Sailing into the Future: Carnival Cruise Line’s Bold New Venture

In response to the unprecedented consumer demand for cruise vacations, Carnival Cruise Line, the world’s largest cruise company, has ordered three new ships. These vessels, part of a new class, will have a gross registered tonnage of nearly 230,000. The agreement with Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri covers these ships’ design, engineering, and construction, which will be powered by liquefied natural gas (LNG), a significant step towards reducing our environmental footprint. The delivery of these state-of-the-art ships is scheduled for the summers of 2029, 2031, and 2033.

Christine Duffy, president of Carnival Cruise Line, expressed her pride in being known as America’s cruise line. She highlighted the company’s commitment to delivering memorable vacations to over 100 million guests and their focus on creating innovative guest experiences for the next generation of ships, a promise of exciting and unique experiences for our guests.

This year has been significant for Carnival Cruise Line, with five new ship orders announced in 2024. Carnival Corporation placed its first new-build orders in five years for two more Excel-class ships, set to join the fleet in 2027 and 2028. The company also recently announced strategic shifts to optimise its global brand portfolio and increase guest capacity for Carnival Cruise Line. This includes transferring five vessels from sister brands to the Carnival Cruise Line fleet between 2023 and March 2025.

Josh Weinstein, CEO of Carnival Corporation & plc, emphasised the company’s commitment to Carnival Cruise Line’s growth. He outlined the company’s disciplined approach to growth, strategically directing new capacity to areas of highest demand at a rate of one to two new ships per year. This order will take the company’s overall measured capacity growth between 2025 and 2033 to an average of approximately 1.5% per year, a testament to our strategic planning and future prospects.

With over 3,000 guest staterooms, the new ships will be the largest in the Carnival Corporation global fleet. They will be able to accommodate almost 8,000 guests at total capacity, more than any other ship in the world. By 2033, Carnival Corporation will have 16 LNG-powered ships, including eight Carnival Cruise Line ships. This will make up almost 30% of Carnival Corporation’s global capacity and contribute to immediate greenhouse gas emission reductions. The new ships will also feature advanced energy efficiency, waste management, and emission reduction technologies to reduce the company’s environmental footprint further.

Pierroberto Folgiero, CEO of Fincantieri, expressed his excitement about joining forces with Carnival Cruise Line to debut a new class of ship. This will be Fincantieri’s largest cruise ship ever constructed and the largest ship ever built in Italy.

Design details and itinerary information for the new Carnival Cruise Line ships will be announced in the future. The order is contingent upon financing and is expected to be completed later this year. This bold new venture promises to take Carnival Cruise Line into the future, offering guests innovative experiences and contributing to a more sustainable cruise industry.