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MOBILE, Ala. (WALA) – The Carnival Ecstasy is back on the waters and making its trip to Mexico from Mobile. Carnival Cruise and the Port City celebrated Saturday morning before the ship sailed.
The Ecstasy that will take passengers to Cozumel, Mexico, is the first ship to depart Mobile since the industry restarted in July.
Carnival and the city not only celebrated the end of a two-year cruise hiatus and welcomed guests back, but also celebrated Carnival’s 50th anniversary.
“I can’t think of a better celebration, as we come out of the past two years, our 50th anniversary. We’re starting our anniversary week with our Carnival Sailabration,” said Christine Duffy, president of Carnival Cruise Line.
While the cruise restart this week will only last until mid-October, with the removal of Ecstasy from Carnival’s fleet, Carnival’s return to the port city is no longer out of the question. Carnival Cruise Line president Christine Duffy announced good news for the port city.
“We’re bringing…Carnival Spirit to Mobile.”
Duffy said Carnival Spirit will be newer, larger and more amenity-packed, offering seasonal cruising from Mobile with six- and eight-day itineraries.
“We offer customers something different for people who want to come to Mobile. So you’ll see that because it’s a longer cruise, we’ll probably attract different guests than we would for the shorter cruise,” Duffy said.
Mayor Sandy Stimpson was thrilled with the new ship and its bright future with Mobile.
“This really gives us a huge opportunity to prove to Carnival that you know we have the customer base in this market to support a ship like this which may even lead to better things in the future,” Mayor Stimpson said. .
Carnival Spirit will return to the port city by the end of October 2023.
Carnival Cruise Line said Spirit will offer cruises to Mexico, the Bahamas, Jamaica and Belize from Mobile.
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