One of the largest, Carnival Cruise Lines has long been known for its success with the
"Fun Ships" branding, and has led the way as far as unique cruise ship designs, and themes. With spacious staterooms, the largest casinos afloat, a wide variety of entertainment offered in its lounges and clubs, dining that still features full service meals in the formal restaurants, as well as room service, casual dining experiences, along with 24 hour pizzeria. Carnival offers something for every group cruise customer.
In 2002, Carnival Cruise Lines celebrated "30 years of fun" and has come a long way from its original days of operating just one ship. Having grown to a 21 ship fleet, Carnival is one of the most aggressive, introducing at least one new ship every year. Their ships currently include 5 different classes, according to the size and designs, ranging from the
"Super Liners" first introduced back in the mid l980's with just fewer than 1,500 passengers, to the "Fantasy" class ships, which handle about 2,000 passengers per ship.
The "Destiny" class ships were then designed; these can accommodate close to 2,700 passengers, exceed the 100,000 grt range, and include 3 level showrooms, a terraced pool deck area, a bi-level casual dining area, in addition to an indoor/outdoor pool with sliding glass dome, and two bi-level dining rooms.
In between falls the
"Spirit" class of ships, which offers a reservations-only supper club,
accommodate about 2,100 passengers, and feature greater speeds, so passengers are taken to destinations in just 8 days that would normally take other ships 10 days.
A fifth class of ships, the "Conquest" class, which first debuted in 2002, are similar in some respects to the "Destiny" class but also include some of the features of the
"Spirit" class, and include the reservations only supper club. Their cruise programs run from 3 to 16 days, and today's Carnival now offers cruise vacations to the Caribbean, Bahamas, Mexican Riviera, Panama Canal, Alaska, Hawaii, New England, and Europe.
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