This week in New York City, Carnival Cruise Lines announced a move to propel the line into a multi-year guest experience transformation. The $500-million effort is way more than a makeover, way more than a dry-dock remodeling project. The wiz kids at Carnival are bringing in heavy hitters and time-tested concepts to blow away the competition, at no additional charge to their passengers.
President and CEO Gerry Cahill set the stage for the announcement by reviewing the line’s mantra of providing a quality vacation for all guests. Continuing the line’s unwavering commitment to their trademark “fun” element, the new Funship 2.0 initiative will be introduced first to Carnival Liberty this month.
“Fun Ship 2.0 is the largest and most ambitious initiative that our company has ever undertaken and it will serve to significantly transform the Carnival vacation experience for our guests” said Cahill.
Adding a RedFrog Pub, made popular on their latest build, Carnival Magic, would be a huge step in a great direction for the line. The new venue has proved popular and was an instant success aboard the new ship. They’re doing that and adding a RedFrog Rum Bar as well as a BlueIguana Tequila Bar and a third venue, the Alchemy Bar all with signature cocktails.
And those are just three new additions. Three bars. Not everyone cares about bars. If the story stopped there it would be a nice one to tell. But that’s just the beginning.
Enter Food Network star Guy Fieri who will develop a burger venue called Guy’s Burger Joint and they have me saying “It’s about 
time”. For years, we’ve been hoping for a cruise line to pick up a trendy chef like Bobby Flay but after sampling Guy’s burger creation everyone seemed to agree, it puts the frozen hockey puck-like standard on most cruise ships to shame. This is a gourmet burger that is better than Wolfgang Puck‘s $20 version at Orlando’s Downtown Disney. Seriously. For anyone who ever said “cruise line food all tastes the same” this is for you. Your ship has come in. This is it. Someone finally did it.
And it’s free, included in the price of your cruise. No extra charge. No cover charge. No surcharge. Included.
We have reported before how Cahill had said “We’re not into nickel and diming our guests” while we were aboard Carnival Magic last May. Indeed, the line is not only skipping the nickel and diming but blowing right through it and what other lines do as for-a-fee extras.
That’s the huge story here.
That’s the news.
Carnival has added value to its product. And with absolutely no fear of sounding like a cheerleader for the line: that’s not all!
Funnyman George Lopez takes time to chat with young reporters
Cue comedian George Lopez who will become Carnival’s creative director for comedy and enhance it’s fleetwide Punchliner Comedy Clubs. Continuing a focus on entertainment quality the company also worked with leading production talent to create a high-energy musical showcase and brought on board celebrity song master DJ IRIE, named official DJ of Carnival Cruise Lines.
There is a whole lot more to this story too. The line has brought in top Broadway producers, leading video game manufacturer EA Sports, Iconic kid’s brand Hasbro and more too. We’ll get into each area in detail in the next few days as we look at each part of this complex plan being added to Carnival Miracle right now for debut later this month.
A quick preview of where this is headed: After the press conference today, Guy Fieri manned the outdoor grill most of the afternoon, making these soon-to-be signature burgers and answering questions. When asked why he got involved with the project, straight-talking Fieri replied “…because these people at Carnival REALLY care about their customers. It really means a lot to them that the people who sail on their ships have a good time. I wanted to be a part of that.”
Enough said. For now. More soon. Real soon.
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[...] Cruise Line‘s new Funship 2.0 beginning will raise a onboard journey knowledge fleet-wide when completed, adding a accumulation of party and [...]