THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, June 7, 1996 TAG: 9606070562
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: D1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY CHRISTOPHER DINSMORE, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: 61 lines
It weighs more than 100,000 tons, stands 175-feet above the waterline, is 892-feet long and sleeps more than 4,000 people.
It sounds like an aircraft carrier, but it's not. The only jets on this ship are in its whirlpool spas. And instead of a cavernous hangar deck, this ship boasts a 10-story atrium.
It's the world's largest cruise ship, the Carnival Destiny, and it's coming to Hampton Roads in November to pick up its first paying customers, Cruise International/CI Travel announced Thursday.
Organized by the Norfolk-based travel agency, the Destiny's call in Hampton Roads is a marketing move by Carnival Cruise Lines, the vessel's owner and operator.
``We'd like to show off our ship to Norfolk-area folks and give many other people in the Virginia area an opportunity to sample the ship,'' said Robert Dickinson, president of Miami-based Carnival.
The Destiny will pick up passengers for a one-night cruise out of Hampton Roads on Friday, Nov. 15. After a short jaunt in the Atlantic, it will return the next day to drop everyone off before sailing south to its Miami homeport, where it will provide seven-day cruises in the Caribbean Sea.
``There are literally hundreds of thousands of people who have never tried cruising and this is kind of like a Whitman sampler for them,'' Dickinson said.
CI is selling the overnight cruise locally. Tickets cost $139 to $179 per person based on double occupancy. CI has already sold more than 100 cabins, a spokeswoman said.
The Destiny has 1,321 cabins and could sleep up to 3,400. It will have a 1,050-person crew.
The 101,000-ton Destiny is being outfitted at a shipyard in Trieste, Italy, and cost $400 million. The state-owned yard, Fincantieri S.p.A., is Italy's largest shipbuilder and is one of the world's leading cruise-ship builders.
After the Destiny is completed, it will stop in Venice, Italy, for a publicity tour for European travel agents, Dickinson said.
It will then sail for Boston where it will be inspected by the U.S. Coast Guard. New York is its next stop for tours by U.S. travel agents. While in New York, it will also make a one-night charity cruise to benefit homes for children with the AIDS virus, a favorite charity of Carnival's spokeswoman Kathie Lee Gifford.
Hampton Roads will be the Destiny's last stop before Miami. MEMO: For further information or tickets call a CI Travel office or call
461-5511 to find out the branch nearest you. ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
The Carnival Destiny which can sleep more than 4,000 people, is
being outfitted in Trieste, Italy. It will come to Hampton Roads in
November for a one-night cruise out into the Atlantic.
Staff Drawing by John Earle\The Virginian-Pilot
Aircraft Carrier Washington: 1092 feet, 102,000 tons
The Carnival Destiny: 892 feet, 101,000 tons by CNB