Carnival Cruise announces it will sail from Norfolk again in 2016

Carnival Cruise Lines said Monday it will offer cruises departing from Norfolk in 2016.

The company said its ship Carnival Sunshine will depart from Norfolk in 2016 with trips to the Bahamas, Bermuda and two-day Cruises to Nowhere.

After a brief hiatus, Carnival is returning to Norfolk this year with six cruises this May and October.

Carnival announced in late 2013 that it would not sail from Norfolk in 2014 because of environmental requirements from the Environmental Protection Agency. A few months later, newly inaugurated Gov. Terry McAuliffe announced that the cruise line had reached an agreement with the EPA and would be returning to Norfolk in 2015.

The 103,000-ton Carnival Sunshine accommodates 3,002 passengers and 1,040 crew members.  “These Carnival Sunshine sailings from Norfolk provide our guests and travel agent partners with an extraordinary array of guest features and facilities as well as a variety of itinerary choices departing from a convenient, highly attractive East Coast homeport,” Christine Duffy, Carnival’s president, said in a statement.

The vessel is the first in Carnival’s fleet to feature all of the line’s Fun Ship 2.0 experiences, including the Cloud 9 Spa, Guy’s Burger Joint (developed in partnership with TV personality Guy Fieri), and the Punchliner Comedy Club presented by George Lopez.  

“We’re thrilled Carnival will be back in 2016,” said Stephen Kirkland, director of the National Maritime Center. “This activity, together with our port-of-call cruise traffic, unique exhibits and experiences, and robust event rental business truly make the Half Moone a multi-purpose facility unlike any other in the region.”