Grand Bahama is the northernmost of the islands of the Bahamas, with the town of West End located 56 nautical miles east of Palm Beach, Florida. It is the third largest island in the Bahamas island chain of approximately 700 islands and 2,400 cays. The island is roughly 530 square miles (1,400 km2) in area and approximately 153 kilometres (95 mi) long west to east and 24 kilometres (15 mi) at its widest point north to south. Administratively, the island consists of the Freeport Bonded Area and the districts of East Grand Bahama and West Grand Bahama. Nearly half of the homes on the island were damaged or destroyed in early September 2019 by Hurricane Dorian.
Freeport is a city, district and free trade zone on the island of Grand Bahama of the northwest Bahamas. In 1955, Wallace Groves, a Virginian financier with lumber interests in Grand Bahama, was granted 20,000 hectares of pineyard with substantial areas of swamp and scrubland by the Bahamian government with a mandate to economically develop the area. Freeport has grown to become the second most populous city in the Bahamas.
Carnival Paradise is a Fantasy-class cruise ship operated by Carnival Cruise Line. Built by Kværner Masa-Yards at its Helsinki New Shipyard in Helsinki, Finland, she was floated out on 29 January 1998, and christened as Paradise by Paula Zahn. During 2007, in common with all of her Fantasy-class sisters, she had the prefix Carnival added to her name.
Vasco da Gama is a cruise ship owned by Portuguese company Mystic Invest. Completed in 1993, she previously sailed for Holland America Line as MS Statendam, for P&O Cruises Australia as Pacific Eden and for Cruise & Maritime Voyages as Vasco da Gama. In 2020, following CMV's filing for administration, she was sold by CW Kellock & Co Ltd. at auction to Mystic Cruises' parent company, Mystic Invest for US$10,187,000.
MS Aegean Myth is a cruise ship. The ship previously named Maasdam for Holland America Line. While sailing for Holland America, the vessel operated primarily in North American waters. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic the ship sold to an undisclosed buyer. The ship arrived in July at Piraeus, Greece and was renamed Aegean Myth.
Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville is the name of a United States-based hospitality company that manages and franchises a casual dining American restaurant chain, a chain of stores selling Jimmy Buffett-themed merchandise, and casinos with lodging facilities.
Norwegian Sky is a Sun-class cruise ship owned and operated by Norwegian Cruise Line. She was originally ordered by Costa Cruises as Costa Olympia from the Bremer Vulkan shipyard in Germany, but she was completed in 1999 by the Lloyd Werft shipyard in Bremerhaven, Germany for the Norwegian Cruise Line under the name Norwegian Sky. Between 2004 and 2008, she sailed as Pride of Aloha for NCL America.
MS Bahamas Celebration was a midsize cruise ship formerly operated by Celebration Cruise Line. Between March 2009 and October 2014, she operated two- and three-day cruises from Port Everglades to the Bahamas. In March 2010 she started operating two-day cruises from the Port of Palm Beach.
Aegean Goddess is a cruise ship completed in 1994 and previously sailed for Holland America Line as Ryndam. It was planned that she would sail for Cruise & Maritime Voyages as Ida Pfeiffer from 2021, but that never happened. P&O subsequently sold her to Seajets in 2020.
Carnival Freedom is a Conquest-class cruise ship operated by Carnival Cruise Line. She is the 22nd operating vessel in the fleet, and the last of the Conquest-class ships. The ship was built as part of a four-ship deal with Fincantieri's Marghera shipyard and was launched in Venice, Italy on April 28, 2006. She was delivered to Carnival on February 28, 2007.
Carnival Ecstasy is a Fantasy-class cruise ship operated by Carnival Cruise Line. Built by Kværner Masa-Yards at its Helsinki New Shipyard in Helsinki, Finland, she was floated out on January 6, 1991, and christened Ecstasy by television hostess, entertainer and long time Carnival spokesperson Kathie Lee Gifford. Her inaugural voyage began on April 2, 1991. During 2007, in common with all of her Fantasy-class sisters, she had the prefix Carnival added to her name. With the departure of the Carnival Fantasy in 2020, the Carnival Ecstasy is now the oldest ship in the fleet.
Costa Victoria was a Victoria-class cruise ship launched in 1995 and operated by Costa Cruises, a subsidiary of Carnival Corporation & plc from 1996 until 2020. Built at Bremen, Germany, she was designed to reflect the spirit of Italy, which was enhanced in a 2013 refit. During her service with Costa she operated in many areas, including Asia. In June 2020, in light of the economic impact caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, Costa Victoria was moved to the Port of Piombino, Italy and decommissioned. She was sold in December 2020 for possible conversion to worker's accommodation at a Genoa shipyard, but resold for demolition in Turkey, where she arrived on 28 January 2021.
Antares Experience was a cruise ship completed in 1993 by Fincantieri in Italy as a sister ship to Costa neoClassica. She was refurbished in 2003 and, from 2017, assigned to the Asian market. The ship was sold in 2020 to Celestyal Cruises. It never operated for Celestyal and was sold again and renamed Antares Experience in September 2021. It has since been sold for scrap in late 2021 and is no longer in service.
The Holiday class was the first class of newbuilds for Carnival Cruise Line after their first newbuild, Tropicale, which was completed in 1982. The first ship in the class, the 46,052 gross-ton vessel Holiday, was completed in 1985. A second and slightly larger sister ship, Jubilee, was built in 1986 at 47,262 gross tons. The third and final ship, Celebration, was identical to Jubilee and completed in 1987. All were the biggest ships for Carnival until the Fantasy class was built.
Celebration Cruise Line was a small cruise line that operated two-day voyages out of Port of Palm Beach to Grand Bahama Island. The company was founded in late 2008, and began operations on March 9, 2009. The company moved the ship's operations from Port Everglades to the Port of Palm Beach in March 2010.
Crown Cruise Line was a small, upper-class cruise operator, which was founded by Oddmund Grundstad and Grundstad Maritime Overseas Inc. based in Boca Raton, Florida. The operation was eventually overseen by Effjohn International's Commodore Cruise Line and all ships were leased or sold to other cruise operators.
AIDAmira is a cruise ship currently operating for AIDA Cruises, a subsidiary of Carnival Corporation & plc. The ship most recently operated as Costa neoRiviera for sister brand, Costa Cruises, before officially debuting for AIDA in December 2019.
Bahamas Paradise Cruise Line is a cruise line that operates two-day voyages out of West Palm Beach, FL. As of September 2019, they offer cruises to Grand Bahama Island and Nassau. The company was founded in late 2014, and began operating its first cruises in February 2015 with the Grand Celebration.
The Celebration was a cruise ship originally built for Carnival Cruise Line. She was the last out of three ships to be built for Carnival's Holiday Class of cruise ships. She last sailed for Bahamas Paradise Cruise Line between 2015 and 2020.
Carnival Panorama is the current flagship of Carnival Cruise Line. As such, the 133,868 GT, 323 m long Vista-class cruise ship is the largest in the fleet. She is also Carnival's 27th operating vessel and the final Vista-class ship in the fleet, which includes Carnival Vista and Carnival Horizon. The ship was originally designed and ordered for P&O Cruises Australia but she was transferred to Carnival Cruise Lines during construction.
