Carnival Cruise S Search For A Teen Boy And His Snapchat Handle

Fifteen-year-old Darian Lipscomb of Prospect, Virginia, was surprised Tuesday night when he answered his door to find his name on the side of a truck next to a picture of Carnival Cruise’s “Chief Fun Officer,” Shaquille O’Neal.Carnival Cruise Line traveled to Virginia in search of Darian whose Snapchat handle is @CarnivalCruise. To find Darian, though, the cruise liner put signs all over his hometown that read, “Hey Prospect, does anyone know Darian?” The signs also included a picture of Captain Shaq.“When I was 9 years old, I went on a cruise and got really excited and wanted to share it with my friends,” Darian told the Richmond Times-Dispatch. He created the Snapchat handle during his trip in 2012 and used it to share his experiences onboard. Since then, Darian has been on three more Carnival cruises and has become a “superfan” of Carnival.In exchange for his Snapchat handle, Carnival offered Darian and his family a free trip aboard its newest ship, Horizon. He accepted the offer, and on March 31, Darian will be hitting the high seas for the ship’s maiden voyage out of Barcelona. The net worth of the trip is $5,000 plus flights, hotels and other surprises for Darian and his family.“We thought this would be a fun way to claim our handle and reward a ‘superfan’ at the same time,” Robyn Fink, a spokesperson for Carnival Cruise Line, told Richmond Times-Dispatch. Fink said the trip will be a “once in a lifetime” experience.The ship will set sail for a 14-day transatlantic crossing to New York. Stops include Malaga, Spain, Lisbon, Portugal, and Halifax, Nova Scotia. Once it docks in New York, the ship will set sail for trips to the Caribbean.Sign up for our daily newsletterEmail addressSign upI would like to subscribe to The Points Guy newsletters and special email promotions. The Points Guy will not share or sell your email. See privacy policy.As far as Darian’s new Snapchat handle, he said he would have to brainstorm a new one.“Maybe another company name,” he joked.Image courtesy of CarnivalH/T: Richmond Times-Dispatch