Expanded Options and Services Provide Guests with Even More Exciting Choices
Among the Nearly 1,200 Unique Landside Experiences Offered by the Line Each Year
MIAMI – Carnival Cruise Line has dramatically expanded its
shore excursion offerings, adding exclusive new landside experiences and
customized private tours,
as well as new family-friendly enhancements, including fun
complimentary beachside activities, value pricing and free tours in
select ports for children under age five.
The
new options build upon Carnival’s leadership position in the shore
excursion arena, with nearly 1,200 unique landside experiences offered
by the line in more than 50 ports
of call throughout the Caribbean, Mexico, Hawaii, Bahamas, Canada, New
England, and Central and South America.
“Shore
excursions are an important part of the Carnival vacation experience
and we’ve gone to great lengths to provide our guests with even more
choices and offer families
unique value-added services and pricing options that are exclusive to
Carnival,” said Erika Tache, Carnival’s director of product development.
Exclusive ‘Only-On-Carnival’ Tour Options In Select Caribbean Ports
For
those who want to create unforgettable vacation memories in their own
tropical paradise, Carnival now offers exclusive tours that not only
include amenities like access
to luxurious private villas but also unique enrichment activities that
allow guests to fully immerse themselves in local culture and cuisine.
The new tours include:
·
La Casa en la Playa (Cozumel)
–
Recently named Carnival’s “Tour of the Year,” this five-hour-long tour
offers an exclusive luxury experience limited to 30 participants with
access to a beach house with five-star
service for the day, complete with a personal chef and wait
staff. Participants can also learn how to cook authentic Mexican
cuisine, make refreshing Margaritas and mojitos, or simply relax on a
white-sand beach while enjoying pampering and attentive service.
·
Eat, Drink & Dance (Ocho Rios)
– This tour is definitely on “island time,”
designed to please guests’ palates and awaken their senses through
Jamaica’s unique food, music and culture. After savoring spicy samples
at a traditional jerk hut, guests enjoy a delicious meal at Miss T’s
Kitchen which was featured on Guy Fieri’s Family
Vacation on Food Network. The day continues with a visit to a beachside
bar where mixologists create hand-crafted Jamaican rum cocktails and
concludes with a spirited reggae dance lesson.
·
Jamaican Home for the Day (Ocho Rios) –
Just like the name implies, this day-long tour offers guests their own Jamaican home for a day where they can relax, kick off their shoes, and enjoy a fantastic
home-cooked island lunch in their own private paradise. The tour also includes full use of the expansive property which features a beautiful secluded beach where guests can
enjoy refreshing frozen daiquiris and other rum-infused cocktails.
·
Photo Safari & Beach Expedition (Cozumel) --
Taking
place over the course of two days, the tour begins with a one-hour
photo seminar on board led by the ships’ photographers who offer tips on
camera equipment, lighting, photo
composition and more. The tour continues the following day with a visit
to gorgeous Mexican beaches and a national park where participants are
offered an informative hands-on demonstration to “Capture the Moments
that Matter.”
·
Eat, Drink & Walk (St. Thomas)
–
This self-described “walking culinary/culture tour” begins with a drive
through the lush countryside to St. Peter Mountain Great House &
Botanical Gardens, home to diverse plant
and animal life and an observation level where guests can see the 15
islands that comprise the Virgin Islands chain. Participants can sample
24 different island rums as they learn how to make banana daiquiris and
nosh on island-inspired food like saltfish,
plantains, jonny cakes and West Indian pumpkin soup.
New Family-Friendly Services and Tours
Carnival
is offering new “family friendly” shore excursion options in ports
throughout the Caribbean, Bahamas and Mexico, with tours offered at
multiple price points to provide
parents the ultimate in flexibility, value and convenience. Children
age five and under receive complimentary beach excursions with their
parents’ paid tour. Sample excursions include:
·
Family Beach Escape (Freeport)
–
Designed with all-ages appeal, this tour begins with an air-conditioned
ride to a breathtaking beachside resort. Here, under the watchful eye
of trained youth specialists, kids
can enjoy such activities as sandcastle-making competitions, treasure
hunts and face-painting while parents can relax under oversized
umbrellas and sip a cool tropical drink. Lunch is included and water
toys, paddle boats, kayaks and other watercraft are
available for rent.
·
Island Beach Escape for Families by Power Catamaran (Cozumel) –
After
an exhilarating power catamaran ride, families arrive at Passion
Island, which boasts white-sand beaches and clear turquoise waters along
with full resort facilities with
plentiful beach chairs and hammocks. Guests of all ages can enjoy
volleyball, water trampolines and pedal boats, while kids get their own
special beachside play area. A Mexican-style buffet with guacamole,
grilled mahi-mahi and a kids’ menu is included in
the price.
·
Family Treasure Hunt with Lunch at Blue Lagoon (Nassau) –
Families are sure
to have a blast during this fun-filled adventure where participants
must discover hidden treasures, collect clues and answer trivia
questions on their journey to win the Pirate’s Bounty! After their
plunder, families can soak up the sun on a stunning powdery
beach as they enjoy a grilled lunch and icy beverages at Blue Lagoon
Island, one of the top destinations in The Bahamas.
·
All Inclusive Family Beach Resort Getaway (Montego Bay) –
Hosted
at the Mediterranean-inspired Seawinds Beach Club, one of Jamaica’s
premier oceanfront properties that is home to magnificent beaches and
world-class amenities, this tour
includes lively island entertainment, along with a complimentary buffet
lunch and drinks. When it’s time to cool off, families can take a dip
in the ocean or one of the many on-property pools and enjoy fun water
sports like sailing, snorkeling and kayaking.
Well-staffed
beachside excursions provide families with extra assistance with
services such as stroller storage as well as hosted fun activities like
beachside games, and
arts and crafts, along with play areas and water slides and toys, all
available on a complimentary basis. Offered in all of Carnival’s
Caribbean ports, the new activities are designed to keep kids
entertained while offering parents some much-needed “we” time.
Unique Valued-Added Options
For
guests seeking a more authentic landside experience, there are
exclusive private tours – operated via custom motor coaches, sailboats,
yachts, and even helicopters – that
take guests on off-the-beaten-path excursions tailored to the guests’
specific preferences. These excursions showcase non-traditional
sightseeing sites typically not available to other guests, all under the
guidance of an experienced local who provides an
“up close and personal” view of the destination.
And
with Carnival’s new on-board lounge tour dispatch system, tour
operators come on board to meet shore excursion participants and tours
depart from a shipboard venue versus
the previous method of tour operators assembling large groups of guests
on the pier, thus providing a more streamlined, organized and expedited
departure. Carnival is the only cruise operator in the Caribbean to
have local tour operators involved with this
enhanced service option.
Industry-Leading Programs and Offerings
All
of these new offerings complement Carnival’s industry-leading programs
such as the Shore Excursion Best Price Guarantee. The only one of its
kind in the cruise industry,
the program provides a 110 percent refund in the form of a shipboard
credit should consumers find a better price on a similar tour, providing
much-needed peace of mind knowing that they’re getting the best price.
Each
of Carnival’s 24 ships also offers a dedicated shore excursion desk
with highly trained and experienced staff members who can recommend
particular tours and answer any
questions guests may have. Shore excursion personnel also personally
experience the wide array of
landside options in every port and obtain feedback from guests to
strive for continuous improvement in the line’s shore excursion
choices.
Carnival
has also revamped the shore excursion section of its web site to
include a greater variety of photos and videos, enhanced navigation and
on-line reservations for
both desktop and mobile devices, as well as guest-written reviews of
the various options ashore.
For
additional information and reservations, call 1-800-327-9501
(individual) or 1-800-327-5782 (groups) or visit the line’s travel agent
Internet portal, GoCCL.com.
Carnival can also be found on:
Twitter: www.twitter.com/carnivalcruise
Facebook Fan Page:
www.facebook.com/carnival
YouTube: www.youtube.com/carnival
Instagram: www.instagram.com/carnival
###
About Carnival Cruise Line
Carnival, a unit of Carnival Corporation & plc (NYSE/LSE: CCL; NYSE:
CUK),
is "The World's Most Popular Cruise Line®" with 24 ships operating
three- to 16-day voyages to The Bahamas, Caribbean, Mexican Riviera,
Alaska, Hawaii, Canada, New England, Bermuda, Europe, Australia, New
Zealand and the Pacific Islands. The company currently
has two 133,500-ton ships on order - Carnival Vista, scheduled to enter
service in 2016, and an as-yet-unnamed vessel set to debut in 2018.
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