A Bahamian brass band, colorful costumed parades and an appearance from Shaq were all part of the merriment that welcomed the opening of Carnival Cruise Line’s Celebration Key on Saturday.
The $600 million development on Grand Bahama Island, which encompasses 68 acres exclusive to Carnival guests, saw its first visitors with the morning arrival of the Port Canaveral-based Carnival Vista. Highlights of the oceanfront oasis include the largest freshwater lagoons in the Bahamas or Caribbean, a 10-story sandcastle structure that houses two water slides and the world’s largest swim-up bar.
Carnival Cruise Line President Christine Duffy, Carnival Corp. CEO Josh Weinstein, Chief Fun Officer Shaquille O’Neal and Carnival Vista Captain Paolo Severini turned the key that unlocked the gates of the sandcastle just after 10 a.m., officially opening the private enclave to cruise guests.
“We are finally here at Celebration Key on Grand Bahama with nearly 5,000 guests from Carnival Vista, the first Carnival cruise ship to call on this beautiful destination,” said Duffy, who arrived on the Vista. “This is just the beginning. We will have visits from 20 Carnival cruise ships from 10 different U.S. homeports.”
Florida-based Carnival vessels calling on Celebration Key this year include Port Canaveral-based ships Glory, Freedom, Vista, Mardi Gras and Venezia (starting in November). Miami, Tampa and Jacksonville also have homeported ships with itineraries that include Celebration Key.
Duffy said that she was on the bridge of the Vista when it arrived at the new destination for the first time.
“It’s spectacular to see it from the ship. The sandcastle, at 10 stories, really stands out on the horizon. As you get closer, you start to see the lagoon and all of the colors. It’s just a happy place,” she said in an interview with the Sentinel. “So many of our Carnival Cruise Line fans booked this cruise particularly because it was going to be the first cruise to go to Celebration Key.”
Portals to Paradise
After a long walk along a pier that connects to the ship’s harbor, arriving guests first step through a sunny archway that spells out Celebration Key. Behind it, Paradise Plaza serves as the welcome portal where visitors can book shore excursions, find ice cream and daily entertainment in the form of live bands and parades representing Bahamian culture.
Taking the tunnel through the sandcastle —which is the central focal point and anchor of all five “portals” — leads the way to Lokono Cove, a shopping plaza with crafts, jewelry, coffee and souvenirs from local vendors.
To the east of the sandcastle sits Starfish Lagoon, a family-friendly area with a splash pad, sports and games, eateries and bars. Food options include Captain’s Galley Food Hall, which has burgers, hot dogs, fried chicken, pizza, tacos and burritos, and Gill’s Grill, which features Caribbean seafood and land-based staples.
The Calypso Lagoon caters to adults with beats from a DJ Island, a bar with swings for seats, an adults-only section and a swim-up bar next to Mingo’s Tropical Bar and Kitchen. Other food options include Surf N’ Sauce BBQ & Brews and Beachside Burgers and More.
Both sides of the lagoon include food trucks and snack shacks, a wide array of private cabana options to accommodate groups of two to 10 guests and oceanfront white sand beaches. Additionally, each lagoon has areas for kayak, paddle board, floating tube and snorkel gear rentals.
Pearl Cove Beach Club presents a more exclusive adults-only area with an infinity pool, a dedicated beach area and dining just for club visitors. Access to this area starts at $79.99 per adult and costs more for open bar or all-inclusive access.
An investment in the Bahamas
While Carnival sees the development of Celebration Key as an integral part of its business development, part of the company’s mission is also to help Bahamians through employment opportunities and economic impact.
“All of us at Carnival are very proud that we have hired more than 1,200 Bahamians to help build and now operate Celebration Key,” Duffy said. “Supporting the local community, creating jobs and giving people opportunities to build their businesses here in Grand Bahama was an important objective to us in this development project.”
Duffy said this was the first “major project” to be completed on the island of Grand Bahama in 20 years or more. In addition, she said that many Bahamians who were forced to leave the island after the devastation of Hurricane Dorian in 2019 have now been able to return home, at least in part thanks to new opportunities presented by Celebration Key.
The construction of the site has been the largest port project in Carnival’s history with 68 of the overall 379 acres developed for the opening. The cruise line has the potential to expand on 154 more acres, while 110 acres have been set aside for wetlands preserve.
The Shaq factor
In early 2018, Carnival appointed former NBA star Shaquille O’Neal as its new CFO, as in the company’s “Chief Fun Officer.” In his role, Shaq appears in occasional advertisements and lends his “larger-than-life” personality to Carnival when called upon.
At 7-foot-1, it was hard to miss him as he towered above the crowd of guests visiting Celebration Key. Shaq was first seen waving at cruise ship passengers before they disembarked. He made his way to turn the key and open the sandcastle gates, then took a few selfies at the behest of fans before handlers whisked him away.
The former basketball legend then congratulated the first pair of kids to race on the sandcastle’s waterslides, threw the first shot at the basketball court, had his giant handprints encased in sand and joined in a champagne toast at Pearl Cove Beach Club.
“Shaq is an amazing partner for us. I couldn’t think of anybody better than Shaquille O’Neal to represent the fun brand that Carnival is,” Duffy said. “He’s a fun guy. He was everywhere with us today and he loved it.”
Staking new claims
Tallying more than 100 million guests since its founding in 1972, Carnival has 29 ships in a growing fleet and considers itself “the world’s most popular cruise line.”
As the company continues its growth, leaders saw Celebration Key as a worthy investment that will help more vacationers experience the Bahamas in the coming years.
“Josh, thank you for $600 million,” Duffy said during the opening ceremony to her parent company CEO, to which Weinstein responded: “And it’s going to make us $6 billion.”
Cruisers already stop at two Bahamian ports managed by the corporation: Princess Cays at the southern end of Eleuthera and RelaxAway, Half Moon Cay, a private island southeast of Eleuthera. The former sees frequent visits from Princess Cruises and the latter is shared with Holland America, both of which are brands that fall under the Carnival Corp. umbrella.
Both of those destinations are currently tender ports, meaning guests must board smaller boats to reach the islands since they don’t have infrastructure to dock a massive cruise ship.
“Getting Celebration Key here on Grand Bahama Island is a game changer,” Duffy said. “This is phase one where we have two berths, built and opened, and we’ll have another two berths open by June of the next year. Then, we are investing in Half Moon to build two berths so we can bring in our largest ships.”
Around 260 Carnival itineraries available through mid-2028 include a stop at Celebration Key. The port of call will initially bring more than 2 million guests a year to Grand Bahama and by 2028, the number is expected to grow to 4 million.
“This is the first day of the next 50 years for this company and this brand. We’re going to be delivering an experience here at Celebration Key that is an extension of Carnival and what we provide on board,” Weinstein said in a Carnival video interview from opening day. “We built this to allow 13,000 guests at any one time to come and enjoy this paradise. This is day one of what is going to be an integral part of the vacation experience for Carnival Cruise Line.”
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