By
Rebecca Gibson |
Carnival Pride kicked off her winter schedule of seven-day Caribbean cruises from Port Tampa Bay in the US on 9 November after emerging from a US$75 million drydock that added a wide variety of Carnival Cruise Line’s Fun Ship 2.0 innovations.
Homeporting in Tampa, Florida, until March 2015, Carnival Pride will sail to four popular Caribbean destinations including Cozumel, Mexico; Mahogany Bay, Isla Roatan; Belize City, Belize; and George Town, Grand Cayman, or Costa Maya, Mexico. During the cruises, guests can enjoy a variety of activities including zip lining, snorkelling, kayaking, cave tubing and visits to beaches and ancient ruins.
“We’re very excited to launch a winter schedule of Caribbean cruises from Tampa on Carnival Pride, which is better than ever with a wide variety of new Fun Ship 2.0 dining, bar and entertainment innovations, including four new Playlist Productions shows,” said Gerry Cahill, Carnival president and CEO.
Carnival Pride, which recently underwent a multi-million dollar renovation as part of the cruise line’s US$500 million Fun Ship 2.0 product enhancement programme. Following her three-week drydock, the vessel has a range of new dining, entertainment and recreational venues such as Guy’s Burger Joint, the full-service Bonsai Sushi restaurant, BlueIguana Cantina, RedFrog Pub, EA SPORTS Bar, the poolside BlueIguana Tequila Bar and RedFrog Rum Bar. In addition, guests can now watch four new Playlist Productions shows; participate in Hasbro, The Game Show; visit the Cherry on Top store; and enjoy the WaterWorks aqua park, which features Green Thunder, the fastest and steepest water slide at sea.
The vessel was also outfitted with new gas exhaust cleaning systems, which are commonly known as scrubbers. Designed to reduce harmful air emissions from large marine vessels, the scrubbers will enable Carnival Pride to exceed the strict air emission standards established for operation within the North American Emission Control Area.
Next March, Carnival Pride will reposition to Baltimore to offer year-round five- to 14-day departures on two different itineraries. Passengers will be able to sail on either a week-long eastern Caribbean cruise, which calls at Grand Turk, Half Moon Cay and Freeport in The Bahamas; or enjoy a seven-day cruise to Florida’s Port Canaveral, Nassau and Freeport.