Published by
Miami Herald
Miami Herald
MIAMI — Carnival Cruise Line has come a long way since its first cruise: On March 11, 1972, the Carnival Mardi Gras left port in Miami on the line’s maiden voyage, packed with passengers, press and crew. It didn’t make it far though. The Mardi Gras ran aground on a sandbar off Miami Beach. It took 24 hours for the ship to be pulled free. “The ship was stuck on this sandbar and everyone was like, ‘This is never gonna work,’” said Peter Ricci, the director of Florida Atlantic University’s hospitality management program. “When they were able to tug this thing off that sandbar, it was the beginnin…