Carnival Cruise Line has retired many of its earliest ships over the decades, but most didn’t simply disappear.

Many went on to second lives with other cruise lines before eventually being scrapped, especially after the 2020 shutdown.

Below is a look at some of Carnival’s former ships and what ultimately happened to them.

Ship	Entered Service	Later Service Name(s)	Final Fate
Mardi Gras	1972	Olympic, Apollon	Scrapped (2003)
Carnivale	1976	Fiesta Marina, Olympic, Topaz	Scrapped (2009)
Festivale	1977	Island Breeze, Big Red Boat III	Scrapped (2003)
Tropicale	1982	Costa Tropicale, Pacific Star, Ocean Dream	Scrapped (2021)
Holiday	1985	Grand Holiday, Magellan	Scrapped (2021)
Celebration	1987	Grand Celebration	Scrapped (2021)
Jubilee	1986	Pacific Sun, Henna	Scrapped (2017)
Carnival Fantasy	1990	—	Scrapped (2020)
Carnival Ecstasy	1991	—	Scrapped (2022)
Carnival Sensation	1993	—	Scrapped (2022)
Carnival Fascination	1994	Century Harmony (briefly)	Scrapped (2022)
Carnival Imagination	1995	—	Scrapped (2020)
Carnival Inspiration	1996	—	Scrapped (2020)

Check out a bit of history behind the 13 former Carnival Cruise Line ships and see where they are now.

1. Mardi Gras

Mardi Gras was sold to Carnival from Canadian Pacific in 1972 and was just over 18,000 gross registered tons. She sailed under the Carnival flag until 1993 and was then sold to Epirotiki.

Many names and a few cruise lines later, the ship was laid up and ultimately sold for scrap in 2003.

In 2021, Carnival debuted a new Mardi Gras from Port Canaveral, Florida. You can read our full review of the ship here.

The Excel-class ship features BOLT, the first roller coaster at sea, an attraction later added to sister ships Carnival Celebration and Carnival Jubilee.

2. Carnivale

Before being sold to Carnival in 1976, Carnivale was called Queen Ann Maria for the operator Greek Line. In 1993, Carnival transferred her to a subsidiary cruise line, Fiesta Marina Cruises.

After a few other cruise lines and the final name of Topaz sailing under the Peace Boat Organization, she was retired and laid up in April 2008.

The ship was beached in India to be scrapped that summer, with the process completed in 2009.

3. Festivale

Carnival acquired Festivale in 1977 from the South African Marine Corporation. She was originally a mail service ocean liner, but when Carnival bought her, they refit her into a cruise ship in Japan for $30 million.

After sailing for several cruise lines, she ended up with Premier Cruise Line under the name Big Red Boat III. When Premier went bankrupt in 2000, the ship was seized and ultimately scrapped in 2003.

4. Tropicale

Tropicale was a monumental ship for Carnival, as she was their first new build. She began sailing in 1982, mainly in the Caribbean.

The ship was later transferred to Costa as Costa Tropicale, then to P&O Australia as Pacific Star. She was eventually sold to Pullmantur Cruises, refurbished, and sailed as Ocean Dream.

After a final stint with Peace Boat, the ship was scrapped in January 2021.

5. Holiday

Holiday was Carnival’s second purpose-built ship. Constructed in Denmark, Holiday entered service in 1985. In 2003, she was refurbished, and in 2005, during Hurricane Katrina, she was used as temporary housing for victims of the storm.

She sailed from Alabama to the western Caribbean until 2009, when she was transferred to Iberocruceros and renamed Grand Holiday.

She later sailed as Magellan for Cruise & Maritime Voyages. After CMV ceased operations in 2020, the ship was purchased at auction and eventually sent to Alang, India, where she was scrapped in 2021.

6. Celebration

Celebration was built for Carnival in Sweden and entered service in 1987. She sailed for the line until 2008, when she was transferred to Iberocruceros and renamed Grand Celebration.

After brief stints with Costa and Bahamas Paradise Cruise Line, the ship continued sailing under different operators until being sold in 2020.

She was ultimately scrapped in Alang, India in 2021.

A new Carnival Celebration debuted in 2022.

7. Jubilee

Jubilee entered service in 1986 and was one of three Holiday-class ships. In 2004, she was transferred to P&O Cruises Australia and renamed Pacific Sun.

In 2012, she was sold to HNA Cruises and renamed Henna. After HNA shut down operations in 2015, the ship was eventually sold for scrap and dismantled in Alang, India in 2017.

8. Carnival Fantasy

Fantasy was the first ship in Carnival’s new Fantasy class when she entered service in March 1990. Built at Kavaerner Masa-Yards in Helsinki, Finland, the ship initially sailed Caribbean cruises from Miami.

In 2007, the ship was re-christened Carnival Fantasy and refurbished in 2008, 2016, and 2019. She sailed for Carnival for 30 years until the cruise industry shutdown in March 2020.

In July 2020, Carnival sold the ship, and it was scrapped in Aliaga, Turkey.

9. Carnival Ecstasy

Carnival Ecstasy debuted in 1991 as the second ship in the Fantasy class.

She resumed service briefly in 2022 for a farewell season out of Mobile, Alabama, before her final voyage in October of that year. The ship was scrapped shortly after, arriving in Aliaga, Turkey in November 2022.

10. Carnival Sensation

Launched in 1993, Carnival Sensation was one of the early Fantasy-class ships, built in Finland and sailing itineraries from ports including Miami, Tampa, and Port Canaveral.

Over the years, she underwent several updates and remained a staple of Carnival’s fleet, known for her distinctive interiors and classic “Fun Ship” features.

After nearly 30 years of service, she was sold for scrap in Aliaga, Turkey.

11. Carnival Fascination

Fascination entered service in 1994 as the fourth member of Carnival Cruise Line’s Fantasy class. Built in Helsinki, Finland, she sailed from ports including New York, San Juan, and Jacksonville during her time with the line.

After being laid up in 2020, the ship was sold with plans to be converted into a floating hotel and briefly renamed Century Harmony. Those plans never materialized.

She was ultimately sold for scrap and arrived in Pakistan in 2022 for dismantling.

12. Carnival Imagination

Like her Fantasy-class sisters, Imagination was built at Kavaerner Masa-Yards in Helsinki, Finland. The ship entered service in 1995 and most recently sailed Mexican Riviera itineraries from Long Beach, California.

The ship was renamed Carnival Imagination in 2007 and was refurbished most recently in 2016.

The vessel entered long-term layup status in July 2020; Carnival announced the ship had been sold for scrap in August 2020 and was sent to the scrapyard in Aliaga, Turkey.

13. Carnival Inspiration

Built in 1996 at the Kvaerner Masa-Yards in Helsinki, Finland, Inspiration was the fifth entry in the Fantasy class. Renamed Carnival Inspiration in 2007, the ship was most recently refurbished in 2010.

The ship sailed Mexican Riviera cruises from Long Beach, California. After the cruise industry shut down in March 2020, Carnival announced in July that the ship and Carnival Fantasy had been sold for scrap and sent to the shipbreakers in Aliaga, Turkey.

Final Thought

While many of Carnival’s early ships found second lives across the industry, most have now been retired and scrapped, especially following the 2020 shutdown.

Today, Carnival’s fleet has shifted toward larger, more efficient ships, marking a clear end to the era of its original vessels.

Pin it for later!

A cruise ship guest was pronounced dead off the California coast after falling from a stateroom balcony.

The woman, who hasn’t been named yet, went over the balcony and landed on a deck below. It is unclear how far she fell.

Woman fell from balcony onto a lower deck

It marks the third overboard or fall death on cruise ships in just two weeks. She was a guest on the Carnival Firenze which was sailing near Catalina Island when the incident occurred. The woman’s family raised the alarm with ship crew.

“All appropriate authorities have been alerted. As is customary, law enforcement will board the ship today on Catalina Island to conduct the required investigation,” the cruise line said earlier.

“Carnival’s Care Team is supporting the guest’s family, and our thoughts and prayers are with them and their loved ones.”

The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department told the media the FBI is handling the investigation. The circumstances leading up to the fall have not been disclosed by authorities.

Carnival Firenze is on a short Baja Mexico cruise roundtrip from the Long Beach Cruise Terminal. Catalina Island is situated about 20 miles from Los Angeles. The ship left the island and visits Ensenada, Mexico today before returning to Long Beach on April 30. The ship has capacity for more than 5,000 guests.

Third cruise ship fall in the past two weeks

This incident comes days after a Norwegian Cruise Line crew member went overboard off the coast of Massachusetts. According to surveillance video footage, the Norwegian Breakaway employee fell into the sea around 12 miles off Cape Cod at the weekend.

A large-scale US Coast Guard air and sea search operation was conducted but suspended several hours later without success.

The incident led to a delay in embarkation for the next voyage out of Boston on Sunday. “These efforts required the vessel’s full attention before the voyage could safely resume toward Boston,” NCL said in an update to new departing guests.

“Situations such as these are never easy, and the safety and wellbeing of those at sea remain at the heart of every decision we make.”

Just a week earlier, a Carnival Splendor guest in his 70s went overboard off the coast of Brisbane, Australia, which the cruise line says was a deliberate jump based on CCTV footage.

A days-long search operation took place and he too is now presumed dead. There have been six reported overboard incidents so far in 2026.

A notorious organization known for hacking into systems in order to steal vast amounts of information may have gained access to Carnival Corporation’s massive data base.

Who Is Behind the Potential Breach

While ShinyHunters may sound like a musical group you’d hire to entertain at your child’s birthday party, they are, in fact, far more sinister.

The organization has been behind some of the largest data breaches to take place over the past 25 years. Among their past victims have been companies as diverse as Microsoft, Pizza Hut even several universities.

Now, according to numerous reports, ShinyHunters is claiming to have accessed troves of Carnival Corporation information and issued a ransom threat.

What Carnival Is Doing

In a statement, a Carnival Corporation rep told Cruise Radio that “after detecting unauthorized online activity involving a singer user account, we acted quickly to shut it down and block any further unauthorized access and have notified law enforcement.”

The real questions revolve around what “single user account” was accessed and whether it may have opened something of a cyber wormhole which might serve as a gateway to far more information.

“Data privacy and protection are extremely important to Carnival Corporation,” the spokesperson continued, “and we’re working closely with trusted global security experts to be thoughtful and deliberate in our review of the data involved, recognizing that anonymous reports circulating online are not always accurate.”

The “anonymous reports” mentioned are likely those which claim that information from several million accounts has already been released.

For example, the site HaveIBeenPwned wrote that ShinyHunters “published the [stolen] data publicly, which contained 8.7 million records with 7.5 million unique email addresses.”

The site went on to make the very specific claim that data released included information pertaining to Holland America Line — a division of Carnival Corporation — and their Mariner Society loyalty program.

It went on to say that the information included “names, dates of birth, genders and data relating to status within the loyalty program.” 

What Happens Next

Meanwhile, the Carnival spokesperson concluded by saying, “If we determine personal information was affected, we will follow all disclosure requirements and communicate directly with any impacted individuals.” 

Meanwhile, HaveIBeenPwned.com recommends that if you believe your information may have been compromised, you should change your password immediately. They also suggest enabling two-factor authentification, which is standard advice when it comes to adding an added layer of protection to any and all accounts.

In 2020, Princess Cruises had a hacker gain access to company emails.