) - After a year-long hiatus -- Carnival’s Spirit -- is set to arrive in three days -- ushering in a new era of cruising for the Port City.
Snowden gave us a behind the scenes tour of last minute preps inside the Alabama Cruise Terminal. For the past year it’s been rented out as an event venue -- it’s now being converted back into a high-security facility for travel. Come Friday more than a thousand passengers will make their way through to board the ship. A deep clean, fresh paint, and a new mural depicting the best of Mobile are just some of what they can expect.
While the return of cruising benefits Port City businesses like hotels, retail, and restaurants -- the City of Mobile looks to make several million dollars from parking and other gains. But it’s the ongoing investment by the City -- specifically $2.1-million to update and install a newer bigger gangway to attract larger ships -- and not just Carnival.
The new gangway is currently being fabricated in Spain and will be installed over the summer -- when the ship is in Alaska for six months. During its six months in Mobile - the ship will run 6, 9, and 12-day itineraries to the Bahamas, Belize, Mexico, and Honduras.