Carnival Releases Details on South America Itineraries

Carnival's recent announcement that it would sail its first-ever series of South American itineraries (plan ahead: we're talking about 2009) created quite a bit of excitement. And there's more as Carnival's now announced specifics on the itineraries that will be undertaken as its new Carnival Splendor makes its way from the Caribbean to its Los Angeles homeport.

Carnival Splendor will be offering just three special sailings:

• January 31 - February 17, 2009: 17-night cruise from Ft. Lauderdale to Buenos Aires, with calls in Dominica, Barbados, Fortaleza, Recife, Salvador and Rio de Janeiro.
• February 17 - March 3, 2009: 14-night cruise from Buenos Aires to Santiago, with calls in Montevideo, Puerto Madryn, Ushuaia, Punta Arenas and scenic cruising of Cape Horn and Cape Horn/Beagle Island.
• March 3 - 21, 2009: 18-night cruise from Santiago to San Francisco, with calls in Arica, Lima, Manta, Acapulco, Puerto Vallarta and Long Beach.

South America is becoming the new hot destination for cruise lines. And while we'd love to think that's the reason Carnival will be venturing to the Southern Hemisphere -- the line has become more creative with their itineraries, such as mixing up its traditional Caribbean/Canada/New England/Alaska voyages with more itineraries in Europe -- the line's motivation for testing new terrain is purely because of Splendor's size. The post-Panamax ship will cross the Atlantic to settle in its winter home in Los Angeles, but, since the ship is too big to pass through the Panama Canal, it must travel all the way around South America.

To find out more about Carnival's intineraries, visit us at www.CruiseCafe.com or call us at 1-800-788-2545.