Carnival swipes outdoor movie screen concept from Princess

We were amused that Carnival Cruise Line's announcement last week of the addition of a huge outdoor movie screen on its newest ship omitted mention of having stolen the concept from Princess Cruises. Especially since Princess was bought by Carnival in 2003! Ah well, perhaps Princess consoles itself about the theft of one of its brand differentiators by its corporate parent with the thought imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.

This week's announcement disclosed that Carnival Liberty, whose inaugural cruises launch Carnival's Mediterranean program this summer, will feature a 270-square-foot outdoor LED movie screen poolside on the Lido deck. Sounds exactly like the screen, pictured here, already onboard Caribbean Princess (which started the trend), Grand Princess, and Sea Princess. As does Princess, Carnival plans to use the screen for movies, sporting and special events, and concerts.

Having sailed on one of Caribbean Princess' inaugural cruises, we can report that the screens and their sound systems do a spectacular job. We watched Pirates of the Caribbean (appropriately) in the brightest mid-day sun. It looked crystal clear and the sound quality rocked. It's a lot of fun!

Caribbean Princess Inaugural Photo Gallery