Several cruise lines such as Princess Cruises, Costa Cruises, and Holland America Line have traditionally offered 10-day, two-week, and even longer cruises. According to industry experts, these kinds of long voyages are gaining in popularity – and other major cruise lines are heeding the call.
Early this March, Carnival Cruise Line announced plans to provide a special program of nine- to 15-day vacations. Known as Carnival Journeys, the eagerly anticipated slate of sailings aims to introduce passengers to an array of lesser-known destinations, as well as a host of brand-new onboard entertainment options for vacationers looking for an extended cruise experience.
Carnival has long been recognized for its Fun Ship philosophy, and many relatively short three- to eight-day itineraries, especially to popular destinations such as Bermuda, the Bahamas, and well-known Caribbean islands like Jamaica and St. Thomas. The new Carnival Journeys program breaks the company mold. After listening to longtime customers, the cruise line created the initiative in response to passengers’ desire to visit more exotic destinations and to enjoy cultural experiences unavailable on shorter cruises – and to do so with characteristic Carnival fun and affordability.
The Carnival Journeys trips will embark from some of the nation’s busiest home ports on the East, West, and Gulf Coasts. From there, the ships, including some of the company’s newest and most advanced, will visit a variety of destinations throughout the Caribbean or the Pacific. While popular ports of call are found on these itineraries, so are a number of less familiar ones, such as Bonaire in the Caribbean, Ixtapa and La Paz in Mexico.
In addition, Carnival’s program will feature thoughtful new onboard experiences and shore excursions to complement the exotic destinations. Authentic Eats, for example, will bring aboard local chefs to prepare genuine food and drink from ports of call and will even offer shore excursions allowing passengers to sample still more local fare at the chefs’ own restaurants. The Academy of Fun promises to mix excitement with education through engaging lectures and enrichment activities on a variety of topics ranging from navigation to social media. Many other special activities are also planned for these long cruises, which means that guests of the Carnival Journeys program will hardly lack for memorable things to do.
