Jacksonville’s Jaxport is close to getting its first multi-year contract with Carnival Cruise Line, Jacksonville Business Journal reports.
According to the Journal, Jaxport CEO Eric Green made the announcement at a board meeting Monday, when he said that negotiations between the board and the cruise line were going well. Green said that Carnival’s current contract expires May 1, and, if terms for a multi-year contract are not reached by then, the port may be asked to grant an extension during an emergency board session.
Carnival Elation currently sails a schedule of four- and five-day cruises to Bermuda, the Bahamas and the Caribbean year-round from Jacksonville. The ship is fresh off a renovation that wrapped this past October that added a number of the line’s “Fun Ship 2.0” features, including dining venues like the Guy Fieri-developed Guy’s Burger Joint, the RedFrog Rum Bar, and the BlueIguana Cantina and Tequlia Bar, as well as a new water park, 38 new cabins and 98 balconies for existing cabins.
Looking ahead, Carnival has said that it plans to reposition the Carnival Elation to Port Canaveral, FL, in May 2019 as part of a series of shifts to its fleet. The Carnival Ecstasy will replace the Elation in Jaxport that month, also operating a year-round schedule of four- and five-day cruises, while the Carnival Sunshine will replace the Ecstasy in that ship’s previous homeport of Charleston.
"Carnival has been sailing out of Jaxport regularly since 2004," a cruise line representative tells Travel Agent. "We are always in continual conversations with our port partners about our short and long term needs in an effort to continue to exceed guest expectations."
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