Cruise Cabin Towel
Animals
Ultimate
Bed-time Pals
by Linda Coffman
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Close
encounter on Mardi Gras
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It wasn't that many years ago...
well, okay it was 1990 when I had my first encounter with a cabin
critter. I entered our stateroom on Carnival Cruise Lines' Mardi
Gras and immediately shot back into the passageway shouting,
"There's someone in my bed!" Turns out it was only my
jammies—artfully laid out with a towel "face" and
sunglasses staring at me.
I was better prepared on the Jubilee
the following spring when the cabin steward used my nightshirt to
mark the day ashore in Mazatlan, Mexico by crafting a clever Señor
Frog.
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Señor
Frog stows away
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It seemed that no matter where I
hid my Victoria's Secret, the stewards would find it... and it got
to be a game of hide-and-seek. In a way it was sort of sad to
dismantle their creations and apparently I wasn't the only passenger
hiding my lingerie.
Today's stewards don't hunt down
nighties—instead, they use towels to make fanciful creatures to
greet us after turn-down. Bunnies, stingrays, kittens, and
doggies—even monkeys hanging from the ceiling greet passengers
whose only expectation is a chocolate on their pillow.
I'm certain many of my fellow
passengers have snapped photos of their towel animals to share with
friends at home. They add a whimsical touch to our cruise
experiences—one we've only been able to capture in pictures.
Unfortunately, towel animals tend to fall apart unless moved with
care and we don't suggest liberating towels from your cruise ship.
How'd they do
that?
Alas,
the presence of towel animals isn't a given and not every cruise
line considers them a cabin amenity. However, they have grown so
popular with Carnival Cruise Lines' passengers that stewards spend
ten hours training to make the numerous species that inhabit the
'Carnival Towel Animal Farm.' Carnival estimates their passengers
are delighted by over seven million towel animals every year and
have even awarded them a featured role in the cruise line's
advertising campaigns.
Short of stealing the towels, now
you can have your own at-home towel animal zoo—at least until you
need to dry your hands. So many passengers requested directions that
Carnival published "Towel Creations"—a beautifully
illustrated book with easy step-by-step instructions, which is
available for $12.95 in the Formalities shops on board Carnival
ships.
Easy? Let's just say it took me a
few tries before getting the hang of it (but I'm not all that good
with crafts). My floppy-eared puppy turned out kinda cute, if I
do say so myself, and I'm off to tackle some of the other 39
critters in the book. Believe me, my next cabin steward will get a
much bigger tip!
Photos
© CruiseDiva.com
Special thanks to Carnival Cruise Lines
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