Carnival Freedom has been welcomed at Port Canaveral for the first time as the ship begins sailings to the Caribbean and The Bahamas. The Carnival cruise ship is now the fourth ship in the fleet to currently homeport from one of the busiest cruise ports in the world.
Carnival Freedom Welcomed at Port Canaveral
The Conquest-class vessel arrived at Port Canaveral, Florida, on April 21 for the very first time. The Carnival cruise ship arrived to begin her inaugural sailing from the port out of Terminal 6. Carnival Freedom will homeport at Port Canaveral year-round.
To mark the historic event with the ship docking at the port, port executives presented Carnival Freedom Capt. Josip Mladina with a plaque commemorating the cruise ship’s first visit to Port Canaveral.
“We’re excited to welcome Carnival Freedom to the fleet of Carnival cruise ships homeported at Port Canaveral,” stated Capt. John Murray, Port CEO. “Her arrival adds even more quality cruise sailings available from our Port. We’re very proud of our longstanding partnership with Carnival Cruise Line, and our collective efforts to provide an exceptional cruising experience.“
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Carnival Freedom’s inaugural voyage from the port is a four-day Bahamas cruise, including calls at Nassau and Princess Cays, before returning home on Thursday, April 25.
The vessel will continue to offer four- and five-night itineraries to The Bahamas and the Eastern Caribbean. Sailings include visits to Nassau, Princess Cays, Bimini, Freeport, Amber Cove, Grand Turk, and Carnival’s private island of Half Moon Cay.
“Having Carnival Freedom join Mardi Gras, Carnival Liberty and Carnival Magic sailing from Port Canaveral to The Bahamas and Eastern Caribbean offers yet another option for our guests to enjoy all the fun a Carnival cruise offers from one of our most popular homeports,” said Christine Duffy, president of Carnival Cruise Line.
“This is an exciting time for Carnival, as we just reached the milestone of our biggest booking week ever and the celebration of our 50th birthday. Our return to full guest operations continues to be successful thanks to our loyal guests and valued partners, like the team at Port Canaveral.”
Four Carnival Cruise Ships From Port Canaveral
Carnival Freedom becomes the fourth ship in the fleet to be homeporting from Port Canaveral. The vessel joins Mardi Gras, Carnival Magic and Carnival Liberty.
Mardi Gras has been based from the port ever since first sailing on July 31, 2021. She is currently the largest ship in the fleet and is powered by LNG. The port can offer LNG refueling capabilities thanks to a new articulated tug and barge (ATB), named Q4K for short at Terminal 3.
Carnival Liberty started sailing from the port in January after spending five weeks sailings from Miami to take over Carnival Horizon cruises. The ship is offering three-day and four-day sailings to The Bahamas.
Carnival Magic has also been operating from Port Canaveral since first resuming guest operations on August 7, 2021. The Dream-class ship is offering a range of Caribbean itineraries and will then reposition to Norfolk, Virginia, in May.
Carnival Freedom will be a good addition to options from the port at 110,000 gross tons and a guest capacity of 2,980 at double occupancy. The ship offers guests favorites such as Guy’s Burger Joints, the Alchemy Bar, RedFrog Rum Bar, and more.
