Carnival Cruise Line has kicked off its four-city Agentpalooza bus tour with its first stop in Philadelphia to celebrate the line’s 50th Birthday, and Carnival President Christine Duffy made a special appearance in her hometown to thank more than 600 travel advisors for their support.

Hosted by Duffy, Carnival Senior Vice President of Global Sales and Trade Marketing Adolfo Perez and Carnival Cruise Director Christian De La Rosa, the outdoor festival-style birthday party at Penn’s Landing included activities inspired by Carnival’s onboard experiences and Carnival’s 50th birthday, fun interactive learning games, one-on-one time with Carnival’s sales leadership and team, snacks and light refreshments from local food trucks, and the opportunity to win a variety of prizes, according to a press release.

Philadelphia City Councilmembers Katherine Gilmore Richardson and Isaiah Thomas presented a special City Council Citation to Duffy, honoring her for her career success as a longstanding Philadelphia native.  

“As a Philadelphia local, it was so special to be here to help kick off this year’s Agentpalooza bus tour that we’ve been so eager to bring back to our travel advisor community,” said Duffy. “Our travel advisor partners have been such an incredible support system over the past two years, so this was our way of saying thank you and getting the chance to celebrate our successes and the future together.”

Travel advisors had the opportunity to sign the bus and leave their permanent mark on this year’s event, and several of Philadelphia’s most tenured travel advisor partners participated in a special birthday cake cutting. The event raised funds for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, as well.

As part of this year’s tour, Carnival also introduced its first-ever virtual Agentpalooza experience. More than 1,300 travel advisors tuned in for the virtual experience in Philadelphia. 

“We knew the return of Agentpalooza was going to be fun, but the kickoff Birthday party was so much more than we could’ve imagined,” said Perez. “We are so grateful for everyone’s support in Philadelphia both on site and virtually and are looking forward to bringing the fun to our next three locations.”

Taking place from June 1-4, the bus tour will now move to Baltimore, Norfolk and Charlotte.