187 Located on the south side of Grand Bahama island, Celebration Key will open in 2025 and offer a one mile-long white-sand beach, freshwater lagoons, dining venues, Bahamian shops and more Photo: Carnival Cruise Line in the US homeports of PortMiami (Carnival Celebration), Port Canaveral (Mardi Gras) and, most recently, the Port of Galveston (Carnival Jubilee). All three were the first to bunker using LNG in each port, following significant investment from Carnival. For example, Terminal 25 in Galveston underwent a $53 million upgrade. The brand is not stopping here, however. “We are looking for opportunities to find LNG capability elsewhere,” says Savino. Carnival is also investing in new destinations, including Celebration Key, which is due to open in July 2025. This is the first time the brand has built its own private destination. “We have more than 550 sailings open on 18 ships from 10 US and one transatlantic homeport (Barcelona in Spain),” says Savino. “We want as many people to enjoy it as possible.” Built on Grand Bahama in partnership with The Bahamas, Celebration Key is just one example of Carnival’s increasing collaboration with the communities it visits. “We always try to cooperate and reach out to local destinations, when necessary and possible, to explain both the value we bring to those communities and what we do onboard the ships to minimise our environmental impact,” says Savino. “We try to ensure we are welcome guests in the communities we visit. This requires a proactive approach.” Collaboration also helps the brand to tackle possible port congestion issues, which is crucial for a cruise line operating a fleet of 27 ships sailing 1,500 voyages worldwide annually. “We have at least three years of inventory open at any one time, meaning we are managing almost 5,000 sailings,” says Savino. “If you add ports of call and homeports, we are talking about roughly 18,000 to 19,000 calls at any one time.” He explains that Carnival must “start thinking about congestion in a different way”. “It is becoming very difficult to properly secure the ports we need, and sometimes miscommunications happen. It is a challenge. It is part of the conversation we are having with the communities. We’re trying to find ways to make the process more efficient and effective.” Carnival is one of many operators facing these challenges and asking ports to publish calendars. “I don’t need to “ We are committed to ensuring our itineraries are always fresh, new and fun”
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