MIAMI, Nov. 16, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Building upon its position as the leader in Gulf Coast cruising, Carnival Cruise Line has announced it will expand capacity on its short cruise offerings from Galveston beginning in 2019.

Carnival Dream will launch four- and five-day cruises to Mexico year-round from Galveston beginning in May 2019, becoming the newest and largest Carnival ship to operate a short cruise program from that port and providing Texans with an exciting and convenient new vacation option.

On this route, four-day long weekend cruises depart Thursdays and visit Cozumel, while five-day voyages depart Mondays and Saturdays calling at Cozumel and Progreso or Costa Maya.

Each of these stunning Mexican destinations offer world-class beaches, excellent shopping and dining experiences, and opportunities to visit historical attractions and landmarks, including centuries-old Mayan ruins. A wide variety of "fun in the sun" shore excursion choices, from paddle-boarding and ziplining to ATV adventures and watersports like scuba diving and snorkeling, is also available.

"Galveston is one of our fastest-growing and most popular homeports and we're delighted to expand capacity on our short cruise program with Carnival Dream," said Christine Duffy, president of Carnival Cruise Line. "Not only is Carnival Dream our largest ship to operate short cruises it also offers guests some truly spectacular onboard features and facilities following her extensive multi-million-dollar makeover."

"We have a long-standing relationship with Carnival Cruise Line and we are thrilled that they have chosen to reposition Carnival Dream to Galveston," said Peter Simons, Interim Port Director. "Deploying their largest Dream-class ship to operate their short cruise program demonstrates Carnival's continued commitment to the Texas travel market. It's this type of confidence and commitment that has helped the Port of Galveston grow to become the fourth largest cruise port in North America. We look forward to continuing our successful partnership with Carnival."

Carnival Dream from Galveston
The 3,646-passenger Carnival Dream will kick off its year-round schedule from Galveston beginning May 23, 2019, representing a 22 percent increase in capacity on this program.

Carnival Dream recently underwent an extensive makeover that added a number of exciting food and beverage options, including Guy's Pig and Anchor Bar-B-Que developed in tandem with Food Network star Guy Fieri, the cocktail pharmacy-themed Alchemy Bar, BlueIguana Cantina serving authentic Mexican fare and the full-service Bonsai Sushi restaurant. These complement such attractions as a WaterWorks aqua park, luxurious Cloud 9 Spa and more.

Carnival Dream will join Carnival Freedom and Carnival Vista, which repositions to Galveston in fall 2018, and together these three ships are expected to carry nearly 650,000 passengers annually from Galveston - more than any cruise line.

Additional Information and Reservations
For additional information and reservations, contact any travel agent, call 1-800-CARNIVAL or visit carnival.com. Carnival also can be found on: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube. Journalists also can visit Carnival's media site, carnival-news.com or follow the line's PR department on Twitter at twitter.com/CarnivalPR.

About Carnival Cruise Line
Carnival Cruise Line, part of Carnival Corporation & plc (NYSE/LSE: CCL; NYSE: CUK), is "The World's Most Popular Cruise Line®" with 25 ships operating three- to 16-day voyages to The Bahamas, Caribbean, Mexican Riviera, Alaska, Hawaii, Canada, New England, Bermuda, Europe, Cuba, Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands. Two 133,500-ton Vista class ships are currently scheduled for delivery - Carnival Horizon in 2018 and an as-yet-unnamed vessel in 2019. Additionally, two new 180,000-ton ships are scheduled to enter service in 2020 and 2022.

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SOURCE Carnival Cruise Line