Carnival Splendor in nightmare engine fire incident – Navy airlifts supplies

by Scott Carmichael on

What was supposed to be a week long Mexican Riviera cruise on board the Carnival Splendor, has turned into a nightmare for the passengers. Three days ago, a massive engine fire knocked out almost all the facilities on this 3300 passenger vessel.

Propulsion systems, electricity, climate control, water and entertainment were all disabled, and the ship was been stuck 200 miles off the coast of San Diego. The situation was so bad, that the U.S. Navy had to be called in to supply food for the stranded passengers. The USS Ronald Reagan used its helicopters to drop thousands of pounds of supplies and Navy sailors were airlifted to the Splendor to assist with unloading.

The 3,299 passengers and 1,167 crew members have cold water and toilet usage back, but most other services are still disabled. A tug boat reached the ship yesterday, and she is expected to arrive in San Diego tomorrow.

Carnival has made hotel and flight arrangements for the passengers, and everyone is being offered a full refund and a complimentary future cruise on Carnival.

Sadly, the ship has already has its fair share of bad luck – and despite being less than two years old, some are already asking whether the vessel is cursed. For more coverage on the Carnival Splendor fire, head on over to our friends at AOL Travel News.

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[Image: US Navy / Getty / AP]

Cucina del Capitano to celebrate Carnival’s deep ties to Italy

by Ralph Grizzle on

Get ready to “chow bella” when Carnival Magic debuts next May with the line’s first family-style Italian restaurant — called Cucina del Capitano, or “The Captain’s Kitchen.”

Carnival Cruise Lines has deep ties to Italy – its captains, deck and engine officers are Italian. More than half the current fleet was built in Genoa, including the Carnival Magic, which is currently under construction at Monfalcone. And when the ship launches next year it will call at popular Italian destinations during its inaugural Mediterranean season.

The new Cucina del Capitano specialty restaurant will be located above the poolside Lido Marketplace restaurant. At lunch, complimentary pasta will be served and the space will function as part of the casual eatery. At dinner, a full-service menu will be offered for an extra charge.

The Cucina will be a classic Italian-American restaurant that delivers a very different dining experience from the main dining room. Carnival ship captains were consulted on some of the menu selections.

The restaurant’s interior is designed to feel like a ship captain’s Italian home. Photographs of captains and officers on board Carnival ships through the years will be hung around the room, along with captains’ personal family photos, images of Italian ports, and pictures of milestones in Carnival history.

Other features include a show kitchen where guests can see pasta being made, a 12-top captain’s table and a Kitchen Counter – a 10-seat high-top table near the waiting area.

The menu has not been finalized yet, but expect a diverse array of pastas and other Italian favorites. If you want to do your part by naming an entree, Carnival is starting a Name the Dish online contest Sept. 20. Check it out at carnivalmagic.com/contest.

Carnival to feature brew pub on new Carnival Magic

by Ralph Grizzle on

Long known for its piano bars, wine bars, sports bars and wildly themed lounges, Carnival Cruise Lines will feature its first pub at sea on Carnival Magic, which is set to debut in May 2011.

In addition to a bunch of Caribbean beers, the Caribbean-themed RedFrog Pub will have its own micro-brewed draft beer, Thirsty Frog Red, and a menu that includes conch salad, spicy chicken wings and other bar food favorites as well as an array of the region’s finest rums for those whose taste runs more toward spirits than brews.

To, er, gin up interest in RedFrog Pub, Carnival is holding an online contest where barstool poets can enter their own creative slogan for the pub’s coasters. Running through Sept. 7, the contest is for those 21 and older.

Ten finalists will be chosen – nine by Carnival and one wild card entry selected by votes – and visitors to the site will vote to determine three winning slogans. The winners will receive a commemorative version of their winning slogan, a digital camera, RedFrog bar paraphernalia and, of course, eternal bar bragging rights.

For details or to enter your own clever coaster catchphrase, visit the Carnival Magic contest website.

Hey Superstar, Get rockin’ on a Carnival karaoke cruise

by Ralph Grizzle on

Get ready for the spotlight cruisers. Carnival Cruise Lines has introduced Superstar Live Karaoke, where Carnival cruisers can live out their rock-star fantasies on stage.

This isn’t a one-time cruise but rather a new program on board Carnival ships. Combining live music with vocal accompaniment by backup singers, Superstar Live Karaoke encourages cruise passengers to channel their inner rock stars, pop idols, Motown legends and country crooners.

While nearly all cruise ships offer karaoke of some sort – or at least, the opportunity to perform in front of your audience – Carnival has amped up its version of Superstar karaoke by including the band and the backup singers.

Choose from more than 100 song tiles, ranging from ABBA to the Zac Brown Band. The program, which recently debuted aboard Carnival Conquest and Carnival Valor, premieres on the Carnival Pride this week.

By year’s end, Superstar Live Karaoke will be rolled out to Carnival’s 12 “Fun Ships” that operate itineraries of seven days or longer.

Cruise ship hits whale off Alaska

by Kraig Becker on

For the third time in the past decade a Princess Cruises luxury ship has struck and killed a whale in the waters off the coast of Alaska. That latest incident occurred last Tuesday evening just south of Juneau, where the ship the Sapphire Princess apparently hit the creature, whose corpse was discovered attached to the hull on Wednesday morning. Last year, the same ship arrived in Vancouver following a routine voyage, with a fin whale stuck to its hull.

This current whale was an adult female humpback that measured more than 43 feet in length. Humpbacks are found in waters all over the world, but in the summer months they tend to feed in colder, polar waters. The species is an endangered one and the giant mammals are protected under U.S. law, with stiff fines levied against those who do them harm. It is unclear at this time whether or not Carnival Corp., the parent company of Princess Cruises, will face any fines for this latest incident. They paid out a settlement of $750,000 for a similar incident that occurred in 2001.

On Friday, investigators were still studying the whale’s carcass to determine the exact cause of death. They have not ruled out the possibility that the beast was already dead when the ship struck it, and that the Sapphire Princess played no role in killing it.

[Photo credit: D. Gordon E. Robertson via WikiMedia Commons]