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Carnival Cruise Lines is a British-American owned cruise line, based in
Doral, Florida, a suburb of Miami in the United States. Originally an
independent company founded in 1972 by Ted Arison, the company is now one of ten
cruise ship brands owned and operated by Carnival Corporation & plc. The company
has the largest fleet in the group, with 24 vessels currently in operation that
account for 21.1% of the worldwide market share.2 Executive control of the
company is provided by the North American division of Carnival Corporation,
headquartered in Doral, Florida.34
Carnival was a pioneer in the concept of
shorter, less expensive cruises. Its ships are known for their Las Vegas-style
decor and entertainment. The line calls its ships "The Fun Ships", and there are
a wide range of activities offered on board. Its trademark is the funnel, which
is red, white and blue and shaped like a whale's tail. The mascot for Carnival
is Fun Ship Freddy, a character in the shape of Carnival's distinctive funnel.
In 1996 Carnival Destiny of 101,000 GT became the largest passenger ship in the
world at the time. In 2004, Carnival Corporation ordered for a development
program for Carnival's new ships, which was called the Pinnacle Project, which
calls for a 200,000 GT prototype, which would have been the world's largest
cruise ship.5
As of 2009, the latest and largest ship in the Carnival fleet
was Carnival Dream, a new 128,251 GT ship. Carnival Dream entered service on 21
September 2009. After several voyages in the Mediterranean she was set to offer
weekly Caribbean cruises from Port Canaveral from 5 December 2009. A sister
ship, Carnival Magic, debuted on 1 May 2011. On 1 December 2009 it was announced
that Carnival placed an order for a third Dream-class vessel.6 It entered
service in June 2012 and is homeported in Miami.7 On May 10, 2010, Carnival
selected a name for their new Dream-class vessel in 2012; Carnival Breeze.8
On 26 October 2012, it was announced that Carnival had ordered a brand new ship
for their Carnival Cruise Lines brand. This ship will be built by Fincantieri
and will be the largest ship they have ever built. It will also be the first of
a brand new class of ship with a passenger capacity of 4,000 and a gross tonnage
of 135,000. It is scheduled to be delivered in the Winter of 2016, nearly four
years after Carnival Breeze entered service.9 The new ship will be named
Carnival Vista.
On September 19, 1999, Carnival Tropicale's engine room
caught fire en route from Cozumel to Tampa. While disabled in the Gulf of
Mexico, the ship was struck by Tropical Storm Harvey. No crew or guests were
injured during the two days Carnival Tropicale spent without propulsion.22 The
ship was later sold and renamed Ocean Dream.
On November 8, 2010, a fire
broke out in the generator room of Carnival Splendor and the ship lost most
power. The ship was adrift off the west coast of Mexico. The ship was towed to
San Diego.23
On February 10, 2013, Carnival Triumph, with 3,143 passengers
aboard, suffered an engine room fire, leaving the ship adrift for four days in
the Gulf of Mexico.24 The ship was towed to Mobile, Alabama, docking on the
evening of February 14.2526 In subsequent litigation, Carnival documents were
uncovered which revealed multiple generator maintenance problems creating a
"disaster waiting to happen." In response, Carnival's court filing takes the
position that the contract that passengers agree to when they buy a ticket
"makes absolutely no guarantee for safe passage, a seaworthy vessel, adequate
and wholesome food, and sanitary and safe living conditions."27
On March 14,
2013, Carnival Dream experienced an emergency generator failure while docked in
port at Philipsburg, St. Maarten. The ship was scheduled to leave port around 5
p.m. ET the day before. The United States Coast Guard said they were notified by
Carnival that Carnival Dream was experiencing emergency generator problems.
Carnival announced that the passengers would be flown back to Florida rather
than completing their scheduled voyage.28
On the morning of March 15, 2013,
Carnival Legend suffered a mechanical problem with one propulsion pod while at
sea. The cruise line cancelled Carnival Legend's scheduled stops in Belize and
Grand Cayman, and the ship returned to Tampa, Florida at a reduced speed of 19
knots (14 mph) (Legend has a regular cruising speed of 24 knots).
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