The Long Beach Cruise Terminal has a new resident — a 1000-foot-long, 5,200-guest cruise ship by the name of Firenze.
The Carnival cruise ship arrived Tuesday after traveling from Europe to Long Beach, which will be its permanent home base as it sails year-round, offering multi-day cruises to the Mexican Riviera.
The Firenze is an Italian-inspired ship that is named after the city of Florence. It was originally part of a fleet of cruise ships belonging to Costa Cruises, a popular cruise line in Italy, and a subsidiary of Carnival.
It was built and delivered to Costa Cruises in December 2020, but in June 2022, it was announced Firenze would be coming stateside as part of the company’s “Costa by Carnival” initiative, alongside its sister ship, Carnival Venezia, which calls New York City home.
Both cruise ships feature Italian-themed restaurants, bars and entertainment, and unique Italian-inspired design and architecture.
It’s the third Carnival cruise ship to sail from Long Beach to Baja Mexico and the Mexican Riviera, joining the Carnival Panorama and Radiance ships. Firenze is the largest of the three and has the highest maximum passenger capacity of more than 6,500 combined guests and crew.
The ship is over 323 meters long with 135,300 gross tonnage, a measurement of a ship’s total internal volume, and has more than 2,100 passenger cabins, according to its specification page.
Firenze’s maiden voyage —from Long Beach, at least — will take place on Thursday, with an “Italian-inspired” inaugural event and naming celebration being held the day before at the Carnival Cruise Terminal.
Carnival Cruise Line executives will be on hand, as well as actor Jonathan Bennett, known for several holiday romance films and his portrayal of Aaron Samuels in the classic teen-comedy “Mean Girls.”
Bennett is a longtime Carnival cruiser and even honeymooned on one of its ships, Carnival officials said. He sailed the first voyage of Venezia last May and has been given the unofficial title of Firenze’s “godfather.”
Firenze will offer several different itinerary options, with cruises ranging from three-day quick tips to seven-day excursions.
Cruises can be reserved by phone or online at carnival.com.