Carnival Cruise Line welcomed the first guests to sail on Carnival Venezia™ from New York City at the Manhattan Cruise Terminal.
The cruise line said that the ship’s launch coincides with the busy summer travel season and builds on an exciting period of growth for Carnival, as the first of three ships to join the fleet over the next year.
At the welcome event, Carnival Venezia received a special blessing from Father Enrique Salvo of St. Patrick’s Cathedral.
Also present was Jay Leno, acclaimed comedian and television host who became the first godfather named to a Carnival ship. Leno also performed a special comedy show exclusively for Carnival’s event guests.
Christine Duffy, President of Carnival Cruise Line said: “By highlighting his own Italian heritage, Jay is helping us celebrate the Italian theming guests will experience when they cruise on this beautiful ship.
“We’ve heard great reviews from guests who sailed on the ship’s transatlantic crossing, and now I am so happy to welcome our first guests joining us from New York to enjoy what’s in store for them.”
The ceremony also highlighted new entertainment programming and other concepts created for Carnival Venezia’s debut.
The ship is the first to introduce “Carnival Fun Italian Style” which adds Carnival’ssignature fun to the vessel’s beautiful Italian theming.
Carnival Venezia is architecturally styled after its namesake, the city of Venice, Italy.
Also present at the ceremony were Captain Claudio Cupisti and some of the first guests to board from New York who joined Duffy to cut a ceremonial ribbon and officially begin embarkation.
The departure from New York will take guests on a four-day sailing that includes a visit to Bermuda.
This summer, the ship will alternate between sailing four-, five- six- and eight-day sailings to the Caribbean, Bermuda and ports in Canada and New England, including Saint John’s and Halifax.
Beyond the summer season, the ship will begin a new series on Sept. 29, 2023, that alternates between eight- to 12-day cruises to the Eastern Caribbean, Southern Caribbean and The Bahamas, along with four of Carnival’s private destinations: Half Moon Cay, Princess Cays, Amber Cove and Grand Turk.
In addition, select cruises will feature Miami as a port of call.
To see sailings currently open for sale on Carnival Venezia, click here or visit http://www.carnival.com,
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