Anolis Calumma Units Light Up Carnival Cruise Ships

	The fixtures are rigged across the various lido and pool decks on each ship -- retrofitted into existing lighting positions, where they provide general ambient lighting across the spaces. Photo: courtesy CCL and EWP

Two hundred and thirty-two Anolis Calumma M MC RGBCW LED fixtures -- with 65-degree lenses and including a custom rear-mounted IP-rated junction box modification for easier installation -- are now in place on seven out of eight Carnival Cruise Lines (CCL) ships.

This started with Carnival Horizon in February, continued with Carnival Breeze, Carnival Elation, Carnival Magic, Carnival Panorama, Carnival Paradise, and Carnival Vista, and will conclude in August with Carnival Dream, all of which are cruising various parts of the globe.

The fixtures are rigged across the various lido and pool decks on each ship -- retrofitted into existing lighting positions, where they provide general ambient lighting across the spaces. With this upgrade, the Calumma can additionally be used as show lighting for events staged in these venues and areas.

The installation has been overseen by CCL's line fleet lighting supervisor, Silviu Ardelean, and Carnival's entertainment lighting manager, Alex Nelson. The project was coordinated for Robe's maritime division by global sales director Tony Perez.

Calumma's optical design features seven multi-chip LEDs -- available with optional LED color variants and various beam angles -- and the medium-sized Calumma M MC luminaires create a quality light output for spotting, accenting, or floodlighting solutions.

In this instance, the Calummas had to fit into existing bulkhead spaces on the lido decks; the junction box modification was needed so the units could be physically rigged without drilling additional holes into the bulkhead for cabling.

While the IP-rated junction box is already available as a stand-alone option from Anolis, on this specific occasion, these fixtures were manufactured with it attached to the back of the fixture.

"Anolis' ability to be innovative, flexible, and think laterally to deliver a neat solution for our application really impressed us," explains Ardelean, adding that the standard Calumma fixture was already a great option. He was delighted when Anolis CEO Josef Valchar (also CEO of sister lighting manufacturer Robe) and the R&D team sat down and devised this custom marine-grade product to be used across multiple ships.

Nelson thinks the placement of the heat sink on the back with a curving edge, so no water is trapped, is "extremely cool," together with its shape, which is smooth and without deep ridges to further eliminate any water or residue collecting: "Anolis absolutely listened to our needs and made this custom fixture, without which we wouldn't have been able to complete the retrofits so quickly and easily," he says. "The engineering is excellent, and it is the first time we have seen a heatsink like this."

The fixtures were painted RAL9016M to match the lido decks.

The cruising environment is exceptionally harsh for lighting fixtures -- there's high salinity, and anything outdoors is subject to intense heat, baking in the sun, being lashed by rain, wind, dust -- every environmental challenge possible, including serious minus temperatures for the ships visiting Alaska and colder climates.

Talking about Anolis generally as a brand, Ardelean comments, "We know that Anolis fixtures are solid, reliable, well-designed, and with a great quality of light, so they were absolutely right for this. Anolis' willingness to work to our specification was brilliant and in the true spirit of collaboration."

The Calummas were delivered via UK-based maritime integration experts, EWP, who work worldwide on a wide range of sea-based projects, coordinated for them by Owain Jones. Between 22 and 46 units were installed in each vessel, all of which continued to be in active service -- hence the need to be as swift as possible and with minimal disruption to guests -- while the new lights were fitted.

Nelson comments that EWP has made this project look easy, due to their "professionalism and experience, which ensured everything proceeded very smoothly." Now in place, the Calummas are all DMX-controlled running via an Interactive Technologies CueServer controller for the venues, which schedules their on/off switching at designated times.

Perez highlights how these projects exemplify how Nelson and Ardelean think creatively: "They recognized the need for a custom exterior lighting product that could withstand extreme environments while integrating seamlessly into their existing system, and Anolis Calumma was the ideal fixture.

"It was a pleasure to assist Alex and Silviu with a custom solution, and once Josef understood the requirements, he quickly worked with the Anolis engineering team to produce CAD drawings within a week for Alex and Silviu's approval. That's what true partnership looks like! I am once again honored to be part of such a fantastic project and team."