MIAMI, Oct. 10, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Carnival
Corporation & plc (NYSE/LSE: CCL; NYSE: CUK), the world's
largest leisure travel company, today recognized Rainforest
Adventures' Rockland Estate eco-park attraction in St. Maarten – featuring the world's steepest
zipline – for receiving the "Innovative Shorex of the Year"
Seatrade Cruise Award for its main attraction, The Flying Dutchman.
The award, which recognizes an innovative shore excursion over the
past 12 months, was recently accepted by Cherinah Franken, product
development assistant of the St. Maarten Tourist Bureau, on behalf
of Rainforest Adventures' Rockland Estate at Seatrade Cruise Med
2018 in Lisbon, Portugal.
With financing from Carnival Corporation and built by Rainforest
Adventures, Rockland Estate in St.
Maarten is a one-of-a-kind attraction expected to quickly
become one of the most popular in the Caribbean. In April
Carnival Corporation celebrated the official grand opening of the
St. Maarten shore excursion, which
features the world's steepest zip line, a mountain chair lift with
breathtaking views and a heart-racing tube ride, as well as a
museum that showcases the rich history and culture of St. Maarten and its people. Guests from eight
of Carnival Corporation's brands with itineraries
visiting the island have the opportunity to experience the new
shore excursion, also recently named by USA Today 10Best as a top Caribbean attraction.
"We are proud to be part of the Rockland Estate development, and
it is rewarding to everyone involved that this new attraction is
being recognized by industry thought-leaders for providing exciting
vacation experiences for visitors to the island," said David Candib, vice president of development and
operations for the global port and destination development group at
Carnival Corporation. "St. Maarten
continues to be a favorite destination of guests across our eight
cruise line brands that visit the island, and this award salutes
all of the talented people who worked so hard to develop and build
such an amazing attraction. Most importantly, the Rockland Estate
eco-park provides a truly memorable experience that can be enjoyed
by our guests and everyone who visits the island."
Now in the 12th edition, the Seatrade Cruise Awards celebrate
the best of international cruise industry success, ambition and
innovation. Industry award categories are judged by an independent
panel of thought-leaders and experts from the international cruise
industry.
Rockland Estate Eco-Park in St.
Maarten
Rockland Estate is an eco-adventure park
committed to preserving native eco-systems while ensuring the
sustainability of the estate's physical and intangible attributes.
The overall goal of the Rainforest Adventures team in building the
attraction was to enhance and preserve St.
Maarten's natural and built environments and endorse its
cultural and historical significance, while also promoting
education through adventure.
Located on the historic Emilio Wilson Estate, a short ride
from St. Maarten's Port of Philipsburg Cruise Terminal,
Rockland Estate eco-park encompasses the widest variety of
thrill rides and attractions in the Caribbean, including The
Flying Dutchman, which drops guests 1,050 feet in elevation from
the top of St. Maarten's Sentry
Hill over a 2,800-foot span. The Soualiga Sky Explorer takes guests
to a viewing location encircled by walkways and platforms where
they enjoy 360-degree vistas of St.
Maarten and neighboring islands. The eco-park also features
the Schooner Ride, a 657-foot track where guests surf down the
mountain in larger inner tubes, and the Sentry Hill Zipline, a
1,600-foot line traversing the mountain ridge. Every guest
experience begins at the Emilio Wilson Museum showcasing the
customs, traditions, lifestyle and stories that have earned
St. Maarten the moniker "The
Friendly Island."
St. Maarten is a popular
destination for cruise guests, with 1.66 million cruisers visiting
the island in 2016. The country's port has been recognized several
times by the readers of Cruise Fever as the best cruise port in the
Caribbean, and was chosen by
cruisers as the number two Eastern
Caribbean, Bahamas and
Bermuda port of call in Cruise
Critic's Cruiser's Choice 2018 Destination Awards. Additionally,
cruise tourism plays an important role in the country's economy,
representing one third of its gross domestic product (GDP).
Carnival Corporation also partnered with Rainforest Adventures
to develop Rainforest Adventures Jamaica at Mystic Mountain in
Ocho Rios – a mainstay of
Jamaica rain forest activities
where guests can travel on a chairlift 700 feet above sea level to
the mountain top, stretching over 100 acres. In addition, Carnival
Corporation worked with Rainforest Adventures to design and build
the Magical Flying Beach Chair at the cruise company's Mahogany Bay
Cruise Center in Roatan – the first chair lift to take cruise ship
guests from the welcome center directly to Mahogany Beach.
About Carnival Corporation & plc
Carnival
Corporation & plc is the world's largest leisure travel
company and among the most profitable and financially strong in the
cruise and vacation industries, with a portfolio of 10 dynamic
brands that include nine of the world's leading cruise lines. With
operations in North America, Australia, Europe and
Asia, its portfolio features
Carnival Cruise Line, Princess Cruises, Holland America
Line, Seabourn, P&O Cruises (Australia), Costa Cruises, AIDA Cruises,
P&O Cruises (UK) and Cunard, as well as Fathom, the
corporation's immersion and enrichment experience brand.
Together, the corporation's cruise lines operate 103 ships with
234,000 lower berths visiting over 700 ports around the world,
with 22 new ships scheduled to be delivered between 2018
and 2025. Carnival Corporation & plc also operates
Holland America Princess Alaska Tours, the leading tour company in
Alaska and the Canadian Yukon. Traded on both the New
York and London Stock Exchanges, Carnival Corporation
& plc is the only group in the world to be included in
both the S&P 500 and the FTSE 100 indices.
In 2017, Fast Company recognized Carnival Corporation as being
among the "Top 10 Most Innovative Companies" in both the design and
travel categories. Fast Company specifically recognized Carnival
Corporation for its work in developing Ocean Medallion™, a
high-tech wearable device that enables the world's first
interactive guest experience platform capable of transforming
vacation travel into a highly personalized and elevated level of
customized service.
Additional information can be found
on www.carnival.com, www.princess.com, www.hollandamerica.com, www.seabourn.com, www.pocruises.com.au, www.costacruise.com, www.aida.de, www.pocruises.com, www.cunard.com,
and www.fathom.org.
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SOURCE Carnival Corporation & plc