Carnival spending half a billion on new Celebration Key island destination

Carnival Cruise Line is investing $500 million in the development of Celebration Key, its new island destination in the Bahamas, according to Josh Weinstein, CEO, speaking on the company’s year-end and fourth quarter earnings call.

Carnival plans to send 18 Carnival ships to the private Bahamas destination, working the port into itineraries as soon as its ready in 2025, he added.

“We began construction on Celebration Key which will be the largest and closest exclusive destination in our destination portfolio and a real game changer for Carnival Cruise Line,” Weinstein said.

“We’ll bring 18 Carnival ships departing from nine homeports to Celebration Key and while we are still about 1.5 years from going live we are already ramping up the awareness and excitement around the fantastic destination,” he added.

“We’ve also started the process for a significant upside in guest traffic at Half Moon Cay, our exclusive and beautiful pristine island destination in the Bahamas, with the creation of a pierside berth that can accommodate even our largest vessels.”

Celebration Key will offer a uniquely Bahamian experience with a range of amenities, including a one-mile stretch of white-sand beach as well as retail, food and beverage options for guests to enjoy.

The island’s cruise pier will be able to accommodate up to two of Carnival’s Excel Class ships at the same time, with up to two million guests per year visiting annually.

Although Carnival already offers several private destinations in the Caribbean, they are all part of the portfolio of other cruise brands in the Carnival Corporation fleet, such as Half Moon Cay for Holland America and Princess Cays for Princess Cruises.

Celebration Key is the first port destination that’s been exclusively designed for Carnival Cruise Line and is located on the south coast of the island of Grand Bahama, some 20 miles east of Freeport.

The cruise line will be offering more than 500 itineraries calling at the new island destination in 2025 and 2026. Carnival Celebration, Carnival Horizon, Carnival Magic, Carnival Conquest and Carnival Sunrise will visit from PortMiami, while Mardi Gras, Carnival Vista, Carnival Freedom and Carnival Glory will offer itineraries to Celebration Key from their homeport in Port Canaveral. 

Carnival Elation will have sailings to the destination port from Jacksonville, while Carnival Paradise will also visit Celebration Key from Tampa.

Dream and Carnival Legend will sail to Celebration Key from Galveston; while Carnival Liberty will sail from New Orleans. 

Carnival Pride, Carnival Sunshine and Carnival Spirit will also offer itineraries to Celebration Key from Baltimore, Norfolk and Mobile, respectively.