Carnival celebrates 50 year history on new Carnival Celebration

As part of its ongoing 50th Birthday celebration, Carnival Cruise Line is introducing The Golden Jubilee, which will celebrate the 50-year history of America’s Cruise Line, on its newest ship Carnival Celebration, debuting this November. The new bar and lounge will be part of the ship’s final, to-be-announced zone, and will highlight Carnival’s evolution of ships over the last 50 years, weaving its past with its present and looking to the future. The announcement was made today at the Seatrade Cruise Global Conference in Miami.

The Golden Jubilee, on Deck 6, in the same location as The Brass Magnolia on Mardi Gras, will feature artwork, memorabilia and original pieces from Carnival’s earlier vessels that will be incorporated throughout the space bringing Carnival’s 50 years of fun full circle. These include:

A striking bar beneath two-deck-high ceilings adorned with a multi-piece brass chandelier and surrounded by reproductions of blueprints depicting the evolution of Carnival’s Fun Ships, including some hand-drawn designs by world-renowned architect Joe Farcus.

Chairs recreated from TSS Carnivale’s Riverboat Lounge paired with cocktail tables from Carnival Fascination’s Hollywood Boulevard adorned with signed sketches representing movie classics by iconic caricaturist Al Hirschfeld.

Original 17’ by 7’ full-height etched glass, nickel and mahogany partition wall with 24 windowpanes from TSS Mardi Gras’ casino, separating the bar from the promenade.

Original decorative etchings of musical instruments as well as polished brass and glass night club doors from TSS Carnivale that will frame one of the lounge’s entrances, allowing guests to physically walk through Carnival’s history.

Original bronze statue of Carnival founder Ted Arison and Finnish shipbuilder Martin Saarikangas, given as a gift from the Kvaerner Masa-Yards to the line upon delivery of Carnival Sensation in Helsinki, Finland, in 1993.

Reproductions of hand-drawn sketches by Farcus blended into mirrors, offering guests a glimpse into special Carnival moments like Carnival Fascination’s naming ceremony and Carnival Inspiration’s first transit of the Panama Canal.

Floor tiles surrounding the bar that feature a stylized maple leaf pattern reminiscent of the maple leaf design motif from the Grand Ballroom on TSS Mardi Gras that carried over from the ship’s former life as Empress of Canada for Canadian Pacific Line.

Mirror inserts integrated into the bar front and bottle display inspired by the etched glass inserts of TSS Carnivale’s main lobby doors.

There will also be round windows instead of squared windows, reminiscent of the portholes on the line’s original ships, to create an ambience similar to the classic cruise ship bar and lounge, as well as a stage for live music and dance floor to enhance the overall feel of nostalgic elegance.

The specialised bar menu will take guests on a journey through time as well, featuring an early version of line’s logo introduced in the ‘70s, and the most popular cocktails throughout the decades since 1972, Carnival’s founding year. Offerings will include classic and vintage cocktails such as a Harvey Wallbanger and Tom Collins, reimagined in Carnival’s own unique style with premium ingredients and elevated presentations.

“The Golden Jubilee is the ultimate nod to our 50th Birthday – a nostalgic but timeless lounge where our guests can re-live and connect with Carnival’s yesteryears while enjoying a glamorous and elegant space that embraces our current Carnival style,” said Christine Duffy, president of Carnival Cruise Line.

The adjacent promenade will also serve as a unique look through Carnival’s history featuring:

A first-of-its-kind porthole gallery installation that will tell the Fun Ships evolution story through a series of six decorative porthole windows featuring three-dimensional dioramas for each of the five decades of Carnival’s history and one representing the company today and a look to its future.

Original vintage engine telegraph from 1955 installed on TSS Carnivale​ and permanently set to “Full Ahead” sign as a symbol of Carnival’s forward movement.

Coins for every ship in the fleet, both past and present, embedded into the promenade’s floor design.

TSS Carnivale model, recovered from MS Inspiration, at the entrance to the Carnivale Restaurant.

1:100 scale, 12-foot-long ship model of Carnival Celebration.

Carnival has announced five zones aboard Carnival Celebration – 820 Biscayne, Celebration Central, The Ultimate Playground, Summer Landing and Lido. Additional details and the final zone on Carnival Celebration will be revealed in the near future leading up to the ship’s inaugural sailing from Miami on Nov. 21. Once in Miami, the ship will sail five-, six-, seven- and eight-day cruises to the Eastern and Western Caribbean.

Carnival Celebration will be the second Carnival ship to be powered by a Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) propulsion system, part of Carnival Corporation’s green cruising platform, and will include an award-winning roller coaster at the top of the ship. The ship will debut in November from the redesigned state-of-the-art Terminal F at PortMiami, the line’s third terminal at the port and its largest in South Florida. The terminal will be among the first at PortMiami to be shore-power ready in 2023.