MIAMI, Aug. 6, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- On the heels of
its Princess Cruises brand announcing that it will host The
Voice of the Ocean and its Holland America Line brand
announcing its Dancing with the Stars: At Sea Champions
Cruise, Carnival Corporation & plc (NYSE/LSE: CCL; NYSE: CUK),
the world's largest travel and leisure company, continues to
enhance the vacation experience for its 11 million annual guests by
delivering one-of-a-kind entertainment offerings across its family
of 10 global cruise line brands.
"With special partnerships and interactive performance
offerings, we're bringing the best entertainers and entertainment
brands to sea to make sure our guests have plenty of options to
enjoy across our 10 brands," said Arnold
Donald, CEO of Carnival Corporation. "Our collective goal is
to consistently exceed the expectations of our guests by providing
a great vacation at an exceptional value, and our guests – whether
they are first-time or seasoned cruisers – let us know all the time
that having great entertainment is one of the many reasons they
enjoy going on a cruise vacation – and how much they appreciate the
entertainment being a built-in part of their experience."
This week's announcements add to the company's dynamic lineup of
entertainment offerings. They include:
- Princess Cruises brings the excitement and spectacle of TV's
popular international singing competition to the high seas, live
and on-stage, with The Voice of
the Ocean. The show comes to life throughout the
cruise with auditions, mentor rehearsal sessions, the iconic "I
Want You" chairs, three charismatic team coaches and ultimately a
live finale performance where guests choose the winner. Complete
with the red button and rotating chairs, the singing competition
will debut October 10 aboard the
Regal Princess when she begins her season sailing to New England
and Canada, followed by Royal
Princess and Caribbean Princess in November. Eight additional
Princess Cruises ships will offer The Voice of the Ocean
between January and May of 2016. For full details, see the Princess
Cruise news release here.
- Holland America Line has added
professional dancers and Mirrorball Trophy winners Tony Dovolani and Kym
Johnson, along with celebrity personality Carson Kressley and America's favorite TV mom
Florence Henderson to the Dancing
with the Stars: At Sea Champions Cruise -- departing
Fort Lauderdale on January 10, 2016, and to the January 3, 2016, theme cruise the week prior.
When ms Nieuw Amsterdam sets sail for the Caribbean on two seven-day voyages, guests
will be able to watch these four fan favorites perform routines
from ABC's hit TV show, as well as enjoy dance lessons with the
ship's professional dancers, a special fashion show featuring
glamorous costumes from the TV program and a chance to meet the
stars, ask questions and take photos. For full details, see the
Holland America Line news release here.
- The company's ultra-luxury brand Seabourn unveiled plans this
week for its new show lounge, The Grand Salon, aboard its newest
vessel, Seabourn Encore. Featuring striking elements by design icon
Adam D. Tihany, designing the indoor and outdoor areas aboard
Seabourn Encore, the main show lounge will present a sophisticated
setting for performances, from new shows by popular entertainers to
local, cultural productions from ashore and engaging guest speakers
from the line's popular enrichment series, Seabourn Conversations,
such as legendary American journalist Dan
Rather and Forbes Media Chairman and Editor-in-Chief
Steve Forbes. For more details, see
the Seabourn news release here.
- The Carnival Cruise Line brand also recently announced its
popular Carnival LIVE concert series will feature BOSTON, Lionel
Richie and Heart onboard select ships, starting later this
month. For full details, see the Carnival Cruise Line news release
here.
As a group, the Carnival Corporation family of 10 brands is
constantly evolving entertainment to bring the best possible
experiences to its guests – from onboard performance competitions
to partnerships with renowned entertainers and brands to
integration of celebrity talent into entertainment offerings.
Carnival Corporation brands also feature an exciting lineup of
performers, including comedians, singers, dancers, circus-like acts
and more.
Exclusive Concerts and Engaging Entertainment
Carnival
Corporation's brands enlist some of the best entertainers in the
world to bring high-energy, memorable performances to their guests
whether docked at an exotic port or sailing across the ocean.
Carnival LIVE: For the second year, Carnival Cruise Line
will tap Grammy Award and CMA Award-winning artists and nominees to
perform onboard select ships while docked in
Cozumel, Nassau and St. Thomas. Bringing the best of
musical entertainment to the seas, Carnival LIVE is a
first-in-the-cruise-industry entertainment offering that provides
guests an opportunity to experience captivating concerts by major
musical artists at a tremendous value.
Concerts are held in the ships' intimate main theaters – ranging
in guest capacity from 900 to 1,300 – meaning there's never a bad
seat in the house. BOSTON brings its high-energy performances
to Carnival Sunshine, Carnival Fantasy, Carnival Sensation and
Carnival Ecstasy on August 19-22 in
Nassau. Multiple Grammy and Oscar
award-winning singer Lionel Richie
will have audiences "dancing on the ceiling" on Carnival Freedom
Oct. 14 and Carnival Pride
Oct. 15 while those ships are docked
in Nassau. Guests can enjoy
shipboard performances in Cozumel by rock legends Heart on
Oct. 20 aboard Carnival Paradise,
Oct. 21 aboard Carnival Ecstasy and
Oct. 22 aboard Carnival Breeze.
Exclusive Concerts on Cunard's Queen Mary 2: This fall,
renowned musical artists will perform a series of exclusive
concerts onboard Cunard's flagship, Queen Mary 2, during its
transatlantic crossing. On Sept. 4,
Grammy Award-winning trio Crosby, Stills & Nash will perform
some of their greatest hits in the Royal Court Theatre. They will
also participate in a Q&A session and special autograph
opportunity.
On Oct. 29, guests can experience
the best Jazz at Sea aboard Queen Mary 2 featuring Natalie
Cole, Robert Glasper, Derrick Hodge, Lionel Leuke,
Marcus Strickland, Kendrick Scott, Keyon
Harrold, Derrick Hodge and
more. The president of Blue Note Records, Don Was, a
celebrated musician and Grammy Award-winning producer, will also
sail during this musical voyage.
Holland America's new ms Koningsdam debuts The World
Stage: On Holland America Line's new ms Koningsdam,
debuting in April 2016, entertainment
meets innovation with a new main theater two stories high and 250
feet that surrounds guests with a 270-degree, high-definition LED
screen with state-of-the-art lighting, projection and sound
systems. Breaking from the line's traditionally styled theaters,
The World Stage is a flexible space with multiple stage
configurations, ranging from in-the-round to more conventional
proscenium staging. The theater will initially host five new
productions performed in repertory by a cast sourced from around
the world.
Onboard Performance Competitions
The company's
announcements this week build on the success of other entertainment
programs in which several of Carnival Corporation's brands are
harnessing the talent of their guests and celebrity performers for
exciting onboard performance competitions.
AIDA Cruises begins its The Voice of the Ocean in
October: Since spring 2014, the company's German-based AIDA
Cruises, in collaboration with Talpa Media, has been hosting The
Voice of the Ocean. The fall season of the series will start on
October 2015 onboard AIDAaura and
AIDAvita.
BBC's "Strictly Come Dancing" featured on P&O Cruises
UK: Professional dancers, judges and guests from the BBC One
series "Strictly Come Dancing" will be joining several voyages from
the company's Southampton,
England-based P&O Cruises brand during 2015 and 2016,
bringing the glamor of the ballroom to guests' days onboard. Guests
can take dance masterclasses and get tips from the professionals.
Every 2015 cruise with over three sea days features its own
dedicated "Strictly Come Dancing" competition. All guests
are welcome to enter the competition, giving them an exclusive
opportunity to become part of the magic.
Partnerships with Renowned Entertainers and
Organizations
The company's brands partner with highly
regarded personalities and organizations to ensure guests have
access to the best and the brightest in entertainment.
Oscar winner Stephen Schwartz
producing musicals for Princess Cruises: Princess Cruises
recently announced a first-of-its-kind cruise industry partnership
with Stephen Schwartz, the
three-time Oscar winner and composer of Wicked,
Pippin and Godspell. He will oversee the
creative development of four new musicals to debut across the
line's fleet over the next four years. The first musical, Magic
to Do, incorporates some of Schwartz's most famous songs of
magic. He will also write a new song for the show, which debuts on
the Crown Princess in the fall.
Holland America teams up with Lincoln Center for Performing
Arts: On three of its ships, Holland America Line is adding
Lincoln Center Stage, a new onboard live music venue created in an
exclusive partnership with Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts,
a leader in artistic programming, arts and education and community
relations. Each Lincoln Center Stage will showcase an ensemble
performing chamber music, with world-class musicians performing
multiple programs nightly. On those occasions when guests are
enjoying a leisurely day at sea aboard ship, the ensemble will play
afternoon recitals. Lincoln Center Stage will debut on ms
Eurodam in January 2016,
on ms Koningsdam as part of the Music Walk complex
in April 2016 and on ms
Oosterdam also in April
2016.
Billboard Onboard showcases music hits and performers on
Holland America Line: Additionally, Holland America Line will
debut its new live interactive music experience, Billboard Onboard,
on the line's first Pinnacle-class ship, ms Koningsdam, which
will set sail on its Premier Voyage on April
8, 2016. The new programming is in partnership
with Billboard, the leading global destination for
charts, news, trends and innovations in music. Billboard Onboard
will showcase live musicians using 50 years of chart-topping hits
for a unique live music experience. They will take turns performing
dynamic shows centered on the interesting facts and figures of the
music industry as chronicled by Billboard. Between the
nightly sets and songs, guests can sing and play along with trivia
questions presented on screens throughout the
room.
Holland America features B.B.
King's Blue Club: B.B.
King's Blues Club will also be part of the new Music Walk
complex on ms Koningsdam — making it the eighth ship in
the fleet to feature the Memphis
music experience. Direct from Beale
Street, the B.B. King All-Star Band — an eight-piece group
featuring two vocalists backed by rhythm and horn sections — brings
the best of the city's music to sea. From funky and fast to soulful
and smooth, the band performs six nights a week in the Queen's
Lounge. During performances, the venue evokes the atmosphere of
their namesake clubs on land with images of the legendary blues
guitar legend. B.B. King's Blues
Club is currently featured on ms Eurodam, ms
Noordam, ms Nieuw Amsterdam, ms
Oosterdam, ms
Westerdam and ms Zuiderdam.
Comedian George Lopez laughs
it up with Carnival Cruise Line: Carnival Cruise Line has
teamed up with renowned comedian and TV personality George Lopez. As Carnival Cruise Line's "curator
of comedy," Lopez helps select talent for the brand's onboard
Punchliner Comedy Clubs across the fleet.
About Carnival Corporation & plc
Carnival
Corporation & plc is the largest cruise company in the world,
with a portfolio of 10 cruise brands in North America, Europe, Australia and Asia, comprised of Carnival Cruise Line,
Holland America Line, Princess Cruises, Seabourn, AIDA Cruises,
Costa Cruises, Cunard, P&O Cruises (Australia), P&O Cruises (UK) and
Fathom.
Together, these brands operate 99 ships totaling 216,000 lower
berths with nine new ships scheduled to be delivered between 2016
and 2018. Carnival Corporation & plc also operates Holland
America Princess Alaska Tours, the leading tour companies in
Alaska and the Canadian Yukon.
Traded on both the New York and
London Stock Exchanges, Carnival Corporation & plc is the only
group in the world to be included in both the S&P 500 and the
FTSE 100 indices.
Additional information can be found
on www.carnival.com, www.hollandamerica.com, www.princess.com,
www.seabourn.com, www.aida.de, www.costacruise.com, www.cunard.com,
www.pocruises.com, www.pocruises.com and www.fathom.org.
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SOURCE Carnival Corporation & plc