Carnival Paradise cruise ship sports a new look

By Frances McMorris and Susan Lundine – Orlando Business Journal

The Carnival Paradise is back from a monthlong hiatus looking like a brand new ship.

The 2,052-passenger cruise vessel came out of a 32-day, multimillion-dollar dry dock that allowed it to undergo a major facelift. Cabins were redone, balconies were added to rooms and new water features came on board. There are also new shops and food and beverage venues such as Guy’s Burger Joint, which was developed in partnership with Food Network star Guy Fieri.

Other poolside bars and eateries include the RedFrog Rum Bar, which serves Carnival’s own private label draught brew, ThirstyFrog Red, and the BlueIguana Cantina, which specializes in Mexican cuisine. Additionally, the BlueIguana Tequila Bar is a Mexican-themed outdoor bar.

The Carnival Paradise also opened two camps for children: Camp Ocean for kids age 2 through 11, and Circle “C” for those aged 12 to 14.

The Carnival Paradise departs Port Tampa Bay on Monday afternoon on a five-day Caribbean cruise to Cozumel and Grand Cayman, part of the ship’s year-round sailings from Tampa that also include four-day cruises to Cozumel and five-day cruises to Cozumel and Mahogany Bay (Roatan), Key West or Grand Cayman. The ship also offers four- to eight-day cruises to Cuba featuring daylong and overnight calls in Havana as well as visits to other ports throughout the Caribbean.

The ship has 38 new staterooms — two Grand Vista suites offering floor-to-ceiling windows, 22 junior suites, two scenic ocean view and 12 interior accommodations. Carnival added private verandahs to 98 existing accommodations, creating new 230-square-foot balcony staterooms. All staterooms offer island-inspired interiors with bright colors and pastels.

Also added is the WaterWorks Aqua Park located on Verandah Deck. It features an enclosed 300-foot-long Twister water slide, two 82-foot-long racing slides and a kids’ splash zone. The ship relocated its nine-hole miniature golf course to deck 14.

Finally, the retail shops have been redesigned and enhanced, adding boutiques such as Pandora and Guess. The printed photo gallery was replaced with a digital Pixels-branded platform that allows guests to identify and purchase images via smartphones or at a kiosk.

“We can’t wait for our guests to check out the fantastic new features aboard Carnival Paradise, which returns to service better than ever offering an exciting combination of itineraries featuring top destinations in the Caribbean, Mexico and Cuba,” Christine Duffy, president of Carnival Cruise Line, said in a prepared statement.

Carnival has three ships that depart from metro Orlando’s Port Canaveral, the second-largest cruise port in the world behind Miami:

The 2,974-passenger, $500 million Carnival Liberty
The 3,002-passenger $409 million Carnival Sunshine
The 3,675-passenger, $740 million Carnival Magic
Overall, Port Canaveral has nine cruise ships that consider it their home port, and 11 that visit it as a port-of-call, said Steven Linden, spokesman for the Canaveral Port Authority. Besides Carnival, there are 21 other cruise line companies that visit Port Canaveral, including Disney, Norwegian, Royal Caribbean International, Azamara Club, Celebrity, Cunard, Holland America, ResidenSea and more. The port received a total of 1,395 ship calls last year and expects to get 1,444 this year.

All told, 4.5 million cruise passengers visited Port Canaveral in fiscal 2017, making up roughly 19 percent of Brevard County’s tourists and spending an average of $1,193 per two adults and one child, according to Linden.

Passenger embarkations in Florida grew 2.7 percent to 7.08 million from 2014 to 2016, driven by the 18 percent growth seen in Port Canaveral, according to a report published by CLIA (Cruise Lines Industry Association). This was the highest growth for a Florida port in a five-year period (2011-2016). Since 2011, Florida ports have experienced a combined 19.6 percent increase in passenger embarkations.

Canaveral Port Authority has made strategic investments in harbor and landside infrastructure improvements. Several complex infrastructure projects will be initiated or completed at the port in the next two to five years.

The port — which had a $93.3 million operating budget last year, up from $85.5 million the prior year — has plans for $446 million-plus worth of five-year capital improvement projects that will build and expand port facilities and infrastructure to increase its capabilities and capacity in cruise and cargo operations. Crucial road network improvements will address increased demand by cruise and cargo partners.

MAGES:
A night shot of the Carnival Paradise at sea
The Blue Iguana Cantina
The new Water Works Aqua Park on the Verandah Deck
A restaurant
The Casino
9 Hole mini golf course

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