Carnival cruise ship passengers left terrified after ship sails through rough seas on return from Bahamas
Carnival Cruise Lines says that one of its ships that navigated rough seas off the South Carolina coast has resumed sailing on its next cruise. Terrified passengers on the Carnival Sunshine took to social media over the Memorial Day holiday weekend to post video of water pouring through a flooded hallway on a cabin level and pictures of on-board stores in shambles as large waves swelled on the sea.
Germany ekes some fun out of a quiet Carnival
A reveller stands in front of a political carnival float depicting Russia's President Vladimir Putin fighting with opposition leader Alexei Navalny in the streets of Duesseldorf, Germany, Monday, Feb. 15, 2021. Because of the coronavirus pandemic the traditional 'Rosenmontag' carnival parade are canceled but eight floats are pulled through the empty streets in Duesseldorf, where normally hundreds of thousands of people would celebrate the street carnival. But organizers in Duesseldorf, one of the German Rhineland's main Carnival strongholds, didn't want to let Rose Monday in 2021 go completely without the traditional caricatures of current events. โIt's a small signal that we're alive,โ float builder Jacques Tilly told the German news agency dpa. Another depicted the brain flying out of the head of an activist against coronavirus restrictions.
Brazil Carnival goes online with street parties banned
A woman dressed as a superhero and wearing a mask to curb the spread of the new coronavirus performs in the "Desliga da Justica" street band in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Sunday, Feb. 14, 2021. Their performance was broadcast live on social media for those who were unable to participate in the carnival due to COVID restrictions after the city's government officially suspended Carnival and banned street parades or clandestine parties. โWhen everyone is immunized, we are going to have the biggest Carnival that Brazil has ever seen. One of the biggest street party associations, Blocos da Sebastiana, this year organized workshops on Carnival makeup and instruments and offered playlists of their music. โWe would like to be partying on the street but we canโt.โ said Rita Fernandes, president of Blocos da Sebastian.
A subdued year for Germany's Carnival, thanks to the virus
A carnival reveler is watched by public order guards at the "Alter Markt" where normally tens of thousands of revelers dressed in carnival costumes would celebrate the start of the street carnival in Cologne, Germany, Thursday, Feb. 11, 2021. This year all carnival celebrations are banned due to the coronavirus pandemic. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)BERLIN โ Germanyโs renowned Carnival celebrations got underway Thursday but without any of their usual raucous revelry. One of Germanyโs first superspreader events stemmed from a Carnival celebration in a town west of Cologne last February where many people came in contact with an infected man. Cologne festival committee President Christoph Kuckelkorn told Germanyโs dpa news agency that Carnival could emerge from this year purified, returning closer to its roots from the increasingly commercial, excessive celebration it had become.
With Carnival scrapped, Rioโs Sambadrome hosts vaccinations
In a normal year, Rios Sambadrome would be preparing for its great moment of the year: the worlds most famous Carnival parade. But a week before what should be the start of Carnival, the pandemic has replaced pageantry. (AP Photo/Bruna Prado)RIO DE JANEIRO โ In a normal year, Rio de Janeiroโs Sambadrome would be preparing for its great moment of the year: the worldโs most famous Carnival parade. Rioโs hotel occupancy rate normally reaches about 80% in the hot summer months and 100% during Carnival. It's now at roughly 50-60%, according to Alfredo Lopes, the president of Rioโs Hospitality Workers Union.
Pandemic-era Mardi Gras: No big crowds, but plenty of cake
FILE - In this Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2020, file photo, Mondo Kayo parades down Chartres Street during Mardi Gras, in New Orleans. The Mardi Gras season always starts on Jan. 6 and ends on Fat Tuesday, which this year falls on Feb. 16. The Krewe de Jeanne dโArc is a club that annually pays homage to the fallen French hero with a parade through the French Quarter on the official start of the Carnival season. In Mobile, Alabama, dozens of parades, balls and other events also have been canceled. The city on the Gulf of Mexico calls itself the birthplace of Mardi Gras since celebrations began there a few years earlier than in New Orleans.
S&P 500 ends at another record high as tumultuous 2020 ends
The benchmark S&P 500 index finished with a gain of 16.3% for the year, or a total return of about 18.4%, including dividends. And the S&P 500 rose or fell by at least 1% on twice as many days in 2020 than it did, on average, since 1950. The electric car maker jumped 743.4% in 2020 for the biggest gain in the S&P 500. All told, the S&P 500 set 33 record highs in 2020. The S&P 500 rose 24.03 points, or 0.6%, to 3,756.07, an all-time high.
Carnival cancels cruises out of Galveston, most 2020 US trips as CDC extends ban
Carnival cruises wonโt sail out of Galveston โ or most U.S. ports โ anytime soon. The company said it is canceling sailings from all ports except its home ports of Miami and Port Canaveral, Florida. The CDC said it knows of 3,689 reported coronavirus cases and 41 deaths linked to cruises in U.S. waters between March and September. Even before the CDC announced its decision, the cruise industry had voluntarily suspended U.S. sailings through Oct. 31. Carnival rival Norwegian Cruise Line said Thursday that it hasnโt canceled any scheduled cruises and remains optimistic it can resume U.S. operations soon.
Virus delays Rio's Carnival for first time in a century
A "quadra" or court, which this time of year is usually filled with Carnival performers practicing their dance moves, sits empty in the Unidos de Padre Miguel samba school, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Monday, Sept. 21, 2020. Rio de Janeiro on Thursday, Sept. 24, said it has delayed its annual Carnival parade, saying the global spectacle cannot go ahead in February because of Brazils continued vulnerability to the new coronavirus pandemic. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)
Virus delays Rio's Carnival for first time in a century
The samba schools are community institutions, and the parades are just one detail of all that,โ Luiz Antonio Simas, a historian who specializes in Rioโs Carnival, said in an interview. As the number of infections grew, the samba schools that participate in the glitzy annual parade halted preparations for the 2021 event. Nearly all of Rioโs samba schools are closely linked to working class communities. โCarnival is our life.โThe last year Rioโs Carnival was suspended was 1912, following the death of the foreign relations minister. A statement from the agency Thursday provided no further clarity on the fate of the Carnival street parties.
Create your own fair fun at home with carnival games, funnel cake
SAN ANTONIO โ Weโre all bummed we canโt go to the State Fair this year. Thatโs why Adeina Anderson, of Creative Lifestyles with Adeina, is bringing the fair fun to you! Watch the video above to learn how to make easy carnival games at home, like DIY goldfish bowls and the ring toss. Anderson also shares how to make easy funnel cake. You can find more crafts on her website.
Thousands board cruise ships in Galveston Thursday, despite coronavirus warnings
GALVESTON, Texas โ Despite all the warnings and worry about the coronavirus, at the Port of Galveston on Thursday, it looked like business as usual. Thousands of people were seen boarding the Carnival cruise ship Dream, bound for Mexico. Ann Bedford and her husband Michael took their two daughters on the cruise and are not concerned about the coronavirus appearing on their cruise ship. The latest: What you should know about coronavirus cases in TexasโI am not afraid. Track live coronavirus updates with real-time map of confirmed cases, deathsOnly time will tell what the economic outlook for Galveston will be, in the coming weeks.