Carnival Cruise Line thanks Jacksonville City Council

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From left: JAXPORT Chief Financial Officer and Chief of Staff Beth McCague, Carnival Cruise Line Business Development Manager Katy Rose Friedman, and JAXPORT Chief Operating Officer Fred Wong.

Carnival Cruise Line on Tuesday, March 22 presented a special birthday cake to the Jacksonville City Council to celebrate its 50th birthday month and thank the city for its continued support. Jacksonville Port Authority (JAXPORT) representatives joined Carnival for the presentation.

Carnival Cruise Line and Jacksonville have enjoyed a partnership since 2004 when Carnival began offering itineraries from JAXPORT to the Bahamas, and eventually, the Eastern Caribbean. In 2019, before the industry-wide pause, Carnival welcomed approximately 150,000 guests on more than 70 cruises departing from Jacksonville.

The company restarted cruising from Jacksonville on March 7, 2022 and is currently operating the 2,124-passenger Carnival Spirit from the port, sailing four- and five-day Bahamas itineraries. In a series of operational shifts last month, Carnival announced that Carnival Spirit would replace Carnival Ecstasy in Jacksonville for cruises through April 23, 2022, at which point, the 2,190-passenger Carnival Elation will move to Jacksonville and sail through 2024. Carnival Elation sailings from Jacksonville will include four- and five-day Bahamas itineraries, and seven-day cruises to the Eastern Caribbean.

Carnival Cruise Line began sailing from PortMiami in 1972 with a converted transatlantic liner – a steam-powered 906-passenger-ship named Mardi Gras. Over the last five decades, the line has grown into the largest cruise company in the world. Known as “America’s Cruise Line” and the flagship brand of Carnival Corporation, Carnival has made cruising accessible and fun for more than 90 million passengers since its inception. Each year, approximately six million passengers set sail on 23 ships from 14 U.S. homeports and call on popular destinations worldwide.