Carnival Cruise Line has announced that it will homeport a ship in San Diego for the first time in seven years. Carnival Miracle will operate a winter schedule of three- to 15-day voyages from the Port of San Diego from December 2019 to February 2020.
Carnival's announcement coincided with a "Humor for Heroes" event in San Diego for more than 500 service members and their families. Carnival partnered with Operation Homefront to host the stand-up comedy performance at Naval Base Point Loma.
Actor and comedian Adam Devine headlined the show. Devine starts in Comedy Central's Workaholics and also plays the role of Andy on ABC's Modern Family. Devine has also performed overseas with the USO.
Carnival has always maintained a strong connection to the military, the line's president, Christine Duffy, tells TravelPulse.
"We carry more active and retired military personnel than any other cruise operator," she said.
Duffy recently participated in the Joint Civilian Orientation Course, known as JCOC. Now in its 88th year, JCOC is the oldest public liaison program in the Department of Defense. Participants attend Pentagon briefings and visit troops as guests of the Secretary of Defense.
"The department of defense selects business leaders and community leaders to come together to be embedded in all branches of the military. We used military transport and were able to spend a full day with several branches. We went to Charleston to be with the Coast Guard, to Parris Island with the Marines, to Ft. Hood with the Army and Ft. Bragg with the special forces. It was an incredible experience that really gave me an appreciation for their service," said Duffy.
San Diego, of course, has a strong military sector. Duffy notes that the line offers military rates. She also predicts that the San Diego deployment will attract interest from several western states.
Carnival Miracle will commence its San Diego program with a seven-day Mexican Riviera cruise departing Dec. 1, 2019. She will also sail two Carnival Journeys voyages to Hawaii. The 14 and 15-day itineraries depart Dec. 8, 2019 and Jan. 17, 2020.
Two five-day Mexico cruises spend two days in Cabo San Lucas and depart on Dec. 22, 2019 and Jan. 12, 2020. Two three-day getaways call on Ensenada, taking place on Dec. 27, 2019 and Jan. 3, 2020.
A four-day New Year's Baja Mexico cruise departs San Diego on Dec. 30, 2019. A six-day cruise that includes two days in Cabo San Lucas and a day-long call in Ensenada departs Jan. 6, 2020.
Capping off the San Diego deployment is a 13-day Panama Canal Carnival Journeys cruise. It departs San Diego Feb. 1 and arrives in Miami on Feb. 14, 2020.
"The number of different itineraries from San Diego are giving people lots of options. We have short and long cruises and everything in between. We also have options for people who haven't been able to take a full week off. We think it's going to do very well," said Duffy.
She adds, "Don't forget that San Diego is a great destination in and of itself."
The line's west coast presence will also kick into high gear with the arrival of the Carnival Panorama in 2019. The new vessel will homeport year-round in Long Beach.
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