Carnival Cruise Line has taken possession of the Firenze from sister line Costa Cruises. The handover took place Friday in Cadiz, Spain.
Carnival will transform the ship into the Carnival Firenze with refurbishments over the next two months, adding Carnival features to a ship that pays homage to Florence, Italy.
The Firenze will be the second Costa ship to undergo the "Carnival Fun, Italian Style" transformation. Last year, the Venezia made its Carnival debut after undergoing a refurbishment. That ship is based in New York.
The Firenze has an atrium modeled after the Piazza del Duomo, and the lido deck draws inspiration from the Italian Riviera. The ship will have features that are on the Venezia, including La Strada Grill serving classic Italian street food, a Mexitalian fusion restaurant called Tomodor and fine-dining establishment Il Viaggio.
The ship will sail year-round from Long Beach, Calif., starting April 25, doing three- and four-day cruises to Mexico and Catalina Island along with five-, six- and seven-day cruises to the Mexican Rivera.
The Firenze brings Carnival's fleet to 27 ships.
The transfer of the Venezia and Firenze was part of a move by Carnival Corp. to reduce the Costa fleet as it recovered from the pandemic.