Carnival Cruise Lines and KHOU 11 Announce 'Battle of the High School Marching Bands' Competition in Houston

Carnival Cruise Lines and KHOU 11 Announce 'Battle of the High School Marching Bands' Competition in Houston

Houston-Area High Schools to Compete for $10,000 Prize from Carnival and Performance Aboard a Texas-based 'Fun Ship'

HOUSTON, Sept. 8, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- The search is on for the most spirited band in Houston! Carnival Cruise Lines, Texas' largest cruise operator, is partnering with CBS affiliate KHOU 11 for "The Battle of the High School Marching Bands" competition in Greater Houston. The fun contest celebrates the musical talent of local area students, and will award one talented band a $10,000 cash prize from Carnival and the opportunity to perform aboard one of Carnival's "Fun Ships" in Galveston on a turnaround day this fall.

For the next three weeks, high school marching bands in the greater Houston area are invited to showcase their school spirit and musical talent in a video in which they perform their school's fight song, alma mater or original piece of music. The video must be three minutes or less, identify the name of the school and reference "The Battle of the High School Marching Bands" contest. Bands can upload their video to YouTube, and email the link to their performance to bands@khou.com as their submission. Contest entry form and details can be found at www.khou.com/features. The deadline for entry is Sunday, September 28, 2014 at 5:00 p.m. CDT. Carnival will select five finalists based on sound, musical ability and style.

"Carnival is truly excited to provide this fun and unique opportunity to Houston-area high school students to show off their musical talent, win money for their school and enjoy a terrific day of fun aboard a Carnival ship this fall," said Jim Berra, chief marketing officer for Carnival Cruise Lines. "We are strong believers in supporting our homeport communities and Houston is our number one source market for our cruises from Galveston which currently carry more than 475,000 guests a year. With the addition of a third year-round ship in 2015, that number is expected to increase to more than 600,000, making Galveston our second largest homeport," Berra added.

Beginning October 13, fans can rally around the KHOU 11 Facebook page (www.facebook.com/KHOU11) and vote for their favorite band out of the five finalists, up to one time per day through October 22. Viewers can tune into KHOU 11 "News in the Morning" the week of October 27 to learn which local band is the grand prize winner, receiving $10,000 from Carnival to help fund the school's music program and the opportunity to perform aboard one of Carnival's "Fun Ships" on a turnaround day in Galveston this fall. The four additional band finalists will each receive a $1,000 cash prize from the line.

Carnival is the cruise line leader in Texas with two ships, Carnival Magic and Carnival Triumph, sailing year-round from Galveston, Texas. Starting in February 2015, Carnival Freedom -- which recently underwent an extensive multi-million dollar transformation -- will be the third year-round "Fun Ship" to homeport in Galveston.

Guests can learn more about Carnival cruise vacations from Texas by contacting their travel agent or visiting www.carnival.com.

Carnival can also be found on:
Twitter: www.twitter.com/carnivalcruise
Facebook Fan Page: www.facebook.com/carnival
YouTube: www.youtube.com/carnival
Journalists also can visit Carnival's media site, www.carnival-news.com or follow the line's PR department on Twitter at www.twitter.com/CarnivalPR.

About Carnival Cruise Lines
Carnival, a unit of Carnival Corporation & plc (NYSE/LSE: CCL; NYSE: CUK), is "The World's Most Popular Cruise Line®" with 24 ships operating three- to 16-day voyages to The Bahamas, Caribbean, Mexican Riviera, Alaska, Hawaii, Canada, New England, Bermuda, Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands. The company's 25th ship, the 135,000-ton Carnival Vista, is scheduled to enter service in 2016.

SOURCE Carnival Cruise Lines

Carnival Cruise Lines

CONTACT: Jennifer de la Cruz, Carnival Cruise Lines, 305/599-2600 x16000, media@carnival.com

Web Site: http://www.carnival.com


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