Carnival Ecstasy is beginning its final cruise today, and the ship that has carried nearly 5.5 million guests on fun and memorable vacations since 1991 brought many longtime Carnival cruisers to Mobile, Ala. to embark on the farewell voyage.

The sold-out five-day cruise, which includes visits to Cozumel and Progreso, Mexico, is the last of more than 2,300 voyages for the ship. Carnival Cruise Line Brand Ambassador John Heald, who served as Carnival Ecstasy’s cruise director in the ship’s early days, is hosting a large group of Carnival Ecstasy fans.

“We’ve certainly enjoyed a great deal of fun on Carnival Ecstasy over the years,” Heald said. “M/S Ecstasy, as we knew her then, was a game-changer when she entered the fleet, along with her Fantasy-class ‘SuperLiner’ sisters, and we have the innovations of that time to thank for many of the features our ships are known for now.”

Carnival Ecstasy was built in Helsinki, Finland and debuted as the cruise line’s second “Fun Ship” of the revolutionary Fantasy-class. Over the years, the ship has served eight of Carnival’s homeports, including Miami, Port Canaveral and Jacksonville, Fla., Galveston, Tex., Long Beach, Calif., New Orleans, La., Charleston, S.C., and most recently, Mobile, Ala.

An important piece of Carnival Ecstasy memorabilia, a 1934 Rolls Royce Saloon that had been parked by the ship’s aptly named Rolls Royce Café, will stay a part of the fleet – on board the new Carnival Celebration. The car millions of Carnival guests have admired will become a feature of Carnival Celebration’s The Gateway, a two-deck area of the ship which celebrates the excitement of exploring new destinations and highlights Carnival’s evolution of ships over the last 50 years. The new ship debuts at PortMiami on Nov. 20.

Carnival will resume sailings from its homeport of Mobile, Ala. in Oct. 2023 when Carnival Spirit arrives and offers a variety of Eastern and Western Caribbean itineraries from the Port of Mobile beginning Oct. 6, 2023. The new seasonal six- and eight-day cruise program features visits to destinations in The Bahamas, Mexico, Belize and other popular destinations.