Carnival Liberty launches year-round Port Canaveral service

With Carnival Liberty, Carnival Cruise Lines is expected to increase its annual passenger count from Canaveral to 600,000, more than any other cruise operator.

Carnival Liberty will operate varied five-, seven- and eight-day Bahamas and Caribbean itineraries. It was the first in Carnival's fleet to get the Fun Ship 2.0 dining and entertainment enhancements.

Carnival Sunshine operates five- to eight-day cruises and Carnival Sensation sails three- and four-day Bahamas itineraries.

The three year-round ships give a choice of 200 sailings annually, visiting 18 destinations throughout the Caribbean, Bahamas and Florida (Key West).

Carnival president and CEO Gerry Cahill said the deployment shows his line's confidence in Port Canaveral, one of its fastest growing markets. He acknowledged the efforts of the Canaveral Port Authority and travel agents as helping fuel the growth.

'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,' said Port Canaveral CEO John Walsh.

Carnival Liberty's five-day cruises call at Nassau, Freeport and Half Moon Cay or Key West, while seven-day western Caribbean voyages visit Cozumel, Belize, Roatán's Mahogany Bay and Costa Maya. Week-long eastern Caribbean sailings call at St. Thomas, San Juan, Grand Turk and Nassau.

Two different eight-day options are offered—an eastern route featuring Grand Turk, St. Thomas, St. Maarten and San Juan, and a southern program visiting Aruba, Curaçao or Bonaire, and Grand Turk.