Carnival Cruises
Carnival Cruises
Independent Expert Reviews by Professional Travel Journalists
Glitzy US cruise giant Carnival Cruise Lines will be making a huge impact in the UK this year with its largest ever ship sailing from Dover.
The 112,000-ton superliner Carnival Splendor is the first in a new class of ship for the company, which is better known for its extensive range of Caribbean fly-cruises.
Capable of carrying 3,006-passengers, Carnival Splendor trebles the size of the UK sailings initiated by the company with Carnival Legend in 2002.
The ship, which features the largest spa on any Carnival vessel at 17,800 square feet, will operate five European cruises from Dover during the summer.
The 12-night Northern Europe itineraries will run between July 13 and August 30, visiting Copenhagen, Warnemunde (for Berlin), Helsinki, St Petersburg (overnight), Tallinn (Estonia) and Amsterdam.
Then the ship will depart on a 12-night Western Europe cruise on September 11 bound for Civitavecchia, the port for Rome.
Carnival Splendor will then run a 12-night Grand Mediterranean cruise from Rome followed by two Greece and Turkey itineraries before sailing 16-night transatlantic cruise from Rome to Fort Lauderdale where the ship will be based for winter 2008-09.
The ship’s mega spa features an elaborate thermal suite and a thalasso-therapy pool. Encircling the upper level of the spa will be a winter garden housing a ceremonial tea house.
A 5,500 square foot children’s playroom – the largest in the Carnival fleet - will feature a new water play area.
A new sports deck will have arena-style seating for games and other events, while a reservations-only supper club will be located on top of the pool-side Lido restaurant, providing diners with magnificent views.
The mid-ship pool, one of four onboard, will be enclosed by two full decks of glass walls and covered by a two deck-high retractable dome that can be enclosed during inclement weather.
The ship will include 1,503 cabins, more than half of which will offer an ocean view and 60 per cent featuring private balconies.
Carnival operates more than 20 modern Superliners on over 40 mainly three to seven-night itineraries cruising from most major Florida ports, New York, New Orleans, Los Angeles, San Diego and other US cities to the Caribbean, Mexico, Canada, New England, Alaska and Hawaii.
