New Ship Class Coming for Carnival Cruise Line
The Carnival Corporation, a cruise company with several associated brands, owns a total of 90 ships – including the Carnival legend (pictured here). Photo: Courtesy of Carnival Corporation
(eap) Carnival Corporation, a cruise company headquartered in Miami/Florida with several associated brands and a total of 90 ships operating worldwide, has ordered three more ships for Carnival Cruise Line, which will be delivered from 2029 and, with a planned capacity of almost 8,000 passengers each (and a size of almost 230,000 gross registered tonnes), will form a completely new class of ship. The Italian Fincantieri shipyard has been commissioned to build them, with deliveries planned for the summers of 2029, 2031 and 2033. Earlier this year, further ships of the “Excel” class – also for the popular American cruise brand – had been ordered (c.f. EAP News of 15 February 2024).
Looking forward to the first delivery in summer 2029, Carnival Cruise Line President Christine Duffy comments: “We are proud to be known as America’s cruise line with tremendous guest loyalty and an outstanding team that has enabled us to deliver memorable vacations to over 100 million guests. For this next generation ship, we are focused on creating innovative guest experiences that will take Carnival Cruise Line into the future with new fun features and excitement that we know our guests will love.”
Josh Weinstein, CEO of Carnival Corporation, which also has cruise brands such as AIDA Cruises, Costa Cruises, Cunard, P&O Cruises (Australia) and Seabourn in its portfolio, explains: “We are doubling down on the growth of Carnival Cruise Line – our highest-returning brand – to keep up with the incredibly strong demand we continue to see for the world’s most popular cruise line. At this point, our newbuild pipeline is just one delivery in each of 2025, 2027, 2028, 2029, 2031 and 2033. We continue to take a disciplined approach to growth, strategically directing new capacity to the areas of highest demand at a rate of one to two new ships per year […]”.
Like other cruise ship operators, Carnival Corporation is relying on LNG (“liquefied natural gas”) as the propulsion technology for its new ships. Liquefied natural gas is said to enable lower-emission shipping compared to heavy fuel oil or marine diesel, but its actual environmental footprint is the subject of critical debate in research. At least as a transitional technology, LNG currently appears to be gaining acceptance in the modern cruise ship industry.
The fact that travelling on the high seas with regular stops in the ports of exciting destinations continues to be a trend is made clear by the fleet expansions of various cruise companies. Disney Cruise Lines, for example, will also bring its travel business to Japan in the future. The company also recently announced details of its upcoming new “Disney Destiny” ship, which will be a “floating Disney park” offering top-class family experiences centred around popular Disney characters. A large new vessel coming from a European company will set sail in the Caribbean in 2025 with the “MSC World America” (from the Geneva-based company MSC Cruises) – with seven main areas for extensive leisure fun and entertainment, among other offers and facilites, no guest wishes should be left unfulfilled during a voyage… ■
