Carnival Cruise Line was founded in 1972 by Ted Arison. To finance the venture, Arison turned to his friend Meshulam Riklis, who owned Boston-based American International Travel Service (AITS). Arison and Riklis set up the new company as a subsidiary of AITS. AITS was to market and promote the new venture.
Carnival Cruise Line commenced sailings from Miami with their first ship the Mardi Gras in 1972. Carnival would adapt and evolve the green Canadian Pacific livery for their new logo, changing the colours to red, white and blue as seen today.
In 1974, due to regulatory issues, Riklis sold AITS’s interest in the company to Arison for $1, but subject to Arison taking over the substantial company debts. The split enabled Arison to enter into new relationships with independent travel agents. He also promoted his cruises to fun-loving younger people. The format was very successful financially.
In 1975, Carnival acquired another former Canadian Pacific Line ship, renaming it the Carnivale. The success of the two ships led to the acquisition of their third ship in 1978, the TSS Festivale, another former ocean liner. With the success of the three ships, Carnival decided to build new ships to be able to compete with the rival Miami cruise lines.
Fleet
- Mardi Gras
- Carnivale
- Festivale