"Amber Cove is destined to become a cornerstone in creating new itineraries from several U.S. home ports," said Terry Thornton, Carnival's senior vice president of itinerary planning.

The new port has been in the works since May 2012. It is situated on the north coast of the Dominican Republic, near Puerto Plata. Thornton said it will combine "fun in the sun" activities with eco-tourism and unique sightseeing, dining and cultural experiences. It will have one of the most extensive lineups of shore excursions in the Caribbean, he said.

The 30-acre, $65 million project expects to host 100,000 passengers in its first year. It is the latest in a series of privately developed destinations Carnival has helped to design or build, including the Grand Turk Cruise Center in the Turks and Caicos Islands and Mahogany Bay on the Honduran island of Roatan.

Dual berths will accommodate two of Carnival's largest ships simultaneously. A spokeswoman said the itinerary changes to Amber Cove include substituting Amber Cove for an existing port of call to a complete itinerary change for some ships.

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