Carnival Cruise Line will sail from Jacksonville on Monday for the first time in nearly two years.
The Carnival Spirit ship will depart JAXPORT for a five-day cruise to Nassau and Princess Cays, Bahamas.
Carnival cruises were sidelined in Jacksonville in March 2020 after COVID-19 outbreaks struck ships around the world.
Carnival plans a ceremony at 10:30 a.m. Monday featuring Vice President of Guest Operations Sarah Beth Reno and JAXPORT Chair Wendy Hamilton. Spirit is scheduled to depart at 5 p.m.
Monday also will mark the start of Carnival's 50th anniversary observance.
Spirit is 963-foot-long ship with capacity for 2,124 guests and a crew of 930. It was completed in 2001 and refurbished in 2015.
In April, Carnival will move the Carnival Elation from Port Canaveral to replace Spirit in Jacksonville. The Elation is 3 years older but was refurbished in 2020. It has a capacity of 2,190 guests and 900 crew.
The bigger Carnival Freedom will move from Miami to Port Canaveral to replace Elation.
