Published on: September 28, 2009

Port Canaveral will receive nearly $5 million from the Department of Homeland Security with American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (AARA) funding for its new police department and purchase of a fireboat. Of the $54 million in Group 2 funds from the Port Security Grant Program, Port Canaveral received the largest single award and more than notable ports such as Jacksonville ($910,320), Port Everglades ($190,000), Savannah ($499,855) and Boston ($1,896,000) in the same category. Canaveral’s grant was second only to Group 1 recipients Long Beach ($7.8 million), Los Angeles ($6 million) and the Port of Oakland ($7.6 million). The Canaveral Port Authority Board of Commissioners established the police department in late 2008 as the culmination of a four-year initiative to enhance public safety at the world’s second-busiest cruise port. It is the first seaport police department in Florida. The grant fully will fund current plans for staffing, a public safety complex, and a new fireboat. For more information, visit www.portcanaveral.org.

The Carnival Sensation offers Bahamas cruises out of Port Canaveral.  3-day cruises leave every Thursday for Nassau, 4-day cruises depart every Sunday and visit both Freeport and Nassau in the Bahamas.

The Carnival Glory sails from Port Canaveral to the Caribbean every Saturday.  7-night Eastern Caribbean cruises to Nassau, Bahamas, St. Thomas and St. Maarten.  7-night Western Caribbean cruises visit Cozumel, Mexico; Belize City, Belize; Costa Maya, Mexico; and the Bahamas.

Beginning in December of 2009, the new Carnival Dream will sail from Port Canaveral to the Caribbean.  Trips will depart every Saturday year-round.

3-night Bahamas cruises on the Disney Cruise Line’s Disney Wonder leave from Port Canaveral on Thursdays.  Four night Bahamas cruises on the Disney Wonder leave on Sundays.  The Disney Cruise Lines’ Disney Magic makes longer one-week cruises from Port Canaveral to both the Eastern and Western Caribbean.

As of May 2009, Royal Caribbean’s Freedom of the Seas sets sail from Port Canaveral.  On May 4, 2009. it will do 6-night Western Caribbean and from then on it will alternate Eastern and Western Caribbean for 7-night cruises.

Royal Caribbean’s Monarch of the Seas will have the following itineraries:

2-Night Bahamas (December 26, 2009 and January 2, 2010)

3/4-Night Bahamas

5-Night Bahamas (December 21 & 28, 2009)