Carnival Cruise Line opened its newest private destination on July 19, the 65-acre Celebration Key on Grand Bahama. Among the attractions are 275,000 square feet of freshwater lagoons, a 10-story sandcastle-like structure with racing waterslides and what Carnival says is the world's largest swim-up bar. The cruise line's president, Christine Duffy, sailed on the first cruise to visit the destination. She spoke with cruise editor Teri West aboard the Carnival Vista prior to the ribbon cutting.
Christine Duffy
Q: How does it feel to reach this moment with Celebration Key?
A: I'm really excited. We had a big event there prior to the official opening; I wasn't there, but it's not the same as actually being the first ship and having guests experience it. So I'm really excited and looking forward to that and hearing their feedback. I think people are going to be really excited and happy, and it's just a game-changer for us.
Q: What has the interest level looked like for Celebration Key, and how do you expect that to build once more people experience it?
A: We've been really happy with the demand that we've seen for the itineraries that include Celebration Key before it was open and all of the marketing and photographs were mainly renderings or CGI. So we would expect, based on the guests experiencing it and things on social media with the real pictures and real vacationers having a blast at Celebration Key, that more and more people will want to be visiting and choosing cruises that include Celebration Key. It's 20 ships from 10 different homeports that will be visiting, so it's a lot of our fleet that will be able to experience Celebration Key.
Q: What do you think this destination adds to the Carnival Cruise Line brand?
A: It gives us an exclusive destination that's pretty close to a lot of the places that our ships sail from. And I think it's something that we've been waiting for a long time to have. We have other exclusive destinations, but nothing that's to this scale and size and the opportunity to expand beyond this phase one opening.
I think it is really the sort of centerpiece for the company of our exclusive destinations. Mahogany Bay, which is being renamed Isla Tropicale, it's also a beautiful place, but we can't bring as many ships there as we can bring to Celebration Key.
Q: What do you think it'll mean for brand loyalty?
A: I feel like we also have a lot of first-time cruisers that sail with us, and so they're pretty happy today with the places that we go. I think this just becomes the cherry on top.
Q: How does Celebration Key make a difference for Carnival Cruise Line competitively, for keeping up with what other cruise lines are doing?
A: Obviously, many of the cruise lines have private destinations that have been built over time, whether it's Royal Caribbean's Perfect Day at Coco-Cay, or NCL has a place, MSC has a place.
Every brand is very unique and has its own vibe, and I think Celebration Key reflects Carnival Cruise Line and our vibe and what we think that our guests want.