NBA Trophy To Sail On Carnival Family Ships

[Dan]

MIAMI, June 23 /PRNewswire/ -- The NBA definitely has global appeal. That will never be more evident than when the Miami HEAT's National Basketball Association (NBA) Larry O'Brien Championship trophy embarks on an international cruise-ship tour beginning this weekend.

Micky Arison, the Miami HEAT's managing general partner and chairman and CEO of global cruise operator Miami-based Carnival Corporation & plc (NYSE/LSE: CCL; NYSE: CUK), will personally escort the coveted trophy to cruise ships operating from ports in South Florida, Italy and China.

The tour kicks off Sunday, June 25, when Arison will display the trophy to guests, officers and crew aboard Carnival Cruise Lines' 2,794-passenger Carnival Valor while it is docked at the Port of Miami.

On Monday, June 26, Arison and the trophy will board a transatlantic flight from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., to Genoa, Italy, to tour Costa Cruises' new 3,000-passenger Costa Serena and Costa Concordia, and Carnival Cruise Lines' 3,006-passenger Carnival Splendor, all in various stages of construction at the Fincantieri shipyard in nearby Sestri, Italy.

The next stop is Hong Kong for a two-day cruise to Shanghai aboard the 1,000-passenger Costa Allegra departing June 30, marking the debut of Carnival Corporation & plc's new Asian cruise venture, Costa Asia.

Arison and the trophy then return to Italy for Costa Concordia's inaugural celebration, which begins with a special one-night cruise from Genoa to Rome, July 4-5. The trophy will then be on display during a special benefit concert on board featuring world-renowned tenor Andrea Bocelli, as well as during the ship's gala naming ceremony July 7 with international supermodel Eva Herzigova serving as godmother.

The whirlwind tour will continue to a number of other cruise-ship destinations to be determined. Eventually, the trophy will be placed on permanent display at the AmericanAirlines Arena in downtown Miami.

On the first leg of this globetrotting tour, Arison and the Larry O'Brien Championship Trophy will have traveled more than 18,000 miles across three continents.

SOURCE Carnival Corporation & plc

[Dan]

I never even realized, until I heard some controversy on the Jim Rome show about some remarks Arison made at the victory party, that he owned the Heat. I wonder when that happenned, and why the Arena isn't called the Carnival Centre. Seemed funny having both arenas in the final named after American Airlines LOL.