Carnival Cruise Line has launched a series of longer itineraries – Carnival Journeys. These unique itineraries will offer one-way or roundtrip cruises of 9 to 15 days and feature ports throughout the Caribbean, Central America, Hawaii, and Mexico. According to Carnival, “guests can experience and explore nearly 40 different tropical destinations, including less visited ports like Tobago, Grenada, La Paz, Martinique, Bonaire, and Ixtapa.”

Carnival-Journeys

Carnival Journeys will also offer unique shipboard experiences including:

Authentic Eats: Partnering with local restaurants and chefs, Carnival Journeys participants can enjoy on­board cooking demonstrations where these culinary artists will re-create their signature dishes and traditional cuisines from their country. Participants will also have an opportunity to dine at the chef’s restaurant ashore for a nominal fee and accompany the chef as he or she visits local markets for delectable regional specialties.

“Local”­tainment: From calypso, soca and Goombay to colorful folkloric entertainment, Carnival Journeys participants will get an up close and personal look at their destination through local entertainment performances taking place outside the ship or on board.

Academy of Fun: Through these educational enrichment sessions, Carnival’s shipboard experts will instruct guests in topics ranging from cooking and arts and crafts to digital photography and social media, even celestial navigation. All of these activities will be performed with the fun and entertaining style that only Carnival can provide.

Throwback Sea Day: Carnival will set the “way back machine” to 1987 and recreate a fun day at sea with retro pool and deck games, old school dining options like Baked Alaska and the gala midnight buffet, a white glove Captain’s Celebration, popular movies from that era, a circa 1987 version of the Carnival Capers shipboard newsletter, and more.

Shipboard Team Member Connections: Here, Carnival Journeys participants can learn more about shipboard life through informative question and answer sessions hosted by the ship’s captain, cruise director, hotel director and others, held at different times throughout the voyage and providing an opportunity to engage and interact with the Carnival team in a fun and casual setting. There will also be an unforgettable show performed by the ship’s crew during the voyage.

The first Carnival Journeys cruise sets sail on October 4, 2015 with Carnival Dream from New Orleans to San Juan. Carnival plans to run the program through November 27, 2016, with cruises from other homeports including Baltimore, Los Angeles, Galveston, Miami, New York, Port Canaveral, and San Juan. Carnival is turning things up in cruise vacationing with Carnival LIVE, onboard concerts from acts like Journey and Styx, and now Carnival Journeys. Carnival Journeys are currently open for booking at carnival.com/journeys.

-MJ, March 7, 2015