Carnival's Got Heat ...

Scratch Disney ... Win & Cruise: Higher fuel costs and a sluggish Caribbean cruise market cut second-quarter profit at Carnival Corp., prompting Mickey Arison, top honcho at the world's largest cruise company and owner of the Miami Heat to seize the moment. (For the record, net income for the quarter ended May 31 was $380 million, 46 cents per share, compared with last year's $388 million, or 47 cents per share. Revenue rose six percent to $2.66 billion compared to last year, yet fuel jumped 43 percent.) Arison told analysts during a conference call he’s had a perfect opportunity to plug Carnival in interviews with TV networks from around the world as his Heat dukes it out in the NBA finals against the Dallas Mavericks. "I never realized there would be a nice synergy between the Miami Heat and our cruise industry," Arison said, citing his constant refrain: "When this is all over, I'm not going to Disney World, I'm going on a cruise."

A Socko Celebrity-Style Wedding ...

For Romantic Foodies: Partnering with Food Network, Celebrity Cruises is cooking up a contest to ensure one lucky couple enjoys a wedding of "infinite" possibilities. Celebrity's Infinity serves as a platform for "Food Network Caters Your Hawaiian Wedding," a two-hour special during the network's "Wedding Weekend" in June 2007. Giada de Laurentiis, star of Everyday Italian, hosts. Food Network’s third annual all-inclusive wedding contest includes luxury quarters onboard Infinity in Hawaii, rehearsal din-din in the ship's dramatic, two-level "Trellis" dining room, designer wedding cake, beach-side ceremony, and a wedding reception with cuisine by Food Network stars, in the elegant SS United States onboard restaurant. To download application, log onto www.FoodNetwork.com. Deadline: Mon., July 24, 2006. Celebrity sails Alaska, Bermuda, California, Caribbean, Europe, Galapagos Islands, Hawaii, Mexican Riviera, Panama Canal and South America. For details, 800-437-3111.

With Regent, Three's a Charm ...

Paul Gauguin Welcomes Tahiti Trios: Go ahead ... prove three’s not a crowd in Tahiti this fall ... for less with a free third person berth in select double cabins on 12 sailings, Sept. 2 to Dec. 13. With its “third guest free” program, Regent Seven Seas turns South Seas romance into an affordable family destination or relaxing girlfriend getaway – on the 330-guest Paul Gauguin, sailing these islands all year. Ocean view cabins (half have private balconies) show off French Polynesia captured by Paul Gauguin’s bold brushstrokes. Nine seven-nighters, r/t from Papeete, Tahiti, are on Sept. 2, 9; Oct. 7, 14, 21, 28; Nov. 4, 11; and Dec. 13, from $1,795 per person, double, with a third sailing free. Onboard cuisine is served in three single, open seating restaurants, with a Le Cordon Bleu menu in La Veranda. Exclusive Carita Spa treatments soothe souls. Nightly dance includes “Les Gauguines, ” and shore excursions include parasailing and shark feeding. Regent Seven Seas Cruises (RSSC, formerly Radisson Seven Seas), sails all seven continents. For details, call 800-477-7500.