Carnival Cruise Lines Launches ‘Build a Ship’ Contest to Benefit St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital

Get your craft papers, colored markers, and glue lined up and ready to put to use for a good cause. Kids and big kids at heart can put their artistic skills to the test and build a ship in their own homes to benefit St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital®. Carnival Cruise Lines is launching a “Build a Ship” contest that invites anyone 13 years or older to build a model Carnival ship out of everyday items and submit a photo of it to win a free Carnival cruise. The competition is the latest in a series of contests and other activities in anticipation of the May 1, 2011 launch of the line’s newest ship, Carnival Magic.

Participants are encouraged to use their imagination to create their own custom-designed Carnival cruise ship. Whether it’s soda cans, leftover scraps of wood or cardboard boxes, there are no limits on what household materials can be utilized. Once the ship model is complete, entrants are asked to snap a photo of their creation and upload it to CarnivalMagic.com/contest with a title and a brief description of the materials used to build it. Photos will be displayed in an online gallery on the Carnival Magic microsite. Submissions can be entered now through April 6, 2011, and the winner will be announced April 26, 2011.

The winner will be chosen by an online vote open to the public from a predetermined selection of five finalists and will receive a 7-day Carnival Magic Caribbean cruise for four from Galveston, Texas, in an ocean view stateroom. Details and contest rules can be found on Carnival Magic’s microsite (link above). Carnival will donate $1 to St. Jude, up to $10,000, for each entry and vote, as well as for each Facebook fan who “likes” the contest. Even if you aren’t creative, you can still make a difference by voting.

Carnival Magic is set to debut in Europe with a series of 7- to 12-day Mediterranean cruises operating May 1–Oct. 16, 2011. Following a 16-day trans-Atlantic crossing, Carnival Magic will launch 7-day Caribbean service from Galveston, Texas, Nov. 14, 2011, becoming the port’s largest year-round cruise ship.