Carnival Freedom, a long-time fixture of the south Florida cruise scene, is on the move.  Completing a trio of Carnival ships sailing from Galveston, Carnival Freedom joins Carnival Magic and Carnival Triumph for year round deployment in February, 2015. That’s a 38% increase in capacity for the FunShip line that is banking on new features to fill ships with happy cruise travelers.

“Galveston is already one of our most popular embarkation ports and with Carnival Freedom we’re not only dramatically expanding capacity in the market but also providing consumers with yet another exciting opportunity to experience our spectacular Fun Ship 2.0 innovations on a Texas-based ship,” said Gerry Cahill Carnival president and CEO.

Carnival Freedom will kick off its new schedule from Galveston Feb. 15, 2015, with a special six-day Caribbean voyage to Costa Maya, Mexico; Belize; and Cozumel. But first,  Carnival Freedom will offer a unique 12-day cruise departing Fort Lauderdale Feb. 2 and arriving in Galveston on Feb. 14, 2015. The one-time voyage visits St. Kitts, St. Lucia; Curacao; Aruba; and Grand Cayman, each of which boasts gorgeous white-sand beaches, a variety of watersports opportunities and an array of shopping, dining and sightseeing experiences.

After that, Carnival Freedom will launch year-round seven-day departures from Galveston Feb. 21, 2015, encompassing three different itinerary choices :

• Exotic western Caribbean voyages departing Saturdays to Cozumel; Belize; and Mahogany Bay, Roatan
• Western Caribbean voyages departing Saturdays with stops at Montego Bay, Jamaica; George Town, Grand Cayman; and Cozumel.
• Eastern Caribbean sailings departing Saturdays visiting Key West, Fla.; and Freeport and Nassau, The Bahamas

Carnival Freedom will also sail a series of four- and five-day cruises from Oct. 24 through Nov. 21, 2015; and Jan. 16, 2016 through Feb. 13, 2016.

• Four-day cruises visit Cozumel
• Five-day cruises call at Cozumel and Progreso, Mexico.

This is all after a comprehensive dry dock remodeling that will add many of the FunShip 2.0 features to Carnival Freedom.

Carnival Magic offers 7-day Caribbean sailings from the Texas port while Carnival Triumph does 4- and 5- day sailing from Galveston also.

Carnival Conquest, currently based in Miami, will assume Carnival Freedom’s year-round six- and eight-day Caribbean schedule from Fort Lauderdale, beginning Jan. 18, 2015.