Carnival Cruise Line's Inspiration, the liner that sails out of Tampa on excursions into the Caribbean, is scheduled to switch places next year with the Paradise, a sister ship that currently offers cruises out of Long Beach, Calif.
The switch is to happen at the end of 2011 and the cruise line is offering one-way, 14-day cruises between Tampa and Long Beach through the Panama Canal.
The Inspiration and Paradise each have a passenger capacity of 2,052 and reservations for the Panama Canal trip are being taken now. Cost is $949 per person, based on double occupancy.
In California, the Inspiration will offer three- to four-day Baja cruises. The Paradise will sailing out of Tampa on four- and five-day Caribbean voyages.
Carnival officials say the switch is to offer passengers in each city a "fresh alternative."
The Paradise's Panama Canal cruise will depart from Long Beach on Nov. 28, 2011 and the Inspiration's voyage will leave Tampa on Dec. 3, 2011.
The voyages both will feature visits to Cabo San Lucas and Acapulco in Mexico; Puntarenas, Costa Rica; Cartagena, Colombia; and George Town, Grand Cayman.
In October 2011, the 2,240 passenger Norwegian Star will begin cruising out of Tampa. The Norwegian Cruise Line ship will offer seven-day voyages to the western Caribbean until April 2012, officials said.
The itineraries will include Roatán, Honduras; Belize City, Belize; and Costa Maya and Cozumel, Mexico.
Currently, Tampa is served by Carnival, Holland America and Royal Caribbean International cruise lines and the Norwegian Star will be the first Norwegian Cruise Line ship to sail out of Tampa.
In 2009, nearly a half-million people sailed out of Tampa on cruise ships, according to the Tampa Port Authority.
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