Carnival Ecstasy departs on farewell cruise: Travel Weekly

The Carnival Ecstasy departed Mobile, Ala., on its final voyage for Carnival Cruise Line on Monday.

Carnival said the five-day Mexico cruise was sold out, with many longtime Carnival guests making the trip to Mobile for the farewell cruise.

Carnival brand ambassador John Heald, who served as Carnival Ecstasy’s cruise director in the ship’s early days, is hosting a large group of Carnival Ecstasy fans on the final voyage.

The line had announced back in February that the Ecstasy would complete its final deployment this year.

After the Ecstasy departs the fleet, Carnival will have two of eight Fantasy-class ships remaining: the Elation and the Paradise, which both entered service in 1998. The Elation will become Carnival’s oldest ship.

Carnival said the Ecstasy has sailed more than 2,300 cruises and carried nearly 5.5 million guests since its debut in 1991.

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“We’ve certainly enjoyed a great deal of fun on Carnival Ecstasy over the years,” Heald said. “M/S Ecstasy, as we knew her then, was a game-changer when she entered the fleet, along with her Fantasy-class SuperLiner sisters, and we have the innovations of that time to thank for many of the features our ships are known for now.” 

Over the years, the Ecstasy has served eight homeports: Miami, Port Canaveral, Jacksonville, Galveston, New Orleans, Charleston, Mobile and Long Beach, Calif. 

A piece of Carnival Ecstasy memorabilia, a 1934 Rolls Royce Saloon, will be on Carnival’s new ship debuting in Miami on Nov. 20, the Carnival Celebration. The car will become a feature of The Gateway, a two-deck area of the ship which celebrates the excitement of exploring new destinations and highlights Carnival’s evolution of ships over the last 50 years. 

Carnival will resume sailings from Mobile in October 2023, when the Carnival Spirit arrives.

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