PHOTO: Jennifer Hudson shows off her slimmed-down look and short hair at the Carnival Live event. (courtesy Carnival Cruise Lines)

Carnival Cruise Lines, upping the ante for cruise ship onboard entertainment, has introduced a new program, Carnival Live, which will feature live music performances by top entertainers. The new program was introduced on Jan. 22 at The Cutting Room, a New York City café and music venue, with a live performance by Jennifer Hudson, famed for her American Idol and Dreamgirls performances.

Carnival Live will initially showcase performances by a total of 15 top pop, soul, rock and country artists. The cruise line has partnered with Creative Artists Agency (CAA) to feature Kansas, Chicago, Jennifer Hudson (pictured), Olivia Newton-John, Daughtry, Lady Antebellum, Gavin DeGraw, Styx, Foreigner, REO Speedwagon, Trace Adkins, Jewel, Leann Rimes, 38 Special and Martina McBride. Additional artists will be added in the months and years to come.

Those performers begin entertaining on eight of Carnival’s ships sailing out of six homeports. Onboard concerts will be scheduled during the course of the cruise at one of three venues visited— Cozumel, Mexico; Catalina, Calif.; and Nassau, the Bahamas. So far there are 49 confirmed concert dates in 2014. Concerts will be held in main show lounge on the night ship is the destination port. Carnival LIVE artists will join the ship at the port of call.

Hudson, who performed before an audience of media and travel agents, ironically started her performing career with Disney Cruise Line. She was also godmother to the Disney Dream. But now she will be performing live onboard Carnival ships.

A number of cruise lines offer major performers onboard their ships, but these are usually special charter cruises focused on specific artists and varieties of music. Carnival claims it will be the first to offer live music as a regular feature on standards cruises.

Concerts will be priced from $20 to $40 per person and can be booked in advance effective Jan. 22 on the Carnival Live portion of the company’s website. In addition, the line will offer special VIP tickets for $100-$150. Tickets also can be purchased onboard at shore excursion desks depending on availability.

In addition to featured performers, Carnival also is upgrading its house bands across the fleet, offering a greater diversity of music and more interaction with guests. These new bands have been rehearsing in Miami and are currently on nine of Carnival ships and should be throughout the fleet by year’s end.

The new Carnival Live program is another addition to Carnival’s Fun Ship 2.0, a multi-year, $500 million initiative, which already has added new dining venues, entertainment and activities throughout the company’s fleet. Most recently Carnival also introduced its Great Vacation Guarantee, offering full refunds for customers who aren’t satisfied with the cruise experience provided by the line.

Carnival also recently introduced two new dining concepts, American Table and American Feast, as well as a new Seuss at Sea children’s program. These are additions to some 25-plus branded onboard experiences offered by the line, including the EA Sports Bar, Blue Iguana, Punchliner Comedy Club by George Lopez, Hasbro the Game Show, Red Frog Pub and more.

But Carnival Live clearly wants to generate new interest from passengers who want to see top music performers while on their cruise.

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