Carnival Cruise Line recently held a two-day 'Grand Finale' event in Prague for its group of travel agent Fun Ambassadors.   The trip featured a full day dedicated to analysing the success of the programme across the past 12 months, including developing agents’ brand knowledge and growing awareness of Carnival Cruise Line’s itineraries amongst their clients.   Day two included a tour of Prague followed by a dinner overlooking the Charles Bridge.   Jamie Stephen, from Hays Travel, said: "Being a Fun Ambassador has been a great opportunity to learn about Carnival. There have been many fun activities and events, including the visit to Prague. I am very grateful for the opportunity it has provided."   Jackie Corbett, from Barrhead Travel, said: "It has been an exciting year full of fun and learning. As a store, we have doubled our Carnival Cruise Line bookings."   Iain Baillie, vice-president international sales at Carnival Cruise Line, said: "It's been a pleasure to work with our Fun Ambassadors over the last 12 months and the 'Grand Finale' visit to Prague was the perfect way to thank them for their support. Our trade relationships are vital to our continued success and it is through initiatives such as this that we can develop a deeper level of engagement with agents."   The Fun Ambassadors programme was established in 2019 and sees 11 travel agents - hand-picked each year for their knowledge of the cruise industry - work with Carnival to provide advice, ideas and feedback on how the line collaborates with its agent partners.   Agents attend quarterly meetings with Carnival executives, receive priority access to events and benefit from 10 Loyalty Rocks points per booking, to be used on LoyaltyRocksClub.com, the line’s agent rewards platform.   Further details about the 2025 programme will be revealed shortly.

Carnival Cruise Line recently held a two-day 'Grand Finale' event in Prague for its group of travel agent Fun Ambassadors. The trip featured a full day analysing the success of the programme across the past 12 months, including developing agents’ brand knowledge and growing awareness of Carnival Cruise Line’s itineraries. Day two included a tour of Prague followed by a dinner overlooking the Charles Bridge. Jackie Corbett, from Barrhead Travel, said: "It has been an exciting year of fun and learning. As a store, we have doubled our Carnival Cruise Line bookings." Iain Baillie, VP international sales at Carnival Cruise Line, added: "It's been a pleasure to work with our Fun Ambassadors over the last 12 months and the 'Grand Finale' visit to Prague was the perfect way to thank them for their support.” Our trade relationships are vital to our continued success." The Fun Ambassadors programme was established in 2019 and sees 11 travel agents - hand-picked each year for their knowledge of the cruise industry - work with Carnival to provide advice, ideas and feedback on how the line collaborates with its agent partners. Agents attend quarterly meetings with Carnival executives, receive priority access to events and benefit from 10 Loyalty Rocks points per booking. Further details about the 2025 programme will be revealed shortly.  

Carnival Spirit has returned to service following a month-long dry dock in Cadiz, Spain. The 2,124-guest Carnival Cruise Line ship has now departed Barcelona for a two-week transatlantic voyage to Miami. From South Florida, it will transit the Panama Canal en route to Seattle, as it repositions for the upcoming Alaska summer season. Following the dry dock upgrade, Carnival Spirit now features a new Heroes Tribute Bar and a Cloud 9 spa, fitness center and retail shops, including a new Carnival Adventures Shop plus a Dreams Studio. Also new is a dedicated space for the Chef’s Table and a new mini golf course as well as new gaming machines installed in the casino. The ship’s nightclub was refreshed and all youth program spaces upgraded. Lisa McCabe, VP of refurbishments at Carnival, said: “The new Heroes Tribute Bar and all the other upgrades to Carnival Spirit are part of our ongoing enhancement effort with features we know our guests appreciate and enjoy.” From April 14, Carnival Spirit will operate week-long Alaska cruises, visiting destinations such as Skagway, Juneau, Ketchikan and Victoria, Canada. In September, the ship will sail a 15-day round-trip cruise from Seattle to Hawaii, followed by a one-way voyage from Seattle to New Orleans in October. It will then return to its seasonal homeport of Mobile, Alabama.

  Carnival Cruise Line’s Christine Duffy has marked 10 years as the line’s president.   Christine joined the operator in 2015, following a spell as CEO of Cruise Lines International Association. Prior to that she worked in the travel agency and meeting planning sectors.   In her time leading the cruise line, she has overseen the launch of nine ships and 70 ship refurbishments. During her tenure, 13,500 cruises have departed, with 42.5 million guests sailing with Carnival.   In October 2024, Christine took part in a skydive for Hurricane Helene relief efforts and has supported fundraising work for the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.   In July 2025, Carnival will open its new exclusive destination, Celebration Key, and additional expansion is taking place on the newly renamed RelaxAway, Half Moon Cay.   The Carnival Cruise Line fleet will also expand with five new ships on order, for delivery through to 2033, and the transfer of Carnival Adventure and Carnival Encounter from P&O Cruises Australia in March 2025.   To watch a video of Christine’s 10-year highlights, click here.

  Carnival Cruise Line is offering agents the chance to visit its new private destination, Celebration Key, as well as a host of other prizes as part of its new trade wave incentive.   Running until March 31, 2025, the incentive includes six places to join a fam trip to Celebration Key, located in Grand Bahama, in 2025.   To be in with a chance of winning, agents need to make any Carnival booking during the time period on GoCCL.co.uk and register it on LoyaltyRocksClub.com, the line’s agent rewards platform.   Other prizes include two vouchers for a spa package; two 12-month passes for Merlin Attractions; two IMAX tickets; and one limited-edition Mardi Gras version of Monopoly.   Agents can also earn £30 for every booking they make until March 31. They will need to register their bookings on LoyaltyRocksClub.com.   Winners of the Celebration Key fam trip places and other prizes will be notified via email by mid March 2025.   Celebration Key will feature five ‘portal’ areas, comprising the adult-only Pearl Cove Beach Club; family friendly Starfish Lagoon; Paradise Plaza welcome area; Calypso Lagoon adult-friendly area; and Lokono Cove shopping village.   Iain Baillie, vice president international sales at Carnival Cruise Line, said: “Our latest wave incentive is further evidence of our commitment to rewarding our trade partners. They continue to go above and beyond in spreading the Carnival message to more guests than ever before, so it’s only right that we show our appreciation with a host of fantastic prizes.”   For more information call 0808 234 0680.

  Carnival Cruise Line has announced the appointment of Peter Clarke as chief operations officer, effective from November 4, 2024.   Clarke, who is originally from Ireland, joins the cruise line from IHG Hotels & Resorts, where he was vice president of luxury and lifestyle hotel operations, Americas. He previously held similar positions at brands such as Hotel Indigo, Crowne Plaza, EVEN Hotels and Holiday Inn Hotels & Resorts.   Christine Duffy, president of Carnival Cruise Line, said: “I am excited about Peter’s addition to an already-strong team that delivers business results along with the great guest experience that Carnival is known for. We will benefit from his broad knowledge in managing the many complexities of the hotel business with different owners across multiple properties and brands delivering world-class customer service, while also building and maintaining a strong culture that allows our team members to take pride in their work, enjoy their jobs and build a career with Carnival.   “We talked a lot about the importance of our culture during the interview process and Peter’s reputation as a strong leader will help us continue to excel as we continue to grow with new ships and new destinations in an increasingly competitive industry.”   Peter Clarke said: “Carnival has long had a reputation for delivering great service to their guests and building a strong culture amongst its employees – priorities I share.  Joining the cruise industry leader at a time of significant growth and innovation is a very exciting opportunity.”

  Carnival Cruise Line ship Carnival Panorama has returned to service following a 24-day dry dock.   The 4,000-guest ship set sail from Singapore on October 12 on a 25-day transpacific ‘Carnival Journeys’ voyage, featuring the line’s first-ever stop in Manila, Philippines, on October 18.   Carnival Panorama now has the line’s signature red, white and blue hull livery, as well as a non-smoking casino. New Effy Fine Jewellery and Carnival Adventures stores are now located in the refurbished Fun Shops area, the latter selling travel essentials, fragrances and cruise-themed clothing.   Elsewhere, a Dreams Studio, where guests can schedule photoshoots with the ship’s professional photographers, has been added, as well as a new mini golf area. Additionally, the ship received a number of other technical updates.   Following its arrival in Long Beach on November 5, Carnival Panorama will sail a selection of five, six and seven-day itineraries to the Mexican Riviera.

  Carnival Cruise Line has added to its departures from Miami throughout 2026 and early 2027.   Carnival Magic and Carnival Sunrise will sail from PortMiami, visiting destinations across the Bahamas. These include Carnival’s upcoming exclusive destination, Celebration Key, as well as other ports in the eastern, western and southern Caribbean.   Carnival Magic will operate six and eight-day cruises, several of which will visit Celebration Key, which will be located on the island of Grand Bahama and open in July 2025. Six-day ‘Eastern Caribbean’ cruises will take in Amber Cove, Grand Turk and Celebration Key or Half Moon Cay.   Meanwhile, six-day ‘Western Caribbean’ departures will feature stops in Montego Bay and Grand Cayman, as well as Celebration Key, while eight-day ‘Southern Caribbean’ itineraries will explore Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao. Additionally, eight-day ‘Eastern Caribbean’ voyages will call at San Juan, St. Maarten, St. Thomas and Half Moon Cay.   Carnival Sunrise will offer four and five-day options, with the former calling at Half Moon Cay, Princess Cays, Celebration Key or Nassau. Various five and one six-day itineraries will feature destinations such as Grand Turk, Grand Cayman and Ocho Rios.   Fred Stein, vice president of itinerary planning at Carnival, said: “These sailings build on our strong deployment plan from the cruise capital of the world for 2026/27. Year-round from PortMiami, our guests have an incredibly diverse range of itineraries to choose from as they plan their next fun and memorable cruise holiday.”   Also departing from Miami for the 2026/27 season are Carnival Celebration and Carnival Horizon. Carnival Celebration will offer a variety of seven-day cruises exploring the eastern and western Caribbean, visiting Celebration Key, Nassau, Half Moon Cay, Grand Turk, Amber Cove, Cozumel, Mahogany Bay, St. Thomas and San Juan.   Carnival Horizon will sail a 13-day ‘Carnival Journeys’ sailing from Barcelona to Miami on June 15, 2026, calling at Alicante, Malaga, Gibraltar and Celebration Key after transiting the Atlantic Ocean. The ship will sail six and eight-day Caribbean cruises from Miami.

 

Carnival Luminosa to Reposition from Brisbane to San Francisco for 2026 Alaska Season

  Carnival Cruise Line today announced a wide variety of new 2026/27 cruises from both the east and west coasts of the U.S. The new sailings opening today feature popular destinations from the homeports of Miami, Port Canaveral and Norfolk as well as cruises to Alaska and Mexico from San Francisco. “In addition to extending our successful deployment schedules in Miami, Port Canaveral and Norfolk, Carnival Luminosa will bring a new experience to our seasonal homeport of San Francisco for the 2026 Alaska season. These new sailings also introduce some truly stellar additions to our Carnival Journeys program of longer sailings, with a transatlantic cruise from Barcelona to Miami on Carnival Horizon and Carnival Luminosa’s transpacific voyages from Brisbane to San Francisco visiting Fiji, Tahiti and Hawaii, and San Francisco to Yokohama (Tokyo) visiting Alaska and Japan,” said Fred Stein, vice president of deployment for Carnival Cruise Line.   Cruise from San Francisco on Carnival Luminosa   Carnival Luminosa will homeport in San Francisco for the first time in 2026, following a 22-Day Tahiti and Pacific Islands transpacific Carnival Journeys cruise from Brisbane, Australia in April 2026 that includes visits to Fiji, Tahiti, Moorea, and Honolulu. From San Francisco, the ship will sail to Alaska from April 27 through Sept. 10, 2026. A series of 10-day cruises, with both Monday and Thursday departures available, includes stops in Juneau, Skagway, Ketchikan, and Prince Rupert, as well as scenic glacier cruising through Tracy Arm Fjord. The ship will also sail ten 4-day long weekend Baja Mexico cruises, visiting Ensenada, from April 23 through August 27, 2026. An extended 18-day Alaska and Japan transpacific Carnival Journeys cruise departing San Francisco on Sept. 20, 2026, will visit Alaskan ports and sail to Japan, with stops including Otaru and Kobe before concluding in Yokohama. Carnival Luminosa schedule from San Francisco is part of Carnival’s 53-sailing deployment to Alaska in 2026, which also includes Carnival Miracle and Carnival Spirit sailing from Seattle.   Cruise from Miami on Carnival Horizon   New cruises on Carnival Horizon include a special 13-day Carnival Journeys sailing from Barcelona to Miami on June 15, 2026, and features visits to Alicante and Malaga, Spain; Gibraltar; as well as a visit to Carnival’s new exclusive destination Celebration Key in The Bahamas after transiting the Atlantic Ocean. Cruises from the ship’s Miami homeport between the summer of 2026 and spring of 2027 offer both six- and eight-day options exploring vibrant destinations across the Caribbean. Six-day Western Caribbean itineraries, departing on Sundays, include stops at Celebration Key in the Bahamas, Grand Cayman, Montego Bay or Ocho Rios in Jamaica. Eight-day Southern Caribbean options, departing on Saturdays, feature stops in Aruba, Curacao, and either Bonaire, Amber Cove, or Celebration Key.   Cruise from Port Canaveral on Carnival Vista   Carnival Vista will offer an array of itineraries from Port Canaveral, including six-day cruises with stops at Celebration Key and Half Moon Cay, along with Grand Turk or Amber Cove. Eight-day sailings expand the variety of destinations with visits to St. Thomas, St. Maarten, San Juan and Aruba.   Cruise from Norfolk on Carnival Sunshine   Carnival Sunshine brings a diverse selection of itineraries to Norfolk including four- to seven-day cruises to Bermuda and five- to seven-day cruises to The Bahamas, which include stops in Half Moon Cay, Bimini, Nassau and Celebration Key as well as Grand Turk. Longer eight-day itineraries offer more variety, with sailings to the Eastern Caribbean and others that sail to Canada and include the ports of Halifax, Saint John and Sydney. A nine-day Carnival Journeys cruise features visits to Amber Cove, San Juan and St. Thomas.

Carnival Cruise Line’s ‘Your Peek at Paradise’ events for travel advisors focused on the upcoming opening of Celebration Key, have garnered an overwhelming response this summer. The final event in Chicago brought hundreds of travel advisors together in person and thousands more virtually. Throughout the series, which also made stops in Miami, Baltimore and Atlanta, 10 travel advisors won a VIP early-access trip to Celebration Key, before it opens to the public. All advisors in attendance learned insights about the inspiration behind Celebration Key from Carnival executives, including Adolfo M. Perez, SVP of global sales and trade marketing; Amy Martin Ziegenfuss, CMO; and Glenn Aprile, senior director of brand experience and product development. “Seeing the enthusiasm from our travel advisors during the Your Peek at Paradise series reaffirms how special Celebration Key will be,” said Perez. Presented in collaboration with The Bahamas Ministry of Tourism, the series gave attendees a taste of Celebration Key’s offerings. Each event featured a Bahamian Junkanoo band, Bahamian flavors and a peek into Celebration Key. At each stop, Carnival also gifted commemorative Travel Agents Rock t-shirts for donations to support the cruise line’s charitable partner St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. Earlier this year, Carnival met its previous $33 million fundraising goal for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital and set a new pledge goal of $50 million by 2030. Celebration Key is the first port destination exclusively designed for Carnival Cruise Line guests on the island of Grand Bahama. It welcomes its first guests in July 2025. It will offer cruise ship guests two of the Caribbean’s largest freshwater lagoons, a white-sand beach, a 10-story-high “Suncastle” featuring two waterslides and various Bahamian-operated retail, food and beverage options. Celebration Key consists of five portals for all types of travelers including adults-only Calypso Lagoon, Starfish Lagoon, a family-friendly portal for all ages and Pearl Cove Beach Club, an exclusive adult retreat. More than 500 sailings are open that feature Celebration Key across 10 homeports and 19 ships. 

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Carnival Cruise Line has concluded its biggest-ever UK travel agent ship visit programme. It welcomed a total of 250 agents onboard the 2,124-guest Carnival Legend for a ship tour and lunch at the Lido. The ship visits were held from June to August in Dover, Liverpool, Edinburgh and Belfast. Jess Hartley, from Paramount Cruises, said: "We were given plenty of insight into everything Carnival, broadening our knowledge. Ship visits enable us to bring the product to life for our clients." Carnival also hosted 15 agents from Barrhead Travel for a one-off visit on Carnival Glory in May, in Barcelona. Iain Baillie, VP international sales at Carnival Cruise Line, said: “We’re delighted that so many travel agents were able to join us this summer. There is no substitute for first-hand experience, as it enables our trade partners to develop their brand knowledge.” Next year, Carnival Miracle will operate nine sailings from Dover, with nine, 12 and 15-day itineraries. The line’s ship visit programme will be announced in due course. Carnival has also revealed it will operate a solar eclipse cruise as part of its ex-UK 2026 summer season. The 11-day Carnival Journeys Eclipse voyage on Carnival Legend will depart Dover on August 9, with the solar eclipse taking place on August 12. The itinerary is part of a programme of nine cruises from Dover, with nine to 12-day voyages on sale now. 

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Carnival Corporation  is now installing solar panels for two Port of Barcelona cruise terminals. The roof-mounted solar panels, which are a first for the port, are capable of supplying more than 100% of the energy needed to power daily operations. Carnival Corp and the Port of Barcelona teamed up with a Catalonia-based solar provider to install a total of 1,350 panels at Palacruceros (Terminal D) and Helix Cruise Center (Terminal E). These will collectively produce 866,000-plus kilowatt-hours (kWh) per year. Work to install the solar panels began several weeks ago at Palacruceros. The installation across both terminals is expected to be completed by the end of 2024. They are expected to produce surplus power, estimated at 32% for Helix Cruise Center alone, which will be routed back into the local energy grid. In total, over 245,000 kWh of surplus power will be fed back into the grid each year. It says this is equivalent to the average annual consumption of 60 households. “The shift to renewable energy is an integral part of our global strategy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and minimize our environmental footprint,” said Karin Plettner Rutishauser, VP of global ports and destinations strategy for Carnival Corporation. Carnival Corp unveiled a new solar panel farm earlier this year at its Amber Cove Cruise Center in the Dominican Republic. “Through this latest project with Carnival Corp, we are laying the foundation for our new energy model based on renewable energy, energy storage and a smart electricity grid,” said Lluís Salvadó, president of Port of Barcelona. Eight Carnival Corp cruise lines – AIDA Cruises, Carnival Cruise Line, Costa Cruises, Cunard, Holland America Line, Princess Cruises, Seabourn and P&O Cruises (UK) – visit Barcelona throughout the year. 

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