Carnival Cruise Line

Originally an independent company founded in 1972 by Ted Arison, the company is now one of nine cruise ship brands owned and operated by Carnival Corporation & plc. The company has the largest fleet in the group, with 25 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.^[3][4]

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.

In 1996 Carnival Destiny of 101,000 GT became the largest passenger ship in the world at the time and first to exceed 100,000 tons.

 The mascot for Carnival is Fun Ship Freddy, a character in the shape of Carnival's distinctive funnel.

In 2001, Robert Dickinson, then CEO, participated in a BBC documentary, Back To The Floor. Dickinson went to work at the lowest crew levels on the Fun Ship MS Imagination on a Carnival cruise in the Caribbean, where he shadowed a Romanian cleaner, Alina.^[5]

In 2004, Carnival Corporation ordered for a development program for Carnival's new ships, the Pinnacle Project, calling for a 200,000 GT prototype, which would have been the world's largest cruise ship.^[6]

On 26 October 2008, it was announced that Carnival had ordered a brand new ship for their Carnival Cruise Line brand. This ship will be built by Fincantieri and will be the largest ship they have ever built. It sailed its maiden voyage on May 1, 2016, nearly four years after Carnival Breeze entered service.^[10] The new ship is named Carnival Vista

As of 2009, the latest and largest asset in the Carnival fleet was Carnival Dream, a new 128,000 GT ship. Carnival Dreamentered 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.^[7] It entered service in June 2012 and is homeported in Miami.^[8] On May 10, 2010, Carnival selected a name for their new Dream-class vessel in 2012; Carnival Breeze.^[9]

On March 14, 2013, Carnival Dream experienced an emergency generator failure while docked in port at Philipsburg, Sint 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.^[23]

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 (22 mph) (Legend has a regular cruising speed of 24 knots).^[24][25][26]

The company has reportedly been paying wages under $1.50 per hour to employees with low-to-nonexistent benefits, such as holidays or minimal vacations.^[13] Monthly salaries of the high paid workers is around $1,300. The crew wages are supplemented by gratuities, and one former Carnival crew member cited that crew receive up to 95% of their income from tips.^[14] Employees report strenuous working conditions such as 14-hour shifts with no days off. As of October 2013, they are also revoking retirement benefits.^[15]

On February 1, 2015, Carnival aired an advertisement during Super Bowl XLIX that invoked biological evolution, causing outrage among creationists.

On December 27, 2015, an electrician who had been working on one of Carnival Ecstasy passenger elevators was killed in an acciden