Carnival Victory Photo Tour

Carnival Victory was the first ship profiled on Beyondships. Even though I did an update of that profile since then, I was surprised when I revisited Victory, how much had changed.

Chief among these were the changes that followed from the addition of a Serenity outdoor section to the ship. Serenity is a concept that was featured on Carnival Dream when she went into service and which is now being implemented throughout the fleet. It is an adults-only section of the open decks that features premium seating - - hammocks, enhanced loungers, etc. - - whirlpools and its own bar. It provides some rest time for parents and a sanctuary for those traveling without kids. It is a nice bit of pampering.

For the most part, the Serenity section occupies an area that was an underutilized section of the open decks in the forward part of the ship. However, the addition of the Serenity section did displace some other facilities. The mini-golf course has been moved to the area immediately under the funnel. This was a definite improvement. When the mini-golf was forward, it was sort of cramped and all the holes followed one after another in a straight line due the rectangular nature of the space the course occupied. The funnel area is much more open and the course is more spread out.

An earlier refit saw the addition of the giant LED screen to the open decks. It is located at the aft end of the main pool area. In order to make the area more theater like, the old bandstand that stood at the front end of the pool area has been removed.

In addition to the changes to the ship, there have been changes to Beyondships over time. The profiles include more than they used to include. As a result, there are more photos covering more of the bars, public rooms, spa and dining venues. In addition I have invested in better cameras, which hopefully means better quality photos.

The Beyondships profile of Carnival Victory is at http://www.beyondships.com/CARNIVALVICTORY.html and the expanded photo tour begins at http://www.beyondships.com/CarnivalVictorytour1a.html

I have als added a few new photos to the profiles of some of the other Carnival ships that I have recently encountered - - Carnival Conquest, Carnival Legend, and Carnival Valor.

In the upcoming weeks, I will be presenting new material from some of the other ships that I have been on recently including Norwegian Epic, Azura and the fabulous Allure of the Seas. There will also be reports on some of the destinations that I have visited.

Holland America's Maasdam in Canada and New England

In the fall, the cruise ships gather in New York and in Boston for cruises to Canada and New England. The autumn leaves are starting to change and people want to see the colors. Also, it is hurricane season in the Caribbean and the weather in Europe is starting to decline so the ships gravitate toward the northeastern United States.

One ship that one frequently sees on such cruises is Holland America’s Maasdam. One of the S-class HAL ships, Maasdam is large enough to provide the amenities of a modern cruise ship but also small enough to get to ports such as Montreal. Thus, Maasdam is well-suited to the Canada/New England run.

I have had the opportunity to photograph Maasdam several times when she was in Canada and in New England. She has pleasing lines and is photogenic.

Accordingly, I have added a photo essay to the Beyondships’ profile of Maasdam showing her in Halifax, one of the more popular ports of call on this route, and in Boston, which is the embarkation port for many of her cruises. This essay is posted at http://www.beyondships.com/HAL-Maasdam-photo-1.html

Carnival Miracle Photo Essay

Carnival Miracle is one of those ships that just always seem to be in front of my camera.

For the last few years, Miracle has been one of two Carnival ships based in New York during the summer season. She primarily heads south towards the Caribbean and the Bahamas on relatively longer itineraries.

In the winter, she operates out of Fort Lauderdale in Florida. There, her schedule takes her on both Eastern and Western itineraries. Thus, the ship gets around and it is no wonder that I am seemingly always running into her.

Miracle is the last of four Spirit class ships built for Carnival in Finland. The design is a forerunner to the Vista class cruise ships in the fleets of Holland America, Costa, P&O Cruises and Cunard. However, her interior by ship architect Joe Farcus gives her a unique identity. Moreover, her captain pointed out to me that because the ship does longer cruises she tends to attract a more sophisticated clientele than some of her fleetmates.

I have put together a new photo essay on Carnival Miracle showing her in some of the ports that she visits and underway at sea. It is posted at http://www.beyondships.com/CarnivalMiracle-photos-2.html

Profile and Photo Tour of Holland America's Veendam

Holland America’s Veendam is one of the first ships that was profiled on Beyondships. She is a relatively small ship in comparison to today’s mega-cruise ships but she has elegance and sophistication.

In 2009, Veendam underwent a major refit. The focus of the work was on the stern area where the aft pool was turned into a resort-style shallow pool and the surrounding area transformed into a retreat. In addition, a series of balcony cabins were added along the stern.

What I had not expected when I went onboard recently were the changes to the ship’s interior. The area that was the casino bar has been re-done into “The Mix”, which encompasses three different bars - - spirits and ale, champagne and martinis. In some ways, the concept is similar to the “Bar Central” area on the larger NCL ships. However, here the three bars are physically separate.

The Ruebens Show Lounge is now the Showroom at Sea. In addition to changing the name, HAL has changed the concept. Instead, of being a theater, there are nightclub like tables in front of the stage.

All of the changes to Veendam necessitated essentially redoing the Beyondships’s profile and photo tour. The profile page is at http://www.beyondships.com/Veedam-Profile.html and the new photo tour begins at http://www.beyondships.com/HAL-Veendam-Tour1.html

In addition, Veendam now spends her summers cruising from New York to Bermuda. This has produced several opportunities to photograph her in one port or the other. Accordingly, I have added a new page of exterior photos of Veendam to the profile at http://www.beyondships.com/HAL-Veendam-photo-1.html