Carnival earns 8 Best of Cruising Awards

[Jason]

Carnival Earns Eight Best of Cruising Awards from Fodor's Complete Guide to Caribbean Cruising

MIAMI (March 23, 2006) -- In the just-released first edition of Fodor’s The Complete Guide to Caribbean Cruises, Carnival Cruise Lines earned eight “Best Of Cruising” awards – more than any other cruise line.

Fodor’s The Complete Guide to Caribbean Cruises is to be an annual publication that provides detailed information on all major North American cruise operators, along with travel tips and other information to help consumers select the cruise that matches their background, budget and lifestyle.

Carnival’s eight “Best Of Cruising” awards included:

Best Family Cruise Line

Best Specialty Restaurants

Best Dining Room Cuisine

Best Entertainment

Best Sports and Fitness Centers

Best On-Board Activities

Best Regular Cabins

Best Duty-Free Shops

“The ‘Fun Ship’ vacation experience continues to evolve, with increased emphasis on enhancing virtually every aspect of our product – from cuisine and in-cabin amenities to entertainment and on-board activities. The breadth and diversity of the awards we received speaks volumes about Carnival’s commitment to providing its guests with high quality, affordable cruise vacations,” said Bob Dickinson, Carnival president and CEO.

“Rather than awarding stars or other labels for quality, we strive to give readers the tools, such as ‘The Best of Cruising,’ to select a cruise vacation that meets their expectations,” said Linda Coffman, author of Fodor’s The Complete Guide to Caribbean Cruises.

Carnival is the largest and most popular cruise line in the world, with 21 “Fun Ships” operating voyages ranging from three to 16 days in length to the Bahamas, Caribbean, Mexico, Alaska, Hawaii, New England, Canada, Bermuda and Europe.

The line currently has three new ships on order – the 110,000-ton Carnival Freedom, scheduled for delivery in February 2007, the 112,000-ton Carnival Splendor, slated to enter service in fall 2008, and an as-yet-unnamed 130,000-ton SuperLiner – to be the largest “Fun Ship” ever constructed – set to debut in fall 2009.

Source: Carnival Cruise Lines

[TheSkipper]

I guess we are going to have to try Carnival again. It has been a long time and it is apparent that they have come a long way!!

130,000 tons, thats a BOAT! :rolleyes:

[Shari2]

Thanks, Jason! Congratulations to Carnival!

I agree with Skipper. The last Carnival cruise I was on was the "Holiday" in 1987 and the food and entertainment was pretty bad. I've heard so many good things about the new ships that I want to try them again.

[timecop]

I have always been a Carnival cruiser. Congratulations Carnival.

[teacp]

We love Carnival............Congratulations Carnival

[Mebert]

Jason,

Thanks for the article.

I started cruising just recently, 2003. I must have come on when Carnival was already making improvements because I've enjoyed every cruise I've ever taken with Carnival.

[DaCruzNut]

Carnival has come a long, long way since the early days.

My first cruise was on the Holiday, in 1988, and the food was mediocre, at best. Since it was my first cruise, I didn't know what to expect, and thought it was OK.

A while later I spent a week on the Mardi Gras, and got off the ship hungry! Went right for the fridge.

Over the years, the food has improved so much that on my two recent cruises on the Fascination I would place Carnival's food third, just behind Celebrity and Princess....

I think Carnival's entertainment is now the best afloat. On my recent 3-nite cruise they presented two production shows, "Hollywood" and "Broadway." In addition the midnight R-Rated shows were really funny and they had Carol Channing doing an hour's worth of her B'way show, The First 80 Years is the Harest. They also had a show with a Comedy magician and a juggler. Of course, the piano bar and clubs were hopping. An awful lot of entertainment for three days!

I always have said that you don't get to be the #1 cruise line, and get the opportunity to buy up all the competition, if you don't give the people what they want.

[ruag8tr2]

Excellent point, Da Cruznut. Carnival is trying to corner the cruising market and I believe I read that they are going to be branching out from just the caribbean market with their new ships. Carnival changed the way every cruise line does business and I like it. There are still your luxury cruises (HAL, Celebrity) that are better but for the family of four Carnival offers the best dollar for dollar value. Since that includes me, I travel on Carnival more than any other line.

Dennis