Carnival Cruise Line has begun its special series of events to honor and celebrate military veterans with an appreciation lunch aboard Carnival Horizon in PortMiami, along with a unique donation to help veterans get the services they need.

This is the first of six such tributes planned at different Carnival homeports leading up to Veterans Day on November 11.

Honoring Veterans in Miami

Approximately 200 local Miami-Dade veterans were welcomed aboard Carnival Horizon on Sunday, November 5, 2023 for a special military tribute event that included an appreciation luncheon and special recognition. Carnival Cruise Line is hosting six such events this week in six different US homeports.

“As America’s cruise line, Carnival is privileged to have more active and retired military service members choosing to sail with us than any other cruise line for their much-deserved cruise vacations,” said Christine Duffy, Carnival Cruise Line president.

Part of the tribute event included donating a 15-passenger van to the Miami Veterans Affairs Healthcare System. The van will help with transporting veterans to different programs and services offered by the VA, including medical appointments.

“It is an honor for us to partner with the Miami Veterans Affairs Healthcare System to show our appreciation to these brave men and women and donate a passenger van to help the center provide convenient transportation to local resources and support services for our military heroes,” said Duffy.

In addition to medical services, the VA offers resources such as emergency preparedness assistance and other special programs.

“We are dedicated to improving the lives of our veterans and their families every day,” said Miami Veterans Affairs Healthcare System Executive Director Kalautie JangDhari. “I know our veterans appreciate this special event hosted by Carnival Cruise Line. And their generous donation of a passenger van is going to help us to ensure that they can get to their medical appointments easily.”

The hometown veterans tributes come just as Carnival Cruise Line is also introducing a special “Heroes American Pale Ale” on all ships with onboard breweries. A portion of the proceeds from sales of the ale will be donated to Operation Homefront for even more support of military members and their families.

More Tribute Events All Week Long

The Miami tribute event kicks off a full week of events, as the cruise line has organized five other events in other homeports that will feature onboard luncheons for local veterans as well as van donations to each homeport’s VA office.

On the same day as Miami’s tribute, veterans were also welcomed aboard the recently renovated Carnival Paradise in Tampa.

Carnival Breeze in Galveston, Texas is hosting a military tribute event on Monday, November 6, while Carnival Miracle will welcome veterans in Long Beach, California on Tuesday, November 7. Carnival Valor will do the same on Thursday, November 9 for veterans in New Orleans, Louisiana.

One of the cruise line’s largest ships, Mardi Gras, will host the final veterans’ tribute event at Port Canaveral, Florida on Veterans Day itself – Saturday, November 11.

In addition to the special homeport events that will host veterans from the local community, every Carnival ship in the fleet will host a Military Appreciation Day this week – as they do on every sailing, all year long.

Military Appreciation Day was introduced in July 2023 as an expansion of what were formerly Military Appreciation Gatherings. The events include shipwide announcements to thank military service members and veterans, special messages on the Seaside Theater screen, raising the US flag in the ship’s atrium (on sailings four nights or longer), commemorative pins for all veterans, and additional special activities.

All veterans who join in the Military Appreciation Day events can also be entered into a monthly drawing for a free Carnival cruise awarded to a service member.

In 2023, Carnival Cruise Line will host more than 1,500 military gatherings, honoring tens of thousands of veterans and active service members and their families.

Carnival Panorama has developed engine difficulties that have impacted the ship’s maximum cruising speed, and as a result, two ports of call have been cancelled on her current sailing.

No other onboard systems are impacted, and the ship will still be able to return to Long Beach, California on schedule for debarkation on Saturday, November 11, 2023.

Carnival Panorama Skipping Ports of Call

Guests onboard Carnival Panorama have been notified of an itinerary change that is resulting in two out of three ports of call being cancelled on the ship’s current cruise. The sailing departed Long Beach, California on Saturday, November 4, on what was to have been a 7-night Mexican Riviera itinerary.

The cruise was originally scheduled to visit three popular ports of call – Puerto Vallarta, Mazatlán, and Cabo San Lucas. Now, however, two of those stops have been cancelled.

“The ship has developed an issue that is affecting its maximum cruising speed only,” a letter delivered to guests’ staterooms explained. “Regrettably, due to the reduced speed, we will not be able to visit Puerto Vallarta and Mazatlán.”

Carnival Panorama will still call on Cabo San Lucas, but the visit has been changed to Wednesday, November 8 from 6:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. instead of as originally planned on Thursday from 6:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. The extra 90 minutes in port will give guests slightly more time to explore the vibrant and scenic destination, as it is now the only port of call on the week-long cruise.

It must be noted that the ship’s safety systems and onboard operations, including hotel operations, food and beverage, and entertainment, are not impacted by the technical issue.

Only the ship’s maximum cruising speed of 22.6 knots (26 miles per hour / 42 kilometers per hour) is affected, which changes the distance the vessel can sail and still keep her schedule.

Compensation Offered

All shore excursions purchased through Carnival Cruise Line for Puerto Vallarta and Mazatlán are being automatically cancelled and refunded to guests’ onboard accounts.

The ship’s Shore Excursions team is working with tour operators in Cabo San Lucas to adjust booked tours to Wednesday rather than Thursday, but guests will be notified if such adjustments are not possible.

As compensation for missing ports of call, all staterooms are also being given a $400 onboard credit to use for drinks, specialty dining, spa treatments, or other onboard purchases.

“We apologize for this situation and appreciate your understanding,” the letter, signed by Captain Carlo Queirolo, concludes.

Previous Engine Issues

This is not the first time Carnival Panorama has had engine issues impacting her cruising speed and planned itineraries.

In early June, the ship was delayed returning to Long Beach because of engine issues, which created embarkation delays for the next sailing. Further sailings at that time were also impacted with adjusted itineraries to compensate for the reduced speeds.

Onboard engineers are always able to work to correct technical problems, but occasionally special parts or different expertise may be required for permanent repairs. It is unclear whether or not this current issue with Carnival Panorama is an extension of her earlier difficulties or a new technical problem.

At this time, it is unknown whether or not additional upcoming sailings of the ship may be affected, though guests booked on sailings in the next few weeks will want to stay alert to possible itinerary changes or delays.

Carnival Panorama also experienced very similar issues in August 2021, with adjustments to port visit times and delayed returns to Long Beach. The same types of problems were also noted in December 2022.

The 133,868-gross-ton, Vista-class ship can welcome 4,008 guests at double occupancy, or as many as 5,146 passengers when fully booked. Also onboard are more than 1,400 crew members to ensure that all travelers have a memorable and fun cruise vacation, despite any unexpected difficulties.

Carnival Celebration hosted the largest ever $1 million casino slot tournament aboard Carnival Cruise Line during the ship’s most recent sailing, awarding impressive prizes to the top 100 players, including grand prize of $500,000. More than 1,600 players participated in the event, and two additional competitions are already planned for 2024 and again in 2025.

Largest Casino Slot Tournament in Carnival History

A total of 1,691 guests aboard the October 29, 2023 departure of Carnival Celebration set casino history as part of the largest ever slot tournament the cruise line has hosted. The $1M Slot Tournament is a popular event for novice slot players and experienced casino guests alike, particularly with amazing prizes awarded.

The top 100 players in the tournament were awarded prizes, and a $500,000 grand prize was presented to the winner, Rhonda Anderson, on Thursday evening, November 2, 2023. The second place winner, Courtney Paschal, was awarded $150,000, while third place winner, Robert Blevins, earned $50,000.

“Carnival has a history as an industry leader with our casinos and our $1M Slot Tournament not only exemplifies that, but it celebrates it,” said Jonathan Lask, Carnival’s vice president of CRM and performance marketing.

“Our onboard casinos bring fun and excitement to our Carnival Players Club members on all our ships, and this week has been a great way to bring many of those valued guests together and amplify the enthusiasm.”

Slot tournaments are a fast-paced, intense competition for guests to rack up the most points or totals, depending on how the competition is organized.

For this record-breaking competition, Carnival Celebration was sailing a 7-night Western Caribbean itinerary that departed Miami, Florida on Sunday, October 29. The ship visited Cozumel and Costa Maya in Mexico as well as Roatan, Honduras during the cruise, along with three days at sea for guests to enjoy not only the casino, but all the other features of the Excel-class ship.

Carnival Celebration is currently the largest ship in the Carnival fleet at 182,521 gross tons, and can welcome 5,282 guests aboard at double occupancy. Also onboard are 1,700 international crew members to ensure everyone feels like a winner – whether they enter the slot tournaments or not.

More Competitions Coming in 2024 and 2025

With the great success of this most recent tournament, Carnival Cruise Line is already planning two $1M Slot Tournaments for 2024 on the cruise line’s other Excel-class ships – the upcoming Carnival Jubilee as well as the first of the Excel-class, Mardi Gras.

The tournament aboard Carnival Jubilee will be during the ship’s May 18, 2024 sailing from Galveston, Texas, a 7-night cruise visiting Roatan, Costa Maya, and Cozumel.

The second $1M Slot Tournament of the year will be aboard Mardi Gras on the ship’s November 2, 2024 sailing from Port Canaveral, Florida. That voyage is a 7-night Eastern Caribbean cruise that will visit Nassau, Amber Cove, and Grand Turk.

Another pair of $1M Slot Tournaments will also be held in 2025, this time aboard Carnival Celebration and Carnival Jubilee. The first will be the May 17, 2025 departure of Carnival Celebration, an 8-night Southern Caribbean itinerary from Miami, Florida with visits to Bonaire, Aruba, and Curacao.

The second of the 2025 tournaments is planned aboard Carnival Jubilee‘s November 1, 2025 sailing, a 7-night Western Caribbean cruise to Roatan, Costa Maya, and Cozumel.

At this time, no large-scale slot tournaments have been announced for other ships in the Carnival fleet, though smaller, individual tournaments are held on many cruises.

For card players, blackjack tournaments are currently planned for Carnival Panorama (May 4, 2024); Carnival Dream (September 7, 2024); and Carnival Magic (October 19, 2024). For each of those events, prizes will total $50,000.

Two passengers aboard a Carnival cruise ship swiped a pair of art pieces valued at nearly $13,000, but a search warrant has successfully recovered both small sculptures. While the passengers have not yet been charged with the theft, further legal action could be taken.

Security Footage Shows Art Theft

High-stakes art heists are normally the focus of mystery novels or dramatic films, but a real-life theft took place aboard a Carnival cruise ship just weeks ago.

Two passengers aboard Carnival Legend in late September on a sailing from Baltimore to Bermuda allegedly stole two sculptures from the art gallery, removing them from the ship without authorization. The individuals did not bid in an onboard art auction or otherwise purchase the artwork.

Court documents for a search warrant were filed on Tuesday, October 31, 2023 in federal court in Baltimore, Maryland. With that warrant, agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) conducted an appropriate search and recovered the missing sculptures.

According to ABC News, security footage from the cruise ship was instrumental in recognizing the theft and identifying the individuals involved, a man and a woman. One of the ship’s onboard art auctioneers had noticed the sculptures were missing on Sunday, October 1, the day after the ship had returned from its previous sailing.

Security footage was reviewed and showed two individuals enter the ship’s art gallery empty-handed on September 29 at approximately 2 a.m., then leave several minutes later carrying items “consistent in appearance with the missing sculptures,” according to the filed court documents.

The individuals were then identified, and one person’s appearance was correlated with a recent social media account photo that seemed to show the same distinctive attire as seen in the surveillance footage.

Though the sculptures have been recovered, the two individuals’ names have not been released because federal charges of theft and transportation of stolen goods may yet be filed.

About the Stolen Sculptures

Cruise ships have a wide range of artwork onboard, ranging from stunning paintings and prints to sculptures of all sizes and styles. The two sculptures that were stolen are both acrylic pieces.

One is by artist Robert Wyland depicting two sea turtles facing one another, titled “Kiss the Sea” with wave-like formations at the base. The limited edition piece, crafted in 2019, measures 13 5/8″ by 14 3/8″ by 4 1/4″, and has Wyland’s hand-engraved signature. Wyland has done several similar pieces depicting dolphins, whales, and even mermaids. Court documents set the value of the piece at $6,200.

Wyland’s artwork is especially familiar to cruise travelers, as the artist created the hull art for Norwegian Cruise Line’s Norwegian Bliss with a similar ocean life motif.

The second stolen – now recovered – piece is by artist Marcus Glenn and is titled “Tappin’ the Keys for Love.” Similar in materials to Wyland’s sculpture, this piece shows a man playing a piano keyboard with a red heart in the background. Music motifs are common in Glenn’s work, and this piece is valued at $6,600.

Art auctions onboard all Carnival cruise ships are conducted by Park West Gallery. Paintings, sculptures, lithographs, autographed items, and other special pieces are often included, though the collections vary on different ships and different sailings. Collections may also be curated to the sailing region to generate even more interest, such as works depicting Alaska on Alaska cruises.

In addition to Carnival Cruise Line, Park West Gallery also handles art auctions on more than 90 ships worldwide, including aboard Celebrity Cruises, Holland America Line, Norwegian Cruise Line, Royal Caribbean International, and Princess Cruises.

Have you been to an art auction onboard a cruise ship, or purchased artwork on board? Share your experiences on the Cruise Hive boards!