Carnival Cruise Line is promising more fun – and it’s bringing it via a brand new class of cruise ship.
The world’s largest cruise company, Carnival Corporation, has announced it will introduce a new class of cruise ship with an order of three additional vessels for flagship brand, Carnival Cruise Line.
The new vessels, set to be delivered in the summers of 2029, 2031 and 2033, will also become the largest ships in Carnival’s global fleet. Featuring more than 3,000 guest staterooms, the ships will have a capacity of nearly 8,000 passenger guests.
At nearly 230,000 registered tonnes, the new ocean liners will be the largest cruise ships ever constructed by shipbuilder Fincantieri.
“We are excited to join forces with Carnival Cruise Line to debut a new class of ship, which will be the largest cruise ship ever constructed by Fincantieri and the largest ship ever built in Italy,” Fincantieri CEO Pierroberto Folgiero said.
“We are proud of the role Fincantieri has played in helping Carnival Corporation secure its position as the world’s largest cruise company and look forward to continuing this success story together.”
In addition, the new ships will increase Carnival Corporation’s total liquefied natural gas (LNG) powered fleet to 16 ships (including eight liners in CCL alone) when the third vessel is delivered in 2033. Carnival says this will equate to almost 30 per cent of its global capacity.
In other green initiatives, the new cruise ships will boast more efficient energy usage, waste management and less emissions as Carnival looks to further reduce the company’s environmental impact.
Details of the new ships’ design and itineraries will be announced later, with the vessels’ financing forecast for completion this year.
“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,” Carnival Cruise Line President Christine Duffy said.
In total, Carnival Corporation has announced five new ship orders for Carnival Cruise Line in 2024, including its first newbuild orders in five years for two more Excel-class ships that will join the CCL fleet in 2027 and 2028.
“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,” Carnival Corporation CEO Josh Weinstein said.
“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.”
Weinstein stated that the new order will lead to average capacity growth of 1.5 per cent per year from 2025 to 2033. This will also allow Carnival to allocate new capacity to high-performing brands while using free cash flow to reduce debt and enhance shareholder value, he added.
Between 2023 and March 2025, Carnival Corporation will also transfer five ships from sister brands to CCL – including P&O Cruises Australia vessels – boosting overall guest capacity.
In June, the company revealed a major change to its operations in Australia and the South Pacific, announcing that the P&O Cruises Australia brand will be merged into Carnival Cruise Line in March 2025. In an interview with Karryon, Christine Duffy moved to allay fears that the merging of the famous brand into CCL would see an end to P&O-like cruising for Australians.
Karryon Luxury also recently spoke to Peter Little, Chair of CLIA Australasia and Carnival’s SVP and Country Manager, about the ever-evolving cruise industry, juggling two of the most high-profile roles in cruise and why sailing into Sydney never fails to thrill.
Last week, Carnival revealed that Australia’s largest year-round cruise ship, Carnival Splendor, was on its way to Singapore for a dry dock upgrade. The cruise ship will return to Sydney on 9 September with refurbished spaces, updated amenities and what the cruise line says will be exciting new features.