Six Carnival ships to add calls at Princess Cays

Carnival Cruise Line said its ships will make greater use of Princess Cays, starting in May 2017.

The Bahamian island was developed by Princess Cruises prior to the acquisition of Princess by Carnival Corp. in 2003.

Carnival said that six of its ships will make calls at Princess Cays, with 40 calls scheduled this year and 98 next year.

Princess Cays will be featured on some seven-day cruises from Baltimore aboard the Carnival Pride, five-day voyages from Charleston on the Carnival Ecstasy, eight-day sailings from Fort Lauderdale on the Carnival Conquest, five-day voyages from Jacksonville on the Carnival Elation, four-day voyages from Port Canaveral on the Carnival Liberty, and four-day cruises from Miami aboard the Carnival Sensation.

The announcement comes even as Carnival Cruise Line is negotiating for use of a beach area in Grand Bahama to develop its own destination. In comments before the christening of the Seabourn Encore in Singapore last week, Carnival Corp. chairman Micky Arison said the deal was "very, very close" to being finalized.

Carnival Corp. also owns Half Moon Cay in the Bahamas, which is used primarily by Holland America Line. Carnival Corp. developed the Grand Turk Cruise Center in the nearby Turks & Caicos islands in 2006.