Carnival Cruise Line has held a Texan-themed keel-laying ceremony for Carnival Jubilee at the Meyer Werft shipyard.
Coins signifying good luck were placed under the 375-ton keel block as Carnival Cruise Line president Christine Duffy, who wore a cowboy-shaped hard hat.
She watched the ceremony alongside Meyer Werft director Bernard Meyer and Carnival’s senior vice-president of new-builds, Ben Clement.
Carnival Jubilee, which is currently being built in Papenburg, Germany, will be the line’s third liquefied natural gas-powered ship and will also feature Bolt like its sister vessels.
One of the ship’s lucky coins is an official ship coin, which commemorates Carnival’s history while “celebrating its future by showing Carnival Jubilee alongside the original MS Jubilee from 1986”, the line said.
The coins will be permanent fixtures of the ship.
Carnival Jubilee starts sailing from Galveston, Texas, in November 2023 with seven-day Western Caribbean cruises, stopping in Cozumel and Costa Maya, Mexico, as well as Mahogany Bay, Honduras.
Duffy said: “Our plans for Texas are as big as the state itself, and we’re looking forward to bringing guests aboard our third Excel-class ship that will be just as magnificent as her sister ships Mardi Gras and Carnival Celebration.
“I’m ecstatic to be here for this important moment and witness construction now officially underway.
“Carnival Jubilee will significantly enhance our offerings from Galveston as the industry leader in the Texas cruise market and an important contributor to the Galveston tourism economy.”
Meyer Werft has already built four other LNG-powered ships for other cruise lines under Carnival Corporation.
Meyer Turku in Finland delivered sister ship Mardi Gras last year and will deliver Carnival Celebration later this year.
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