Come Sail Away
Carnival Cruise Line tapped the queen of the 2019 Rose Parade to christen its newest vessel and first-ever Rose Parade float in a naming ceremony near the Pasadena parade route.
Following time-honored maritime tradition designed to bring good luck to ships – whether they’re the floating or floral variety – Rose Queen Louise Siskel smashed a confetti-filled bottle across the “bow” of the colorful ship-shaped float.
“This beautiful, colorful, floral masterpiece…perfectly represents the fun and excitement of a Carnival Cruise line cruise,” said Siskel. “I hereby officially name this float ‘Come Sail Away’”.
Carnival Cruise Line’s first-ever Rose Parade float Come Sail Away will feature a trampoline and flowers from more than 100 countries.
After the event, guests also had the opportunity to help decorate the float and put on the finishing touches to bring the floral masterpiece to life.
“Some of my favorite flowers are going to be the 12,000 blue Irises, white roses and red carnations, those are really, really cool to look at,” said Hugo Castillo creative director of Carnival Cruise Lines. “The body of the ship is made up of coconut flakes, for our scuba divers on the excursion, you’ll see that we used different types of rice to make their hair, orchids, seaweed for their suits”
The float, which will make its debut in front of more than 700,000 onlookers along the parade route and an estimated 80 million television viewers as it cruises down the five-mile parade route on Tuesday, Jan. 1, is a detailed replica of Carnival’s first new ship on the West Coast in 20 years, Carnival Panorama, scheduled to enter service in December 2019.
Comprised of tens of thousands of flower petals from more than 100 countries representing Carnival’s diverse team of employees, the float showcases several of the line’s signature design features including the iconic red and blue funnel, water park and Lido Deck party. The float will also include a new feature debuting on Carnival Panorama, Sky Zone, the first trampoline park at sea, with a working trampoline and jumpers in the front of the float.
Additionally, the float will salute the brave members of the Armed Forces with a special appearance by former Miss USA and Carnival Vista Godmother Deshauna Barber.
Carnival Panorama is set to debut Dec. 11 with a special three-day cruise from Long Beac