JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Carnival Cruise Lines is bringing a new ship to Jacksonville for sailings starting back up on March 7.
According to cruise industry insider and reporter Doug Parker, Carnival Spirit will give people more amenities and more space than the Ecstasy which sailed from Jacksonville for years.
"This ship is over 100 feet longer than Ecstasy, it's 18 or 19 more gross registered tons larger," he said.
It's got an extra promenade deck and unique water features as well, Parker said.
"It's got a really cool water park on it with the Green Thunder drop water slide where you get up there, the bottom drops out and it shoots you straight down."
According to a statement from Carnival, this all stems from uncertainty with COVID-19 protocols in Australia and when cruising could return to that country.
Spirit will now move from Brisbane, Australia to Jacksonville with a planned restart of sailings on March 7, according to Carnival.
These will be for four and five night cruises to the Bahamas.
Parker says this will be a nice upgrade for folks cruising out of Jacksonville.
"There's a lot of exciting features [on Spirit] and definitely a nice change for us here in Jacksonville," he said.
Carnival says they'll be moving the Ecstasy from Jacksonville to Mobile, Alabama.