Jamaica tour again. The problem was not Jamaica and it was not the tour, it was the tour company. The poor couple had booked it with a tour company after they got off the ship and saw a cheap tour offered in Jamaica. Never ever do that.

CHOOSE CRUISE COMPANY SHORE EXCURSIONS

Stick with the cruise company excursions. They offer the best protection and now the best price. I was very pleased with my Bob Marley tour when the Carnival Breeze docked in Jamaica. But I don’t think I would have wanted to take the tour with any company other than the one backed by the Carnival company.

Of course, with Carnival’s new excursion protection plan, cruisers are guaranteed to get the best deal from a Carnival excursion. Sounds like a great program.

Guests sailing on a Carnival cruise who book a shore excursion through the cruise line can be completely confident they are getting the best price and best value with the introduction of a new shore excursion best price guarantee.

The only guarantee of its kind in the cruise industry, the program is now available fleet wide for all Carnival Cruise Lines shore tours on ships sailing from North America.

Under the best price guarantee, guests who find the same tour offered by another operator at a lower price than their booked excursion either before or during their cruise can complete a claim form to receive 110 percent of the difference in the form of a shipboard credit.

The guarantee is available for excursions booked prior to or during a cruise. If guests pre-book an excursion, then find a comparable tour advertised online at a lower price, they can complete an online form up to seven days prior to the cruise to invoke the guarantee. Guests can also complete a form during the cruise either before or after their excursion has taken place.  Claims are typically processed within 24-48 hours.

DON’T MISS THE BOAT

Guests who book their excursion through Carnival enjoy the convenience of having shore excursion tickets delivered to their stateroom, 24/7 access to shipboard staff to answer questions and obtain assistance, and an assurance that they will receive a refund or the excursion time will be adjusted as needed based on weather or other issues affecting a ship’s scheduled port of call visit.

I heard a faint gasp during my Carnival Magic orientation meeting in December when Magic Cruise Director James Dunn told cruisers what would happen if they booked a shore excursion not offered by Carnival and didn’t return to the ship in time for its sailing.

“We will leave you,” Dunn said. “We’ve done it before and we will do it again.”

Of course, that is no problem when you book a shore excursion with Carnival. I’ve never been late getting back to the ship on a ship-arranged tour excursion. But if something were to happen with a Carnival tour, Dunn said, the ship would wait.

Ongoing communication between tour operators and shipboard staff ensures that the cruise line is aware and can make necessary changes to a ship’s departure time when a tour is running late or unexpected circumstances arise, Dunn said.

Sure worth the peace of mind to me.

The online and onboard claim forms require guests to provide the name of the competitor offering the comparable tour, excursion name, where the tour was advertised and the duration, price and any items included in the tour such as lunch, drinks, transportation or admission fees.

The best price guarantee is applicable to shore excursion matches on the same date as the tour purchased from Carnival.

Story and Photo by Jackie Sheckler Finch

Seems like a strange question. But there is an interesting story behind the two critters who now make their home on Carnival Cruise Lines. The BlueIguana Tequila Bar is featured on the Breeze, Conquest, Dream, Glory, Liberty, Sunshine and Triumph.

“The most popular cruise activity is eating,” said cruise director Butch Begovich.  “The second most popular cruise activity is drinking.”

And the Carnival ships have plenty of places to do both.

For starters, there is the RedFrog. The story goes that he used to live in the forest, soaking up the rain. Now he lives on Carnival, basking in the sun.

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.

Then there’s the Blue Iguana and, of course, he has a tale to tell. What makes him blue? Some think he was born that way. But legend has it that he spent too much time in the blue agave fields soaking up the spirit of tequila.

You also might be asking how an iguana finds a pair of purple sunglasses … that fit. Let’s just say it boils down to one memorable trip to Cozumel, Mexico. The rest of the story, it is said, can be heard if you treat Blue to a tall tequila drink.

According to bartender Boyan, margaritas are the most popular drink at the BlueIguana. But then you have to decide which margarita – the classic, the guava, the spicy, the mango or the chipotle pineapple passion margarita.

To keep it fun, the BlueIguana and the RedFrog have devout followers who engage in friendly competition. “We think it started when Blue stole Red’s drink and put it on his menu,” a bartender says. “We think that’s where the rivalry started.”

As RedFrog himself might say – “Chill out. Live life to the fullest.”

By Jackie Sheckler Finch

Courtesy photo

“My goal always was to be captain of a cruise ship and I love my job,” he said. “I have been with the Magic since she started. She is my baby.”

The man from Italy has been with Carnival Cruise Lines an amazing 35 years. “I have been a captain for 23 years,” Cutugno said. “I am Carnival’s most senior captain.”

It started on Nov. 15, 1978, when Cutugno boarded the Carnival Festivale as a third mate. “I come from a family of seamen which meant it was in my blood,” he said. “But my experience was in cargo and tanker vessels.”

Working his way up in the ranks, Cutugno served on a long roster of Carnival ships – Mardi Gras, Carnivale, Tropicale, Holiday, Jubilee, Celebration, Fantasy, Ecstasy, Sensation, Fascination, Imagination, Inspiration, Paradise, Destiny, Fiesta Marina, Spirit, Pride, Legend and Conquest.

He moved from assistant navigator to third officer, then second officer, then first, safety officer and staff caption. In 1991, he became captain of the Tropicale. The Magic is the fourth new vessel he has commanded.

“Every time it feels like the first time,” he said. “You always learn something new.”

When he was introduced at the Welcome Board Show on the Magic, Cutugno came on stage to the sounds of Maroon Five. That is always his intro music, he said, because that is the GRAMMY-Award winning band that performed for a standing-room-only crowd on the Galveston pier when the Magic arrived in her new year round homeport of Galveston.

As ship captain, Cutugno gave Adam Levine and Maroon Five a tour of the ships’ wheelhouse. I was at the same kick-off concert and the weeklong cruise that departed Nov. 14, 2011, for the Magic’s inaugural cruise.

Small world!

By Jackie Scheckler Finch- Courtesy photo