Paradise in Catalina |
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| Career | |
|---|---|
| Name: | 1998—2007: Paradise 2007-onwards: Carnival Paradise |
| Owner: | Carnival Corporation & PLC |
| Operator: | Carnival Cruise Lines[1] |
| Port of registry: | Panama City, Panama[1] |
| Route: | Western Caribbean |
| Builder: | Kvaerner Masa-Yards Helsinki New Shipyard, Finland |
| Cost: | $300 million[2] |
| Yard number: | 494[1] |
| Completed: | 1998 |
| Acquired: | 29 October 1998[1] |
| In service: | 6 December 1998[1]-present |
| Refit: | 2008 |
| Identification: | IMO number: 9120877[1] |
| Status: | In Active Service as of 2011 |
| Notes: | First non-smoking passenger ship.[1] |
| General characteristics [1] | |
| Class and type: | Fantasy class cruise ship |
| Tonnage: | 70,367 GRT |
| Displacement: | 6894 DWT |
| Length: | 262.00 m (859 ft 7 in) |
| Beam: | 31.50 m (103 ft 4 in) |
| Draft: | 7.80 m (25 ft 7 in) |
| Decks: | 10 |
| Installed power: | 2 × Sulzer-Wärtsilä 8ZAV40S diesels 4 × Sulzer-Wärtsilä 12ZAV40S diesels combined 47520 kW |
| Propulsion: | 2 Azipod propulsion units |
| Speed: | 19.5 kn (36.11 km/h) service speed 22 kn (40.74 km/h) maximum speed |
| Capacity: | 2,052 passengers (lower berths) 2594 (all berths)[2] |
| Crew: | 920[2] |
The MS Paradise, is the eighth and last vessel in Carnival Cruise Lines' Fantasy class of cruise ships. She was built in 1998 by Kvaerner Masa-Yards Helsinki New Shipyard, Finland as MS Paradise. From September 2004 to December 2011, she sailed out of Long Beach, California, doing three and four day Baja Mexico cruises that visited Catalina Island and Ensenada. Currently she sails from Tampa, Florida offering four and five night cruises to the Western Caribbean visiting Grand Cayman and Cozumel replacing the Carnival Inspiration.[3]
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The Paradise was built to be the world's first completely non-smoking cruise ship. Every step of her construction was done by non-smoking personnel and she was entered into service supported by several anti-smoking and cancer-prevention groups. "No smoking" signs were placed prominently on both sides of the ship and on the stern under the name.
Non-smoking rules were strictly enforced. No smoking materials of any kind were permitted aboard. If anything was seen or found, the passenger was fined $250 and put off at the next port (transportation home to be provided at passenger's own expense). Due to poor revenue, Carnival decided to discontinue the smoke-free ship in December 2003 because non-smokers tend to not drink or gamble as much as those accustomed to smoke.
Scheduled to arrive in the Port of Long Beach, California, on September 20, 2004, her arrival was delayed due to several major hurricanes (see 2004 Atlantic hurricane season). Her cruise through the Caribbean and Panama Canal, and up the Mexican coast was further hindered by more hurricanes. After having skirted the bad weather with minimal inconvenience, Paradise arrived in Los Angeles in the early morning, docking at the Long Beach terminal of Carnival Cruise Lines, which was the building that had housed the Spruce Goose. Later that day, the nonsmoking signs were painted over. She still boasts one of the strictest smoking policies in the fleet.
Since her arrival in Long Beach, she has become popular among younger cruisers looking for a more casual and affordable alternative to the longer more structured lines, with her 3 day and 4 day cruises to Ensenada, Mexico.
Carnival Cruise Lines retrofitted the Paradise with the first “earth-friendly” dry-cleaning system, which uses environmentally safe detergents and reduces hazardous chemical runoff. In addition, Carnival has also been at the forefront of engine design, and their new class of ships features a “highly efficient” diesel-electric propulsion system known as the “enviro-engine”, which nearly eliminates visible smokestack emissions.
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