Carnival Splendor

Carnival Splendor in the Victoria Cruise Ship Port.
Career
Name:	Carnival Splendor
Owner:	Carnival Corporation & plc
Operator:	Carnival Cruise Lines
Port of registry:	Panama
Route:	Mexican Riviera
Ordered:	2006
Builder:	Fincantieri
Cost:	US$697 million
Yard number:	Genoa, 6135
Laid down:	2007
Launched:	August 3, 2007
Christened:	July 10, 2008
Completed:	June 28, 2008
Maiden voyage:	August 18, 2008
In service:	2008-present
Identification:	Call sign: 3EUS IMO number: 9333163 MMSI no.: 372808000
Status:	Operational
Notes:
General characteristics
Class and type:	Splendor class cruise ship
Tonnage:	113,323 GT 83,320 NT 11,843 DWT
Length:	290 m (950 ft)
Beam:	44 m (144 ft)
Draught:	8.3 m (27 ft)
Decks:	13
Speed:	21 knots (39 km/h; 24 mph)
Capacity:	3,006 passengers
Crew:	1,150 crew
Notes:

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. She entered service on July 2, 2008. At 113,323 GT, 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, Costa Pacifica, Costa Favolosa, and their new sister ship, Costa Fascinosa with a larger spa and children's facilities.

Ship highlights

The 3,006 passenger vessel offers a 21,000 sq ft (2,000 m²), state-of-the-art, indoor spa that consumes two forward decks, which is the largest spa ever on any Carnival 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 5,500 sq ft (510 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 Splendor constructed at the Fincantieri shipyards in Sestri Ponente

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.

Special voyages

Carnival Splendor's inaugural season began on July 2, 2008 with a cruise from Genoa, 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.

In February 2013, Carnival Splendor will once again sail around South America, repositing to New York, New York to sail year-round. The South America voyages are being sold in the blocks from 13-18 day cruises. She will then sail one 7-day cruise to Bermuda followed by the same three 8-day cruises to the Caribbean/Bahamas replacing the Carnival Miracle's year-round deployment.

Christening

Carnival Splendor's godmother is Myleene Klass, 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.

Incidents and accidents

2010 fire

U.S. Navy sailors assist Carnival Splendor crew with unloading supplies

Carnival Splendor moored at the 10th Ave terminal for repairs in San Diego, California

On November 8, 2010, at approximately 06:00 Pacific time, 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 USS Ronald Reagan.

Splendor was escorted by, and received aid and security assistance from the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Morgenthau. 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.

External links

• Carnival Cruise Lines