Saturday, May 4th, the Carnival Sunrise made its inaugural visit to Grand Bahama Island, where the Captain and crew were welcomed by members of the Freeport Harbour Company, Freeport Ship Services, and the Ministry of Tourism and Aviation (MOTA).

The visit, which was an unscheduled call to the harbour, was the first voyage made by the ship after its full renovation in April 2019.

Captain Bruno Palomba, Carnival Sunrise, said, “I’m very happy to be here and it’s always a pleasure. [As such] we are looking forward to giving our guests the best experience and that’s the reason why we are here.”

With a total of 5,000 passengers and crew members, the ship sailed from Norfolk, Virginia, to Half Moon Cay and added the brief stop to Freeport before returning to Norfolk, Virginia.

Orlando Forbes, Port Director, Freeport Harbour Company, said, “Carnival has always been a big supporter of Grand Bahama, and they continue to be so. They have significant plans coming forward in 2021, so for us, this is them continuing to be supportive and we take this opportunity to thank them for their support of the island.”

As unexpected calls directly benefit the economic state of the island, Nuvolari Chotoosingh, Manager, Niche Markets, MOTA, said, “It’s always good to have additional guests arriving on our shores. It certainly means additional business for our tour operators, our vendors, and everybody else on the island.”

“We look forward to having more ships come to Grand Bahama and we’d like to thank Carnival for adding Sunrise to the calls here on Grand Bahama Island,” Chotoosingh added.

A traditional plaque exchange took place to commemorate the occasion of the Carnival Sunrise’s inaugural call on Grand Bahama Island.