Carnival Firenze Begins Sailing from Long Beach

Carnival Cruise Line is saying Buongiorno to the West Coast. This past week, Carnival Firenze began sailing from its new home at the Long Beach Cruise Terminal. 

The 5,000-guest Carnival Fun Italian Style ship will cruise year-round from the terminal, offering cruises to the Mexican Riviera and West Coast. The ship joins the other two Carnival vessels that sail year-round from the Los Angeles area - the 5,100-passenger Carnival Panorama and the nearly 4,000-passenger Carnival Radiance. 

Carnival Firenze has launched just ahead of the busy summer travel season. By next year, Carnival anticipates it 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!” 

Naming Ceremony for Carnival Firenze - Photo by Carnival Cruise Line

To mark the ship joining the Carnival fleet, Hollywood actor Jonathan Bennett served as the Carnival Firenze’s godfather. 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. 

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, a blessing by Father Charbel Grbavac of the Mary Star of the Sea Catholic Church in nearby San Pedro, and a performance by Leslie Kritzer, Bennett's co-star from the Broadway revival of "Spamalot”.   

About Carnival Firenze

Like sister ship Carnival Venezia, Carnival Firenze features new concepts and experiences that put an Italian Style twist on Carnival staples. The 2020-built vessel has just finished a 49-day dry dock in Cadiz, Spain that integrates the new Carnival Fun Italian Style features. Notable additions include specialty restaurant Il Viaggio (Italian for “The Voyage”), as well as special programming, like the Festa Italiana top-deck street party.

Carnival Firenze 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. 

For itineraries, Carnival Firenze will offer three- to seven-day Baja Mexico and Mexican Riviera cruises. Port calls include visits to Puerto Vallarta, Mazatlán, and Cabo San Lucas in Mexico. Bookings are open for sale now through the spring of 2026. 

Explore All Carnival Firenze Cruises