CARNIVAL CRUISE LINES RELEASES LATEST EDITION OF TOWEL CREATIONS, HELPFUL HOW-TO GUIDE FOR MAKING TOWEL ANIMALS AT HOME

$1 from sale of each book will be donated to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital® through Carnival’s ‘Care to Play’ program 

 Carnival Cruise Lines’ “towel animals” – whimsical terry cloth creatures that greet guests as they return to their staterooms each evening – are an iconic element of the “Fun Ship” vacation experience.

For guests who want to make their own towel animals at home, Carnival has published its latest edition of Towel Creations, a helpful how-to guide with step-by-step instructions for creating a veritable zoo of towel origami, everything from frogs, swans and elephants to monkeys, scorpions and rabbits. 

And with the purchase of the latest edition of Towel Creations, Carnival fans will not only learn the “tricks of the trade” for making 40 different towel animals but also help some very special children at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital®, one of the world’s premier centers for the research and treatment of pediatric cancer and other catastrophic diseases.

One dollar from the sale of each book will be donated to St. Jude through Carnival’s Care to Play program, whose goal it is to raise $3 million over a three-year period.

“Towel animals have become synonymous with the Carnival vacation experience and the Towel Creations series has been very successful with upwards of 40,000 books sold each year,” said Gerry Cahill, Carnival’s president and CEO.  “We’re thrilled to publish the fourth edition of the popular how-to guide while raising money for one of our favorite charitable partners, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital,” he added.

It’s been 20 years since Carnival debuted its first towel animal — an industry first that has since been much replicated across the cruise industry.  And with 10 million Carnival towel animals folded each year, each creation is the culmination of hours of training and creativity from Carnival’s housekeeping staff, who service more than 29,000 staterooms fleetwide.

Towel Creations is available in the gift shops aboard all Carnival ships, as well as from the line’s stateroom stewards.  The book can also be ordered via the Gifts & Services section of carnival.com and delivered to guests’ staterooms.  The cost is $14.95.

For additional information and reservations on Carnival’s “Fun Ship” cruises, contact any travel agent, call 1-800-CARNIVAL or visit carnival.com.

Carnival also can be found on:

Twitter: www.twitter.com/carnivalcruise

Facebook Fan Page: www.facebook.com/carnival

Flickr:  www.flickr.com/photos/carnivalcruiselines/

Journalists also can visit Carnival’s media site, www.carnivalpressroom.com.

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About Carnival Cruise Lines

Carnival Cruise Lines, a unit of Carnival Corporation & plc (NYSE/LSE: CCL; NYSE: CUK), is “The World’s Most Popular Cruise Line®,” with 23 “Fun Ships” operating three- to 16-day voyages to The Bahamas, Caribbean, Mexican Riviera, Alaska, Hawaii, Panama Canal, Canada, New England, Bermuda, Europe, the Pacific Islands and New Zealand.  In addition to the 130,000-ton Carnival Magic, which debuted in Europe May 1, 2011, the new 130,000-ton Carnival Breeze is scheduled to enter service in June 2012.

Carnival is a proud member of World's Leading Cruise Lines. Our exclusive alliance also includes Cunard, Holland America Line, Princess Cruises, Costa Cruises and Seabourn. Sharing a passion to please each guest and a commitment to quality and value, World’s Leading Cruise Lines inspires people to discover their best vacation experience. Together, we offer a variety of exciting and enriching cruise vacations to the world's most desirable destinations.  Visit us at www.worldsleadingcruiselines.com

About St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital

St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital is internationally recognized for its pioneering work in finding cures and saving children with cancer and other catastrophic diseases. St. Jude is the first and only pediatric cancer center to be designated as a Comprehensive Cancer Center by the National Cancer Institute. Founded by late entertainer Danny Thomas and based in Memphis, Tenn., St. Jude freely shares its discoveries with scientific and medical communities around the world. St. Jude is the only pediatric cancer research center where families never pay for treatment not covered by insurance. No child is ever denied treatment because of the family’s inability to pay. St. Jude is financially supported by ALSAC, its fundraising organization. For more information, go to www.stjude.org and follow St. Jude on www.facebook.com/stjude and www.twitter.com/stjude.