🚢 In The Wake

Cruise Encyclopedia & Ship Encyclopedia

⚓ Final Holiday Class Ship

MS Celebration

1987–2021 • The Last Survivor

Built by Kockums, Sweden • 47,262 GT

"When Celebration went, the class went entirely. The final completion. The last survivor honors the fleet."

The Final Holiday Class Ship

Holiday began the class. Jubilee continued it. Celebration completed it. The third and final Holiday Class ship launched in 1987, representing everything Carnival had learned from her sisters. She was also the last survivor—when Celebration reached Indian breakers in January 2021, the Holiday Class ended entirely. Three ships, three names for celebration, one completed vision of SuperLiner cruising.

Service Timeline

1987: Delivered by Kockums, Sweden as final Holiday Class ship
1989: Heroic rescue operation—diverted to save aircraft crash survivors near Nassau
1987-2008: Served Carnival for 21 years
2008: Transferred to Ibero Cruceros as Grand Celebration
2013: Costa absorbed Ibero, briefly Costa Celebration
2014: Sold to Bahamas Paradise Cruise Line as Grand Celebration
2020: COVID collapsed Bahamas Paradise operations
2021: Last Holiday Class ship scrapped at Alang, India

Specifications

Gross Tonnage
47,262 GT
Length
733 feet (223m)
Passenger Capacity
1,486 passengers
Builder
Kockums, Sweden
Carnival Service
21 years (1987-2008)
Total Service
34 years

From the Logbook

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Legacy

The Holiday Class is gone. Holiday, Jubilee, Celebration—all scrapped. The SuperLiner trio exists only in memory and in design principles their successors inherited. They served combined ninety-eight years across various identities. They introduced SuperLiner scale to cruising. Celebration was the final chapter—she completed the class, served the longest, and went last. The completion role extended through her entire career.