Carnival Introduces Fun Ship 2.0 Fleet Upgrades

Over the next few years, Carnival will be upgrading most of their fleet to what they call "Fun Ship 2.0".  The enhancements encompass dining, entertainment, and bars/lounges.  The improvements sound great especially the new comedy program which will be headed by George Lopez and Guy's Burger Joint, a free burgers and fries place which will be overseen by TV chef Guy Fieri.

As a video gamer I'm very interested in the new EA Sports Bar where you can not only watch real games but play your favorite EA Sports video games as well.  There will also be the Caribbean themed Red Frog Rum Bar and the Mexican themed Blue Iguana Tequila Bar among other updates.

For the rest of the updates, check out the story from Cruise Critic here.  Or you can just go to Carnival's website here.

Carnival Splendor Update - Arriving In San Diego Today

After three days without air conditioning, hot food, and hot water the passengers onboard Carnival Splendor will no doubt be very relieved to get back to dry land today when the ship arrives in San Diego.  Thanks to the U.S. Navy, the ship was provided with much needed supplies which were airlifted from the Nimitz Class aircraft carrier, the USS Ronald Reagan.

Surviving on Spam and Pop Tarts isn't exactly what you'd expect on a cruise but luckily this "Cruise From Hell", as some are calling it, will be coming to an end shortly.  The bright side in all this is that it was just an inconvenience, albeit a major one, for the passengers and no one was injured.  Fires onboard ships at sea are always bad news.

Fire Onboard Carnival Splendor

Yesterday at about 6AM a fire broke out in the engine room of Carnival Splendor causing the ship to lose power.  No injuries were reported but the ship is only functioning on auxiliary generators and is without air conditioning, hot food, flushable toilets and phones.  The incident occurred about off the coast of Mexico, about 150 miles south of San Diego.

As of the most recent reports, the US Coast Guard has been in constant contact with the ship and has dispatched cutters and aircraft to the location.  Tugboats have been dispatched to tow the ship to Ensenada, Mexico to offload the 3,299 passengers and get them home.  They will be receiving a full refund along with reimbursement for transportation costs and a complimentary future cruise equal to the amount paid for this one.

Carnival Magic Floated Out

When she launches in just under 7 months, Carnival Magic will be the newest, most innovative ship in the Carnival fleet.  Before that, however, construction on the newest "Fun Ship" must be completed.  That process is getting closer as the ship reached an important milestone in the process, being floated out of drydock.  This means that the major construction is finished and all that is left is the finish work and interior outfitting.

Carnival Magic will offer some new attractions such as Carnival Waterworks water park, the Red Frog Pub which will serve it own private brand of beer, and the new Italian eatery Cucina del Capitano.

Next up for the ship is the sea trials scheduled for early next year. She is scheduled to be delivered on May 1, 2011 after which she will sail the Mediterranean until November 2011 when she will start sailing 7 day Caribbean cruises from the port of Galveston, TX.

Carnival and NCL Announce No More Discounts

Last week, Carnival announced that they were following in the footsteps of Royal Caribbean and Celebrity Cruises by deciding to not allow discounting of their fares by travel agents.  Now, NCL has also joined the party.

I guess that agents selling those lines will have to get creative as they have done with Royal Caribbean and Celebrity.  No longer will they be able to undercut the line's pricing but they can offer incentives like the $225 onboard credit and free spa treatment we received when we booked our rapidly approaching cruise on Liberty of the Seas.

It's kid of a shame though as the days of huge discounts and great deals from travel agents look to be a thing of the past.  Looks like it was inevitable that other lines would go that way since, after some initial uproar, Royal Caribbean and Celebrity bookings were not adversely affected by their decision to go this route a couple of years ago.