In Port Canaveral, Carnival Cruise Line will be increasing capacity by 34 percent on three- and four-day Bahamas cruises and launching its newest class of ship on seven-day Caribbean voyages in 2016.
Changes will not only allow for greater travel aboard three- and four-day cruises, but will also provide guests with a greater variety of on-board features and amenities, including over 500 balcony staterooms aboard the Carnival Victory (which will replace the Carnival Sensation for Bahamas sailings starting February 2016).
The ship is currently based in Miami, but will reposition to Port Canaveral to launch a schedule of three- and four-day cruises that depart Thursdays (to Nassau) and Sundays (to Nassau and Freeport), respectively, beginning Feb. 25, 2016. On-board features include a 14,500-square-foot spa, four swimming pools ( one with a 214-foot-long water slide) and 18 lounges and bars with ocean-inspired interiors.
Starting October 2016, Carnival Valor will take over Carnival Victory’s three- and four-day Bahamas cruises from Central Florida on a year-round basis. This will be the only ship operating three- and four-day cruises to offer the line’s Fun Ship 2.0 features.
On December 9, 2016, Carnival Magic will kick off its Port Canaveral-based program with an eight-day cruise that features port calls in St. Thomas, San Juan, Amber Cove (Dominican Republic), and Grand Turk. As of December 17, 2016, the ship will launch year-round seven-day cruises from Port Canaveral with a choice of two different week-long itineraries: a western Caribbean route featuring Cozumel, Belize, Mahogany Bay (Isla Roatan) and Costa Maya; or an eastern Caribbean option calling at St. Thomas, San Juan, Grand Turk and Nassau or Amber Cove. It will also join Carnival Sunshine in providing seasonal five- to eight-day Caribbean voyages from Port Canaveral.
The ship is outfitted with Fun Ship 2.0 innovations, including the WaterWorks aqua park (featuring a 312-foot-long Twister water slide, the DrainPipe funnel-style water slide and a 300-gallon PowerDrencher tipping bucket), the Speedway Splash water attraction, the SportSquare outdoor recreation area (highlighted by a suspended ropes course with sea views), RedFrog Pub, Ji Ji Asian Kitchen and the Havana Bar.
In preparation for its Space Coast debut, Carnival Magic will embark on a 12-day Carnival Journeys cruise departing from Galveston on November 27, and arriving in Port Canaveral on December 9, 2016. Featured ports will include Cozumel; Limon, Costa Rica; Colon, Panama; Cartagena and Santa Marta, Colombia; Aruba, and Grand Turk.
Beginning February 25, 2016, the Carnival Sensation will reposition from Port Canaveral to Miami to offer year-round four- and five-day cruises featuring top ports in the Caribbean, Mexico, The Bahamas, and Hawaii. As part of its new Miami-based schedule, four-day cruises to Key West and Cozumel, or to the private Bahamian island of Half Moon Cay and Nassau, will depart Thursdays, while five-day cruises to such destinations as Grand Turk, Ocho Rios, Grand Cayman, Amber Cove, Freeport, Nassau and Half Moon Cay will depart Mondays and Saturdays.
Visit www.carnival.com/journeys