Countdown…

Went on Carnival.com for the first time in a few days and saw this:

Soon enough…

(Then once it does come I’ll have to hope time goes by really slowly!)

 

Carnival Dream – First Renderings

The first renderings of Carnival’s future Fun Ship, the Carnival Dream, have been released. It takes the same basic look of the Destiny & Conquest classes, but with a few changes. Probably the most noticable change is the front of the ship. I’m not really sure how to describe it, but it’s different than before. The only way I can describe it, is that the new front make it look like a big speedboat. (That could also be due to the fact that the water seems to be quickly displaced in the image.) Another change which isn’t quite as obvious is the funnel, which has been streamlined, looking more fluid than the previous clunky funnels. It still retains the basic shape though. Finally, there are a few more decks, so it is taller than previous ships. Overall, I like the new outer design. If you click on the image, you can see a full-size image of the Dream. I’m looking forward to see some “inside” pictures or even some deck plans so we can see all the amenities that will be available. Carnival has said to expect a “unique interior design” as well as “a host of innovative facilities and features.” This should definitely be interesting.

Also announced was that Carnival Dream will be based at Ft. Lauderdale when it debuts in Fall 2009. There are no details yet on its itinerary. Its sister ship, Carnival Magic, will debut two years later, in June 2011. Unfortunately, these will probably be the last new Carnival ships for a while, including the new Carnival Splendor. A couple weeks ago, Carnival said that, due to rising costs, there will be no more new ships being ordered for a little while.

Where Are the Cameras?

The cruise is getting closer, so I’ve gotten back into the mood of writing about cruising. I wish I could cruise more often. All my family is going on cruises and I’m only going on one a year. Granted I’m not old enough to go alone and I don’t pay for the ones I do go on, but I’d gladly pay my own way if I could go on more. When I turn 21, I will start to do this.

Anyway, one thing I was thinking about was things we have done on our past cruises. On our last cruise (or was it the one before that?), we went to the front of the ship to try to get on camera. You know, the camera view that they show on the cabin TVs. What we did was, we would look on TV to see where the cameras were shooting, and then we’d stand in that spot and wave to the camera. The only problem was, we weren’t seen on TV. My mom and sister stayed in the cabin to watch for us, but they never saw us. There’s a deck right below that bridge that can be seen on the camera, and we walked the length of that deck, and they never saw us. Looking on the TV, it seemed like we should have been seen. They said they would see our head pop out and then disappear. It was really quite strange.

And when we were on the deck, we’d look into the bridge to see if we could see the camera(s). We thought we saw them, but I guess not. I thought I saw what looked like a camera pointing right at me, but I was never seen on TV. Perhaps the images are delayed? I guess that’s a possibility we never thought of. Well, on our next cruise maybe we’ll try again.

Oasis of the Seas

It’s official, Royal Caribbean has named their two “Genesis” ships. They will be named Oasis of the Seas, which will be the namesake of the class, and Allure of the Seas. Given the amenities that have been presented thus far, including parks with real trees and grass, the names seem to fit quite well. When I think of an “oasis”, I usually think of a green island in the middle of the sea. That is essentially what these two ships will be: floating islands in the middle of the sea. Who’s looking forward to going on these two mammoth ships?

NCL Fined $1 Million

As I’m sure you might have seen in the news, Norwegian Cruise Line has been fined by the US government $1 million for an explosion that took place in Miami on their now-defunct Norway ship. The explosion killed eight crew members and injured 10 more. No passengers were hurt. NCL pleaded guilty to gross negligence. $13.75 million has also been paid to the victims’ families.