TAMPA, Fla. — Carnival Cruise line welcomed their guests to set sail from Tampa on Sunday.

“We have been a proud member of the Tampa community for more than 25 years, having been the first cruise line to sail from Tampa in 1994, so we’re absolutely thrilled to provide our guests an opportunity to get back to fun from the port while supporting the local economy,” said Christine Duffy, president of Carnival Cruise Line.

To celebrate the special day, Carnival hosted a ribbon-cutting event at Tampa’s port Sunday morning to welcome their first guests aboard.

“We are so pleased to have Carnival Cruise Line returning to Port Tampa Bay today. The return of cruising has a far-reaching impact on our region, with many local businesses standing to benefit. It’s estimated that a ship like Carnival Pride generates an average of $334,000 in passenger and crew onshore spending per call,” said Raul Alfonso, Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer of Port Tampa Bay.

The cruise line welcomed 2900 guests onto their ship which will sail to Honduras. Among those guests were longtime cruisers Mari Bethkring and Phillip Piant.

“We’re excited,” they said. “This will be our 8th cruise since we started in July; we missed it so much – we’re making up for lost time.”

The cruise line has put some new rules in place to keep people safe during their travels. One of those rules includes a mask mandate while in the common areas.

“A lot of people don’t want to wear a mask on a cruise but there are so many times when you’re outside,” said Bethkring. “If you’re eating, drinking or outside you can take it off – you don’t have it on 24/7 like a nurse.”

For additional information on Carnival Cruise Line and their new rules call 1-800-CARNIVAL.