While many cruise vacations begin and end in Florida,  sailing from a home port near you can offer some distinct advantages.  Driving to the embarkation port can save on transportation costs.  No flying also means no boarding groups, no jockeying for overhead bin space and no checked or lost luggage.   In 2015, Carnival Cruise Lines returns to Norfolk, Virginia, sailing  3,006-passenger Carnival Splendor on a variety of itineraries.   It’s a short season, long on cruise travel opportunities.

Carnival Splendor will operate a series of two- to seven-day voyages from the Port of Norfolk in 2015, making Carnival Splendor the newest and largest “Fun Ship” ever to operate from the historic Virginia port.  Those voyages include one that has a three-day call in Bermuda.

• A value-packed two-day cruise departing May 16, 2015 (starts at $309 per person + tax).
• Three, five-day Bahamas cruises calling at Nassau and Freeport, departing May 11, May 18, and October 12, 2015.
• A six-day Bahamas cruise calling at the private Bahamian island of Half Moon Cay, as well as Nassau and Freeport, departing October 17, 2015.
• A seven-day Bermuda cruise departing October 23, 2015 that features a three-day call in Bermuda.

Splendor From New York
Carnival Splendor will also sail seasonally in 2015 from New York and Miami.  From April to November, the ship will operate a variety four to eight- day itineraries from New York to popular ports in The Bahamas, Caribbean, Canada and Florida. 

• Cruises from New York to the Canadian Maritimes include four-day voyages visiting Saint John and five-day sailings calling at Saint John and Halifax.
• Seven-day fall foliage voyages call at Boston, Portland, Maine; Saint John and Halifax
• Eight-day options are available: a Bahamas/Florida itinerary calling at Port Canaveral, Freeport and Nassau; and two eastern Caribbean routes, one featuring San Juan, St. Thomas and Grand Turk, and another visiting Grand Turk, Nassau and the private Bahamian island of Half Moon Cay.

Splendor In Miami
From November 2015 through April 2016 Carnival Splendor will sail from Miami on seven-day eastern and western Caribbean cruises.

• Eastern Caribbean cruises will call at St Thomas, San Juan, Grand Turk, and Nassau in the Bahamas.
• Western Caribbean route will call at Grand Cayman, Cozumel, Belize, and Mahogany Bay in Isla Roatan.

Especially Splendorous
Carnival Splendor will also offer special one-way eight-day exotic eastern Caribbean cruises between New York and San Juan on May 24, 2015 and June 1, 2015.

The move by Carnival Cruise Lines to homeport Carnival Splendor in Norfolk is significant to the port.  In 2014, no ships are based there, year-round or seasonally, by any cruise line.  There are some cruises that stop in Norfolk on their way to and from other ports.

April 19: cruise from Miami on Oceania.
August 29: cruise from San Francisco to New York on Oceania.
September 1: cruise from San Francisco to New York on the Regent Seven Seas Navigator.
October 22: cruise from Montreal to Miami on the Regent Seven Seas Navigator
November 5: cruise from New York to Miami on Crystal Cruises.

Reservations are currently being accepted for all of Carnival Splendor’s sailings from Norfolk, New York, Miami and San Juan.

Want to know more about when and where to see Fall colors?  Check Fall Foliage Cruises for more information.

Flickr photo by sfhipchick