Carnival Cruise Line announced that Lee Mason and Katie Eastham will serve as the Carnival Radiance’s cruise director and entertainment director duo when it debuts in April in connection with Carnival Victory’s $200 million bow-to-stern drydock.
According to a press release, Mason’s energetic personality and Eastham’s playful nature will spearhead the Carnival Radiance’s vast array of entertainment offerings from the line’s Playlist Productions shows, including the new-to-fleet Rock Revolution and Broadway Beats as well as Celestial Strings and Soulbound, to legendary deck parties, performances at Punchliner Comedy Club and audience favorites such as Hasbro, The Game Show.
“As cruise director and entertainment director, you have to have more energy than all of our guests combined, and as you can imagine, that is tough to come by,” said Chris Nelson, vice president of entertainment for Carnival Cruise Line. “Lee’s and Katie’s talents are obvious – within seconds of talking with them, you can feel their enthusiasm and see their expertise. We can’t wait to watch this powerhouse duo bring the new Carnival Radiance to life.”
Mason joined Carnival in 2016 and has since served as cruise director for eight Carnival ships, most recently Carnival Splendor in Australia. The Cumbria, England-native has earned a number of accolades at Carnival as well as notoriety for helping to raise $40,000 in one cruise at the onboard Groove for St. Jude fundraiser, the most raised in 2019.
Carnival said that Eastham is a versatile leader who has proven her perseverance, innovation and creativity at Carnival since 2012. As driven as she is organized, the native of Cheshire, England, has worked on 12 ships serving as entertainment director and mentoring many of the company’s newly promoted entertainment directors.
The third in the line’s Sunshine class, Carnival Radiance’s drydock will add a host of eateries including Guy’s Pig & Anchor Bar-B-Que Smokehouse created by Food Network star Guy Fieri, the classic American steakhouse Fahrenheit 555 and the first Big Chicken restaurant at sea created by Carnival’s Chief Fun Officer Shaquille O’Neal. The ship will also feature a number of new entertainment venues including a WaterWorks aqua park, Serenity Adult Only Retreat, Cloud 9 Spa and a new Liquid Lounge.
The Carnival Radiance will debut on her inaugural voyage, a 10-day Mediterranean sailing from Barcelona on April 29, 2020, kicking off a summer schedule of nine- and 12-day sailings visiting top destinations throughout the region. The ship will then reposition to New York from June through September, Norfolk in October and November, Port Canaveral through May 2021, and then Galveston, marking the line’s fourth ship at the port carrying an estimated 900,000 guests annually, more than any other cruise operator.
