CRUISE NEWS: Carnival's newest ship off to Magic-al launch

POSTMEDIA Enlarge Image

Looking down on Venice from Carnival Magic.

WITH the city of Venice providing an appropriate backdrop, Carnival launched its newest ship, the Magic. It's fitting that it would be launched here. After all, Venetians live beside and on the water, there is really no other place with the magic of its canal system, and the Magic was built in Italy.

Considered by many -- and you will get no disagreement from me here -- to be one of the world's most beautiful cities, Venice co-operated with a perfect sunny and warm day for the christening.

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Carnival Magic arriving Venice. (POSTMEDIA)

With it, the Magic became Carnival Corporation's 100th ship. That includes ships from other Carnival-owned lines -- Holland America, Seabourn, Princess, Cunard, Costa and P&O -- and the event was simultaneously celebrated on all 99 ships with a glass or two of bubbly.

In the cruise-ship world, a "godmother" is an honourary position charged with blessing a new ship for safety purposes. Many cruise ships feature big-time entertainers or big-name individuals, but Carnival took a different route for the Magic's big day. A big supporter of St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, Carnival opted for Lindsey Wilkerson, a cancer survivor at the hospital as a youngster. Shaking with excitement, joy and stage fright, she immediately won everyone's hearts with her story. Today, Lindsey is a smiling and healthy mother of two ... and godmother of one.

When the ship is full, Carnival Magic will carry 3,960 passengers and 1,300 crew members. She is the second in the line's Dream series. The launch of the first -- the Carnival Dream -- was held last year in New York under grey skies, rain and winds howling up the Hudson River. Next year, Carnival will launch the last ship in the series -- the Breeze.

And even though the Magic and the Dream are sister ships, they won't be mistaken for each other. There was a time when you could close your eyes, open them when you embarked and know immediately you were on a Carnival ship. Outlandish designs bright and bold -- that has always been a Carnival trademark. However, mute is the operative word on the Magic. The designers (or painters) have toned it down and it works. It still says "I am Carnival" but nothing jumps out at you when you round a corner.

Lots of new entertainment, featuring a magic show called Destination: Unknown that stars Jason Byrne, a Canadian whose parents emailed to let me know they are extremely jealous that I'll see the show before they do.

Also new to the ship is Sports Square, with more space and more sports elements brought into the space, including exercise equipment you can use outside, and a rope course that hangs out over the sea.

A new restaurant has been located in the area above the Lido deck. During the day, it's extra space for the buffet. At night, it becomes Cucina del Capitano, a family-style trattoria with tables large enough to hold large portions of food placed in the centre of the table for all to enjoy. It's only $10, and just $5 for kids.

While I am on the subject of the Lido, the space has been redesigned to solve a problem Carnival had with over-crowding in some areas.

The feature restaurant has been moved. Prime Steakhouse ($30 cover charge) has been moved down to Deck 5 from its former home on Deck 12.

Red Frog Pub is the first of its kind on a Carnival ship. Nothing British about this pub. It has a Caribbean flavour from one end of the bar to the other. This inaugural cruise is also the first of its kind, with stops in Dubrovnik, Messina, Naples, Civitavecchia (Rome), Livorno (Florence) and Monte Carlo before arriving in Barcelona, where the Magic begins its maiden summer of cruising. Its maiden winter starts in Galveston, and Texans are counting the days.

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Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition May 21, 2011 D2