Carnival Cruise Line is planning to expand its fleet of FUN ships with three more mega cruise vessels on the way.
In an exciting announcement released today, July 23, 2024, Carnival Cruise Line unveiled finalized plans to build three new cruise ships in a brand-new ship class. The new cruise ships are scheduled to be released in 2029, 2031, and 2033. The ship names were not announced at this time.
According to Carnival Cruise Line, the new ship class will feature vessels measuring 230,000 gross tons. This is significantly bigger than anything the cruise line has built before, including the Excel Class. The newest and biggest ship from Carnival Cruise Line is Carnival Jubilee, which clocks in at 182,800 gross tons.
This means the new ship class will be around 26% larger than the current Excel Class of ships, which is home to Mardi Gras, Carnival Celebration, and Carnival Jubilee. In fact, this new ship class from Carnival Cruise Line will be among the biggest cruise ships in the world. There are only a few ships currently sailing that exceed 230,000 gross tons - all of which are currently operated by Royal Caribbean.
In a press release from the cruise line, Carnival Cruise Line confirms the agreement with Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri is finalized. The shipbuilder will provide the design, engineering, and construction of the new liquified natural gas (LNG) powered ships. The cruise line states by 2033, its fleet will consist of 16 LNG-powered vessels - which operate on a cleaner fuel alternative. This aligns with the company’s sustainability efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Fincantieri’s CEO Pierroberto Folgiero said, ”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. 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.”
Not many details about the new ship class have been released at this time. However, the newest cruise ships from Carnival Cruise Line will have an astonishing 3,000 cabins onboard to accommodate its passengers. These cruise ships will have the capacity to sail with nearly 8,000 guests when operating at full capacity. Currently, the Excel Class ships can hold around 6,600 passengers at maximum capacity with 2,600 cabins onboard.
With this, Carnival Cruise Line’s new ship class will have more staterooms onboard than any other ship in cruising history. Currently, Royal Caribbean’s Icon of the Seas - the world’s largest cruise ship - has around 2,805 cabins onboard the massive vessel. Similarly, Royal Caribbean’s newest ship, Utopia of the Seas, features 2,834 cabins as the latest Oasis Class vessel for the cruise line.
Moreover, Carnival Cruise Line claims the new ship class will have "more fun to offer to more guests" than any other cruise ship in the world. Other details announced by the cruise line include further technology advancements. Carnival Cruise Line states the new ships will have advanced energy efficiency, waste management, and emission reduction technologies to further reduce the company’s environmental footprint.
Christine Duffy, President of Carnival Cruise Line, said in the announcement, “We are proud to be known as America's cruise line with tremendous guest loyalty and an outstanding team that has enabled us to deliver memorable vacations to over 100 million guests."
She continued to share how the next generation of cruise ships will be different than its predecessors. Duffy said, ”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 cruise line had previously announced new vessels that would be delivered starting in 2025, with more ships on the way. Earlier this year, Carnival Cruise Line announced the order of two more Excel Class ships, which are scheduled to be delivered to the cruise line in 2027 and 2028.
In addition, Carnival Cruise Line announced the planned transfer of five more vessels from sister brands to expand guest capacity. With increased demand, the cruise line is using the opportunity as a strategic shift towards further growth and increased capacity.
Josh Weinstein, Chief Executive Officer for Carnival Corporation, stated, ”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.”
Additionally, Weinstein commented on the cruise line’s upcoming schedule for new ships to the 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,” he said.
Today’s announcement of a new ship class aligns with earlier statements made by the cruise line. Carnival’s leadership has continued sharing the cruise line’s long-term growth plan; Weinstein stated earlier this year the cruise line’s intention to expand its fleet with one to two ships per year over the next decade, starting in 2027.
As a brand, Carnival Cruise Line is in growth mode, adding five new vessels to its fleet within the last few years. This includes three brand-new ships in the Excel Class, along with the transfer of two vessels from sister-brand Costa Cruises in 2021.
The expansion of Carnival’s fleet is unprecedented, proving to be one of the fastest fleet expansions in the cruise industry’s history. The cruise line has stated its strategic goals of welcoming back loyal guests while also appealing to new cruisers.
With the pandemic’s industry pause, the cruise line is back stronger than ever. Carnival Cruise Line has now reached its pre-pandemic fleet capacity with 27 ships. During the cruise industry shutdown, parent company Carnival Corporation retired at least 13 older ships, including Carnival Fantasy, Carnival Fascination, Carnival Imagination, Carnival Inspiration, Carnival Ecstasy, and Carnival Sensation.
The cruise line's growth is due to increased demand, which has been skyrocketing for the cruise line in recent years. In 2023, the cruise line’s president stated that bookings had reached an all-time high for Carnival Cruise Line. Most of the ships are continuously sailing at full capacity with guests paying higher cruise fares than the average fare in 2019. President Duffy also shared that booking volume was 17% higher than pre-pandemic years in 2023.
Earlier this year, Carnival Cruise Line announced the order of a fourth Excel Class ship, which is currently home to the cruise line’s biggest vessels. This was the first new build order for the cruise line in the last five years. At the time of the announcement, Duffy emphasized the success of the Excel Class, “Our Excel-class ships have been a tremendous addition to the Carnival fleet and proven very popular with our guests.”
The fourth Excel Class ship will be the same size and design as her sister ships, Mardi Gras, Carnival Celebration, and Carnival Jubilee. Mardi Gras, the flagship vessel for the game-changing Excel Class, debuted in 2021. Following this, sister-ship Carnival Celebration first set sail in 2022 followed by Carnival Jubilee in late 2023.
The Excel Class was an exciting new chapter for the cruise line, as the vessels measured 40% bigger than anything built by the brand before. The massive size of the Excel Class has aided Carnival Cruise Line to rapidly expand its passenger capacity.
Allie Hubers
Allie Hubers has been cruising since she was a tiny toddler. What started as a yearly vacation with family quickly turned into a passion for travel, cruising and adventure. Allie's been on over 45 cruises all over the world. She even studied abroad on Semester at Sea, sailing the world on a ship while taking courses for college and visiting 4 continents.
