Around two weeks ago, Carnival Cruise Line announced it would begin offering departures from China beginning in 2017.  At that time, no ship information was announced. Today, Carnival Cruise Line has announced the Carnival Miracle will begin departures from China in Spring 2017 and the Carnival Splendor will also begin departures from China in Spring 2018. This means the Carnival Miracle will be the first official Carnival Cruise Line ship to ever sail from China. 
         Both of these ships have features that Carnival's guests in China can enjoy. The Carnival Miracle recently underwent a major dry-dock that added multiple Fun Ship 2.0 features to the ship. The ship offers multiple spaces outsides and has many pools. There are multiple places to dine onboard the ship including the buffet, main dining rooms, and Nick & Nora's Steakhouse (fees apply for the steakhouse).  The Carnival Splendor also offers numerous outdoor amenities for guests to enjoy too. No specific information has been given at this time about the Carnival Splendor receiving additional upgrades before sailing to China. 
             The Carnival Miracle holds 2,124 guests and the Carnival Splendor holds slightly over 3,000 guests. Both of these figures are provided by Carnival and are based off each ship's double occupancy. This means once both ships are sailing from China, Carnival Cruise Line will be offering cruises over 5,000 guests. This is a nice expansion for the Chinese cruise market and Carnival Corporation's share of the market. 

Here is a link to Carnival's official press release:  Click Here

      Carnival Cruise Line is preparing to make a 2017 debut in China. Other Carnival Corporation brands (such as Princess and Costa) have already began operations and sailings from China, but at this time Carnival Cruise Line has not. This will all change in the Spring of 2017 when Carnival begins year round sailings from a to be announced Chinese departure port. When this information was announced today, very few details were released by Carnival.  The ship, homeport, and itineraries will be announced in the future. However, Carnival's press release does mention that some onboard aspects will be changed to cater to Chinese tastes. The ship that is selected to sail from China will probably have a dry-dock prior to beginning departure from China, but this is just my own speculation. 
          In the same day, in a different press release, it was announced Aida Cruises will be joining Carnival Cruise Line in China in 2017. Currently, Princess and Costa are the only Carnival Corporation brands sailing from China. However, in 2017, Carnival, Aida, Princess, and Costa will all sail from China.

To Read Both Press Releases:
Carnival Press Release About Its 2017 Ship To Sail From China:  Click Here
Carnival Corporation Press Release About Aida & Carnival To Sail From China:   Click Here

      In November, Royal Caribbean's Liberty of the Seas will begin sailing from Galveston, Texas, to replace the Navigator of the Seas. While this ship is already an exciting upgrade for the Galveston cruise industry, in February 2016 the Liberty of the Seas will offer even more exciting things for cruisers from Galveston. The Liberty of the Seas will receive a month long dry-dock in early 2016 and will sail in February 2016 as a refreshed ship with many new features. 
          Many upgrades will be done during this time, including the addition of outside waterslides. Royal Caribbean's press release calls this new collection of waterslides, The Perfect Storm. The Perfect Storm will include a boomerang style slide called Tidal Wave. In addition, two racing slides called Cyclone and Typhoon will be a part of the Liberty of the Seas' collection of waterslides. Furthermore, a kids aqua park named Spashaway Bay will be added to the ship during dry-dock. There are many exciting water recreation features being added to the ship, but that is not all of the enhancements the Liberty of the Seas' will receive while in dry-dock. A mexican cusine eatery named Sabor will be added to the ship as well as an Italian eatery named Giovanni's Table. A cocktail bar named the "R Bar' will be added during this dry-dock as well.
             Stateroom changes always seem to be a popular dry-dock renovation and Royal Caribbean is using this dry-dock time to give the Liberty of the Seas' some new stateroom options. Twenty six new panoramic ocean view staterooms will be added during this dry-dock and an additional 53 staterooms will be added around the ship to accommodate more passengers.
                 These changes are exciting and will offer more options of things to do on the Liberty of the Seas. RyG's Cruise Guide will continue monitoring the Liberty of the Seas as it comes to Galveston and goes through this dry-dock process. All of this information is from Royal Caribbean's official press release. If you would like to view this press release for more information or some renderings on Royal Caribbean's press website: Click Here. 

       This past week on September 30, the Port of Galveston was able to celebrate 15 years of year round cruise ships departing from Galveston. On September 30, 2000, the Carnival Celebration (no longer sailing & then known as the M/S Celebration) departed on its Galveston maiden voyage. Since this time Galveston's number of cruise lines and ships have expanded significantly. According to the Port of Galveston, after 15 years, 7 million passengers have departed from Galveston. This has an impact on the local economy as cruise passengers often bring in additional tourism revenue to hotels, restaurants, and transportation companies. 
         Currently, Galveston has two cruise terminals. Terminal 1 was renovated for the arrival on the Carnival Magic in 2011 and Terminal 2 is currently being renovated for the arrival of Royal Caribbean's Liberty of the Seas. Next month, Royal Caribbean is replacing the Navigator of the Seas with the Liberty of the Seas. Next year, Carnival is replacing the Carnival Magic with the Carnival Breeze and the Carnival Triumph with the Carnival Liberty. The Carnival Freedom will continue sailing from Galveston. The guest capacity from Galveston will be greatly increasing with these new additions to the Galveston fleet. In addition, Disney Cruise Line will once again be sailing from Galveston in November 2015 and continue through January 2016. Congratulations to the Port of Galveston and we hope the Galveston cruise industry continues to be successful in the future. 

The facts that were used to create this article are from the Port of Galveston's official press release. If you would like to read this press release for yourself: Click Here