Text-only version of this email
Carnival Corporation
April 25, 2024 11:45 AM EDT BUONGIORNO, WEST COAST! CARNIVAL FIRENZE CHRISTENED IN LONG BEACH
Carnival Cruise Line Adds Fifth New Ship to Fleet in 18 Months Just
In Time For Busy Summer Travel Season
LONG BEACH, April 25, 2024 – Carnival Cruise Line solidified its position as the leading cruise line in California on Wednesday as
it christened its newest ship, Carnival Firenze, at its new home, the Long Beach Cruise Terminal.
Hollywood actor Jonathan Bennett served as the ship's godfather, and he and Carnival Cruise Line President Christine Duffy
celebrated all things Italian with the help of a Broadway star, a Puccini aria, and even a Catholic priest making a running jump
onto the stage to deliver a blessing.
The 5,000-guest Carnival Fun Italian Style ship is sailing year-round from the Port of Long Beach, building on the popularity of
Carnival cruises by adding significant capacity and joining two Carnival ships currently sailing year-round -- the 5,100-passenger
Carnival Panorama and the nearly 4,000-passenger Carnival Radiance. Launching just ahead of the busy summer travel season, and
amid continued growth of cruise vacations’ popularity, Carnival Firenze is part of a significant expansion that added five ships
to the Carnival fleet in the past 18 months. By next year, Carnival will embark more than 750,000 guests from Long Beach on more
than 200 sailings, an increase of 100,000 more guests compared to 2019.
“We carry more guests than any other cruise line from California, and now this ship is giving us the opportunity to offer more fun
to more people sailing from Long Beach,” said Duffy. “The recipe combining this ship’s beautiful Italian theming with the
familiarity of our friendly team’s hospitality is, in a word, perfecto!”
Bennett was made an honorary Italian during the fun-filled evening, which included a performance of Puccini’s "Nessun Dorma" by
Carnival's Playlist Productions cast, an Italian blessing by Father Charbel Grbavac of the Mary Star of the Sea Catholic church in
nearby San Pedro, and was capped off by a show-stopping performance by Leslie Kritzer, Bennett's co-star from the recent Broadway
revival of "Spamalot."
Like sister Carnival Venezia, the ship features new concepts and experiences that put an Italian Style twist on Carnival staples
for guests to enjoy. Carnival Firenze, however, is the first ship in the fleet to usher in new technology and harnesses artificial
intelligence that creates guides for optimal, energy-saving routes on each sailing. The ship’s captain and officers will be the
first to utilize this significant update to Carnival’s voyage efficiency system, ahead of a fleetwide rollout the cruise line
expects to begin later this year. The ship is also the latest Carnival vessel to utilize shore power and joins Carnival Panorama
and Carnival Radiance in connecting to the electric grid while docked in Long Beach instead of running its engines.
The 2020-built Carnival Firenze just finished a 49-day dry dock in Cadiz, Spain that integrated Carnival Fun Italian Style
features into the ship’s beautiful design. Notable additions to the ship include the specialty restaurant Il Viaggio – Italian for
“The Voyage;” it’s aptly named as its menu promises a journey across Italy through the country’s rich and diverse cuisine. Special
programming, like Festa Italiana, a top-deck “street party,” enhances the Italian theming. The ship will sail a variety of
itinerary lengths, with three- to seven-day Baja Mexico and Mexican Riviera cruises open for sale now through the spring of 2026.
The ship is setting sail on a seven-day cruise to Puerto Vallarta, Mazatlán and Cabo San Lucas on Thursday afternoon.
ABOUT CARNIVAL CRUISE LINE
Carnival Cruise Line, part of Carnival Corporation & plc (NYSE/LSE: CCL; NYSE: CUK), is the first cruise line to sail over 100
million guests and is proud to be known as America's Cruise Line, for carrying more Americans and serving more U.S. homeports than
any other. Since its founding in 1972, Carnival has continually revolutionized the cruise industry and popularized the cruise
vacation as an affordable and fun travel option. Carnival operates from 14 U.S. and two Australian homeports as well as seasonally
from Europe and employs more than 48,000 team members representing 120 nationalities. Carnival’s fleet of 27 ships reflects an
exciting, continued period of growth with two new additional Excel-class ships scheduled to be delivered in 2027 and 2028.
Carnival’s next new guest offering will be the all-new exclusive destination, Celebration Key, set to debut on Grand Bahama in
summer 2025.
MEDIA CONTACT: [email protected]
View this release →
Or click here to view all releases.
Show all