Cruise

Carnival Celebrates 25 Years in Tampa

Carnival Cruise Line recently celebrated its 25th anniversary sailing from the Port of Tampa with a reception and luncheon aboard Carnival Legend highlighted by the presentation of a commemorative plaque from Carnival president Christine Duffy to Port Tampa Bay president and CEO Paul Anderson commemorating the milestone.

Carnival was the first cruise operator to recognize the potential of Tampa as a year-round cruise homeport when it launched a schedule of seven-day voyages aboard the since-retired Tropicale in 1994 carrying about 28,000 guests a year.

Fast forward to today and Carnival deploys two ships from Tampa that will carry approximately 240,000 passengers a year from Tampa – nearly a nine-fold increase compared to 25 years ago.

“Tampa is a convenient, centrally located homeport – not to mention a popular vacation destination – and the growth that we’ve experienced at this port is a testament to the wonderful partnership with the Port we’ve enjoyed for the past 25 years,” said Duffy.

Carnival Legend will operate a seasonal schedule of six-, seven-and eight-day cruises featuring top destinations in the western Caribbean, including Cozumel, Costa Maya, Belize, Mahogany Bay, Costa Rica, the Panama Canal and Grand Cayman. The ship will also offer a 13-day Carnival Journeys cruise from Tampa to New York May 3-16, 2020, featuring a partial transit of the Panama Canal, along with visits to Aruba, Cozumel, Limon (Costa Rica), Cartagena (Colombia) and Grand Turk.

Carnival Paradise, which underwent an extensive multi-million-dollar dry dock last year that added all of the line’s Fun Ship 2.0 food, beverage and entertainment options, operates a year-round schedule of four-day “long weekend” cruises to Cozumel and five-day voyages to Cozumel and Grand Cayman or Mahogany Bay departing on Mondays and Saturdays.