Carnival Cruise Line celebrates Jacksonville, commemorates 20 years of fun and honors local veterans

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MIAMI, Nov. 7, 2024 – Carnival Cruise Line celebrated the Jacksonville community today, recognizing its 20^th anniversary of year-round cruising from the city by highlighting a strong partnership with JAXPORT and the three million Carnival guests who have sailed from the port. The cruise line welcomed local leaders aboard Carnival Elation for a commemorative event, which included a meaningful tribute to military service in honor of the upcoming Veterans Day holiday.

Among the special guests was Jackson, a canine companion for a local veteran, adopted through Carnival’s donation to K9s for Warriors. Jackson was introduced with K9s for Warriors CEO Daniel Bean. Carnival Elation’s team then delivered a special tribute for active and retired military, recognizing each branch of the armed forces. As America’s cruise line, Carnival is proud to carry more active and retired military than any other cruise line.           

Carnival’s Vice President of Port Operations David Candib welcomed special guests, including JAXPORT Board Chair Wendy Hamilton and JAXPORT CEO Eric Green, and thanked local officials for their partnership – which has significantly contributed to the Jacksonville economy by creating jobs and boosting tourism demand. Carnival was the first cruise line to begin sailing year-round from Jacksonville in 2004 and continues to serve more than 150,000 guests from the city annually.

“Carnival Elation is the perfect backdrop for this celebration because we’re elated to recognize the true success of this 20-year partnership. We greatly appreciate the tremendous relationships we’ve built together over the years throughout the Jacksonville community,” Candib said. “Delivering memorable cruise vacations to three million guests from JAXPORT is proof enough that the potential our company saw in this homeport in 2004 has been a great benefit to our cruise line, our loyal guests and this community and we’re committed to continue building upon our partnership for years to come.”

Earlier this year, Carnival strengthened its commitment to cruising from JAXPORT by signing a new agreement through 2026 that includes renewal options through 2030.

“More than three million people have set sail from JAXPORT aboard a Carnival ship over the last two decades and on behalf of those families, thank you, Carnival, for the memories and the fun,” said Hamilton. “And even more importantly, thank you for supporting the veterans who have given so much for all of us.”

“One of the great things about Carnival is their desire and willingness to give back to the communities where they operate,” added Green. “We join our partners in thanking all veterans for their service and recognizing K9s for Warriors for their lifesaving work.”

Carnival Elation is homeported in Jacksonville year-round and sails four- to seven-day itineraries to The Bahamas and Eastern Caribbean. Next year, sailings from Jacksonville will take guests to Carnival’s upcoming exclusive destination Celebration Key, which opens in July 2025. 

For additional information on Carnival Cruise Line and to book a cruise vacation on Carnival, call 1-800-CARNIVAL, visit http://carnival.com, or contact your favorite travel advisor or online travel site.

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ABOUT CARNIVAL CRUISE LINE

Carnival Cruise Line, part of Carnival Corporation & plc (NYSE/LSE: CCL; NYSE: CUK), is the first cruise line to sail over 100 million guests and is proud to be known as America’s Cruise Line, for carrying more Americans and serving more U.S. homeports than any other. Since its founding in 1972, Carnival has continually revolutionized the cruise industry and popularized the cruise vacation as an affordable and fun travel option. Carnival operates from 14 U.S. and two Australian homeports, as well as seasonally from Europe and employs more than 48,000 team members representing 120 nationalities.

Carnival’s fleet of 27 ships reflects an exciting period of growth that continues with the addition of seven ships through 2033: two ships joining in February 2025 when P&O Cruises Australia integrates into Carnival; a fourth and fifth Excel class ship scheduled for 2027 and 2028 respectively; followed by three additional new ships from an innovative new class currently under development. Carnival’s next new guest offering will be the all-new exclusive destination, Celebration Key, set to debut on Grand Bahama next summer.