Carnival Firenze Opens for Sale with Cruises from Long Beach

Posted on 24 March, 2023 by Spacejunkie2

Carnival Cruise Line announced that it has opened reservations for the inaugural season of the Carnival Firenze, which will offer year-round sailings from Long Beach, California from May 2024 through April 2025.

“Carnival Firenze is named after the spectacular city of Florence, Italy. She was designed to evoke the same charm and beauty found in Florence and she’ll also pack in plenty of Carnival fun, which will be brought to life by the friendly and dedicated team members that make cruises across our fleet memorable,” said Christine Duffy, president of Carnival Cruise Line.

“This truly stunning ship will serve as a great new cruise vacation option from Long Beach, joining Carnival Panorama and Radiance, and offering a range of sailing lengths to Baja Mexico and the Mexican Riviera.”

The new sailings feature 15 different itineraries of three to seven-day cruises. Sailings from Long Beach, California include:

A five-day Mexican Riviera Inaugural Cruise, departing on May 2, 2024, with calls in Cabo San Lucas and Ensenada, Mexico;
A six-day Mexican Riviera Cruise, with multiple departure options and calls in Ensenada and two days in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico;
A seven-day Mexican Riviera Cruise, with multiple departure options and calls in Puerto Vallarta, Mazatlán and Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.

The Carnival Firenze will be the second ship to feature the all-new Carnival Fun Italian Style, after Carnival Venezia, which will make its debut in May 2023.

Carnival Cruise Line Announces Ship Restarts For January and February 2022

Posted on 8 October, 2021 by Spacejunkie2

Carnival Cruise Line announced plans for more ship restarts for January and February, as it works towards the return of its full fleet sailing from U.S. homeports in the spring of 2022, according to a press release.

With 17 ships scheduled to be operating by year-end, Carnival Sunshine will restart from Charleston on Jan. 13 and Carnival Liberty from Port Canaveral on Feb. 11.

With today’s announcement, Carnival’s U.S.-based operations will cover the following homeports and ships by February, and represents 90 per cent of Carnival’s U.S.-based capacity:

• Galveston: Carnival Breeze, Carnival Dream and Carnival Vista
• Miami: Carnival Freedom, Carnival Horizon, Carnival Sunrise and Carnival Conquest
• Port Canaveral: Mardi Gras, Carnival Elation, Carnival Magic and Carnival Liberty (effective Feb. 11)
• New Orleans: Carnival Glory and Carnival Valor
• Long Beach: Carnival Panorama, Carnival Radiance and Carnival Miracle
• Baltimore: Carnival Legend
• Tampa: Carnival Pride
• Charleston: Carnival Sunshine (effective Jan. 13)

“Our restart plan continues to excel across all metrics, and we are looking forward to completing the restart of the fleet in the new year,” said Christine Duffy, president of Carnival Cruise Line. “We appreciate the support and patience of our guests, travel agents and port and destination partners who have been key to this successful restart.”

Duffy said that Carnival continues to carefully monitor the status of public health and adjust its operating protocols accordingly. “We are optimistic that vaccines will be approved for children between the ages of 5-11 before the end of the year and we look forward to welcoming more families back on board,” she added. As it relates to ships operating in January and February, Carnival will continue to operate vaccinated cruises under its current protocols.

Cruises on Carnival’s three remaining U.S.-based ships – Carnival Ecstasy from Jacksonville, Carnival Paradise from Tampa, and Carnival Sensation from Mobile – have been cancelled through February.

In addition, Carnival Splendor from Sydney, Australia is cancelled through Feb. 7, and Carnival Spirit from Brisbane, Australia is cancelled through Feb. 20.

Carnival Panorama Marks Carnival Return to the West Coast

Posted on 22 August, 2021 by Spacejunkie2

Carnival Cruise Line is returning to the West Coast this Saturday, as the Carnival Panorama resumes service in California.

Based in Long Beach, the 2019-built vessel is departing today on a seven-night cruise to the Mexican Riviera.

The sailing marks the return of the brand to the region after a 17-month operational pause.

One of Carnival’s newest and biggest ships, the Panorama will visit three different destinations in Mexico, including Mazatlán and Puerto Vallarta.

Before returning to Long Beach, the vessel also visits Cabo San Lucas, a city known for its rock formations and beaches.

Sailing from Long Beach every Saturday, the ship is set to repeat the itinerary through December.

Built-in Italy, the 4,000-guest Carnival Panorama is the last in a series of three ships known as the Vista Class. Larger than its predecessors, these ships introduced several new features for the Carnival brand, such as the SkyRide a twin-track suspended bike course.

The Vista-class also debuted the Havana Staterooms, Carnival’s first cabin enclave, complete with its own private pool deck and lounge and lanai balconies.

Other highlights are the Sky Zone, a trampoline park and the Carnival Kitchen program, a hands-on culinary experience led by the line’s chefs. Both attractions were first introduced by the Carnival Panorama.

With the Panorama back in action, Carnival has eight cruise ships in revenue operations, including the new Mardi Gras – which entered service from Port Canaveral, on July 31.

In August a total of three vessels resumed operations for the company. In addition to the Carnival Panorama, the Carnival Magic welcomed guests back on August 7 and the Carnival Sunrise did the same on August 14. The ships are now sailing from Port Canaveral and Miami, respectively.

In September and October, seven more ships are set to resume operations, launching service from additional homeports, such as Baltimore and New Orleans.