LYCOS RETRIEVER 
Carnival
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Carnival celebrations in Mardi Gras capitals SUCH as Rio, New Orleans and Trinidad are sizzling hot right through Shrove Tuesday but fizzle out with the arrival of Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent. Not so in Martinique! While revelers elsewhere in the world are nursing hangovers and having their aching foreheads rubbed with ashes, the people of Martinique are just beginning the final, most exciting day of their celebration. Here Carnival runs at full tilt an extra 24 hours and, with more than 40 marching bands joining the festivities in 2007, Martinique is planning the party of a lifetime!
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The Croatian city of Rijeka has a long and rich tradition of celebrating the time of the Carnival (Croatian: "karneval", but the period is ... often called "maškare"). During the Carnival the mayor of Rijeka hands over the keys of the city to the master of the Carnival ("meštar od karnevala") and the spirit of the Carnival takes over completely. There are many festive events during the Carnival, and the culmination of them all is the famous masked procession held on the last Sunday of the Carnival. The procession is international, and there are participants from many different countries. There are many viewers and there are big tents put up in the city with food, drinks and music. There is also a masked procession for children, held on the Saturday of the week before the main procession.
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Carnival offers an incredibly diverse range of onboard activities, from traditional napkin-folding classes, Vegas-style revues and kitchen tours to funkier fun like belly-flop pool contests and water slides. All of its ships offer size-appropriate spa and fitness facilities and have multiple pool areas. On Destiny-class ships and subsequent new-builds, one pool always lies under a retractable roof so it can be used year-round. Casinos on Carnival ships are elaborate, Vegas-style rooms with all the neon and flash one would expect.
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An important part of the Brazilian Carnival takes place in Rio de Janeiro, with samba schools. These are large, social entities with thousands of members and a theme each year. There are many "samba schools" as GRES Portela, Mangueira, Salgueiro, Império Serrano, Mocidade Independente de Padre Miguel and others. Blocos are small informal groups ... with a definite theme, usually satirical of the current political situation. There are more than 30 blocos in Rio de Janeiro. Bandas are samba musical bands, usually formed by enthusiasts in the same neighborhood.
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Carnival is so convinced their guests will be completely satisfied with their "Fun Ship" experience, they offer the only "vacation guarantee" program in the cruise industry. The program, which was launched in August 1996, provides that guests may disembark in the first non-U.S. port of call for any reason and receive a pro-rated refund for the unused portion of their cruise fare, along with reimbursement for coach air transportation back to the ship's home port, by notifying the purser's office prior to arrival at the first port of call.
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This week’s Carnival of the Capitalists is hosted by Mike from PartnerUp, the social network for entrepreneurs. Get over there and check it out as he has some great posts up worthy of your time.
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Carnival