WELCOME TO FESTIVAL AT SEA! It’s hard to believe it was 20 years ago, that the first sailing of Festival at Sea embarked from South Florida. A lot sure has changed over the past two decades! Back then the World Wide Web was in its infancy. The Dow Jones closed above 3000 for the first time, Bill Clinton was just elected President, and Festival at Sea was a group of just over 200 African American cruisers.

Fast forward to the present day and Face Book has more than 500 million users. The Dow has gone above 10,000 points, an African-American man in the White House is called Mr. President, and Festival at Sea has introduced over 50,000 passengers to the excitement of cruising with an African-American twist!

In honor of our twentieth anniversary in 2011, Festival at Sea has chosen the Carnival Liberty to host this very special voyage. Sailing from Miami to the Bahamas, Puerto Rico, the US Virgin Isles and Turks and Caicos, the Liberty holds 3,000 passengers on her 13 decks. With a length of over 3 football fields, she has a multitude of clubs, bars and lounges, including the 1487 seat Venetian Palace Showroom, where you’ll get to see the top-name entertainment that Festival at Sea is famous for.

You’ll dance to the sounds of the music you wanna hear on board Festival at Sea. Our clubs are always rockin’, whether it’s to the old school sounds of yesterday, or the new school sounds of today. We stack the ship with the best gear and talented DJ’s from around the country to make sure your musical experience is diversified and exceptional.

Parties? Well… if there’s one thing we’ve perfected in our 20 years of cruising, it’s how to throw a party onboard a ship! Our theme nights, including our beautiful Cool White Linen Night and African American Attire Night, create a sense of camaraderie that has to be experienced to be described. We also throw a costume party every year that gets folks goin’ all out in their quest to win “Best Dressed”.

Games? We’ve got ‘em. Family Feud, Take This Deal or Leave It, Speed Dating, Relationship Hat Chat and Bid Whist and Dominoes Tournaments are just a few of the many fun games you and your friends or family can participate in. We also have other popular activities such as our UNCF Bachelor Auction where the ladies can bid on the guys for fun and a good cause.

Dancing? Oh Yea! You’ve got to bring your dancing shoes when you come on Festival at Sea. We bring on a variety of dance instructors including African Dance, Urban Ballroom Dancing, Chicago Steppin’, Afro Latin Salsa, Urban Line Dancing, Funk Aerobics, and even Gospelcise where you can exercise to Gospel music. 

Perhaps the greatest part of a Festival at Sea cruise isn’t a game, or a dance, or a show. It’s you! Our passengers are what makes a Festival at Sea cruise so special, and keeps so many folks coming back year after year after year. It’s like one big family reunion, where even if you don’t know anyone, you still feel like kin. So once again, welcome to Festival at Sea. Thanks for taking some time to visit with us, and don’t forget to check out our online photos and video, and read some of our past newsletters. You can also join our mailing list to receive a color brochure, view our Face Book page, or sign up to follow our tweets on Twitter.