Carnival joins the battle of the bedding

Have you noticed the ongoing battle among hotels over who offers the most luxurious sleep experience? You've got catchy names like Sheraton's Sweet Sleeper bed, the Westin Heavenly Bed, Embassy Suites' Suite Dreams bed...you get the idea. Now the cruise lines have come onboard this trend, and we're all for it.

Carnival today announced a fleet-wide upgrade to be complete by year end, with the not-so-catchy but descriptive name "Carnival Comfort Bed Sleep System." The European-made beds offer eight-inch spring mattresses with hypoallergenic duvet. Sheets, pillow cases and duvet covers, says Carnival, are made of an "ultra-fine, ring-spun, satin-striped cotton blend." We personally believe cotton should never be blended with anything in a high-quality linen, but then again we're linen snobs. New pillows are said to give the feeling of down while remaining non-allergenic. Suite passengers score a pillow menu adding options for fluffy goose down, or firm latex.

Previous cruise line entrants to the battle of the bedding include Oceania Cruises, which since their inception has touted their Tranquility Bedding featuring 350-thread-count cotton linens and goose-down pillows. And Holland America's recent Signature of Excellent upgrades included self-described "premium plush Euro-top mattresses and highest-quality cotton bed linens."

Sweet dreams!