GEAR

As part of Carnival Cruise Line’s year-long 50th birthday festivities and its Sailabrations cruises, seven ships – Carnival Breeze, Carnival Ecstasy, Carnival Glory, Mardi Gras, Carnival Pride, Carnival Sunrise and Carnival Vista – met up near Cozumel for one of the biggest birthday parties at sea. 

During the meetup, each cruise ship hosted their own party on the Lido deck, where guests joined the Cruise Director, Playlist Productions cast and the ship’s DJ for a birthday party complete with music and entertainment. Guests also participated in the biggest Ship-Tok at sea, where the ships’ Cruise Directors and Fun Squads taught and led a choreographed dance inspired by Carnival’s 50th birthday. 

The line’s 17 themed birthday sailings run through March 10, 2022 and feature multiple meetups at sea. On March 5, Carnival Miracle and Carnival Radiance met up outside Ensenada, Mexico, and the remaining meetups include:

• March 9 – Carnival Conquest, Carnival Freedom, Carnival Legend, Carnival Liberty, Carnival Spirit, and Carnival Sunshine (The Bahamas between Eleuthera and Nassau)
• March 11 – Carnival Miracle and Carnival Panorama (Baja, Mexico, outside Ensenada)

Other unique entertainment that are debuting on the Sailabrations include Carnival-themed puzzles, 1972 fun-fact trivia with commemorative 50th Birthday medallions, a Build-A-Bear Birthday Party featuring the debut of a special-edition cuddly bear, a Rollin’ In Riches casino event, and exclusive collections of specially designed and collectable retail offerings. Guests also have the opportunity to indulge in a specially curated commemorative dining menu for one night, a selection of all-new birthday-themed beverages, a showing of Carnival’s original main dining room show set to Bob Marley’s classic “Could You Be Loved,” and a Baked Alaska Farewell Parade on the final evening, reminiscent of the line’s earlier days.

Carnival will have its entire fleet back in service by this summer, completing an impressive and successful restart of its guest operations and setting the pace for the rest of the U.S. cruise industry. Carnival started its operations with one ship from PortMiami in 1972 and has since grown into the world's most popular cruise line with a total of 24 ships carrying more than six million guests annually and employing more than 40,000 team members from 120 nationalities.