Carnival Cruise Line’s new Excel-class mega cruise ship will been named Carnival Celebration in recognition of the fact that its 2022 delivery will coincide with Carnival’s 50th anniversary.

The announcement was made by a range of Carnival partners, including Kathie Lee Gifford, Guy Fieri and Shaquille O’Neal, unwrapping boxes that revealed the letters of the Celebration’s name.

Carnival partners announce the new name

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The name for the new ship is both a throwback to one of the popular early ships in the Carnival fleet, as well as a recognition of Carnival’s 50th anniversary celebration, which will take place in 2022 when the new Carnival Celebration will join the fleet.

Carnival Celebration will debut in PortMiami in November, 2022. She will be a sister ship to Mardi Gras, the first in the Excel series, which is scheduled to enter service on February 6, 2021 from Port Canaveral.

Carnival’s largest ever ship, Mardi Gras will get a sister ship in 2022

The addition of Carnival Celebration to Miami will maintain PortMiami’s position as the top embarkation port in the world, and for Carnival Cruise Line, which put the city on the cruising map back in the 1970s.

“The name Carnival Celebration couldn’t be more perfect for a ship that will be a key component of our 50th Birthday festivities,” said Christine Duffy, President, Carnival Cruise Line.

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“Many thanks to our celebrity partners who helped us officially ‘unbox the fun’ and reveal the name of a ship that promises to be a spectacular addition to our fleet,” she added. “Carnival Celebration is our 50th Birthday present to our guests!”

Carnival’s 50th Birthday celebration kicks off in March, 2022 – the cruise line’s birthday month – with a series of commemorative sailings that will feature special entertainment and itineraries then continue all year long, culminating with the arrival of Carnival Celebration to Miami in November, 2022.

Carnival’s Mardi Gras will be delivered in 2021

At 180,000-gross tons, the new Carnival Celebration will be four times larger on a gross tonnage basis than the original Carnival Celebration she is named after, which now sails as Grand Celebration for Bahamas Paradise Cruise Line.

Details about the new ship are scant, but as a sister ship to Mardi Gras, she will feature the same six themed zones, the all-new Excel Suites, the BOLT roller coaster and a range of several dozen bars and eateries, likely by each of the partners involved in the name announcement.