The Carnival Liberty recently completed 20 years of cruising for Carnival Cruise Line after being delivered to the company on July 15, 2005.
As the fourth ship in Carnival’s Conquest series of vessels, the Liberty was built at the Fincantieri shipyard in Monfalcone, Italy.
Before embarking on its maiden voyage, the 110,000-ton vessel was christened by actress Mira Sorvino during a special ceremony held in Civitavecchia, a port near Italy’s capital city of Rome.
The Carnival Liberty then set sail on its inaugural voyage on July 20, 2005, kicking off its maiden season in Europe.
The deployment included a series of 12-night cruises to the Mediterranean, sailing to destinations in Italy, Croatia, Spain and Monaco, including Naples, Venice, Messina, Livorno, Dubrovnik, Barcelona and Monte Carlo.
The 2,974-guest ship continued to sail in the region through early October, when it embarked on a trans-Atlantic crossing to Florida.
Upon arriving in Fort Lauderdale, the vessel launched a regular schedule of six- and eight-night cruises to either the Western or the Eastern Caribbean.
After offering a second summer season in the Mediterranean in 2006, the Carnival Liberty continued to sail from Port Everglades through 2008, when it repositioned to Miami.
The ship sailed from other homeports before arriving in Port Canaveral, from which it spent most of recent years offering short cruises to the Bahamas.
In May 2024, the vessel repositioned to New Orleans, launching a series of weeklong cruises to the Bahamas and the Caribbean.
Earlier this year, the ship entered drydock for a comprehensive refurbishment that included the addition of enhancements to its public areas and features.
Among the new additions is the Heroes Tribute Bar & Lounge, a special space honoring military service members and their families that is being rolled out to Carnival’s fleet.
The Carnival Liberty also saw the addition of a WaterWorks aqua park, with new slides, as well as the creation of a new mini golf course.