Carnival goes crazy for Halloween

When Carnival Cruise Line realized Carnival Spirit would be in Sydney on the eve of Halloween, it couldn’t resist getting in on the act.

Vice president Jennifer Vandekreeke highlighted the annual event as a “big event” across Carnival’s 24-ship worldwide fleet which includes Australia-based Spirit and Legend.

“We wanted to share some of that frightful fun with Sydneysiders by doing something big that screamed Aussie Halloween,” she said.

Cue a massive Redback that’s two-storeys high (6m) and 10 metres wide that is currently spooking Sydney Harbour from the comfort of Carnival Spirit’s bow.

In honour of Halloween, the cruise line conducted a survey which found that half the nation is afraid of spiders, with creepy crawlies topping the list of things that most scare them, well ahead of public speaking, heights and the dark.

The survey of more than 1000 Australians also revealed that a fifth of respondents believe October 31 is about scaring people, with more than a third saying they get dressed up as something scary like a witch or a ghost.

The spider wasn’t the only spectacle at sea today, however. Over in Melbourne, P&O Cruises Golden Princess was also making waves as the 2,600-guest Golden Princess arrived in town.

The megaliner, the largest cruise ship ever to be based in Victoria, was welcomed by two collossal golden curtains, each measuring 20,000 sq ft which were flown out to the ship by two helicopters as it sailed down Port Philip Bay. The curtains were then theatrically drawn apart to reveal the ship to its new homeport.