The beards at Carnival certainly know how to please their clientele with the new features on the Carnival Magic. The addition of the Caribbean-inspired RedFrog Pub with its own lager was sure to be a hit, but Carnival didn’t really have a clue just how big a hit it would be. How big is it? Well, on the very first day the venue ran out of its signature ThirstyFrog Red! On Embarkation day thirsty guests consumed the entire onboard stockpile of the malty-red beer concoction — much of it disappeared quickly in the numerous 100-ounce beer tubes that were being served table side to happy guests. All is not lost for the rest of the cruise as Carnival is overnight shipping kegs of ThirstyFrog Red that are expected to be delivered to the ship’s next port of call, Dubrovnik, Croatia. Beer clearly has no boundaries.

Carnival expects to carry over 670,000 children in 2011 and for parents who like to party the cruise line is rolling out a new fee-based, late-night children’s program. Dubbed Camp Carnival NightOwls the program will offer supervised activities from 10 p.m. up until 3 a.m. for various age groups. For children ages 2-11, the program will operate until midnight and cost $13 per child, plus a 15 percent gratuity. The program will also operate until 1 a.m. for those age 6 to 8 years and cost $20 with a 15 percent gratuity. Additionally, for children ages 9- 11 years old, the program will end at 3 a.m., when children will be delivered back to their staterooms. That program will cost $33 plus the 15 percent gratuity. The NightOwls program is currently available on Carnival Magic and will be rolled out fleet wide starting in June.

By Anita Dunham-Potter (editor@www.expertcruiser.com)

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