Friday, November 23, 2012

Turkey of the Sea

Carnival Cruise Lines has a lot to be thankful for this year, so to celebrate Thanksgiving Day and the arrival of its newest cruise ship, Carnival Breeze, to its Miami homeport, the cruise line donated 137,500 meals to Feeding South Florida and erected a 50-foot-tall inflatable turkey atop the ship.

The 1,250-pound nylon turkey—decked out in a straw beach hat and colorful Hawaiian shirt—was scheduled to be displayed on Wednesday, Nov. 21st in preparation for the holiday festivities. The giant fowl sat 14 stories above the waterline and gazed toward nearby McArthur Causeway until just before the ship made its inaugural sailing from Miami on Thanksgiving Day. We only hope motorists on the causeway weren’t too distracted!

Also on Wednesday, Carnival presented a charitable donation to Feeding South Florida that provided 137,500 meals to families in need throughout Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach, and Monroe counties. Pembroke Pines–based Feeding South Florida is the largest food bank in the state and a member of Feeding America, the nation’s leading domestic hunger-relief charity. In 2011, Feeding South Florida distributed more than 30 million pounds of food valued at almost $50 million within the South Florida community.

The new 3,690-passenger Carnival Breeze—the largest Carnival ship ever homeported in South Florida—debuted this summer in Europe. The new vessel features on-board innovations including a variety of new dining, bar, and entertainment options that are part of the company’s $500 million fleetwide Fun Ship 2.0 product-enhancement program. Following a 2-day introductory cruise that departed yesterday (without the turkey), Carnival Breeze will launch year-round 6- and 8-day Caribbean cruises from Miami Saturday, Nov. 24.

Image Courtesy of Carnival Cruise Lines

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