Cruises to return to Jaxport as Carnival sets sail (Courtesy of the Jacksonville Business Journal) — Carnival Cruise Line will resume operations from Jacksonville, launching a five-day cruise to the Bahamas.
When the Carnival Spirit sets sail, it will be the first time in nearly two years a major cruise line has departed from Jaxport.
Cruise lines have seen success elsewhere in the state, with passenger counts increasing as voyages returned late last year.
Toward the end of 2021, Port Canaveral — the largest cruise port in the state — said it expects to see 779 cruise ships with the potential of a 6.6 million passenger capacity in 2022, compared to 689 ships with a capacity of 5 million passengers in 2019.
The increase in interest had Carnival speed up its return to Canaveral, moving the return of the Carnival Liberty into January, ahead of what had been a planned February launch.
The return to Jacksonville is in line with what the company announced in November. It comes almost exactly two years after the Centers for Disease Control issued a No Sail order at the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic.
However, the vessel being used will be somewhat larger than what Carnival had said in November would set sail: The Carnival Spirit has room for 2,124 passengers, slightly more than the 2,056 that could fit in the previously announced Carnival Ecstasy.
Photo courtesy of Carnival Cruises