Tag Archives: Port Canaveral

Carnival’s Mardi Gras Completes One Year in Service

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The new Mardi Gras from Carnival Cruise Line has just completed its first year in service. As the first ship in Carnival Cruise Line’s XL-Class, the vessel welcomed its first guests on July 31, 2021.

On that day, it departed Port Canaveral on an inaugural cruise to the Eastern Caribbean.

The seven-night voyage included visits to San Juan, Amber Cove and Nassau and three full days at sea.

Continuing its debut season, the 5,200-guest ship offered other cruises in the region over the last year, also visiting the Western Caribbean and other destinations such as Cozumel, Roatán, Grand Turk, Mahogany Bay and more.

As the first LNG-powered cruise ship to be homeport in the United States, the Mardi Gras is considered one of the most eco-friendly vessels sailing from the country.

With several new features, the 183,900-ton ship is also the largest and one of the most innovative vessels ever built for Carnival.

Among its attractions are BOLT, the industry’s first roller coaster, and a selection of new dining venues, including Emeril’s Bistro 1396, Shaq’s Big Chicken, Chibang! and Street Eats.

The Mardi Gras is set to be joined by the second XL-Class vessel later this year when the new Carnival Celebration enters service.

Currently, under construction in Finland, the vessel is set to debut in November, kicking off a program of Caribbean cruises departing from PortMiami.  

Marking the arrival of the XL-Class to Texas, the Carnival Jubilee will be the third ship in the series. Based in Galveston, the ship is scheduled to enter service in November 2023.

In addition to the XL-Class vessels, the Carnival Cruise Line fleet is also receiving three extra ships over the next few years.

Presently sailing for Costa, the Carnival Luminosa will debut for the brand this November, with a series of cruises in Australia.

In 2023 and 2024, respectively, Carnival is also receiving the Costa Venezia and the Costa Firenze.

The Vista-Class ships will operate under the Costa by Carnival label, which combines Costa’s Italian hardware with Carnival’s service, entertainment and cuisine.

Marella Cruises will offer voyages to Canada

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A new 14-night East Coast Adventure sailing, departing Port Canaveral in October 2023 and calling at Newport, Bar Harbor, Saint John, Sydney, Halifax and Boston, will go on sale on 21 July, along with the line’s full winter 2023 programme. 

Speaking to TTG on Tuesday (28 June), managing director of cruise at Tui UK and Ireland Chris Hackney said the new itineraries will “bring North America to life”.

“It’s a great time of year to go to Canada, and we’re really excited to go there for the first time,” he added.

“We’re going to different parts of the US and offering a nice range of options. It brings to life the different destinations, whether it be the south, the north, it will be very appealing to customers and it will help tick off those bucket-list holidays.”

Discovery will also offer a 12-night Stateside Discovery sailing, departing Port Canaveral and calling at Miami, New Orleans, the Dominican Republic and Barbados.

Meanwhile, the line’s newest ship, Marella Voyager, will offer three Caribbean itineraries from Barbados in winter 2023, including an eight-night Paradise Islands sailing in November 2023, which calls at Tortola, Saint Maarten, Saint Kitts, Antigua and Dominica.

Elsewhere, Marella Discovery II will homeport in Singapore and offer a 14-night Eastern Experience sailing, calling at Laem Chabang, Phu My, Malacca, Langkawi and Patong Bay.

“We have operated in Asia in the past, but this time we will homeport out of Singapore, where the ship will overnight, giving customers the opportunity to experience the destination in the day and the evening,” Hackney added.

“In the past, we have received really good feedback from customers on being in a place like Singapore, where you’re centrally located in such a vibrant city, so we think it will go down really well.

“Everything is really exciting, and these new itineraries allow us to bring in some new destinations, we have a lot of customers who ask when we’re going back to Asia and it’s great to be able to bring it back for next winter for customers to see some fantastic parts of the world.”

Carnival Cruise Line Has Carried Two Million Guests Since Restart

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As the first major U.S. cruise line with its full fleet back in guest service since the industry’s restart in 2021, Carnival Cruise Line has now reached the milestone of welcoming two million guests, according to a press release sent out on Thursday.

The milestone was commemorated today in Port Canaveral, Fla. aboard Carnival Freedom as the Gibbs family – Daniel and Kristi with son Mason and grandmother Theresa Campbell – from Ocala, Fla. boarded the ship. They were surprised with fanfare from Carnival Freedom’s Captain Mario Imbimbo, Hotel Director, Cruise Director and team members. 

In addition, during this time, guests have taken more than 1.3 million shore excursions in Carnival’s destination ports, and two million Carnival-branded items have been sold in the gift shops fleetwide, including 150,000 items from the line’s 50th Birthday collection.

“We are so pleased to have sailed two million guests since our restart, providing much-needed vacations featuring our signature fun to an array of destinations in the Caribbean, The Bahamas, the Mexican Riviera, Alaska and Europe,” said Christine Duffy, president of Carnival Cruise Line. “All the while, providing an economic boost to those destinations and providing our crew members with opportunities to support their families.”

Carnival will restart in its 14th homeport of New York City in June with Carnival Magic and has announced plans that Carnival Splendor will restart in Australia following its Alaska season with a three-day cruise departing Sydney on October 2, 2022.

And in November, Carnival’s newest ship, Carnival Celebration, featuring a roller coaster and powered by Liquified Natural Gas (LNG), will debut in Miami.