Carnival Cruise Line is an international cruise line with headquarters in Doral, Florida. The company is a subsidiary of Carnival Corporation & plc. Its logo is a funnel shaped like a whale's tail, with a red, white, and blue color scheme. This trademark funnel design is built onto the line's ships. Carnival is ranked first on the list of largest cruise lines based on passengers carried annually. , Carnival Cruise Line operates a fleet of 24 ships. They have one additional new build on order and a further two ships will join the fleet in 2023 and 2024, following a new joint venture deal between Carnival and Costa. Company structure Carnival is one of ten cruise lines owned by the world's largest cruise ship operator, the American-British Carnival Corporation & plc. In 2021, Carnival Cruise Line was estimated to hold a 7.6% share of cruise industry revenue and 18.2% of passengers. It has 24 vessels and is the largest fleet in the Carnival group. The ships fly flags of convenience: 17 of the ships fly the Panama flag and seven that of the Bahamas. Its headquarters are in Miami, Florida, United States. The North American division of Carnival Corporation has executive control over the corporation and is headquartered in Doral, Florida. History 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. 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. 1970s: Early years Carnival Cruise Line commenced sailings from Miami with their first ship the Mardi Gras in 1972, a former transatlantic liner purchased from Canadian Pacific Line. Carnival would adapt and evolve the green Canadian Pacific livery for their new logo, changing the colors to red, white and blue as seen today. 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