CARNIVAL KICKS OFF BIG EASY SCHEDULE
The totally transformed 3,006-passenger Carnival Sunshine — the largest Carnival Cruise Lines ship ever to be homeported in New Orleans — sets sail today on its inaugural voyage from the Big Easy, embarking on a six-day cruise to Cozumel and Grand Cayman. Earlier this year, Sunshine underwent a $155 million, 75-day makeover that added a variety of innovations that are part of Carnival’s groundbreaking Fun Ship 2.0 enhancement initiative, along with several features unique to this vessel and 182 new staterooms. Today’s voyage kicks off a winter schedule of Caribbean departures from New Orleans.
Carnival Sunshine features include a three-level Serenity adults-only retreat, an outdoor recreation area with a ropes course offering breathtaking views to the sea 45 metres below, and a massive water park highlighted by a 100-metre- long corkscrew water slide that is the longest in the Carnival fleet. Dining choices include the Fahrenheit 555 steakhouse, a new full-service Asian restaurant called Ji Ji Asian Kitchen, the BlueIguana Cantina Mexican-themed eatery, and Guy’s Burger Joint, developed in tandem with Food Network personality Guy Fieri. New bar concepts were also added such as the cocktail pharmacy-themed Alchemy Bar, the EA Sports Bar, the largest RedFrog Pub in the fleet, Latin-infused Havana Bar, and two new poolside watering holes, RedFrog Rum Bar and BlueIguana Tequila Bar. One-hundred-and-eighty-two cabins, including 95 new spa staterooms located adjacent to the totally renovated Cloud 9 Spa, were incorporated, as well.
Following today’s six-day voyage, the ship will operate a series of seven-day cruises to popular Caribbean destinations through April. Three different week-long itineraries will be offered from New Orleans — an exotic western Caribbean route featuring Belize; Mahogany Bay (Isla Roatan), and Cozumel; a Bahamas/Florida schedule to Key West, Freeport and Nassau; and western Caribbean departures to Montego Bay; Grand Cayman; and Cozumel. (http://www.carnival.com)
