tss Festivale - Carnival's Vintage Ships

just looking at my pics from my first cruise on carnivale way back when:o we had a porthole. 4 girls. I have a pic shaving my legs at the sink in the room! bathroom was too small for the sink. I thought that ship was huge. it was on 640 ft. I'll be on the explorer of the seas in 5 weeks, we have come a long way. We did have a great time. Could never do it now. I like the big ship and the big suites and my DH with me:p

My very first cruise was on the Festivale in Sept./Oct. of 1979. The ship's original destination was the Eastern Carribbean but the itinerary was changed to Panama Canal to celebrate President Carter signing the Canal back over to Panama. I knew the itinerary because I booked the cruise last minute. The german ship I was originally taking had a fire so I had to find another ship on very short notice. I was happy about the new itinerary as my father was an American born in Ancon Panama. My Grandfather was a Policeman who worked on the Gatun Locks and I was interested in seeing my father's birthplace. Upon meeting other passengers on the ship though, they weren't quite as happy. Many of them believed we were heading to the Eastern Carribbean only to find out the destination had changed. Apparently their travel agents didn't notify them of the change. After a day or two everyone seemed to be having a great time and the change wasn't as important. As far as I know, we were the first ship at the Canal for the signing over of the Canal to Panama.

Happy Thanksgiving!

My first cruise was on the Tropicale in 1998 out of Tampa to the Western Caribbean and yes it was smaller than the other ships I have cruised on since, but at the time it was huge

Worse Ship I was ever on. I told my TA they should change it to tropicrap. We could not get anything fixed in our cabin. Some electrical lights and outlets did not work. Worse service we have ever had on a ship. WE had a good time because we were with family for celebrations but the condition of the ship was horriable. That was in July of 2000. I learned on our next crusie that it was sold to costa and refurbished. They must have known then that something was happening.

It almost keept me from growing on Carnival again. This was my third cruise and my second on Carnval.

My first (and so far only!) cruise was on the Carnivale in May 1990. I have alwasy wanted to do another and just haven't had the chance -- it's really been a while now! Anyway, I've recently become more interested again and was just thinking back about this ship.

I remember having a porthole, with no TV in the cabin, tiny bathroom, no amenities at all in there. But there was always other stuff to do on the ship -- what a great time we had! I can only imagine what it's like now, though it might not have the same luster if it's like some other things of bygone eras.

Just wanted to remember a little more and say Hello to my fellow passengers!

Adam

Adam,

Do plan another cruise - you will be amazed at the differences. My girlfriends and I were at the lowest of low staterooms on Carnivale (inside) but we had so much fun and that was the beginning of my cruise history. I waited 13 years to cruise again on Nordic Prince and that is small by todays standards. I guess it is not the size of the ship but the whole experience and we are hooked.

Adam,

Do plan another cruise - you will be amazed at the differences. My girlfriends and I were at the lowest of low staterooms on Carnivale (inside) but we had so much fun and that was the beginning of my cruise history. I waited 13 years to cruise again on Nordic Prince and that is small by todays standards. I guess it is not the size of the ship but the whole experience and we are hooked.

I'm going to -- no doubt. It seems so much has changed, mostly for the better, I am anxious to get started.

I do have to say, it was sort of fun to do things like get lost in the ship and wander around for hours with no idea where you were going. I'll miss things like that, but I anticipate the new adventures!

Thanks!

Adam

Our first cruise was on the Festivale! Enjoyed 'her' and our cruise. The staff/crew were grrrrrrrreat!

We also went to St. Thomas, St. Marten, Barbados, & Martinique. Had a fabo time.

If you want to read what happened to the Festivale...click the URL below:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Island_Breeze_(ship)

Ohhhhhhh and BTW...I have a Christmas ornament from the Festivale that we have haning on our Xmas tree right now as I type this post!

It is a tiny life saver-ring with 'Festivale' written across it. We have hung it on our tree each year to remember this grand ole 'lady' and our wonderful cruise on her.

I booked my first cruise through Carnival on the Fascination in 1995. It left from San Juan and it was visiting Caracas, Venezuela which was my primary reason for choosing this ship. My partner had a friend who was a travel agent so we gave the booking to him. The travel agent got sick with AIDS and died and we called his office just under 60 days before our cruise and found out that he had booked us on the Festivale.

 

We got the booking changed to the Fascination but had to pay a cancellation penalty and they wouldn't waive it. When we arrived in San Juan, the Festivale was right next to us and it seemed so small and old but stately.

 

The older I get, the more I appreciate the classic ships like the Norway, Queen Mary and the Festivale. I sailed a few years ago on the Holiday and loved it and had the time of my life. I wondered if life onboard was similar to what passengers on the Festivale experienced. They were about the same GRT and passenger capacity. The Holiday was an easy ship to learn and get around on and the crew was awesome. Someday the Holiday will be retired too but I can't help to think of how I should have gone on the Festivale. I got into collecting some mementos from the early ships of carnival and a blue rectangular plate of the first 3 Carnival ships is one of my favorite possessions.

 

I'm sure many of you have traveled on the Festivale and I would love to hear yours stories about her. I highly regret not being able to ever travel on her.

We sailed on the Tropicale on Feb 16,1991 from San Juan PR. It was one of our favorite cruises.

We went to St.Thomas, Guadalupe,Grenada, La Guaira,SA , Aruba and back to San Juan. Incredible ports , and a great crew and ship.

It was a small ship but it did not feel small .

If you want to read what happened to the Festivale...click the URL below:

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Island_Breeze_(ship)[/color][/b]

Someday if I have hours and hours of time, I will go into Wikipedia and correct all the entries for cruise ships and liners. They almost all seem to have errors!

As usual, the ISLANDBREEZE article is a mess! It misspells her original name, TRANSVAAL CASTLE. It totally neglects to mention that when she moved over to Safmarine (but still under Union-Castle management), she was renamed S.A. VAAL. It says Carnival sold her in 1998 to Premier after a brief charter to a British tour operator; in fact she was actually sold in 1996 to Dolphin Cruise Lines, who indeed her to the British travel firm Thomsons. In 1998, Dolphin was merged into Premier Cruises The article says that "[Premier] named her Island Breeze: Big Red Boat III, as she was their third liner, and like all of their ships, had her hull painted a bright and somewhat garish red." In fact, ISLANDBREEZE and THE BIG RED BOAT III are two different names from two different times; the latter replaced the former. The ship didn't become THE BIG RED BOAT III until 2000, when she moved from the "traditional" Premier fleet over to the Big Red Boat brand, in an effort to expand the Big Red Boat brand which was seen as more viable than the "traditional" Premier product. Not all Premier ships had red hulls - in fact, most didn't - and she was far from their third liner; by the time she was named THE BIG RED BOAT III the company had over its history had no fewer than ten ships!

So take what you read about ships on Wikipedia with a grain of salt. I've found most of the entries to be very unreliable and this one is no expception. It does, however, get her sad end correct - she was broken up at Alang in 2003.

I sailed on the Island Breeze on a stand-by trip as a Travel agent . I had been to the Cruiseathon in Miami. The hull on the ship was white. I also had the smallest cabin on the ship. It was next to the dining room, on the lowest passenger deck. It had an upper and lower bunk. It was so small that one of us had to either be in the Head or sitting in, not on our bunk so the other could get by. This was an inside cabin. We had a wooden locker for our clothes. The wait staff was not at all happy. We were next to the dining room and could hear them complaining late into the night. Perhaps it was their only place to gather. We laughed and said that they were going to mutiny before the cruise ended. It sounded as if they were throwing the dishes rather than stacking them. There were a number of crew members that were escorted off the ship in Cozumel. Our luncheon buffet consisted of Balogna, Ham , Cheese and Salami coldcuts for the entire week.The best meal was the midnight buffet. They seemed to go all out for this one. We got stuck for a short time by the reef near Hondouras?? Churned up a lot of mud and sand. Can only imagine what damage it did to the reef. The best memory I had was seeing the Norway sail past. I had been on her as the FRANCE in 1964. We spoke with someone in charge ( I have forgotten just whom this was) To try and get out of the "closet" that we were in. We were willing to pay anything to be relieved of this assignment. We were told by this officer that this cruiseline was going to be bigger than Carnival. He also said that he had worked for Carnival for quite awhile and that this was a move forward for him. What an altruistic soul was he. We all know what happened with that story. I have been on 33 cruises and enjoy mostly everything about them. Rather be on the sea than landlocked any day. This was truly a rusty, dusty challenge. The saving grace was that we had paid only $150.00 including port taxes for the whole experience. I have always been a good sport. Who cares about a few stains or a piece of upholstery that needs mending. These ships are in constant service and take the brunt of all sorts of persons. Some much more considerate than others. These poor ships were challenged to start with. I am sure they tried their best. This doomed line went to a sorry end and didn't really have a chance to prove all that had been promised. I know that it was a very popular line for those on the east coast. It had more than reasonable rates. It made cruising affordable for some whom otherwise might not have been able to take the entire family on that sort of vacation. I am glad I have since experienced many others that really have tried a bit harder. Kudos to those who enjoyed their fun. That is after all, what it is all about.

Someday if I have hours and hours of time, I will go into Wikipedia and correct all the entries for cruise ships and liners. They almost all seem to have errors!

 

As usual, the ISLANDBREEZE article is a mess! It misspells her original name, TRANSVAAL CASTLE. It totally neglects to mention that when she moved over to Safmarine (but still under Union-Castle management), she was renamed S.A. VAAL. It says Carnival sold her in 1998 to Premier after a brief charter to a British tour operator; in fact she was actually sold in 1996 to Dolphin Cruise Lines, who indeed her to the British travel firm Thomsons. In 1998, Dolphin was merged into Premier Cruises The article says that "[Premier] named her Island Breeze: Big Red Boat III, as she was their third liner, and like all of their ships, had her hull painted a bright and somewhat garish red." In fact, ISLANDBREEZE and THE BIG RED BOAT III are two different names from two different times; the latter replaced the former. The ship didn't become THE BIG RED BOAT III until 2000, when she moved from the "traditional" Premier fleet over to the Big Red Boat brand, in an effort to expand the Big Red Boat brand which was seen as more viable than the "traditional" Premier product. Not all Premier ships had red hulls - in fact, most didn't - and she was far from their third liner; by the time she was named THE BIG RED BOAT III the company had over its history had no fewer than ten ships!

 

So take what you read about ships on Wikipedia with a grain of salt. I've found most of the entries to be very unreliable and this one is no expception. It does, however, get her sad end correct - she was broken up at Alang in 2003.

Doug,

Thanks for this updated info. Too bad the sad end is correct. Such a terrible ending to a beautiful ship!

I had an uncle who took his family on a cruise on what I suspect was the Festivale. His description and some of my cousins' descriptions sounded a bit wilder and woolier than what many of today's pampered, perfectionist-minded cruisers would be willing to put up with. Nevertheless, I suspect that many cruisers had good memories of the Festivale, even if others don't.

Since the old Festivale is now history, I don't see why Carnival can't "recycle" the name and use it on a future Carnival Cruise Line hull.

My husband and I won a cruise back in '89. We ended up choosing the Festivale because we loved the ports...left San Juan and hit St. Thomas, Martinique, Barbados and St. Marten. We absolutely loved it! I still remember sitting in the airport going home and listening to a couple complaining about the ship/cruise. We could never figure that out...what a great ship. Yes, she was a little rundown and not as glitzy as the new ships, but still a wonderful trip. Little did I know at the time of the cruise, but I was pregnent with our first child! Poor little guy got an early taste of alcohol. Still have our picture of us on the gangplank at Barbados with the "Festivale" life ring in front of us.

Great Times!:p

Our first cruise was on the Festival in march of 88, we went with 4 other couples and had a ball! Our husbands did the male night gown contest and it was a real laugh! We have gone on 17 cruises since then. Just love to cruise I think it is the best vacation ever.

The Festivale holds a special place in my heart. On July 6, 1980 (second night of the cruise) while on the bow looking out at the gorgious Caribbean night sky, my boyfriend proposed marrige. I accepted and we were married February 14, 1981 onboard the Queen Mary in Long Beach, CA. We have been on many cruises since then, but nothing beats the cruising experience of those long ago days.

I see there are quite a few of you who have sailed on the Festivale around, if not in 1989. Well, this is my problem....

That was the last time I sailed with CCL till this upcoming cruise (Jan. 27th) on the Ecstasy. I booked my cruise with an outside TA online not CCL. I have not been able to get through my TA or CCL a past guest code cause CCL said that they did not keep records that far back. In fact I talked twice on the phone with CCL and their operators were useless and not at all helpful on this topic. One said I could just tell them at the terminal when I get on the ship that I was a past guest and they would give me a code...then another CCL operator said I would have to send them a copy of my old tickets! I didn't keep those tickets these past 18 years! GEZZZZZZZZZ.:mad:

So have any of you been able to get a past guest code if your last cruise with CCL was on the Festivale? If so...how did you do it?

I am running out of time and I want to be able to attend the past guest party on board and as of now, I will not receive an invitation to the party. GRRRRRR!:mad:

To late now to worry about a past guest discount...I have been upgrade from a 1A (bunk bed) to a 5A 2 twins with 2 portholes, so I am happy with that!

Any help would be appreciated!

Thanks!

We sailed on the Mardi Gras in 1977, 1978 & 1984 and the Festivale in 1979. All in the pre-computerized, pre-database days. No company records around to validate our sailing on these long ago trips. Fortunately, we still have our Welcome Onboard photos with the two of us standing very prominently on the gangway in front of a ship's lifering, with the ship's name and date clearly showing. All we had to do was bring those photos onboard, show them at the guest relations desk, and we were immediately confirmed as loyal alumni cruisers!

What a great idea about bringing the picture. I have that from my Carnivale cruise - although a much younger me.

It's sad to think that the beautifull Festivale is no longer around - she truly was a majestic lady and not even closely matched by the superliners of today - awesome they may be but not nearly so enchanting. I worked aboard the TSS Festivale for three and a half years - 1986-1990 - and came to think of her as home. Its wonderful to hear that after all these years ther are people such as yourself who share such fond memories .

My husband and I took our second cruise in July, 1987 on the Festivale. We went out of San Juan and traveled to St. Thomas, St. Marten, Barbados, & Martinique. It was your oldtime ship. Instead of straight corridors, you had little hallways off the main one and the rooms were different. Not all exactly the same as some are now. I'm glad we got to experience an older ship. We went on the Tropicale in 1985 for our honeymoon and it was the new ship for Carnival, but still enjoyed the Festivale a couple of years later. We just booked our next cruise on the Miracle. It is in the Spirit class and looking forward to trying out that type of ship.

 

Tropicale 1985

Festivale 1987

Enchanted Isle 1998

Celebration 2000

Inspiration 2001

Conquest 2003

Holiday 2004

Glory 2005

Elation 2006

Miracle June, 2007

I booked my first cruise through Carnival on the Fascination in 1995. It left from San Juan and it was visiting Caracas, Venezuela which was my primary reason for choosing this ship. My partner had a friend who was a travel agent so we gave the booking to him. The travel agent got sick with AIDS and died and we called his office just under 60 days before our cruise and found out that he had booked us on the Festivale.

 

We got the booking changed to the Fascination but had to pay a cancellation penalty and they wouldn't waive it. When we arrived in San Juan, the Festivale was right next to us and it seemed so small and old but stately.

 

The older I get, the more I appreciate the classic ships like the Norway, Queen Mary and the Festivale. I sailed a few years ago on the Holiday and loved it and had the time of my life. I wondered if life onboard was similar to what passengers on the Festivale experienced. They were about the same GRT and passenger capacity. The Holiday was an easy ship to learn and get around on and the crew was awesome. Someday the Holiday will be retired too but I can't help to think of how I should have gone on the Festivale. I got into collecting some mementos from the early ships of carnival and a blue rectangular plate of the first 3 Carnival ships is one of my favorite possessions.

 

I'm sure many of you have traveled on the Festivale and I would love to hear yours stories about her. I highly regret not being able to ever travel on her.

I sailed on the Festivale two times back in the 70's and thought it was a great ship! Had some great times on there and fond memories traveling with friends who were new to cruising. Compared to the newer ships, I like the newer ones better of course! However, we sailed on an old Celebrity ship called the Meridian back in 11/95 and had a large cabin, much larger than most and it was great!

My mom and sister and I took our very first cruise on the Festivale in January of 1979. Since then, we cruised the Holiday, Regal Empress and the Golden Princess (biggest ship I've ever been on). The Golden Princess took us across the Atlantic (6 days) and then to Ireland, Paris, London, Scotland and Belgium - that definitely was the largest ship and longest cruise but the one I remember most and the one that had the biggest impact on me was the Festivale in 1979. Now that was a ship in every way! We rocked and rolled, literally, all the way to the Carribbean and back - and just as we learned our way around the ship, it was time to disembark. It lasted 7 days. On that ship NO one ever slept. It was a 24/7 party. The stewards were very personable and friendly (like family). Every time you left the room and came back, it was clean, sheets turned back, a chocolate on your pillow. I swear I think they were sitting somewhere watching you so they could jump in there as soon as you left. I believe if you wanted them to read a book to you, they would have! The parties were fun, the people crusing were fun - they even placed you at dining tables according to your marital status and age. We were all three single so they placed us at a dining table with 3 single men our ages. We always ate with the same people. The entire crew became your buddies. They came out to you at the pool to ask if you wanted a coke. We learned that the word "Coca-Cola" was the universal word. Half the time, we couldn't understand what they said and they couldn't understand us - then someone would say "Coca-Cola" and everyone smiled and nodded! Then there were the midnight buffets - the cruise ships today could take a lesson - every cruise we've been on since Festivale, when we ran up to the midnight buffet as they advertised it, we were so disappointed. They were just open restaurants and grills - no flair, no fun. The Festivale's midnight buffet was exciting - every night there was a HUGE ice sculpture in the middle of the buffet with plates as big around as trash can lids with mounds 4 feet tall of meats, cheeses, breads, hors dourves, and so much more it was like a fantasy! They don't do that anymore on the ships of today. The cabins were small like you'd find on a cabin cruiser and the showers would drill holes through you! We rocked and rolled all day and night, tossing and turning. I remember trying to walk down a hallway and the ship pitched and you'd just go falling through a door into someone else's room! Everyone would laugh and we'd get our bearings again. It took us nearly a week on land to get our "land legs" back. Just walking around the house you would find yourself weaving like on the ship. It was so funny! I've been on several beautiful ships since, but nothing has ever left a lasting impression on me like the Festivale has. It was a ship I am so thankful I got to experience! It breaks my heart to see her painted as the Island Breeze and then the Big Red Boat and it really breaks my heart to know she was torn apart. I can't help wondering if the people crusing on her as the Island Breeze and the Big Red Boat could "feel" the Festivale's spirit - it was definitely too strong to subside, even now.

First cruise ever was on the Festivale - summer 1978. My roommate and I had a fantastic time. We had a stateroom with a porthole. One bed was under the porthole so we divided up the time being able to sleep in that bed. The last night of the cruise I woke up and looked out the porthole. We were passing another cruise ship and the picture of the ship in the moon light was wonderful.

Our cabin steward would turn down our beds and put our nightgowns on them with a little fancy "rosette" in the middle.

Wonderful, wonderful memories. Talked about that cruise so much that my husband booked us on Princess for our 20th wedding anniversary. Back on Princess again in 2008 for our 25th.

That sounds like the room My girlfriends and I had!! I remember it was at the end of the ship. There were 4 of us. They had to bring in two rollaway beds for two of us. We couldn't walk in the cabin at all when the beds were opened up. The toilet was in the shower! The sink was in the room. It was just horrible, we complained about our room, they gave us a bottle of Champagne and 10% off our next cruise!! After 20 years I finally found the courage to go on Carnival again....I hope it's good. We did have a great time on that cruise though!!! I was about 19 or 20 then.

our first on festival was in 1984 and our second was in 1989,loved it and really miss it.:( have been on carnival triumph,holiday and destiny plus dawn princess. the best ones were FESTIVAL and HOLIDAY.:)