On the heels of celebrating 20 years in Baltimore, Carnival Cruise Line heralded another two-decade partnership with the City of Jacksonville and JAXPORT with a special event on November 7, 2024.
The occasion was held aboard the 71,909-gross-ton Carnival Elation, which has been homeporting in the Northern Florida city since 2016.
Over the past 20 years, more than 3 million passengers have sailed from Jacksonville aboard a Carnival Cruise Line vessel, making it a key hub for the cruise line.
“Carnival Elation is the perfect backdrop for this celebration because we’re elated to recognize the true success of this 20-year partnership,” said David Candib, vice president of port operations for Carnival Cruise Line.
“We greatly appreciate the tremendous relationships we’ve built together over the years throughout the Jacksonville community,” he continued.
Earlier this year, on March 25, Carnival reaffirmed its commitment to the city by signing a new contract with JAXPORT to continue sailing from the port through 2026. The deal includes an option to extend the contract through 2030.
Said Candib, “Delivering memorable cruise vacations to 3 million guests from JAXPORT is proof enough that the potential our company saw in this homeport in 2004 has been a great benefit to our cruise line, our loyal guests, and this community.”
Read Also: Jacksonville Cruise Port – Terminals, Piers, and Transportation
During the ceremony, which took place ahead of the 2,190-passenger ship’s 4-night cruise to the Bahamas, the cruise line welcomed Jacksonville leaders and saluted military veterans in recognition of the upcoming Veterans Day holiday on November 11, 2024.
Joining the fun was canine service dog, Jackson, who was adopted through a donation made by Carnival to K9s for Warriors, which provides highly trained service dogs to veterans.
“One of the great things about Carnival is their desire and willingness to give back to the communities where they operate,” said JAXPORT CEO Eric Green. “We join our partners in thanking all veterans for their service and recognizing K9s for Warriors for their lifesaving work.”
From Miracle to Elation in Jacksonville
Carnival Cruise Line began sailing from Jacksonville with the 88,500-gross-ton, 2,124-passenger Carnival Miracle, which was christened at the port on February 27, 2004.
That same year, the port welcomed the original 42,000-gross-ton Carnival Jubilee, the former cruise ship that was sold to a Chinese-based operator and scrapped in 2016.
But it was the 183,521-gross-ton Carnival Celebration, which also arrived in 2004, that made history, becoming the first Carnival ship to sail year-round from Jacksonville. Offering roundtrip itineraries to the Bahamas, the liner spent four years based at JAXPORT.
Carnival Fascination, which arrived in 2008 with 2,056 passengers, picked up the schedule until Carnival Elation’s arrival. Although briefly replaced by Carnival Ecstasy in 2019, the vessel continues to call Jacksonville home and offers frequent roundtrip voyages to the Bahamas and the Eastern Caribbean.
Currently, Carnival Elation is sailing 4- and 5-night itineraries to Nassau and Carnival Corporation’s private destination Princess Cays in the Bahamas, with 206,000 passengers expected to sail from Jacksonville in 2024 – the most annual passengers in the cruise line’s 20 years in JAXPORT.
Until Norwegian Cruise Line’s Norwegian Gem arrives in November 2025, Carnival Cruise Line is the only major cruise line to base a ship in Jacksonville. However, the port does welcome calls from other cruise lines, including Crystal Cruises and the German-owned Phoenix Reisen.
