Carnival Cruise Line is to deploy a new ship on the US west coast for the first time in 20 years.

Carnival Panorama will be based in Long Beach, California, from December 2019.

The 3,960-passenger Carnival Panorama, the third Vista-class ship in the fleet, will run seven-day Mexican Riviera itineraries with bookings due to open next month.

New features unique to the new ship will be announced in the near future, according to the cruise line.

The planned deployment followed the company revamping its 146,000-square-foot Long Beach Cruise Terminal and plans for a multi-million dollar port development in Ensenada, Mexico with shops, restaurants and attractions.

The renovation of the terminal at Long Beach more than doubles the size while enhancing the overall passenger experience and operational flow.

It also includes the expansion of portside shore power to enable larger ships to plug into the local electric grid, reducing exhaust emissions while docked.

Carnival Cruise Line president Christine Duffy said: “This is a momentous occasion for both Carnival and the City of Long Beach – not only are we celebrating the grand re-opening of this magnificent cruise terminal, but also demonstrating our commitment to the west coast with the deployment of the spectacular new Carnival Panorama in 2019 and the announcement of an exciting new port development project in Ensenada.

“The west coast is an important market with vast growth potential and these initiatives further demonstrate the confidence in our future success in Long Beach.

“We are very much looking forward to having Carnival Panorama homeported here beginning next year.”