CARNIVAL RADIANCE
September 27, 2024 | Long Beach, California
Carnival Radiance (Carnival Cruise Line) is docked at Long Beach on September 27, 2024, preparing to depart on a three-night Baja Mexico cruise. Originally entering service as Carnival Victory in 2000, the ship emerged from an extensive transformation in 2021 with a new name and significantly redesigned passenger spaces.
Carnival Radiance is docked at Long Beach on September 27, 2024, preparing to depart on a three-night Baja Mexico cruise. The round-trip sailing from Southern California included a day at sea followed by a call at Ensenada before returning to Long Beach on September 30.
The ship has a history stretching back considerably further than the Carnival Radiance name suggests. Built by Fincantieri in Italy, she entered service for Carnival Cruise Line in 2000 as Carnival Victory. After approximately two decades under that identity, Carnival undertook an extensive transformation of the ship. She emerged in 2021 as Carnival Radiance, with substantially redesigned passenger spaces and new dining, recreation and entertainment venues.
Her September 2024 appearance at Long Beach documents the ship during the second phase of that career. Although her basic hull and machinery trace back to Carnival Victory, the extensive rebuilding created a noticeably different passenger experience and allowed the ship to take on a new role operating short cruises from Southern California.
Information List
Name: Carnival Radiance
Original Name: Carnival Victory
Operator: Carnival Cruise Line
Builder: Fincantieri, Monfalcone, Italy
Entered Service: 2000
Renamed Carnival Radiance: 2021
Gross Tonnage: Approximately 101,500 GT
Length: Approximately 893 feet / 272 meters
Beam: Approximately 116 feet / 35 meters
Guest Capacity: Approximately 2,984 at double occupancy
Major Transformation: 2021
Homeport in 2024: Long Beach, California
Gallery Date: September 27, 2024
Gallery Location: Long Beach, California
Voyage: Three-night Baja Mexico cruise
Port of Call: Ensenada, Mexico
Return to Long Beach: September 30, 2024
History and Features
Carnival Victory:
The ship was constructed by Fincantieri at Monfalcone, Italy, for Carnival Cruise Line.
She entered service in 2000 as Carnival Victory.
The ship was part of Carnival's Triumph-class development, closely related to Carnival Triumph and derived from the earlier Destiny-class design.
At approximately 101,500 gross tons, she belonged to a generation that helped establish the 100,000-ton cruise ship as an increasingly common part of the industry.
Carnival Victory spent roughly two decades operating Carnival itineraries before the company undertook her extensive transformation.
Transformation into Carnival Radiance:
Carnival announced plans to extensively rebuild Carnival Victory and rename the ship Carnival Radiance.
The transformation ultimately took place during the extended cruise-industry shutdown associated with the COVID-19 pandemic.
The project went considerably beyond a routine refurbishment, with major changes to passenger accommodations, dining venues, recreation areas and public spaces.
The renamed Carnival Radiance entered service in December 2021.
Although the ship retained the hull and fundamental structure of Carnival Victory, the rebuilding established a new identity for the vessel.
Dining and Public Spaces:
The transformation introduced dining concepts that had become established across newer and recently modernized Carnival ships.
Guy's Burger Joint and BlueIguana Cantina became part of the ship's casual dining selection.
Shaquille O'Neal's Big Chicken restaurant was also added aboard Carnival Radiance.
Additional venues and redesigned public spaces significantly changed the onboard experience from the ship's earlier years as Carnival Victory.
The work helped align the older vessel with Carnival's more contemporary fleet standards.
Recreation and Entertainment:
WaterWorks provides a large outdoor water-play area with slides and other attractions.
SportSquare offers outdoor recreation and activity spaces.
The adults-only Serenity area provides a quieter alternative to the ship's family-oriented facilities.
Entertainment spaces include the Punchliner Comedy Club and venues used for Carnival's stage productions.
These additions reflect the evolution of Carnival's onboard product during the two decades separating the ship's original debut from her transformation.
Southern California Service:
Following her transformation, Carnival Radiance became closely associated with Carnival's operations from Long Beach.
Short Baja Mexico cruises make up an important part of her Southern California schedule.
These voyages allow the ship to operate frequent departures from Long Beach with calls at destinations such as Ensenada.
Longer itineraries from Southern California can include additional destinations along the Mexican coast and elsewhere in the Pacific.
Her deployment alongside other Carnival ships has made Carnival Radiance a familiar presence at the Long Beach Cruise Terminal.
September 27, 2024 – Long Beach:
These photographs show Carnival Radiance docked at Long Beach on September 27, 2024.
She was preparing to begin a three-night Baja Mexico cruise that afternoon.
The ship was scheduled to depart Long Beach at approximately 4:00 p.m.
September 28 was spent at sea.
Carnival Radiance called at Ensenada on September 29, with the published schedule listing an 8:00 a.m. arrival and 5:00 p.m. departure.
The ship returned to Long Beach on the morning of September 30.
The gallery therefore documents the beginning of a specific short cruise rather than simply a routine day alongside in Long Beach.
From Carnival Victory to Carnival Radiance:
The ship's two identities provide an example of how cruise lines can extend the careers of existing vessels through extensive reconstruction.
Carnival Victory entered service during a period of rapid growth in cruise-ship size around the beginning of the twenty-first century.
More than 20 years later, the rebuilding as Carnival Radiance allowed the same vessel to serve a market with significantly different expectations for dining, entertainment and recreation.
Her underlying structure still reflects the Carnival ships of the late 1990s and early 2000s, while many passenger-facing spaces reflect the company's much newer design concepts.
Legacy:
Carnival Radiance connects two distinct periods of Carnival Cruise Line history within a single vessel.
Her original career as Carnival Victory represents Carnival's major fleet expansion around the turn of the twenty-first century.
Her extensive transformation demonstrates the industry's increasing use of major modernization projects to extend the operating lives of established cruise ships.
The September 27, 2024 Long Beach gallery documents the ship in her second identity and in the Southern California service that has become an important part of her more recent career.
OLP Social: Preparing for a three-night Baja Mexico sailing, the former Carnival Victory continues her Southern California service following an extensive 2021 rebuild that introduced a new name and redesigned passenger spaces.
