Maybe it’s my 70′s gen rock and roller coming out – but the first thing I thought of when I saw this announcement was Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Call Me The Breeze“. For me, that’s what cruising is all about – just laid back rock and roll that’s a ton of fun, and very – very cool.

Day before yesterday, Carnival announced the name of its 24th ship to set sail in the spring of 2012 – The Carnival Breeze. It’s the third ship of the Dream Class and like the Dream and the Carnival Magic, Carnival’s Breeze will debut in Europe for a while before finding a home in the Port of Miami in November 2012.

We’ve yet to set sail on a Dream Class ship, but have plans to enjoy a family vacation on the Carnival Dream out of Port Canaveral in April of next year. (That is, if the kids Spring Break works out the way we think it will – but we’ll find out in a couple of weeks.)

I really miss the days when it was just Ronda and I sometimes – or even before the kids were in school. Now, everything revolves around school and activities.

Don’t get me wrong – I love these times and the kids need school and these extra activities, but the more I promote this Class of Ship – the more I want to experience it for myself.

There was a time when a new ship would come out, and we would find a way to set sail on the latest and greatest Carnival had. Victory, Triumph, Legend, and Glory where all like that. Now it’s just a pain in the “you know what” to find the time with the kid’s schedule – especially a 7 day, even during the summer.

We might have to steal some time, even with the shortened summer this year. After reading this press release and talking about it, I’m starting to twitch again. ;-P

Here’s the Press Release Direct from Carnival:

Carnival Cruise Lines’ New 130,000-Ton Ship to be Named Carnival Breeze

Carnival Breeze has been selected as the name for the line’s new 130,000-ton cruise ship scheduled to enter service in spring 2012.

To be constructed by Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri, the 3,690-passenger Carnival Breeze will be the third in the line’s Dream class. The series’ namesake vessel, Carnival Dream, entered service in 2009 and a sister ship, Carnival Magic, is currently under construction at Fincantieri and is scheduled to debut in Europe in May 2011.

Carnival Breeze will offer many of the popular innovations featured on Carnival Dream as well as some exciting and unique new elements created just for this vessel that will be detailed at a later date, along with homeport and itinerary information.

“Carnival Breeze promises to be a spectacular addition to our fleet and its name reflects the continued evolution of our brand while conveying the fun and carefree spirit associated with a Carnival cruise,” said Gerry Cahill, Carnival president and CEO.

Signature Dream-class elements featured on Carnival Breeze will include expansive facilities for children and teens, a 23,750-square-foot Cloud 9 Spa and The Lanai, an outdoor promenade featuring cantilevered whirlpools that extend over the ship’s sides.

Other features will include a WaterWorks aqua park with a 300-foot-long corkscrew water slide, a stunning indoor/outdoor café and live entertainment venue called Ocean Plaza and a wide range of staterooms including deluxe ocean views with two bathrooms, some of which feature five berths and hold particular appeal for families.

Carnival Breeze will be the 24th vessel in Carnival Cruise Lines’ fleet, which operates three- to 15-day voyages to The Bahamas, Caribbean, Mexican Riviera, Alaska, Hawaii, Panama Canal, Canada, New England, Bermuda and Europe.

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I really enjoy reading other blogs – especially when they’re entertaining and fun to read. One of my favorites happens to be John Heald’s blog.

If you don’t know John, you probably should if you’re part of the Travel Industry. John’s the Senior Cruise Director for Carnival Cruise Lines and started blogging back in March of 2007 about his experience on Carnival’s latest and greatest ships. According to John (and I have no reason to doubt this) in that three year span he’s had over six million visitors to his site. Many have become loyal readers like me.

John came to Carnival in 1985 and has held the position of Senior Cruise Director since 2004. As Senior Cruise Director, he’s had the privilege of being Cruise Director for the last nine ships Carnival has launched. His latest appointment on the Carnival Dream has been – extremely entertaining to say the least.

I’m not one who appreciates British humor as a whole. There are a very select few that I have come to enjoy over the years, and John happens to be climbing up my list of favorites.

It’s not that John doesn’t take anything seriously. There’s plenty of evidence that he does (otherwise he wouldn’t be entrusted with the position he currently holds) but his perceptions about every day activities and customers complaints are a real stitch.

It’s evident to me that John’s blog has become a real labor of love. The time he takes to answer questions, provide insight, and even pull a couple of favors for customers shows a true loyalty to his readership and his company. He’s become a true ambassador for Carnival.

My personal favorites happen to be customer complaints. The more outrageous the complaint, the more outrageous and funnier the response from John. And for me, that’s a trait we all should have. Too many people take themselves and their perceptions far too seriously. How anyone can complain while on a cruise is something I’ll never understand. (They’re on a cruise for goodness sake!)

Everything is neutral and nothing has meaning except for the meaning that you give it. John not only handles complaints in stride, but with humor. He’s not mean or nasty about it any way – but certainly puts any complaint in it’s place with a sarcasm and lightheartedness that everyone could use more of.

John’s become such a prominent fixture in the industry that he’s been invited to open Travel Weekly Cruise & Tour Virtual Conference and Tradeshow at the end of this month. This two day event held on March 30 and 31st will give you an opportunity to hear John via the live webcast designed to promote and educate the joy of cruising with the industries finest.

Regardless if you can make Travel Weekly’s Virtual Tradeshow, you owe it to yourself to check out his blog for insight and a number of good laughs. You and even subscribe via RSS for updates right in your inbox. It’s been a great escape for me, if only for a few minutes, and I always come away with a smile – and to me – that’s what life’s all about.

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I don’t know how many of you receive Ann Sedgwick’s weekly correspondence to the field. If you don’t, you need submit a support ticket in your travel portal and ask for her e-mail. It’s loaded with all kind of useful information. I put as much as I can in our weekly newsletter to keep you up to date. If you’re already on the newsletter, you got word of the year round sailings out of Charleston, SC starting in 2010 on the Carnival Fantasy.

Yesterday, I received another a cool piece of news form Ann that I know many you have been keeping an eye on. Carnival took delivery of the brand new Carnival Dream on Friday and makes it’s first sailing this morning to introduce a brand new class of ship to it’s fleet.

Sorry I couldn’t get this in the newsletter, but I received it too late to squeeze it in.

Here’s the correspondence from Ann Sedgwick and Amy Gault.

Hello from Ann and Amy,

We are very proud to report that Carnival took delivery of Carnival Dream on Friday, making this vessel the 23rd ship in the Carnival fleet.

We wanted to take this opportunity to tell you a bit about our new ship, the creative concepts we’ve introduced to the fleet.

Carnival Dream represents a new class in the Carnival fleet!   She combines a capacity to accommodate more than 3,600 guests with some brilliant new innovations, both inside and out.  Our guest experience centers around creating fun, memorable moments in a social and friendly atmosphere.  To that end, we’ve introduced two truly unique spaces – The Ocean Plaza, an indoor/outdoor café with live music; and The Lanai, an outdoor area featuring a wrap-around promenade and whirlpools suspended over the ship’s side!  We also offer several new accommodation categories, including the Deluxe Ocean View staterooms – two-bath, five-berth cabins (perfect for families) and Cove Balconies located closer to the water line.  The innovations extend beyond brand new features to include the creation of the largest Cloud 9 spa in the fleet and, of course, Carnival’s own WaterWorks, featuring the longest water slide at sea.

Because we know that fun isn’t just about the actual ship features, we’ve produced exciting new entertainment choices, including a comedy club and outdoor laser shows on Lido Deck.  Also new is the “Fun Hub,” an intranet guest portal and the first-of-its-kind shipboard social network that provides a variety of helpful information onboard and allows guests to interact and connect with each other online.

Monday morning (9/21)  the Carnival Dream departs from Rome (Civitavecchia) for its inaugural 12-day Grand Mediterranean cruise, for the first of three voyages.  The ship will then sail a trans-Atlantic crossing from Rome to New York followed by a special two-day cruise and two eight-day Caribbean voyages.  Carnival Dream will then reposition to Port Canaveral for a special one-time nine-day voyage December 3 before launching year-round seven-day Caribbean service December 12, 2009!

The tremendous support from our travel partners over the years,  have allowed Carnival to grow & build!  No doubt,  our newest  Fun Ship,   will provide your clients  with  fabulous & memorable vacations for many years to come!

We look forward to welcoming your clients on board a Carnival cruise in the future!

Thank you for your partnership.

Warm regards,

Ann & Amy

Your Carnival Business Development Team

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