Carnival Splendor
Encyclopedia
Carnival Splendor is the sole ship of the Splendor class cruise ship, a smaller, modified version of the Concordia class cruise ship
, operated by Costa
, and is one of the latest of the Carnival Cruise ships
to enter the fleet. She entered service on July 2, 2008. At , she was the largest ship in Carnival Cruise Lines
until Carnival Dream
debuted in September 2009. There are currently no plans to build another ship like her.
The ship was originally designed for Costa Cruises
, and is similar in design to Costa Concordia
, Costa Serena
and their new sister ship, Costa Pacifica
with a larger spa and children's facilities.
ship. The spa features an elaborate thermal suite, a variety of health and beauty treatment rooms, and Carnival's first Thalasso therapy pool. Encircling the upper level of the spa is a winter garden with a ceremonial tea house. Spa access is complimentary for those staying in the non-smoking "spa" cabins on the Promenade and Spa decks. Those in other cabins may buy passes for the day or for the length of the voyage; typical fees are approximately $35 per day. Unlike with most Carnival ships, the sauna and steam rooms are part of this fee-based access and are not free to all passengers.
The 5500 sq ft (511 m²) children's playroom located midship is also the largest in the Carnival fleet. Above the facility is a dedicated water play area, a first for Carnival Cruise Lines
.
Located at the stern of the ship is a new sports deck featuring arena-style seating for games and other events. A reservations only supper club is located atop the poolside Lido restaurant, providing diners with magnificent ocean vistas.
The mid-ship pool, one of four on board, is enclosed by two full decks of glass walls. The area is covered with a two-deck-high retractable dome that can be closed during inclement weather. A large balcony encircles the upper deck of the pool area. There are flat screen televisions in every stateroom on the ship. Award winning shows are also offered on the ship.
, Italy to Dover
, England, followed by a three-day cruise to Amsterdam
. Thereafter followed five 12-day Northern Europe
cruises from Dover to the Northern European ports of Copenhagen
, Warnemunde
, Helsinki
, St. Petersburg, Tallinn
, and Amsterdam
. On 11 September 2008, the ship sailed to Southern Europe
, to visit ports such as Civitavecchia
(near Rome), Naples
, Dubrovnik
, Venice
, Messina, Barcelona
, Cannes
, Livorno
, Marmaris
, Izmir
, Istanbul
, and Athens
. She began her crossing of the Atlantic on the 3 November 2008, towards its new home port of Fort Lauderdale, in Florida
.
In January 2009, Carnival Splendor embarked on a relocation from the Caribbean
to the Pacific Ocean
, its new home port being Long Beach, California
. The ship is too wide for the Panama Canal
, so it made the journey by sailing around Cape Horn
. It was the first Carnival
ship to have ever made this voyage. The relocation took 49 days, and included visits to ports in Dominica
, Barbados
, Brazil
, Argentina
, Uruguay
, Chile
, Peru
, Ecuador
, and Mexico
.
In March 2009, Carnival Splendor was the host ship for Mayercraft Carrier 2, a four-day cruise from March 27 to March 31, from Los Angeles
, California
to Cabo San Lucas
, Mexico
hosted by musician John Mayer
and featuring music and comedy shows.
, who on June 8, 2008 christened the vessel in Dover in a lighthearted ceremony where she played Sailing on the piano, while a Royal Navy diver climbed up five decks on a rope, and broke the bottle of champagne on the bow by hand.
, on the second day of a voyage from Long Beach to the Mexican Riviera
, the ship experienced a fire in her engine room
, cutting all electrical power. According to Carnival president, Gerry Cahill, a "crankcase split, and that's what caused the fire," adding it was isolated to the aft
generator room. The fire was extinguished by the afternoon, and no one was injured. Nearly 4,500 passengers and crew members were onboard at the time.
The crew was unable to restore power to the engines, and the ship was towed by tugboat
to San Diego. Without power for air conditioning and refrigeration, passengers were fed rations delivered via U.S. Navy
helicopters from the aircraft carrier .
Splendor was escorted by, and received aid and security assistance from the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter
. Carnival Splendor arrived in San Diego under tow around sunrise on November 11, and docked around noon.
It was reported that Carnival has promised to give all passengers a full refund along with a voucher for a free cruise of equal value to their cruise on Splendor, along with reimbursement for their travel expenses.
The ship has three engines in the aft engine room and three in a forward engine room. Each generator is connected to the two switchboards. The failure of a single engine or generator should not normally cause a total power loss. Clark Dodge, former chief engineer for Washington State Ferries
, said, "If things were designed properly, all the power shouldn't have gone out." The reasons for the total power loss are presently unclear and are under investigation.
Concordia class cruise ship
The Concordia class is a class of cruise ships that are operated by Costa Cruises and Carnival Cruise Lines, subsidiaries of Carnival Corporation & plc....
, operated by Costa
Costa Cruises
Costa Cruises is a British-American owned Italian cruise line, based in Genoa, Italy.Founded in 1924, the company originally operated cargo ships, until the introduction of passenger services in 1947, with regular services between Italy and South America...
, and is one of the latest of the Carnival Cruise ships
Carnival Cruise Lines
Carnival Cruise Lines is a British-American owned cruise line, based in Doral, Florida, a suburb of Miami in the United States. Originally an independent company founded in 1972 by Ted Arison, the company is now one of eleven cruise ship brands owned and operated by Carnival Corporation & plc...
to enter the fleet. She entered service on July 2, 2008. At , she was the largest ship in Carnival Cruise Lines
Carnival Cruise Lines
Carnival Cruise Lines is a British-American owned cruise line, based in Doral, Florida, a suburb of Miami in the United States. Originally an independent company founded in 1972 by Ted Arison, the company is now one of eleven cruise ship brands owned and operated by Carnival Corporation & plc...
until Carnival Dream
Carnival Dream
Carnival Dream is a Dream class cruise ship. At 130,000 tons, she is the biggest the line has ever built. Her sister ship, Carnival Magic is the latest in the Carnival Cruise Lines ships, being delivered on April 27, 2011, while her other sister ship Carnival Breeze is expected out in June...
debuted in September 2009. There are currently no plans to build another ship like her.
The ship was originally designed for Costa Cruises
Costa Cruises
Costa Cruises is a British-American owned Italian cruise line, based in Genoa, Italy.Founded in 1924, the company originally operated cargo ships, until the introduction of passenger services in 1947, with regular services between Italy and South America...
, and is similar in design to Costa Concordia
Costa Concordia
Costa Concordia is a Concordia-class cruise ship owned and operated by Costa Cruises. She was built at Fincantieris Sestri Ponente yards in Italy...
, Costa Serena
Costa Serena
Costa Serena is a Concordia-class cruise ship for the Italian cruise line, Costa Cruises. The name Serena was intended to symbolize harmony and serenity....
and their new sister ship, Costa Pacifica
Costa Pacifica
Costa Pacifica is a Concordia-class cruise ship for Costa Cruises. She was handed over to Costa Cruises in 29 May 2009. Her sister ships, Costa Concordia and Costa Serena, were launched in 2006 and in 2007, and another two sister ships, Costa Favolosa and Costa Fascinosa will be launched in 2011...
with a larger spa and children's facilities.
Ship highlights
The 3,006 passenger vessel offers a 21000 sq ft (1,951 m²), state-of-the-art, indoor spa that consumes two forward decks, which is the largest spa ever on any CarnivalCarnival Cruise Lines
Carnival Cruise Lines is a British-American owned cruise line, based in Doral, Florida, a suburb of Miami in the United States. Originally an independent company founded in 1972 by Ted Arison, the company is now one of eleven cruise ship brands owned and operated by Carnival Corporation & plc...
ship. The spa features an elaborate thermal suite, a variety of health and beauty treatment rooms, and Carnival's first Thalasso therapy pool. Encircling the upper level of the spa is a winter garden with a ceremonial tea house. Spa access is complimentary for those staying in the non-smoking "spa" cabins on the Promenade and Spa decks. Those in other cabins may buy passes for the day or for the length of the voyage; typical fees are approximately $35 per day. Unlike with most Carnival ships, the sauna and steam rooms are part of this fee-based access and are not free to all passengers.
The 5500 sq ft (511 m²) children's playroom located midship is also the largest in the Carnival fleet. Above the facility is a dedicated water play area, a first for Carnival Cruise Lines
Carnival Cruise Lines
Carnival Cruise Lines is a British-American owned cruise line, based in Doral, Florida, a suburb of Miami in the United States. Originally an independent company founded in 1972 by Ted Arison, the company is now one of eleven cruise ship brands owned and operated by Carnival Corporation & plc...
.
The mid-ship pool, one of four on board, is enclosed by two full decks of glass walls. The area is covered with a two-deck-high retractable dome that can be closed during inclement weather. A large balcony encircles the upper deck of the pool area. There are flat screen televisions in every stateroom on the ship. Award winning shows are also offered on the ship.
Special voyages
Carnival Splendors inaugural season began on July 2, 2008 with a cruise from GenoaGenoa
Genoa |Ligurian]] Zena ; Latin and, archaically, English Genua) is a city and an important seaport in northern Italy, the capital of the Province of Genoa and of the region of Liguria....
, Italy to Dover
Dover
Dover is a town and major ferry port in the home county of Kent, in South East England. It faces France across the narrowest part of the English Channel, and lies south-east of Canterbury; east of Kent's administrative capital Maidstone; and north-east along the coastline from Dungeness and Hastings...
, England, followed by a three-day cruise to Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
. Thereafter followed five 12-day Northern Europe
Northern Europe
Northern Europe is the northern part or region of Europe. Northern Europe typically refers to the seven countries in the northern part of the European subcontinent which includes Denmark, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Finland and Sweden...
cruises from Dover to the Northern European ports of Copenhagen
Copenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
, Warnemunde
Warnemünde
Warnemünde is a sea resort and northmost district of Rostock in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, situated on the Baltic Sea in the northeast of Germany at the estuary of the river Warnow.- History :...
, Helsinki
Helsinki
Helsinki is the capital and largest city in Finland. It is in the region of Uusimaa, located in southern Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, an arm of the Baltic Sea. The population of the city of Helsinki is , making it by far the most populous municipality in Finland. Helsinki is...
, St. Petersburg, Tallinn
Tallinn
Tallinn is the capital and largest city of Estonia. It occupies an area of with a population of 414,940. It is situated on the northern coast of the country, on the banks of the Gulf of Finland, south of Helsinki, east of Stockholm and west of Saint Petersburg. Tallinn's Old Town is in the list...
, and Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
. On 11 September 2008, the ship sailed to Southern Europe
Southern Europe
The term Southern Europe, at its most general definition, is used to mean "all countries in the south of Europe". However, the concept, at different times, has had different meanings, providing additional political, linguistic and cultural context to the definition in addition to the typical...
, to visit ports such as Civitavecchia
Civitavecchia
Civitavecchia is a town and comune of the province of Rome in the central Italian region of Lazio. A sea port on the Tyrrhenian Sea, it is located 80 kilometers west-north-west of Rome, across the Mignone river. The harbor is formed by two piers and a breakwater, on which is a lighthouse...
(near Rome), Naples
Naples
Naples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...
, Dubrovnik
Dubrovnik
Dubrovnik is a Croatian city on the Adriatic Sea coast, positioned at the terminal end of the Isthmus of Dubrovnik. It is one of the most prominent tourist destinations on the Adriatic, a seaport and the centre of Dubrovnik-Neretva county. Its total population is 42,641...
, Venice
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
, Messina, Barcelona
Barcelona
Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
, Cannes
Cannes
Cannes is one of the best-known cities of the French Riviera, a busy tourist destination and host of the annual Cannes Film Festival. It is a Commune of France in the Alpes-Maritimes department....
, Livorno
Livorno
Livorno , traditionally Leghorn , is a port city on the Tyrrhenian Sea on the western edge of Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Livorno, having a population of approximately 160,000 residents in 2009.- History :...
, Marmaris
Marmaris
Marmaris is a port city and a tourist resort on the Mediterranean coast, located in southwest Turkey, in Muğla Province.Marmaris' main source of income is tourism. Little is left of the sleepy fishing village that Marmaris was just a few decades ago after a construction boom in the 1980s...
, Izmir
Izmir
Izmir is a large metropolis in the western extremity of Anatolia. The metropolitan area in the entire Izmir Province had a population of 3.35 million as of 2010, making the city third most populous in Turkey...
, Istanbul
Istanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
, and Athens
Athens
Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
. She began her crossing of the Atlantic on the 3 November 2008, towards its new home port of Fort Lauderdale, in Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
.
In January 2009, Carnival Splendor embarked on a relocation from the Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
to the Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
, its new home port being Long Beach, California
Long Beach, California
Long Beach is a city situated in Los Angeles County in Southern California, on the Pacific coast of the United States. The city is the 36th-largest city in the nation and the seventh-largest in California. As of 2010, its population was 462,257...
. The ship is too wide for the Panama Canal
Panama Canal
The Panama Canal is a ship canal in Panama that joins the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean and is a key conduit for international maritime trade. Built from 1904 to 1914, the canal has seen annual traffic rise from about 1,000 ships early on to 14,702 vessels measuring a total of 309.6...
, so it made the journey by sailing around Cape Horn
Cape Horn
Cape Horn is the southernmost headland of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago of southern Chile, and is located on the small Hornos Island...
. It was the first Carnival
Carnival Cruise Lines
Carnival Cruise Lines is a British-American owned cruise line, based in Doral, Florida, a suburb of Miami in the United States. Originally an independent company founded in 1972 by Ted Arison, the company is now one of eleven cruise ship brands owned and operated by Carnival Corporation & plc...
ship to have ever made this voyage. The relocation took 49 days, and included visits to ports in Dominica
Dominica
Dominica , officially the Commonwealth of Dominica, is an island nation in the Lesser Antilles region of the Caribbean Sea, south-southeast of Guadeloupe and northwest of Martinique. Its size is and the highest point in the country is Morne Diablotins, which has an elevation of . The Commonwealth...
, Barbados
Barbados
Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles. It is in length and as much as in width, amounting to . It is situated in the western area of the North Atlantic and 100 kilometres east of the Windward Islands and the Caribbean Sea; therein, it is about east of the islands of Saint...
, Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
, Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
, Uruguay
Uruguay
Uruguay ,officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay,sometimes the Eastern Republic of Uruguay; ) is a country in the southeastern part of South America. It is home to some 3.5 million people, of whom 1.8 million live in the capital Montevideo and its metropolitan area...
, Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
, Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
, Ecuador
Ecuador
Ecuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...
, and Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
.
In March 2009, Carnival Splendor was the host ship for Mayercraft Carrier 2, a four-day cruise from March 27 to March 31, from Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
to Cabo San Lucas
Cabo San Lucas
Cabo San Lucas , commonly called Cabo, is a city at the southern tip of the Baja California peninsula, in the municipality of Los Cabos in the Mexican state of Baja California Sur. As of the 2010 census, the population was 68,463 people...
, Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
hosted by musician John Mayer
John Mayer
John Clayton Mayer is an American pop rock and blues rock musician, singer-songwriter, recording artist, and music producer. Born in Bridgeport, Connecticut and raised in Fairfield, Connecticut, he attended Berklee College of Music in Boston. He moved to Atlanta in 1997, where he refined his...
and featuring music and comedy shows.
Christening
Carnival Splendors godmother is Myleene KlassMyleene Klass
Myleene Angela Quinn is an English singer, pianist, media personality and occasional model. She was formerly a member of the defunct British pop band Hear'Say.-Early life:...
, who on June 8, 2008 christened the vessel in Dover in a lighthearted ceremony where she played Sailing on the piano, while a Royal Navy diver climbed up five decks on a rope, and broke the bottle of champagne on the bow by hand.
2010 fire
On November 8, 2010, at approximately 06:00 Pacific timePacific Time
Pacific Time may refer to:* Pacific Time Zone , a time zone on the west coast of the United States, Canada and Mexico* Pacific Time , a radio program produced by KQED and carried on several other NPR stations...
, on the second day of a voyage from Long Beach to the Mexican Riviera
Mexican Riviera
The Mexican Riviera refers collectively to twenty cities and lagoons lying on the western coast of Mexico. Although there are long distances between these cities, they are often referred to as the Mexican Riviera because of their popularity among tourists. Cruise ships often visit three or four of...
, the ship experienced a fire in her engine room
Engine room
On a ship, the engine room, or ER, commonly refers to the machinery spaces of a vessel. To increase the safety and damage survivability of a vessel, the machinery necessary for operations may be segregated into various spaces, the engine room is one of these spaces, and is generally the largest...
, cutting all electrical power. According to Carnival president, Gerry Cahill, a "crankcase split, and that's what caused the fire," adding it was isolated to the aft
Aft
Aft, in naval terminology, is an adjective or adverb meaning, towards the stern of the ship, when the frame of reference is within the ship. Example: "Able Seaman Smith; lay aft!". Or; "What's happening aft?"...
generator room. The fire was extinguished by the afternoon, and no one was injured. Nearly 4,500 passengers and crew members were onboard at the time.
The crew was unable to restore power to the engines, and the ship was towed by tugboat
Tugboat
A tugboat is a boat that maneuvers vessels by pushing or towing them. Tugs move vessels that either should not move themselves, such as ships in a crowded harbor or a narrow canal,or those that cannot move by themselves, such as barges, disabled ships, or oil platforms. Tugboats are powerful for...
to San Diego. Without power for air conditioning and refrigeration, passengers were fed rations delivered via U.S. Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
helicopters from the aircraft carrier .
Splendor was escorted by, and received aid and security assistance from the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter
United States Coast Guard
The United States Coast Guard is a branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven U.S. uniformed services. The Coast Guard is a maritime, military, multi-mission service unique among the military branches for having a maritime law enforcement mission and a federal regulatory agency...
. Carnival Splendor arrived in San Diego under tow around sunrise on November 11, and docked around noon.
It was reported that Carnival has promised to give all passengers a full refund along with a voucher for a free cruise of equal value to their cruise on Splendor, along with reimbursement for their travel expenses.
The ship has three engines in the aft engine room and three in a forward engine room. Each generator is connected to the two switchboards. The failure of a single engine or generator should not normally cause a total power loss. Clark Dodge, former chief engineer for Washington State Ferries
Washington State Ferries
Washington State Ferries is a passenger and automobile ferry service owned and operated by the Washington State Department of Transportation that serves communities on Puget Sound and in the San Juan Islands. It is the most used ferry system in the world and the largest passenger and automobile...
, said, "If things were designed properly, all the power shouldn't have gone out." The reasons for the total power loss are presently unclear and are under investigation.