Carnival Paradise is a Fantasy-class cruise ship operated by Carnival Cruise Line, built by Kværner Masa-Yards at Helsinki New Shipyard in Finland. She was floated out on January 29, 1998, and initially christened as Paradise by Paula Zahn. In 2007, her name was changed to Carnival Paradise, aligning with her sister ships in the Fantasy class. The vessel was notable for being the world's first fully non-smoking cruise ship, a feature supported by anti-smoking and cancer-prevention groups. Strict non-smoking policies were enforced, with prominent signage and significant fines for violations. However, this policy was discontinued in December 2003 due to poor revenue, as non-smokers tended to engage less in drinking and gambling. Carnival Paradise has undergone several service changes and refits. Originally, from 1998 to 2004, she operated 7-day Caribbean cruises from Miami. In 2004, she relocated to Long Beach, California, where she offered 3- and 4-day cruises to Ensenada, Mexico, and Santa Catalina Island. Her arrival in Long Beach was delayed in 2004 by hurricanes, which also impacted her Caribbean and Panama Canal itineraries. Later, in late 2011, she was transferred to Tampa, Florida, replacing Carnival Inspiration, and now offers 4- and 5-night cruises to the Western Caribbean and Bahamas, including occasional trips to Havana, Cuba, and Key West from 2017 to 2019. Notable upgrades include a month-long dry dock in 2018 at Freeport, Bahamas, where a 14th deck was added at the front of the ship to increase capacity with 38 new cabins. In 2023, Carnival Paradise underwent another refit during her October dry dock, adding new spaces and upgrades to enhance guest experience. In 2021, she was repainted into Carnival's new livery, maintaining her significance as a versatile and evolving vessel within Carnival's fleet.

This description has been generated using GPT-4.1-NANO based on the Vessel's wikidata information and then modified by ShipIndex.org staff.