California may have been last in the US cruising queue, after Florida, Texas, and Seattle, but the state has returned as a cruise gateway after 17 months on pandemic pause with the launch Saturday of a Carnival ship bound for the Mexican Riviera.

The Panorama was the first ship to set sail again from the state on Saturday, headed out on a seven-day return trip to the Mexican ports of Puerto Vallarta, Cabo San Lucas, and Mazatlan from Long Beach, just south of Los Angeles.

“I can’t tell you how excited I am to be on the Panorama for its inaugural return to service,” said passenger Bob Lechtreck, who added that he and his wife were on the inaugural sailing of the ship on Dec. 11, 2019. “It’s been way too long since we’ve sailed, and we couldn’t be happier returning to our favourite activity.”

The departure comes just days after 27 people tested positive for COVID-19 on a Carnival cruise just before the ship made a stop in Belize City, Belize. The ship headed back to Galveston, Texas, Friday after stopping in Mexico.

The positive cases were among 26 crew members and one passenger on the Carnival Vista, which was carrying over 1,400 crew and nearly 3,000 passengers, the Belize Tourism Board said in a statement. All 27 were vaccinated, had mild or no symptoms and were in isolation, according to the statement. The tourism board said 99.98% of the ship’s crew was vaccinated, as well as 96.5% of its passengers.

Carnival celebrated its California departure with a celebration at the cruise terminal during which Carnival president Christine Duffy and Carnival Panorama Captain Luca Lazzarino cut the ribbon to officially welcome guests back on board.

“We’re thrilled that Carnival Panorama is resuming service as the first cruise ship to sail from California,” said Duffy. “We’ve implemented extensive protocols on board to keep our guests, crew and the destinations we visit safe and healthy. We want to thank our partners and local officials in Long Beach for working closely with us to restart our cruise operations from Southern California.”

Carnival plans to operate three- to 15-day cruises to Mexico and Hawaii from the Port of Long Beach, including Panorama’s seven-day cruises. The Carnival Miracle will also resume the line’s short cruise program starting in September while the Carnival Radiance, fresh from a US$200-million dry dock, will make its debut from Southern California later this year.