Carnival Corp. is putting the finishing touches on a new destination for cruise passengers.
Beginning in July, Doral-based Carnival will send ships between PortMiami and Celebration Key, a private development in the Bahamas.
Described by the cruise ship company as "a new destination from the ground up," Celebration Key is on the southern side of Grand Bahama island and about 17 miles northeast of Freeport.
When finished, the resort will have its own pier with two berths where Carnival's largest ships can dock. In 2026, the pier at Celebration Key will add two more berths so a total of four Carnival ships can dock at the same time.
The resort will feature water slides for kids, scuba diving and other sports, and excursions. And there will be restaurants and bars that passengers can reach by walking or swimming.
Costing $600 million, the destination is the latest in major cruise carriers betting big time on private islands or resorts built from the ground up. The new stops give cruisers more beach time, expand group activities, and bring in more money.
Royal Caribbean, also based in Miami, is developing a third private space in Mexico that's expected to be ready in 2027. The company's other two private resorts are in Labadee, Haiti, and Coco Cay in the Bahamas. Norwegian Cruise Line has Great Stirrup Cay, also in the Bahamas.
Carnival is so keen on Celebration Key that 20 of its 27 ships plan to sail there, including all five ships that call PortMiami home: Carnival Celebration, Carnival Horizon, Carnival Sunrise, Carnival Conquest, and Carnival Magic. Ships sailing from Baltimore, New Orleans, and Galveston will also head there this year.
Duffy visited the under-construction Celebration Key in February, along with Carnival Corp. Chief Executive Officer Josh Weinstein and Chief Maritime Officer Lars Ljoen. The cruise executives joined leaders from the organization Plant a Tree and replanted about 1,000 sabal palms, a nod to the role their industry needs to play in increasing sustainability.
Duffy also took part in "the ceremonial filling of one of two expansive freshwater lagoons, the largest in the Caribbean." These will be sustained by Celebration Key's desalination system that converts seawater into freshwater. The lagoons span over seven acres and hold about seven million gallons of water.
Carnival broke ground on the project less than three years ago. About 500 Bahamian workers are on the 65-acre site around the clock to make sure the resort is ready by July.
The cruises from Miami that will stop at Celebration Key range from a three-day weekend cruise on Carnival Conquest to a 13-day trip starting from Barcelona on Carnival Journeys. Carnival Celebration will offer a variety of seven-day cruises to the eastern and western Caribbean that stop at the new resort.
The resort expects to have more than 30 restaurants and bars, from full-service sit-downs to self-ordering food trucks.
The development is broken down into different areas.
Paradise Plaza is the welcoming area. Starfish Lagoon has recreation and relaxation. Calypso Lagoon has an adult-only area with a DJ island and a large swim-up bar. Pearl Cove Beach Club is a premium adult-only space with an infinity pool and beachfront cabanas. Pearl Cove Beach Club will offer beachfront daybeds, private cabanas, and Super Villas, each of which includes access to the club's open bar service, infinity pool, full-service restaurant, and beachfront.