Carnival Cruise Line is celebrating its 50th birthday through 2022, and it has also marked 50 years of visiting The Bahamas, one of the most popular cruise destinations. Officials from the cruise line and The Bahamas celebrated in Nassau.
50 Years of Carnival Ship Visits to The Bahamas
It’s been 50 years of Carnival cruise ships visiting ports in The Bahamas, a significant milestone during the cruise line’s 50th birthday. Carnival Cruise Line President Christine Duffy and Bahamas Prime Minister The Honourable Philip Brave Davis, along with other officials, celebrated in Nassau.
An event was held in Pompey Square that included The Royal Bahamas Defence Force marching Band, Bahamian singer Simmone Bowe, spoken word artist Joniel Juene and music from a traditional Bahamian Junkanoo Band. As expected, there was a 50th birthday cake for the cruise line too.
“We are so proud of achieving five decades of partnership with The Bahamas to bring fun and joyful vacations to guests from across the globe, and we thank the Bahamian people and their government and industry leaders for their support of and collaboration with Carnival,” said Christine Duffy, president of Carnival Cruise Line.
“Since the company’s founding in 1972, Carnival Cruise Line and The Bahamas have enjoyed a valuable and long-standing partnership that today sees two million guests annually arrive at five ports of call in The Bahamas, including Nassau, Freeport, Half Moon Cay, Princess Cays and Bimini.”
Close Partnership wi The Bahamas
The event shows the strong partnership between Carnival Cruise Line and The Bahamas, including through the difficult times of the pandemic and in Hurricane relief efforts. There have also been local initiatives such as Scholarships for Cadets, and the cruise line did present a contribution of $50,000 to the LJM Maritime Academy for specialized equipment to support cadet education.
“Carnival, the oceans have beckoned you these 50 years and you have answered the call by providing superior service; a few firsts, including the first three- and four-day Bahamas cruises; and fun and entertainment for the entire family on your signature ships emblazoned with your unmistakable red, white and blue. Thank you for your continued partnership,” said The Honourable Philip Davis, Prime Minister of The Bahamas.
Parent company Carnival Corporation is also finalizing needed permits and approvals to develop two significant developments. One project is a new cruise port mainly for Carnival Cruise Line with a $200 million investment on Grand Bahama island. The second project has an investment of $100 million at the award-winning private island of Half Moon Cay, mainly used by Holland America Line and Carnival Cruise Line.
As part of Carnival’s 50th birthday festivities, six Carnival ships met up at sea the day before on March 9, known as sailabration cruises. The vessels met between Eleuthera and Nassau and included the Carnival Conquest, Carnival Spirit, Carnival Freedom, Carnival Legend, Carnival Liberty and Carnival Sunshine.
Read Also: Carnival President Shares Message on Cruise Line’s 50th Birthday
Carnival Cruise Line started operations in 1972 with the original Mardi Gras out of PortMiami, Florida. Since then, the Miami-based cruise line has grown to 23 ships carrying more than six million guests annually and employing 40,000 team members from 120 different nations.
