By
Rebecca Gibson |
Carnival Cruise Lines’ Carnival Liberty departed on her inaugural voyage from Port Canaveral, making the line the largest cruise operator at the Florida port.
Carnival Liberty is the third year-round Carnival ship to sail from the so-called ‘Space Coast’ and will enable the line to increase its annual passenger count from Port Canaveral to 600,000.
“Port Canaveral is one of our fastest-growing homeports and deploying a third year-round ship from the Space Coast is a clear indication of the confidence we have in this important market,” said Gerry Cahill, Carnival president and CEO. “The dedicated efforts of the Canaveral Port Authority, as well as the outstanding support of our valued travel agent partners, have allowed us to achieve this unprecedented and historic growth.”
Carnival Liberty will join Carnival Sunshine, which launched year-round five- to eight-day Caribbean departures from Port Canaveral last month, and Carnival Sensation, which sails year-round three- and four-day Bahamas cruises.
Sailing year-round from Port Canaveral, Carnival Liberty will offer a range of five- to eight-day departures to the Caribbean, Bahamas and Florida. The ship’s five-day cruises call at Nassau, Freeport, and the private Bahamian island of Half Moon Cay or Key West. The seven-day western Caribbean voyages visit Cozumel, Belize, Mahogany Bay (Isla Roatan) and Costa Maya, while the week-long eastern Caribbean sailings enable guests to visit St Thomas, San Juan, Grand Turk and Nassau.
Passengers can also choose two different eight-day options, including an eastern Caribbean itinerary calling at Grand Turk, St Thomas, St Maarten and San Juan. The second eight-day itinerary sails to destinations in the southern Caribbean such as Aruba, Curacao or Bonaire, and Grand Turk.
“Carnival Liberty is Carnival’s third year-round ship and will increase its annual Port Canaveral passenger count to 600,000,” said Port Canaveral CEO John Walsh. “We value the confidence Carnival continues to demonstrate in Port Canaveral and the customer service we provide for both our homeported and port of call ships. Carnival is a valued business partner and we extend a heartfelt welcome to our community to the captain and crew of the Carnival Liberty.”
Following an extensive multi-million dollar upgrade, Carnival Liberty now offers a range of the line’s Fun Ship 2.0 features including the poolside RedFrog Rum Bar, BlueIguana Tequila Bar and Guy’s Burger Joint, which was developed in tandem with Food Network’s Guy Fieri. The ship also has the Punchliner Comedy Club, a 214 ft Twister water slide, a Serenity adults-only retreat and a 14,500 sq ft spa.