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Carnival mixes it up with longer cruises from Baltimore and San Juan, plus Bermuda jaunts

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Carnival Pride at Baltimore
For the first time, Carnival Pride will operate a series of 10- to 14-day Caribbean cruises round-trip from Baltimore and one-way between Baltimore and San Juan, as well as new five-day Bermuda cruises and six- and eight-day Caribbean/Bahamas voyages, beginning in October 2015.

Customers and travel agents have been seeking more varied  options from the Northeast—particularly longer voyages, according to Carnival president and ceo Gerry Cahill. The new cruises give abundant five- to 14-day choices to a range of destinations throughout the Caribbean, Bahamas and Bermuda.

Carnival Pride will sail 10-, 11- and 14-day cruises round-trip from Baltimore or one-way between Baltimore and San Juan in 2015 and 2016. The offerings include an 11-day southern Caribbean cruise from Baltimore to San Juan on Jan. 17, 2016, with stops at Grand Turk, Aruba, Curaçao, Bonaire and St. Croix; a 10-day eastern Caribbean cruise from San Juan to Baltimore departing Jan. 28, 2016, calling at St. Thomas, Antigua, Dominica, St. Lucia, St. Kitts and St. Maarten; and a 14-day eastern Caribbean cruise round-trip from Baltimore March 13, 2016, featuring eight islands: Grand Turk, San Juan, St. Thomas, Dominica, St. Lucia, Martinique, Antigua and St. Maarten.

Carnival Pride will also offer two five-day Bermuda cruises, one departing Oct. 26, 2015, and another April 10, 2016. These spend two full days at the Royal Naval Dockyard's Heritage Wharf.

Additionally, three six-day Bahamas cruises round-trip from Baltimore and calling at Freeport and Nassau are on tap. These sail Nov. 30 and Dec. 20, 2015, and Feb. 14, 2016, giving a short option from the port.             

Carnival Pride will also introduce eastern Caribbean voyages from Baltimore and featuring Grand Turk, Half Moon Cay and Nassau. Departures are Oct. 18 and 31, and Dec. 26, 2015, and Feb. 20 and April 15 and 23, 2016.

A special six-day East Coast US and Bahamas cruise from Baltimore features the line’s first scheduled transit call at Charleston, S.C., as well as Port Canaveral, Nassau and Freeport. Sailing date is Nov. 22, 2015.

This fall, Carnival Pride will undergo a multimillion-dollar upgrade to add dining, bar and entertainment innovations that are part of the line’s Fun Ship 2.0 product enhancement initiative.

New features will include Guy’s Burger Joint, developed in tandem with Food Network star Guy Fieri, the cocktail pharmacy-themed Alchemy Bar, BlueIguana Cantina serving authentic Mexican fare, EA SPORTS Bar with a 16-monitor video wall and 24/7 sports ticker, and two poolside watering holes, RedFrog Rum Bar and BlueIguana Tequila Bar.

From a technical standpoint, the ship will gain exhaust gas scrubbers.