Tag Archives: Cozumel

Carnival Adjusts Itineraries of Multiple Mardi Gras Departures

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Carnival Cruise Line is adjusting itineraries of multiple Eastern Caribbean sailings onboard the Mardi Gras.

Affecting a total of 21 cruises with departure dates between December 2022 and April 2024, the change will see a call to San Juan, Puerto Rico, being replaced with a visit to Nassau, The Bahamas. 

According to a statement sent to booked guests, the itinerary alteration is part of a “operations plan refining.”

Any pre-purchased Carnival shore excursions for San Juan will be automatically refunded to their original form of payment, the company said.

New shore tours for the visit to Nassau will be available online shortly, Carnival added.  

After debuting in July 2021, the Mardi Gras continues to offer year-round departures from Port Canaveral.

Sailing from its Central Florida homeport every Saturday, the 5,200-guest vessel offers week-long departures to both the Western and Eastern Caribbean.

Visited destinations include Grand Turk, Amber Cove, Cozumel, Costa Maya, Roatán and more.

In 2023, the LNG-powered ship is also set to offer a one-time cruise to the Southern Caribbean. Sailing in August, the eight-night voyage features visits to Aruba and Bonaire, as well as to Grand Turk.

Along with the Mardi Gras, two additional Carnival ships sail from Port Canaveral on a year-round – the Carnival Freedom and the Carnival Liberty.

Offering three- to five-night cruises to the Bahamas and the Caribbean, the vessels will soon be joined by the Carnival Magic for the upcoming winter season.

Before repositioning to Norfolk in May, the Dream-Class cruise ship offers six- and eight-night cruises to the Eastern and Southern Caribbean.

Itineraries include visits to popular ports such as St. Maarten, St. Thomas, St. Kitts, La Romana, Aruba, Bonaire, Princess Cays, Half Moon Cay and others.

Similar itineraries will be offered by the larger Carnival Vista during the 2023-2024 winter cruise season. 

MSC Meraviglia Returns to Port Canaveral for Winter Season

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The MSC Meraviglia recently returned to North America for its 2022-2023 cruise program. Following a trans-Atlantic crossing, the MSC Cruises vessel arrived in Port Canaveral on October 13. 

The 2017-built ship is now offering a series of cruises to the Bahamas and the Caribbean departing from the Central Florida homeport.

Ranging from two to seven nights, the ship’s itineraries feature visits to popular destinations in the region, including Cozumel, Costa Maya and Belize City.

Most of the cruises also include a stop in Ocean Cay MSC Marine Reserve, the company’s private island in the Bahamas.

Ahead of MSC’s first complete season in the Northeast, the MSC Meraviglia concludes its winter program with a repositioning cruise to New York City.

The 11-night voyage departs Port Canaveral on April 9, 2023, and includes calls in five ports in the Eastern and Southern Caribbean.

Upon arriving at its new homeport, the 167,600-ton vessel kicks off a year-round operation in the region.  

Sailing from Manhattan Cruise Terminal, the program features itineraries are six- to 11-night voyages visiting the Caribbean and the Bahamas, as well as Bermuda and Canada & New England.

Boasting 19 decks and a capacity for over 4,500 guests in double occupancy, the MSC Meraviglia was built in France by the Chantiers de l’Atlantique shipyards.

The lead of the five-ship Meraviglia Class, the vessel offers several unique features, including the Galleria Meraviglia, a 96-meter-long central promenade equipped with an 80-meter LED dome and an expansive shopping area.

Other features include a complete waterpark and 12 international dining venues, as well as 20 different bars and lounges. 

After entering service in Europe in 2017, the MSC Meraviglia originally debuted in North America two years later. At the time, the vessel arrived in Miami as MSC’s largest U.S.-based ship.

Carnival Celebration completes sea trials in Baltic

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Carnival Cruise Line’s newest ship Carnival Celebration has completed sea trials and is inching closer to its debut voyage at the Port of Miami

Carnival Celebration set sail on its first round of sea trials on 5 September from Finland’s Meyer Turku shipyard, where sister ship Mardi Gras was built. The vessel had a full contingent of officers, technicians and engineers on board to test the ship’s technical, mechanical and navigation systems.

Captain Vincenzo Alcaras said the vessel underwent several tests during its sea trials, to determine the ship’s capability and performance. “We’ve done many manoeuvring tests, such as endurance tests, steering tests, speed tests and thrusters tests. The ship performed wonderfully, and shortly, we will start cruising.”

The 180,000-dwt, LNG-powered Excellence-class ship will become the operator’s largest upon delivery, capable of accommodating up to 6,500 passengers.

Carnival Celebration will arrive in PortMiami in November, and following an inaugural six-day voyage to the eastern Caribbean, the ship will launch year-round, seven-day cruises to the eastern and western Caribbean from PortMiami beginning 21 November. The week-long voyages will visit San Juan, Puerto Rico, Cozumel, Mexico and Grand Turk.

Carnival Celebration will feature many of the attractions seen on Mardi Gras, including BOLT, an onboard roller coaster at sea, an atrium spanning three decks and Shaquille O’Neal’s Big Chicken restaurant.

The ship will also have a new Miami-themed zone aboard: named after the address of Carnival’s original headquarters, 820 Biscayne will celebrate the culture, architectural styles and flavours of the home city where the line was founded in 1972.