Part Two: Which Cruise Is Right For You?

Now that you've decided who will be sailing with you, the next decision you’ll want to make is which cruise is right for you. Carnival has so many options.  It’s impossible to make a bad choice! We just want to make sure you know all the choices available to you! So let’s start breaking them down!

Carnival offers 15 departure ports (you’ll also see them referred to as embarkation ports) in the United States.  This means that half of all U.S. residents are within a 5-hour drive of a departure port!

            There are many exciting cruises sailing from each departure port so we suggest picking one that is close to home for your first cruise! Let's check out where you can sail from each port!   

            We’re going to organize the departure ports and their respective ports of call into geographic regions. 

 Let’s begin with the Northeast.

·  Baltimore

      o   Bahamas, Bermuda, and Caribbean

            §  Nassau, Freeport, Half Moon Cay, King’s Wharf, and Grand Turk

·  Boston

      o   Canada

            §  Saint John (New Brunswick, Canada), Halifax (Nova Scotia, Canada), and Sydney (Nova Scotia, Canada)

·  New York

      o   Bahamas, Bermuda, Canada, and Caribbean

            §  Port Canaveral, Nassau, Freeport, Half Moon Cay, King’s Wharf, St. John (New Brunswick, Canada), Halifax (Nova Scotia, Canada), San Juan, St. Thomas, and Grand Turk

Transatlantic cruises and cruises through the Panama Canal are also offered out of New York, but due to their length, we recommend them for experienced cruisers.

If you’re closer to the Mid-Atlantic Coast:

·  Charleston
      o   Bahamas and Caribbean
            §  Nassau, Freeport, Key West, Grand Turk, and Half Moon Cay
·  Norfolk, Virginia
      o   Bahamas
            §  Nassau and Freeport

   
If Florida is most convenient for you:
·  Fort Lauderdale
      o   Caribbean

            §  Key West, Grand Cayman, Jamaica, San Juan, St. Maarten, St. Thomas, Antigua, Tortola, St. Kitts, Dominican Republic, Curacao, and Aruba.

·  Jacksonville
      o   Bahamas
            §  Freeport, Nassau, Half Moon Cay, and Key West
·  Miami
      o   Bahamas and Caribbean

             §  Nassau, Key West, Freeport, Half Moon Cay, Grand Turk, Cozumel,

Costa Maya, Belize, Jamaica, Grand Cayman, Belize, Isla Roatan, St. Thomas,

St. Maarten, St. Kitts, San Juan, Dominican Republic, Tortola, Antigua, Curacao, and Aruba.

·  Port Canaveral
      o   Bahamas and Caribbean

            §  Key West, Nassau, Freeport, Half Moon Cay, Cozumel, Belize, Costa Maya, 

Isla Roatan, St. Thomas, and St. Maarten.

·  Tampa
      o   Bahamas and Caribbean
            §  Belize, Costa Maya, Cozumel, Grand Cayman, and Isla Roatan.
 
Stay with us here! We know this is a lot of info at once, but what could be more fun than researching the incredible destinations you’re getting ready to visit?

Perhaps, the Gulf Coast is closer to you:

·  Galveston
      o   Caribbean
            §  Progreso, Cozumel, Jamaica, Grand Cayman, Key West, Freeport, and Nassau.
·  New Orleans
      o Caribbean

           § Progreso, Belize, Cozumel, Jamaica, Grand Cayman, Key West, Freeport, 

Isla Roatan, and Nassau.

The West Coast offers:

·  Los Angeles
      o   Mexico
            §  Catalina, Ensenada, Cabo San Lucas, and Puerto Vallarrta. 
We should mention that cruises to Hawaii and South America also depart from Los Angeles.  These cruises are over ten days, and again, we recommend them for experienced cruisers!

·  San Diego
      o   Pacific Coast, Baja Mexico, and the Mexican Riviera
            §  Vancouver (British Columbia, Canada), Cabo San Lucas, Manzanillo, Puerto Vallarta, and Ensenada.
·  Seattle
      o   Alaska
            §  Juneau, Glacier Bay, Skagway, Ketchikan, the Inside Passage, and Victoria British Columbia, Canada).

          Each departure port offers 2-5, 6-10, or 10-plus day cruises.  The ports of call that you visit will be determined by the length of cruise that you are interested in and the time of year that you choose to sail.  We recommend that your first cruise be less than 7 days.  This will give you enough time to experience everything that Carnival has to offer.  Once you’ve decided that cruising is the best way to travel (and we feel confident that one cruise will have you hooked) n you will have fun exploring the longer cruises that Carnival offers!