Carnival ship to use Puerto Rico as home base

Puerto Rico officials say a Carnival cruise ship will become the largest ever to use the island as its home base.

Economic Development Secretary Jose Perez-Riera says the Carnival Valor will move from its current home base in Miami next year to replace the Carnival Victory. He said Friday that the Valor will generate more than $630,000 in revenue for Puerto Rico every time it departs the island due to spending by tourists.

He said the ship has capacity for 2,974 passengers and 1,180 crew members. The ship is scheduled to embark on its first trip from Puerto Rico in February 2013.

More than 735,000 cruise ship passengers visited Puerto Rico from January through July last year, a nearly 5 percent drop compared with the previous year.

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