Carnival has long been kicking butt with its weeklong or shorter cruise vacations.
Want a two-day "cruise to nowhere" to relax or party? Carnival can do that for you.
Long weekend getaway? Heck, yeah. The line has a fine series of three- and four-day itineraries.
And the standard seven-day vacation voyage is the Carnival staple.
Now, Carnival has greatly expanded its longer itineraries, too.
The line announced an expanded lineup of 10- to 14-day journeys for 2015 and 2016. The cruises are being offered on six ships that will make extended visits to popular regions.
"The longer the better" is my vacation motto. It seems like you are just getting in your groove when it becomes time to think about the end of the week fast approaching, the repacking and the trip home. Why not book a longer cruise and really settle in. You're paying for the airfare anyways, so you might as well double up on your time away in the sunny Caribbean, for example.
Most of these new longer Carnival voyages offer great chances for active adventures, too, which is just what you Loopers are looking for.
The line features 11 sailings -- on Carnival Miracle, Carnival Dream, Carnival Glory and Carnival Sunshine -- that embark from Long Beach, Calif., Port Canaveral, Fla., San Juan, Puerto Rico, Miami and New Orleans.
You also can choose from nine 10- to 14-day cruises to the Caribbean and Bermuda offered on Carnival Triumph from Galveston, Texas, and on Carnival Pride from Baltimore.
The new, longer voyages include:
On Carnival Dream
October 4-15, 2015: 11-day Caribbean/Bermuda cruise from New Orleans to San Juan -- featuring Bahamas, Bermuda (overnight call), St. Maarten and St. Thomas.
October 15-25, 2015: 10-day Caribbean cruise from San Juan to New Orleans -- with calls at St. Thomas, St. Kitts, St. Maarten, Grand Turk, and Jamaica. (These two cruises can be combined to create a 21-day roundtrip voyage from New Orleans.)
January 3-14, 2016: 11-day southern Caribbean cruise from New Orleans to San Juan -- with stops at Grand Turk, Aruba, Bonaire, St. Kitts, Antigua and St. Maarten.
January 14-25, 2016: a 10-day Caribbean cruise from San Juan to New Orleans -- hitting St. Thomas, Dominica, St. Kitts, Grand Turk and Jamaica. (These cruises also can be combined for a 21-day trip.)
On Carnival Glory
October 31 to November 14, 2015: 14-day Caribbean roundtrip from Miami -- visiting Aruba, Bonaire, Grenada, Barbados, St. Lucia, Antigua, St. Thomas and St. Maarten.
January 23 to February 2, 2016: 10-day cruise from Miami to San Juan -- visiting Carnival's private Bahamian island Half Moon Cay, Grand Turk, Antigua, Martinique, St. Lucia, St. Kitts and St. Thomas.
February 2-13, 2016: 11-day cruise from San Juan to Miami -- stopping at St. Croix, St. Maarten, Dominica, Grenada, Bonaire, Aruba, and Curacao. (These two cruises can be combined to create a 21-day roundtrip voyage from Miami.)
On Carnival Sunshine
November 28 to December 9, 2015: 11-day Caribbean/Bahamas voyage from Port Canaveral, Florida, to San Juan, Puerto Rico -- hitting Grand Turk, St. Thomas, Tortola, St. Kitts, Dominica, St. Lucia, Antigua and St. Croix.
December 9-19, 2015: 10-day Caribbean cruise from San Juan to Port Canaveral -- featuring St. Thomas, Antigua, Dominica, Martinique, St. Croix, and Grand Turk. (The two cruises can be combined to create a 21-day sailing.)
February 21 to March 5, 2016: 13-day southern Caribbean cruise roundtrip from Port Canaveral -- stopping at St. Maarten, Dominica, Barbados, Tobago, Grenada, Martinique, St. Kitts and St. Thomas.
On Carnival Miracle
January 31 to February 12, 2016: 13-day Mexican Riviera voyage roundtrip from Long Beach, California -- visiting Cabo San Lucas (two-day call), La Paz, Mazatlan, Zihuatanejo/Ixtapa, Manzanillo and Puerto Vallarta (overnight call).

By John Roberts