Carnival Fun Shops Launch

Carnival Cruise Line unveiled a wide array of retail spaces aboard the new Carnival Horizon at a press event in New York City today.

Dubbed The Fun Shops, the new shops are part of the cruise line's effort to elevate shopping to the level of other onboard experiences, said Beth Neumann, president and CEO of Starboard Cruise Services.

The Miami-based Starboard provides retail operations for several cruise lines, including Carnival. It has had a 30-year partnership with Carnival.

"Shopping is very much in the DNA of our ships," said William Butler, vice president of retail services at Carnival. "With Carnival Horizon, we're raising the bar with our biggest and best shopping experience yet.

Originally Carnival's shopping spaces were secondary to its other activities and features but they're now central to the cruise line, Butler added.

The new shops aboard the Carnival Horizon, the cruise line's 26th vessel, are located on a two-level shopping promenade rimming the ship's atrium on decks four and five. The Carnival Horizon's retail space is the cruise line's largest and offers its most varied shops.

The retail space is divided into areas dedicated to particular shopping experiences, including Hip Fish, featuring jewelry, accessories, beauty, and fragrances; Front Street, showcasing jewelry and timepieces, and Portside Liquor & Tobacco, for duty-free items.

A host of retail firsts for a Carnival ship is featured including the cruise line's first Victoria's Secret boutique along with several prestigious brands such as Breitling, Hublot, Rebecca Minkoff, Michael Kors, and Kate Spade.

The shopping experience is aimed at what Neumann called "experiential retail" as opposed to transactional.

The experiences will include special events and enticing spaces with expert staff engaging guests' by providing giveaways, in-store parties and entertainment, and other promotions. Promotions will change daily with flexible pop-up spaces showcasing new fashion and jewelry trends.

Immersive experiences include, for example, a Victoria's Secret Girls Night Out where guests can browse the latest assortment of merchandise and fragrances while sipping champagne and listening to a DJ. They might also have the chance to compete in a runway face-off or spin the wheel for prizes.

Carnival Horizon kicked off its summer schedule of four-day Bermuda and eight-day Caribbean departures from New York in May. It will shift to Miami for year-round six- and eight-day Caribbean cruises beginning September 22 and will also offer a special two-day cruise to Nassau from Miami September 20 to 22.