Carnival Cruise Line expands fleet with three new ships

Carnival Corporation & plc announced that it ordered three new ships from Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri to augment its namesake Carnival Cruise Line’s fleet .

Carnival’s latest acquisitions include a new class of vessel, at nearly 230,000 gross registered tonnes. 

Carnival Cruise Line president Christine Duffy said of the vessel: “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.”

The company’s agreement with Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri provides for the design, engineering, and construction of these liquefied natural gas (LNG)-powered ships, which will be delivered in the summers of 2029, 2031 and 2033, respectively.

Bigger and Better

With over 3,000 guest staterooms, the new ships will be the largest in the Carnival Corporation global fleet and will be able to deliver fun to more guests than any ship in the world when carrying almost 8,000 guests at full capacity.

Once delivered in 2033, Carnival Corporation will have a total of 16 LNG-powered ships, making up almost 30 percent of Carnival Corporation’s global capacity and delivering immediate greenhouse gas emission reductions.

The new ships will also feature advanced energy efficiency, waste management, and emission reduction technologies to further reduce the company’s environmental footprint.

Growing the line

This recent announcement is the fifth new ship order for Carnival Cruise Line for 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. 

The company also recently announced a series of strategic shifts to further optimise the composition of its global brand portfolio and to increase guest capacity for Carnival Cruise Line, transferring a total of five vessels from sister brands to the Carnival Cruise Line fleet between 2023 and March 2025.

According to Carnival Corporation CEO Josh Weinstein: “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.”

Weinstein added that, at present, Carnival’s newbuild pipeline will take just one delivery in 2025, 2027, 2028, 2029, 2031 and 2033. This disciplined approach to growth strategically directs new capacity to the areas of highest demand at a rate of one to two new ships per year.