Talking with the Cruise Director of Carnival Triumph

One of the best things about cruising is the interesting people that you meet. Jorge Salano is the cruise director on Carnival Triumph. He is popular with the guests and is an excellent onstage performer. However, what makes Salano particularly interesting is that he is a man who is following his dream.

After years of hard work, Salano had achieved what most people would consider a successful management-level position in the fast food industry. It was good money but it did not make him happy. Then, he experienced a life-threatening illness.

While he was ill, he realized that what he wanted to be was a stand-up comedian. So, when he recovered, he left the fast food industry and started over at the bottom as a comedian. This took him across the country playing comedy clubs and eventually onto cruise ships as a visiting entertainer.

He found that he particularly enjoyed playing the Carnival cruise ships and so when an opening appeared for a cruise director, he applied and was given the job. Now, he combines his love of comedy with a life at sea.

Recently, I had the opportunity to talk with Mr. Salano about his career, how he is able to use his comedic skills in his work as a cruise director and about the role of a cruise director on Carnival Triumph. My conversation with Mr. Salano appears at: http://beyondships.com/CarnivalTriumph-art-Salano.html.

A Profile and Photo Tour of Carnival Valor

One of the interesting things about going aboard a Carnival Cruise ship is discovering the interior. Designer Joe Farcus creates a different décor for each ship. Often they are bold and unrestrained like a theme park. In other places, they are elegant and full of details taken from old master paintings or literature. They are never dull.

The theme of Carnival Valor is “heroes and heroic acts.” This gave Farcus a wide spectrum to draw from as the public rooms celebrate such diverse personalities as George Washington, Josephine Baker and Lou Gehrig. Other rooms are dedicated to characters from the movies, novels or mythology. It is fun just to explore the ship to see the various design interpretations.

Of course, Carnival Valor offers other things to do. She is a megacruise ship and thus can contain a wide array of amenities, entertainment and sports facilities as well as several dining alternatives.

My profile of Carnival Valor appears at http://www.beyondships.com/CarnivalValor-Profile.html and the photo tour and commentary starts at http://www.beyondships.com/CarnivalValor-Profile.html

Exploring Carnival Freedom

I was trying to think of how to describe Carnival Freedom and the words “big, exciting and fun” came to mind. Now, I suppose I have to say why.

At 110,000 gross tons, 950 feet in length and 106 feet wide, Carnival Freedom certainly is big. Still, she can maneuver in and out of Caribbean ports quite handily with no external assistance. She can carry between 2, 970 to 3,700 passengers depending upon the number of beds that are occupied in each cabin. That is a lot of people. However, the design of the ship is such and things are organized so that one does not feel overcrowded.

The décor of Carnival Freedom kindles the excitement. I admire the way designer Joe Farcus sets out to make each ship in the Carnival Cruise Lines fleet have its own character. Yes, the general layout of each class of ship is the same but the use of color and design makes each one unique. Moreover, the bold colors and often whimsical designs make the public spaces exciting. You probably would not want to have your home decorated this way but it is fine for a get-away.

Fun comes both from the whimsical designs and from the fact that there are so many different options for things to do. These include not just the facilities but the organized activities. They may not be intellectual but they are good light hearted fun.

My profile of Carnival Freedom is posted at http://www.beyondships.com/CarnivalFreedom-Profile.html and my photo tour and commentary begins at http://www.beyondships.com/CarnivalFreedom-Tour-1.html

Carnival Miracle

For Carnival Miracle the tile “fun ship” is more than just an advertising slogan. When you walk on board, you find yourself in a whimsical theme park created by Carnival designer Joe Farcus. The Bacchus Dining Room is deep purple with large purple globes hanging from the ceiling like bunches of grapes. “I feel as if I’m in a bottle of red wine,” I heard someone say. Along the same lines, a giant statue of Frankenstein dominates the dance floor in the multi-deck night club, Dr. Frankenstein’s Laboratory. The theater presents an imaginary Paris Opera House torn from the pages of the Phantom of the Opera. The theme of the ship’s decor is famous fictional characters and the passenger is cast into their dream world.

At the same time, there is a more serious side to Carnival Miracle. The ship is one of Carnival’s Spirit class and is built on the popular Vista hull. She is longer and lower than Carnival’s larger variations on the Destiny-class design and has an azipod propulsion system rather than a traditional propeller shaft arrangement. Consequently, she is more suited for longer voyages across more varied seas.

This allows the ship to be used for longer cruises from New York. Also, because the cruises are longer, they require passengers who have more vacation time. Therefore, her captain Claudio Cupisti notes, Miracle attracts a more “cosmopolitan” passenger. I recently had the chance to revisit Carnival Miracle and have put together a new photo essay of exterior shots of the ship. In addition, I have enhanced my existing profile of Miracle with additional photos, a new copy of the daily program Carnival Capers, and a menu from the ship’s specialty restaurant Nick and Nora’s supper club. The new essay appears at: http://beyondships.com/CarnivalMiracle-NewYork.html