Carnival Cruise Line announced today that it will resume regular calls to Grand Bahama beginning this Friday, Oct. 11, when Carnival Pride will dock in Freeport. Carnival Elation will follow on Sunday, Oct. 13 and Carnival Freedom on Tuesday, Oct. 15.
Carnival Pride departed Baltimore on Sunday, Oct. 6 on a week-long cruise with nearly 2,400 guests. All told between now and the end of the year, Carnival Cruise Line expects to host 39 calls in Freeport, bringing more than 100,000 visitors to the destination and providing a significant impact to the local economy. For the full year, over 400,000 guests will visit Grand Bahama on a Carnival cruise vacation aboard 10 different ships sailing from nine U.S. homeports.
“Carnival Cruise Line is proud to be such a big year-round supporter for cruise tourism to Freeport so we are very excited to provide our guests the opportunity to again visit this popular destination,” said Terry Thornton, Carnival’s senior vice president of nautical and port operations. “Cruise ship visits are important to the local economy and our shore excursion team has been working closely with local tour operators and has confirmed a variety of attractive onshore excursions for our guests.”
More than 15 shore excursions will be offered, including The All Inclusive Beach Club; A Select Retreat with Beach and Water Toys; and the VIP Luxury Sail, to name just a few.
Added Senator James Kwasi Malik Thompson, minister of state for Grand Bahama, “The rebuilding of Grand Bahama has begun. We welcome the return of Carnival Cruise Line back to Grand Bahama after Hurricane Dorian. Carnival is an incredible partner for the Bahamas and Grand Bahama.”
On Monday, Carnival Ecstasy arrived in Freeport to undergo an extensive 12-day dry dock at the Grand Bahama shipyard, becoming the first cruise ship to utilize the facility since Hurricane Dorian.
The company’s relief efforts include a $2 million pledge from Carnival Corporation and the Micky and Madeleine Arison Family Foundation, as well as relief shipments delivered by Carnival Cruise Line ships and via a partnership with Tropical Shipping. Carnival employees and guests have also donated well over $500,000 through online giving tools and collections on embarkation day and onboard.