Tag Archives: Half Moon Cay

Carnival Opens Sales for New Venezia, Year-Round Cruising from NYC

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Carnival Cruise Line today opened reservations for the inaugural season of its next new ship, the Carnival Venezia, which will begin sailing year-round from New York City starting June 15, 2023, and will showcase “Carnival Fun Italian Style,” the company said.

The ship will offer guests a wide range of sailing options, with 10 different cruise durations and 22 unique itineraries featuring visits to 25 ports across 14 countries.

“Our summer season in New York has been extremely popular, so increasing our offerings with a larger, newer ship that sails year-round provides the opportunity for more guests in the tri-state area and beyond to enjoy the convenience of sailing right from Manhattan,” said Christine Duffy, president of Carnival Cruise Line. “Carnival Venezia will give guests our signature fun, combined with Italian theming, to beautiful destinations from The Bahamas and the Caribbean to Bermuda and Canada.”

Following a 15-day trans-Atlantic Carnival Journeys cruise from Barcelona that departs on May 29, 2023, the Carnival Venezia will sail a variety of cruises from New York’s Manhattan Cruise Terminal, and for the summer will alternate between sailing four-, five- six- and eight-day sailings to the Caribbean, Bermuda and ports in Canada and New England, including Halifax and Saint John.

Beginning Sept. 29, 2023, the ship will alternate between operating eight- to 12-day cruises to the Eastern Caribbean, Southern Caribbean and The Bahamas, visiting destinations like St. Thomas, San Juan and Aruba, along with four of Carnival’s private destinations: Half Moon Cay, Princess Cays, Amber Cove and Grand Turk. In addition, Carnival Venezia’s nine-day cruises will feature Miami as a port of call.

Sample Cruises: 

  • Nine-Day sailing to Miami and the Bahamas (10/14/2023) – Miami, Nassau, Half Moon Cay and Freeport, Bahamas
  • 10-day Eastern Caribbean sailing (1/23/2024) – Princess Cays, Bahamas; Grand Turk, Turks & Caicos; Amber Cove, Dominican Republic and San Juan, Puerto Rico
  • 12-day Southern Caribbean Carnival Journeys sailing (2/11/2024) – Antigua, Dominica, Grenada, St. Lucia and St. Maarten
  • 15-day Caribbean Carnival Journeys sailing (9/29/2023) – Grand Turk, Aruba, Curacao, Barbados, St. Lucia, St. Maarten and St. Thomas

Built-in 2019 and set to undergo enhancements before entering service, Carnival Venezia will be home to many of the activities and experiences guests enjoy aboard other Carnival ships, including Carnival Waterworks, Piano Bar 88, Fahrenheit 555 Steakhouse, Bonsai Sushi, Seafood Shack, Cloud 9 Salon & Spa and the Serenity Adult-Only Retreat.

In 2024, Carnival Cruise Line will welcome a second Carnival Fun Italian Style ship, when the Carnival Firenze joins the fleet, scheduled to sail year-round from Long Beach, Calif.

Carnival Freedom Makes Line’s First Call to Grand Turk Since Resumption

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The Carnival Freedom arrived in Grand Turk, Turks and Caicos, on Dec. 15, marking the line’s first time back to the port since resuming service.

According to a press release, the 2,974-guest Freedom is on a six-day Eastern Caribbean cruise that departed PortMiami on Dec. 12, and featured ports include Half Moon Cay and Amber Cove.

“We are delighted to bring the Carnival Freedom back to Grand Turk and to offer our guests the opportunity to experience all of this port’s beauty once again,” said Christine Duffy, president of Carnival Cruise Line. “On behalf of Carnival, I would like to thank the Turks and Caicos Islands government and all our partners on the ground in Grand Turk for working with us to make this opportunity possible.”

By year’s end, Carnival will have 19 ships in operation as the line’s restart of operations continues. All 22 of Carnival’s U.S.-based ships will be back in guest operations by March 2022.

New Holland America Line ship Rotterdam departs on the maiden voyage

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Holland America Line ship Rotterdam has departed on its 14-day maiden voyage from Amsterdam to Fort Lauderdale.The 2,668-guest vessel was delivered in July 2021 and is the third in the line’s Pinnacle-class and the seventh ship to bear the name.Following the transatlantic crossing to Florida, Rotterdam will spend from November through to April 2022 on its inaugural Caribbean season, with all sailings round-trip from Fort Lauderdale.Itineraries will range from six to 11 days and span the entire region on southern, eastern, western and tropical voyages, Holland America Line said.Guests looking for a longer cruise can embark on a Collectors’ Voyage – combined back-to-back itineraries that offer a more in-depth exploration covering more than one area.Every Caribbean cruise will feature a call at Half Moon Cay, Holland America Line’s private Bahamian island.President Gus Antorcha said: “Rotterdam’s maiden voyage has been highly anticipated for months by our guests and team members eager to welcome them aboard.“Rotterdam is a beautiful ship and the fourth in our fleet to begin cruising this year. We are excited to bring her to Florida and the Caribbean soon on her first sailing.”Her Royal Highness Princess Margriet of the Netherlands was recently announced as Rotterdam’s godmother – a position that will be formally confirmed when the ship is officially named in the spring.


Rotterdam features the 270-degree surround screen World Stage, Rudi’s Sel de Mer restaurant and Grand Dutch Café.It also has the Half Moon Bar, an “immersive experience looking at the history of Holland America Line and cruising through the lens of a cocktail”, the line explained.In other Holland America Line news, the line will celebrate 75 years of cruising in Alaska in 2022.In addition, the line’s UK & Ireland director of sales Wendy Lahmich recently told CTN that “cruising has a really bright future”, adding: “The way that the cruise lines have handled themselves and the industry has handled itself [during the pandemic], and the way that we’ve come together, has been phenomenal.”