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
Roger Frizzell, Carnival Corporation, rfrizzell@carnival.com, (305) 406-7862; Mike Flanagan, LDWW, mike@ldwwgroup.com, (727) 452-4538
