TAMPA (970 WFLA) -- Carnival Cruise Lines is doubling its cruise capacity in Port Tampa Bay this weekend, as the Carnival Miracle arrives from Long Beach, California, to join the Carnival Paradise.
Carnival president Christine Duffy says the Miracle can handle about a hundred more passengers than the Paradise, and has many more amenities. Eighty percent of the ship's 1,062 staterooms offer an ocean vide or private balcony.
The Miracle will offer 7-to-14 day cruises to the western and southern Caribbean and the Panama Canal, complementing the four-to-eight day trips offered by the Paradise.
Duffy admits it's no coincidence that Carnival picked this weekend to bring the Miracle to the port.
Duffy says the Miracle will add $6,000,000 in annual revenues at the port. The total economic impact of Carnival and Holland America Line at the port will reach almost $17,000,000 a year.
The Paradise will go into drydock in February or March for its own retrofit to add new features.
Carnival has been operating out of Port Tampa Bay since 1994.
The Miracle is expected to pass under the Sunshine Skyway before dawn, and arrive at the port just after sunrise.
Photo credit: Carnival Cruise Lines