Carnival Cruise Line has celebrated its 25th anniversary sailing from the Port of Tampa with a reception and luncheon aboard the Carnival Legend highlighted by the presentation of a commemorative plaque from Carnival President Christine Duffy to Port Tampa Bay President and CEO Paul Anderson commemorating the milestone, according to a press release.
Carnival was the first to use Tampa as a year-round cruise homeport when it launched a schedule of seven-day voyages aboard the Tropicale in 1994.
This year, the company has two ships sailing from Tampa and hosting around 240,000 passengers a year – nearly a nine-fold increase compared to 25 years ago.
“Tampa is a convenient, centrally located homeport – not to mention a popular vacation destination – and the growth that we’ve experienced at this port is a testament to the wonderful partnership with the Port we’ve enjoyed for the past 25 years,” said Christine Duffy, president of Carnival Cruise Line.
“Carnival Cruise Line is truly the pioneer of modern-day cruising throughout the world and from Port Tampa Bay. We value the long term partnership with Carnival and look forward to many more successful years working with them to provide our guests from throughout Central Florida – and beyond – a great vacation experience.” Anderson said.
The Carnival Legend operates a seasonal schedule of six-, seven-and eight-day cruises featuring top destinations in the western Caribbean, including Cozumel, Costa Maya, Belize, Mahogany Bay, Costa Rica, the Panama Canal and Grand Cayman from Tampa. The ship will also offer a 13-day Carnival Journeys cruise from Tampa to New York May 3-16, 2020, featuring a partial transit of the Panama Canal, along with visits to Aruba, Cozumel, Limon (Costa Rica), Cartagena (Colombia) and Grand Turk.
The Carnival Paradise, which underwent an extensive multi-million-dollar dry dock last year that added all of the line’s Fun Ship 2.0 food, beverage and entertainment options, operates a year-round schedule of four-day cruises to Cozumel and five-day voyages to Cozumel and Grand Cayman or Mahogany Bay departing on Mondays and Saturdays.
