Carnival Cruise Line marks half a century of operations

Carnival Cruise Line on Friday celebrated a half a century of cruising, marking the Golden Jubilee of its maiden voyage from PortMiami on March 11th, 1972.

The 50th anniversary of the cruise line was celebrated aboard Carnival Conquest by President Christine Duffy, Carnival Corp. Chairman Micky Arison and Carnival Corp. CEO Arnold Donald.

During the event, Carnival announced a range of philanthropy initiatives aimed at giving back to the Miami community, including a a $50,000 donation to Carnival’s long-standing partner Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Miami.

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Carnival also used the occasion to announce a $50,000 donation to World Central Kitchen to support Ukrainian relief efforts, which was donated in the name of the cruise line’s 300 Ukrainian employees.

“On this very day, 50 years ago, history was made when the first Carnival Cruise Line ship, the TSS Mardi Gras, embarked on her maiden voyage from right here at PortMiami,” said Christine Duffy.

“For half a century, we have made cruising available to everyone and have provided millions of people with fun and memorable vacations. It’s an honor to be celebrating our five decades of sailing with so many of our partners. We look forward to what the next 50 years holds,” she added.

Also during the 50th anniversary celebration, Carnival Cruise Line marked the completion of the expansion of it cruise terminal at PortMiami. The Terminal F development will be officially opened this fall, and the terminal will be among the first to be shore-power ready in 2023.

Terminal F will also serve as the homeport for Carnival Celebration, which will join the fleet later this year as part of the culmination of Carnival’s 50th birthday festivities.

Carnival Celebration is the second Excel-class ship in the fleet, after Mardi Gras, to be powered by Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG). Like her sister ship, she features a roller coaster, six distinct passenger ‘zones’, and a whole host of new entertainment and F&B concepts.

A third Excel-class ship, Carnival Jubilee, will join the fleet in 2023 and homeport in Galveston.

Over the last 50 years, Carnival Cruise Line has carried more than 90-million passengers and currently employs more than 40,000 people from 120 countries. It’s year-long birthday celebrations have included 17 commemorative Sailabrations cruises that featured at-sea ship meetups, special entertainment and programming.