Carnival Sunshine departed Barcelona, Spain, this afternoon on a 16-day trans-Atlantic crossing following its inaugural season in Europe.  The totally transformed ship – which underwent a massive $155 million, 75-day makeover earlier this year – will visit ports in Spain, the Canary Islands and Grand Turk before arriving in New Orleans Nov. 17.

Following the ship’s official naming ceremony with philanthropist and author Lin Arison serving as godmother, part of an invitation-only pierside overnight event, Carnival Sunshine will operate a one-time six-day cruise Nov. 18-24 then launch a schedule of seven-day Caribbean sailings from the Big Easy through April.  Carnival Sunshine will then reposition to Port Canaveral, Fla., for year-round five- to eight-day Caribbean departures beginning April 19.

The unprecedented transformation of the 3,006-passenger Carnival Sunshine added all of the line’s Fun Ship 2.0 innovations – from the island-inspired RedFrog Pub and Hasbro, The Game Show to the cocktail pharmacy-themed Alchemy Bar and Guy’s Burger Joint developed in tandem with Food Network star Guy Fieri – along with features unique to this vessel such as a stunning three-level Serenity adults-only retreat.