Carnival Cruise Line, NFL's Houston Texans Announce Multi-Year Partnership

Partnership Kicks Off with Special Mother's Day Water Slide Race For Charity on Carnival Breeze in Galveston With Houston Texans Players DeAndre Hopkins and Brian Cushing

News provided by

Carnival Cruise Line

Apr 11, 2016, 12:09 ET

MIAMI, April 11, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Carnival Cruise Line, Texas' largest cruise operator, today announced an exclusive multi-year partnership with the NFL's Houston Texans, making Carnival the Official Cruise Line of the popular NFL franchise and expanding the line's presence in the fast-growing Texas market.

To celebrate the partnership and the arrival of Galveston's newest cruise ship, Carnival and the Houston Texans are hosting the "Mom's Dash to the Splash" event aboard Carnival Breeze when it makes its Texas debut on Mother's Day, May 8.

Houston Texans wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins and linebacker Brian Cushing will lead two teams of local Texas moms selected via an online contest in an exciting head-to-head water slide race for charity. The five-member teams will race to the finish on Carnival Breeze's massive 312-foot-long Twister slide and exhilarating DrainPipe water slide attraction. Hopkins will be competing for the Houston Food Bank and Cushing for the Brian Cushing Foundation with the winning team earning $10,000 and the runner-up $5,000 for their respective charity.

"Mom's Dash to the Splash" will kick off with a pre-race pep rally with appearances by the Houston Texans cheerleaders and the Deep Steel Thunder Band.

Moms who want be a part of #MomsDashSplash and get a chance to zip down Carnival Breeze's heart-pounding water slides can enter a contest hosted on www.houstontexans.com/carnival that begins today and runs through April 25, 2016.

To enter, contestants simply tell their story in 250 words or less why their mom (or themselves) deserve the opportunity to be a member of Team Hopkins or Team Cushing. Eight lucky moms will be selected by a team of judges based on their entry's creativity and originality. Contest winners will enjoy a delicious Mother's Day brunch on board Carnival Breeze prior to the water slide race and a chance to win a free Carnival Breeze cruise for two. The winning race team will also receive an MVP Game Day package to an upcoming Houston Texans home game. For additional information, as well as full contest rules and regulations, visit www.houstontexans.com/carnival.

"We can't think of a better way to celebrate the arrival of the Carnival Breeze to Galveston than by officially kicking off our partnership with the Houston Texans and hosting this fun event that showcases the ship's spectacular WaterWorks aqua park and raises much-needed funds for two terrific charitable organizations," said Christine Duffy, Carnival's president. "Carnival Breeze is a fantastic addition to the Galveston market and will provide our guests with fun, memorable vacations and our valued travel agent partners with an exciting option for their clients," she added.

"We are extremely proud to partner with such a world-class organization," said Greg Grissom, Vice President of Corporate Development of the Houston Texans. "Family is one of the most important cornerstones of our organization, and no one embodies family better than Carnival Cruise Line. On this Mother's Day, we look forward to celebrating our families and starting a great partnership with a terrific organization."

As the Official Cruise Line of the Houston Texans, Carnival will bring even more fun to the Lone Star State with unique experiences both on board and ashore planned for the coming year. Additionally, in keeping with its longstanding tradition of supporting its homeport communities, Carnival will team up with the Houston Texans on various community service initiatives to be announced at a later date.

The partnership with the Houston Texans reinforces Carnival Cruise Line's position as Texas' most popular cruise line with three year-round ships carrying more than 650,000 passengers annually. In addition to Carnival Breeze, which launches seven-day Caribbean service from Galveston beginning May 8, Carnival Liberty and Carnival Freedom offer four- to seven-day voyages visiting popular ports in the Caribbean, The Bahamas, and Mexico.

For additional information and reservations for Carnival Cruise Line, contact any travel agent, call 1-800-CARNIVAL or visit carnival.com. Carnival can also be found on:

Twitter: www.twitter.com/carnivalcruise
Facebook Fan Page: www.facebook.com/carnival
YouTube: www.youtube.com/carnival
Instagram: www.instagram.com/carnival
Journalists also can visit Carnival's media site, www.carnival-news.com or follow the line's PR department on Twitter at www.twitter.com/CarnivalPR.

About Carnival Cruise Line
Carnival, a unit of Carnival Corporation & plc (NYSE/LSE: CCL; NYSE: CUK), is "The World's Most Popular Cruise Line®" with 24 ships operating three- to 16-day voyages to The Bahamas, Caribbean, Mexican Riviera, Alaska, Hawaii, Canada, New England, Bermuda, Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands. The company currently has two new 133,500-ton ships on order--Carnival Vista, set to debut in May 2016, and an as-yet-unnamed vessel scheduled to enter service in 2018.