Carnival Magic starts year-round departures from Port Canaveral

The invitation-only event was highlighted by the carving of a massive, six-foot-long pulled pork sandwich by officials from Carnival and the port to commemorate the debut of Fieri’s new barbecue venue which was installed during a multi-million-dollar dry dock last month.

The event also included a traditional maritime plaque exchange between Carnival Magic Capt. Antonio Marchetti, Carnival’s vp of commercial port operations Carlos Torres de Navarra and Capt. John Murray, ceo Canaveral Port Authority.

Carnival Magic is joining Carnival Victory and Carnival Valor on year-round departures from Canaveral, as well as the Carnival Sunshine which operates seasonal sailings.

Together, these four ships will carry more than 650,000 guests annually from Port Canaveral on over 200 three- to eight-day cruises a year.

'Port Canaveral is one of our most popular and fastest-growing homeports and we now have four exceptional ships based there offering our most highly-rated guest features, a huge array of staterooms and suites with private balconies and a wide variety of itinerary choices,' said Christine Duffy, president of Carnival Cruise Line.

'For 20-plus years, Carnival Cruise Line has sailed from Central Florida’s port, providing their guests with an enjoyable Fun Ship experience,' Murray said.

The new Fieri-designed barbecue venue was among the many new features added during an extensive makeover that also incorporated the cocktail pharmacy-themed Alchemy Bar, the RedFrog Rum Bar, BlueIguana Tequila Bar, BlueIguana Cantina Mexican eatery and Guy’s Burger Joint, also designed by Fieri.

Carnival Magic departed yesterday on its inaugural cruise from Port Canaveral with a three-day voyage to Nassau and will launch year-round seven-day sailings from April 23, 2016. Carnival Magic will offer two different week-long itineraries from Port Canaveral – a western Caribbean route featuring Cozumel, Belize, Mahogany Bay (Isla Roatan) and Costa Maya, and an eastern Caribbean option calling at St. Thomas, San Juan, Grand Turk and Nassau or Amber Cove.

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