Newly refurbished ship joins Carnival Victory, Carnival Valor and Carnival Sunshine at US port
By
Rebecca Gibson |
Carnival Cruise Line’s 130,000gt Carnival Magic has arrived at her new Port Canaveral homeport following an extensive multimillion-dollar drydock between 21 February and 3 March 2016.
To mark the ship’s 20 April arrival, Canaveral Port Authority hosted an invitation-only event that marked the official opening of the ship’s new Guy’s Pig & Anchor Bar-B-Que Smokehouse designed by Food Network star Guy Fieri. In addition, Canaveral Port Authority’s CEO Captain John Murray exchanged a commemorative plaque with Carnival Magic’s captain Antonio Marchetti and Carnival’s vice president of Commercial Port Operations Carlos Torres de Navarra.
“For 20-plus years, Carnival Cruise Line has sailed from Central Florida’s port providing its guests with an enjoyable ‘Fun Ship’ experience,” Murray said. "We are delighted to continue to be a popular homeport for Carnival guests.”
Carnival Magic is the newest Carnival ship to sail from Port Canaveral and will offer year-round departures alongside Carnival Victory and Carnival Valor, as well as Carnival Sunshine, which operates seasonal sailings. Together, these four ships will more than 200 three- to eight-day cruises and carry more than 650,000 guests annually from Port Canaveral – more than any other cruise operator.
Carnival Magic departed on her inaugural three-day cruise from Port Canaveral on 20 April and will launch seven-day sailings from the port on 23 April. The vessel will sail two separate itineraries including a western Caribbean route featuring Cozumel and Costa Maya, Mexico; Belize; and Mahogany Bay, Roatan. The eastern Caribbean voyage will take guests to St. Thomas; San Juan, Mexico; Grand Turk, Turks and Caicos Islands; and either Nassau or Amber Cove in the Dominican Republic.
“Port Canaveral is one of our most popular and fastest-growing homeports and we now have four exceptional ships based there offering our most highly-rated guest features, a huge array of staterooms and suites with private balconies and a wide variety of itinerary choices,” said Christine Duffy, president of Carnival Cruise Line.
Following her drydock, Carnival Magic now features Carnival’s Fun Ship 2.0 features, such as Guy’s Burger Joint; the poolside Caribbean-themed RedFrog Rum Bar; the Mexican-inspired BlueIguana Tequila Bar; a vintage-themed cocktail ‘pharmacy’ Alchemy Bar; and Pizzeria del Capitano, an expansion of the line’s Cucina del Capitano family-style Italian eatery. The vessel also has an aqua park with a 312ft Twister slide, the Seuss at Sea programme and more.