Carnival Cruise Line announced Sunday it was returning to year-round operations in Mobile beginning in the spring 2027.

It will mark the first time that the Miami-based cruise giant will sail on a year-round schedule from the Alabama Cruise Terminal since before the pandemic.

“The return to year-round sailings from the Port of Mobile is a testament to our relationship with Carnival and the incredible effort the staff at the Mobile Alabama Cruise Terminal puts in to making sure every passenger has an exceptional experience,” Mayor Sandy Stimpson said.

“This is great news for Mobilians and the many businesses that rely on our city’s thriving tourism industry.”

The announcement came from the company via a news release that laid out the company’s strategic plans over the next five years.

As part of that plan, the company announced a commitment to serving its “secondary markets” that include Mobile.

Those markets are identified by the company as “an important part” of the company’s portfolio by offering an “accessible vacation” for 50 percent of the U.S. population that is within a five-hour drive of a Carnival cruise.

The cruise ship sailing out of Mobile was not included in the announcement.

Christine Duffy, president of Carnival Cruise Line, said updates will be coming this summer.

Carnival Spirit has been sailing out of Mobile since 2023, for seasonal excursions from October to May.

It is the largest cruise ship to sail out of Mobile with a capacity of 2,100 passengers. The Spirit is set to be in Mobile for another two years.

The goal for Mobile has been to restore year-round cruising out of the downtown cruise terminal with the larger ships that Carnival Cruise Line is operating.

The older, smaller ships that operated out of Mobile – namely, the Carnival Fantasy, which sailed from 2016-2020 – have since been sent off for scrap.

The Fantasy ended its run amid the onset of the pandemic. Most of those excursions out of Mobile were to Cozumel and Progreso, Yucatan.

The city has made investments in the cruise terminal in recent years including the unveiling last month of a new gangway that will take passengers from the facility on board the cruise ship.