Carnival Corporation has ordered three new ships for its Carnival Cruise Line brand for a new giant class of vessel.
The agreement with Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri for liquefied natural gas (LNG)-powered ships, which will be delivered in the summers of 2029, 2031 and 2033, respectively.
With more than 3,000 cabins, the new ships will be the largest in the Carnival Corporation global fleet and will be able to carrying almost 8,000 passengers at full capacity.
The latest announcement means that there have been five new ship orders for Carnival Cruise Line announced in 2024.
Earlier this year, Carnival Corporation placed its first newbuild orders in five years for two more Excel-class ships that will join the Carnival Cruise Line fleet in 2027 and 2028.
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Furthermore, five vessels are being transferred from sister brands to the Carnival Cruise Line fleet between 2023 and March 2025.
Josh Weinstein, chief executive at Carnival Corporation, said: “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.”
This order will take the company’s overall measured capacity growth between 2025 and 2033 to an average of approximately 1.5% per year.
Christine Duffy, president of Carnival Cruise Line, commented: “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.”
Once the new ships are delivered by 2033, Carnival Corporation will have a total of 16 LNG-powered ships – including eight Carnival Cruise Line ships – making up almost 30% of Carnival Corporation’s global capacity.
Pierroberto Folgiero, Fincantieri chief executive, added: “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.”
Pictured: Carnival Jubilee, the cruise line’s newest flagship