Carnival Cruise Line expects busy summer travel season to bring $21 million economic impact to Jacksonville

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Carnival Elation serves popular Bahamas itineraries, including new exclusive destination Celebration Key, from JAXPORT

Carnival Cruise Line expects a busy summer travel season as it begins sailings to Celebration Key, the cruise line’s exclusive cruise destination in The Bahamas. From July through Labor Day weekend, Celebration Key will welcome more than a dozen Carnival ships – including Carnival Elation which sails from JAXPORT.

“As a key homeport for Carnival Elation and an important gateway to our popular Bahamas itineraries, Jacksonville has been instrumental in bringing the joy of cruising to thousands of guests each year,” said Christine Duffy, president of Carnival Cruise Line. “Its strategic location and strong connection to the vibrant Southeastern U.S. market have made it an important part of our homeport network.”

Carnival Corporation, the cruise line’s parent company, invested about $600 million in Celebration Key, located on the southern side of Grand Bahama. In addition to a mile-long beach, the destination features lagoons, water slides, more than 30 food and beverage venues and an adult-only beach club.

Carnival says it expects strong demand for sailings from its U.S. homeports this summer, with 55,000 guests sailing from JAXPORT to The Bahamas between Memorial Day and Labor Day. Those guests will generate an economic impact of over $21 million for Northeast Florida’s economy. Adding to the fun, these guests are expected to indulge in 95,000 hamburgers and 450,000 servings of ice cream during these summer sailings. (Vacation calories don’t count!)

Over the years, Jacksonville’s popularity as a convenient cruise port has contributed to Carnival’s growth in the city. Last year, a record 206,000 guests set sail from Jacksonville.

“As one of Carnival Cruise Line’s valued homeports, Jacksonville plays an important role in our operations,” said Duffy. “Our homeport strategy focuses on making cruising more accessible and convenient, bringing the Carnival vacation experience closer to home and giving families and friends more opportunities to enjoy time together at sea.”

Carnival Elation plans to continue an array of Bahamas cruise itineraries from Jacksonville with various four- and five-day cruises that include calls to Nassau, Bimini, Half Moon Cay and Princess Cays. Jacksonville was also selected to be among seven cities participating in “meetups” at sea during Carnival’s 55th birthday celebration in 2027.

“Events like the 55th anniversary meetups give us a rare opportunity to bring guests together on multiple Carnival ships, so we’re excited to include Carnival Elation in that celebration,” said Duffy. “Similarly, we’ll have Carnival Elation as one of 10 ships taking part in our meetups that will commemorate America’s 250th birthday next year. Our east coast meetup on July 4, 2026, will bring together seven ships near Celebration Key, with each ship hosting patriotic birthday-themed deck parties. We’re all about creating special moments for our guests, and our ship meetups are a perfect way to elevate those moments to something truly extraordinary.”

More than 3 million passengers have sailed aboard a Carnival ship since the cruise line began sailing from Jacksonville in 2004. To commemorate 20 years of cruising and celebrate the Jacksonville community, the cruise line held in event in 2024 where it honored local veterans and donated a service dog to K9s for Warriors, a Jacksonville-area non-profit organization.

“For over two decades, we’ve been proud to provide unforgettable vacation experiences to guests from Jacksonville while also supporting the local economy and community,” said Duffy. “We look forward to continuing our strong partnership with JAXPORT and sailing many more fun and memorable cruises in the years ahead.”

At the anniversary celebration in Jacksonville, David Candib, Carnival’s vice president of port operations, called Carnival Elation the perfect backdrop for the event, saying Carnival is elated to continue building upon the company’s strong partnership with JAXPORT.

“We greatly appreciate the tremendous relationships we’ve built together over the years throughout the Jacksonville community,” Candib said. “Delivering memorable cruise vacations to three 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, and we’re committed to continue building upon our partnership for years to come.”

Learn more about sailings from Jacksonville here.

Christine Duffy, president of Carnival Cruise Line, leads the cruise line’s fleet of 27 ships that homeport in North America, Europe, Australia, and three others that operate in the South Pacific. Together, they sail nearly six million guests annually and employ more than 52,000 people who hail from 120 nations around the globe.