Carnival Venezia officially joins Carnival Cruise Line

Costa Capt. Tihomir Muzic handed over the ship to Carnival Capt. Claudio Cupisti in Cadiz, Spain, Wednesday morning, with additional leadership team members from both lines in attendance.

'We are so pleased to welcome Carnival Venezia to the fleet, which following a dry dock, will debut as our first "Fun Italian Style" ship this May,' Carnival President Christine Duffy said. 'A big thank you to everyone from our sister line Costa and all those within the Carnival family who will work to add the Carnival touches to this ship over the next two months.'

First cruise May 29

Carnival Venezia will depart on a 15-day trans-Atlantic 'Carnival Journeys' sailing from Barcelona on May 29 and is set to begin year-round cruising from New York’s Manhattan Cruise Terminal on June 15.

A wide range of cruises are available, with 10 durations and 22 unique itineraries calling at 25 ports across 14 countries.