Cruise lines are ready for some football

[Jason]

Over the last few years, it seems as if major cruise lines have been harnessing the star power of every kind of celebrity to sell more voyages. Some feature food from Top Chefs, entertainment from American Idols or even a chance to sail the Caribbean with the members of the band Kiss.

Now the industry has set its sights on one of the biggest money-makers in entertainment, the National Football League.

Carnival Cruise Lines recently “scored the new title of Official Cruise Partner of the New Orleans Saints,” according to a press release. During the remainder of the 2013-14 season, Carnival will sponsor in-stadium and social media contests and promotions, all aimed at Saints fans and other N.F.L. audiences.

The usual carrots will be offered: free tickets to a game, autographed Saints merchandise and, of course, the chance to win a free cruise.

A Carnival-sponsored “American All-Star Tribute” halftime tribute at the Saints’ Nov. 17 home game against the San Francisco 49ers will feature the newest Saints Hall of Fame inductees, including La’Roi Glover, a former defensive tackle, and the arrival in New Orleans of the Carnival Sunshine, which recently completed a $155 million makeover and is scheduled to make seven-day voyages to the Caribbean from the city.

Anheuser-Busch is getting shipshape for Super Bowl XLVI in New York. Norwegian Cruise Line announced this week that the beer company has chartered its ship the Getaway for the week leading up to the game on Feb. 2, 2014.

For that week, the ship will become the Bud Light Hotel, with rooms reserved for guests of the company. At last year’s Super Bowl in New Orleans, the Bud Light Hotel featured performances by entertainers like Stevie Wonder and Flo Rida.

This story, "Cruise Lines are Ready for Some Football," originally appeared in The New York Times.

By Rachel Harris, The New York Times

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