Carnival Paradise Tampa return makes 22 Fun Ships in service

Carnival Paradise joins Carnival Pride, which restarted Tampa operations Nov. 12 as the second of two ships that sail year-round from Port Tampa Bay.

To commemorate the return and celebrate Carnival’s 50th birthday, the Carnival Paradise team greeted the first passengers to embark with a special 'getting back to fun' welcome. The ship departed on a five-day cruise to Mahogany Bay (Roatán) and Cozumel.

Four-, five- and six-day cruises

Carnival Paradise will operate four-, five- and six-day cruises to destinations including Key West, Costa Maya, Cozumel, Mahogany Bay, Montego Bay, Belize and Grand Cayman.

200,000 passengers a year from Tampa

Carnival began service from Tampa in 1994, and the 28,000 passengers a year at its start has grown nearly ten-fold, as the line now offers nearly 200 sailings from there that will carry more than 200,000 passengers annually.

Carnival plans to have its entire fleet back in service by May when Carnival Splendor begins Alaska cruises from Seattle.