Carnival Cruise Line said its ships will make greater use of
Princess Cays, starting in May 2017.
The Bahamian island was developed by Princess Cruises prior
to the acquisition of Princess by Carnival Corp. in 2003.
Carnival said that six of its ships will make calls at
Princess Cays, with 40 calls scheduled this year and 98 next year.
Princess Cays will be featured on some seven-day cruises from
Baltimore aboard the Carnival Pride, five-day voyages from Charleston on the
Carnival Ecstasy, eight-day sailings from Fort Lauderdale on the Carnival
Conquest, five-day voyages from Jacksonville on the Carnival Elation, four-day voyages
from Port Canaveral on the Carnival Liberty, and four-day cruises from Miami aboard
the Carnival Sensation.
The announcement comes even as Carnival Cruise Line is
negotiating for use of a beach area in Grand Bahama to develop its own
destination. In comments before the christening of the Seabourn Encore in
Singapore last week, Carnival Corp. chairman Micky Arison said the deal was "very,
very close" to being finalized.
Carnival Corp. also owns Half Moon Cay in the Bahamas, which
is used primarily by Holland America Line. Carnival Corp. developed the Grand
Turk Cruise Center in the nearby Turks & Caicos islands in 2006.