On Zoom with Christine Duffy—In advance of Carnival Celebration’s November debut in Miami, Carnival president Christine Duffy on Wednesday hosted her first-ever virtual press conference to introduce the newest element of this newest ship: The Gateway.
The two-story promenade will offer food, fun, and a dozen 10-foot-high virtual windows that can show anything from the ocean waves outside to Santa’s reindeer passing by in the midnight sky.
Located on Celebration’s decks six and seven, in the space occupied by the French Quarter on sister ship Mardi Gras, The Gateway will also feature a new Latitudes bar and a new Emeril Lagasse restaurant.
Emeril’s Bistro 1397, named for the Celebration’s hull number in the shipyard in Finland where it was built, will be home to a new vision by celebrity chef Emeril Lagasse. It is newly reimagined by Emeril and staffed by chefs he has trained, and its menu will include the famous chef’s popular creole dishes and gooey breakfast treats, as well as new dishes from around the world. Redesigned from the first Emeril restaurant on Mardi Gras, it will have more outdoor promenade seating and more seats by the windows.
But the big draw, Carnival thinks, will be those windows, “fully immersive,” with a different short multi-media show each night to transport guests to a new destination every evening, including food and drink and even some entertainment, with local scenes depicted on those windows and on the LED ceiling.
The Latitudes bar, meanwhile, will be reminiscent of an airport or train station, with a mechanical split-flap display board, passport stamps on the back of the bar stools, and a menu that looks like an atlas, featuring wines and beers from around the world.
The display can be used to offer up messages about what’s happening on the ship or to shout out “Happy 60th Birthday Grandpa” at the daily meet-ups that will be held at Latitudes for those celebrating special occasions. And the clickety-clack is designed to bring back memories of past travel by air and train, said director of new build product development Glenn Aprile.
Carnival Celebration and Mardi Gras, along with their third sister, Jubilee, make up the Excel class, the biggest in the Carnival fleet, holding 5,282 passengers at full capacity. Celebration will homeport in Miami and sail five- to eight-night itineraries to the Caribbean beginning November 21.
Cheryl’s 40-year career in journalism is bookended by roles in the travel industry, including Executive Editor of Business Travel News in the 1990s, and recently, Editor in Chief of Travel Market Report and admin of Cheryl Rosen’s Group for Travel Professionals, a news and support group on Facebook.
As an independent contractor since retiring from the 9-to-5 to travel more, she has written regular articles about the life and business of travel agents for Luxury Travel Advisor, Travel Agent, and Insider Travel Report. She also writes and edits for professional publications in the financial services, business, and technology sectors.