Carnival Cruise Lines’ Carnival Liberty departed on its inaugural voyage from Port Canaveral, Fla., this weekend, becoming the line’s third year-round ship sailing from the Space Coast.

With the arrival of Carnival Liberty, Carnival will increase its annual passenger count from Port Canaveral to 600,000 – more than any other cruise operator.

On Carnival Liberty’s new schedule from Port Canaveral, vacationers can select from a variety of five-, seven- and eight-day Caribbean itineraries conveniently departing from the Central Florida while enjoying a wide range of dining, bar and entertainment innovations that were added as part of the line’s Fun Ship 2.0 product enhancement program.

Carnival Liberty joins the totally transformed Carnival Sunshine, which launched year-round five- to eight-day Caribbean departures from Port Canaveral last month, and Carnival Sensation, offering year-round three- and four-day Bahamas cruises from the Space Coast.

In addition to three different year-round ships each with an exceptional number of features and facilities, vacationers have their choice of an unprecedented 200 cruises a year departing from Port Canaveral visiting 18 tropical islands throughout the Caribbean, Bahamas and Florida – the widest array of cruise lengths, durations and destinations from Central Florida.

“Port Canaveral is one of our fastest-growing homeports and deploying a third year-round ship from the Space Coast is a clear indication of the confidence we have in this important market,” said Gerry Cahill, Carnival president and CEO.  “The dedicated efforts of the Canaveral Port Authority, as well as the outstanding support of our valued travel agent partners, have allowed us to achieve this unprecedented and historic growth,” he added.

According to Port Canaveral CEO John E. Walsh, “Carnival Liberty is Carnival’s third year-round ship and will increase their annual Port Canaveral passenger count to 600,000.  We value the confidence Carnival continues to demonstrate in Port Canaveral and the customer service we provide for both our homeported and port of call ships.  Carnival is a valued business partner and we extend a heartfelt welcome to our community to the captain and crew of the Carnival Liberty.”

Carnival Liberty’s year-round schedule from Port Canaveral encompasses five- to eight-day departures featuring the best the Caribbean, Bahamas and Florida have to offer.  Five-day cruises call at Nassau, Freeport and the private Bahamian island of Half Moon Cay or Key West, while seven-day western Caribbean voyages visit Cozumel, Belize, Mahogany Bay (Isla Roatan) and Costa Maya with week-long eastern Caribbean sailings featuring at St. Thomas, San Juan, Grand Turk and Nassau. Two different eight-day options are offered – a unique eastern Caribbean itinerary featuring Grand Turk, St. Thomas, St. Maarten and San Juan, and a southern Caribbean program visiting Aruba, Curacao or Bonaire, and Grand Turk.

Carnival Liberty has undergone an extensive multi-million-dollar makeover and features a wide range of Fun Ship 2.0 innovations.  

These include exciting bar concepts such as the poolside RedFrog Rum Bar and BlueIguana Tequila Bar, along with the cocktail pharmacy-themed Alchemy Bar and the EA SPORTS Bar where patrons can watch sporting events on a 16-screen video monitor wall or play popular EA SPORTS games. Dining innovations include Guy’s Burger Joint developed in tandem with Food Network star Guy Fieri, and the BlueIguana Cantina, serving authentic burritos and tacos.

Guests can also check out the Punchliner Comedy Club presented by George Lopez with up to 20 family friendly and adult-oriented comedy shows per voyage, as well as signature “Fun Ship” elements such as a 214-foot-long Twister water slide, a Serenity adults-only retreat, a classic American-style steakhouse, a luxurious 14,500-square-foot spa, and fun, supervised activities for kids in three age groups.