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Carnival to add a fourth ship, Radiance, in Galveston

carnival radiance
Carnival Radiance will launch a new schedule of five- to 14-day voyages from Galveston beginning May 14, 2021
Building on its leading position in Texas, Carnival Cruise Line plans to homeport four ships at Galveston year-round with the addition of Carnival Radiance in 2021.

Carnival Breeze to return from Canaveral

Plus, Carnival Breeze will return to Galveston from Port Canaveral, becoming the newest and largest ship to operate a short cruise program from the Texas port. Carnival Dream will shift to six- and eight-day Caribbean voyages while Carnival Vista will continue its weeklong Caribbean cruises.

Bookings for all the Galveston-based sailings open today.

With these four ships, Carnival will carry an estimated 900,000 passengers annually from Galveston — more than any other cruise operator — on 235 five- to 14-day sailings a year.

‘With these enhancements, we’re providing our guests with more voyages, more destinations and more choices from Texas than ever before,’ Carnival President Christine Duffy said.

Carnival Radiance

Carnival Radiance will launch a new schedule of five- to 14-day voyages beginning May 14, 2021. Five-day cruises depart Sundays and feature Cozumel and Progreso or Costa Maya.

Three different nine-day options departing Fridays will be offered. One calls at Cozumel, Limón (Costa Rica), and sails a partial Panama Canal transit or visits Colón (Panama); another stops at Key West, Grand Turk, Half Moon Cay and Nassau, and the third goes to Grand Cayman, Mahogany Bay (Roatán), Belize, Costa Maya and Cozumel.

Two eight-port, 14-day ‘Carnival Journeys’ visit top destinations throughout the Caribbean, Central and South America and the Panama Canal. Departures are Oct. 24, 2021, and Jan. 16, 2022.

$200m transformation

Next year Carnival Victory will undergo a $200m bow-to-stern transformation to emerge as Carnival Radiance. The 38-day renovation will add all of the line’s food, beverage and entertainment innovations. These include Guy’s Pig & Anchor Bar-B-Que Smokehouse created by Food Network star Guy Fieri, Cucina del Capitano family-style Italian restaurant, Bonsai Sushi, Caribbean-inspired RedFrog Pub and the first Big Chicken restaurant created by Carnival’s Chief Fun Officer, Shaquille O’Neal.

All of the ship’s spaces will be transformed including the water park, youth facilities, retail shops, Cloud 9 Spa and a new Liquid Lounge, home to Carnival’s high-tech Playlist Productions shows.

Carnival Radiance will reposition to Galveston with a 12-day ‘Carnival Journeys’ Panama cruise departing Port Canaveral May 2 and arriving May 14, 2021.

Short cruises on Carnival Breeze

Carnival Breeze will become the newest and largest ship to operate a short cruise itinerary from Galveston when it kicks off a year-round four- and five-day program there on May 5, 2021. Departing Thursdays, four-day ‘long weekend’ cruises visit Cozumel, while five-day voyages sail Mondays and Saturday, with stops at Cozumel and Progreso or Costa Maya.

Longer sailings on Carnival Dream, Carnival Vista

Carnival Dream will shift to its new six- and eight-day schedule from Galveston beginning May 8, 2021. Six-day cruises visit Costa Maya, Cozumel and Belize or Mahogany Bay. Eight-day cruises feature Key West, Freeport, Half Moon Cay and Nassau.

Carnival Freedom to redeploy

Carnival Freedom, which currently operates this itinerary, will be deployed to another homeport to be announced shortly.

Carnival Vista will also continue its weeklong program with two different three-port, seven-day western Caribbean options that stop at Mahogany Bay, Belize and Cozumel or Grand Cayman, Cozumel and Ocho Rios or Montego Bay.