<span class="article_text">Carnival Cruise Lines will launch an extensive stateroom recategorization encompassing the entire &quot;Fun Ship&quot; fleet, with the Carnival Valor the first ship to feature the new accommodation categories effective Monday, Aug. 18. The balance of the fleet will be recategorized by the end of 2008. <p>Under the reclassification of stateroom categories, Carnival's accommodations will now be categorized based on a variety of locations such as midship, aft and forward, as well as proximity to key public areas and specific deck. </p><p>&quot;The change more clearly defines our available stateroom categories based on location and features and will enable guests to easily identify the category that best suits their specific needs and preferences,&quot; said Lynn C. Torrent, Carnival's senior vice president of sales and guest services. </p><p>&quot;For travel agents, a greater variety of cabin categories and smaller pricing gap between categories will create additional up-selling opportunities,&quot; she added. </p><p>The main focus of the recategorization is on guests' experience and their ability to select staterooms for their needs - close to the pool, dining room, children's facilities, connecting staterooms for families. </p><p>The new category plan makes it more affordable for guests to buy up, because there are more categories and the price differential is pretty minimal, according to a Carnival spokesperson. </p><p>The deck still factors in the stateroom categories but the location within each deck is also a factor. The new categories will help define staterooms more specifically with more segmentation in terms of categories that hone in on the location within each deck. </p><p>Cabin assignments and pricing on existing reservations will not be affected. </p><p>To familiarize travel agents with the new stateroom categories, a Webinar is available via www.GoCCL.com</p></span>