Port scores 'miracle' victory

Carnival Cruise Line will expand its capacity in Port Tampa Bay, adding the Carnival Miracle in January 2018.

Carnival Miracle is a seven-day Caribbean cruise, according to a statement, and will be the cruise line's second year-round ship based in Port Tampa Bay. The Carnival Miracle will depart on the weekend and feature four of the Caribbean's most popular ports of call: George Town, Grand Cayman; Cozumel, Mexico; Mahogany Bay, Isla Roatan; and Belize City, Belize.

“We are very excited for the 2018 cruise season and welcoming the Carnival Miracle to Tampa Bay's cruise picture,” Port Tampa Bay President and CEO Paul Anderson says in the press release. “With this addition the port and the Tampa Bay community will host over a million cruise passengers for the first time ever and bolster its position as a top ten cruise port,” Paul Anderson, port president and CEO, said.

The 2,124-passenger Carnival Miracle joins the 2,052-passenger Carnival Paradise, which operates year-round four- and five-day Caribbean cruises from Tampa. Carnival is the only year-round cruise operator from Tampa.