• 3 min de lectura
• 3 min de lectura
Carnival Cruise Line's Celebration Key marked its first anniversary with festivities on Sunday. The Grand Bahama destination has hosted 2.4m cruisers since opening July 19, 2025.
"We've built something special here at Celebration Key," Carnival President Christine Duffy said. "Our goal is to create unforgettable memories for our guests, and in its first year, the destination has done exactly that for more than 2 million people."
The destination's milestone was celebrated with a day of festivities for passengers visiting aboard Carnival Conquest and Carnival Freedom. From a birthday-inspired Junkanoo performance to scavenger hunts and a giant birthday cake displayed at the entrance, the festivities reflected the energy, fun and Bahamian spirit defining Celebration Key.
The destination has delivered economic opportunities for Grand Bahama, supporting approximately 1,000 year-round jobs and prioritizing partnerships with Bahamian entrepreneurs and businesses. Today, more than 80% of Celebration Key's food and retail operators are locally owned, including Bahama Mama Seafood Pit, Flipping Fritters and Mini Donut King.
While at Celebration Key on Sunday, Carnival Freedom and Carnival Conquest offloaded 318 pounds of prepared, unserved meals to be redirected to the Grand Bahama Children's Home and the Urban Renewal Authority, for distribution within the community.
The anniversary also coincided with Carnival Corp.'s expansion of its Less Left Over food waste reduction strategy to The Bahamas, where Carnival Cruise Line ships Carnival Freedom and Carnival Conquest made the program's first surplus meal donation in the country, redirecting prepared, unserved meals to community organizations on Grand Bahama.
In another Carnival Corp. community initiative, used coffee grounds collected from a ship are repurposed into natural fertilizer, creating a circular program that turns waste into a resource.
Through the Community Coffee Grounds Initiative, nearly 2,800 pounds of spent coffee grounds are collected weekly from Mardi Gras, transported ashore and reused as natural compost and fertilizer, perking up Celebration Key's landscaping.
Developed in partnership with Grand Bahama-based ATO Landscaping, the initiative helps enrich soil with nutrients, improve water retention and support the long-term health of native palms and plant life.
Beyond its environmental impact, the program is designed to foster hands-on learning and community engagement. Students from participating eco-schools in Grand Bahama are actively involved, gaining practical experience in composting, agriculture and circular resource use.
Local partners include Lucayan International School, Bishop Michael Eldon School, Jack Hayward Senior High School, Mary Star of the Sea School and The Beacon School, along with organizations such as Island Manna Farms, Waterkeepers Bahamas, Berkshire Bahamas Farms, Green Shed and Grand Bahama Backyard Farmers.
According to Carnival, in Celebration Key's first year more than half a million thrill-seekers have raced down the destination's waterslides, more than 400,000 sweet treats were served by food truck Mini Donut King and more than 100,000 piña coladas were served. There have also been hundreds of Junkanoo parades.
And Celebration Key achieved a milestone by becoming the world's first cruise destination to earn Sensory Inclusive Certification through a partnership with KultureCity.
