Carnival Cruise Line just announced the names of its next two cutting-edge Excel class ship. Once again, they pay tribute to the cruise line’s history.
Scheduled to debut in 2027, Carnival Cruise Line will name its next megaship Carnival Festivale. The new Carnival Festivale will be the fourth vessel in Carnival Cruise Line’s Excel class - which is home to the cruise line’s biggest and most innovative cruise ships.
Carnival Cruise Line also announced the fifth Excel class ship will debut as Carnival Tropicale the following year in 2028. The announcement was shared by Cruise Radio on Facebook during an event known as Carnival Innovation Itinerary onboard Carnival Celebration. In addition, Cruise Radio shared that Carnival Festivale will be sailing from Port Canaveral, Florida starting in 2027.
(Originally shared on Facebook by CruiseRadio)
Carnival Cruise Line previously announced the company had placed an order for a fourth Excel class ship, which would debut in Spring 2027. This was the first new-build order the cruise line had placed in five years. In March 2024, Carnival Cruise Line announced the company had placed another order for a fifth Excel class ship.
Do the names Carnival Festivale and Carnival Tropicale sound familiar to you? That’s because these names are both throwbacks to Carnival Cruise Line’s early days. The original SS Festivale and MS Tropicale were among the very first ships to sail under for Carnival Cruise Line.
(Originally shared on Facebook by CruiseRadio)
Also, this isn’t the first time Carnival Cruise Line has recycled an old name from its original fleet. The first ship in Carnival’s revolutionary Excel class is named Mardi Gras - a tribute to the very first vessel to sail for the cruise line.
The second and third ships in the Excel class, Carnival Celebration and Carnival Jubilee, are also reused names for the cruise line, namely MS Celebration (1987) and MS Jubilee (1986).
Keeping with this trend, it’s not surprising that Carnival Cruise Line decided to use two other names from its history books. In fact, this seems to be an emerging trend for cruise lines across the industry.
For instance, Royal Caribbean just announced its third Icon class ship would be named Legend of the Seas, which is also a recycled name. The original Legend of the Seas was a Vision-class ship that was built in 1995 and left the Royal Caribbean fleet in 2017. The original Legend of the Seas now sails as Marella Discovery 2.
The interesting history of the original Carnival Festivale.
(Image shared on Instagram by @PassengerShips)
The original Carnival Festivale was built in 1961 as a British ocean liner, originally named RMS Transvaal Castle. The ship was then sold to a South African-based company and renamed S.A. Vaal, sailing from Southhampton, England to Durban, South Africa.
The RMS Transvaal Castle - which could hold around 730 passengers - was sold to Carnival Cruise Line in 1977. The vessel was rebuilt in Kobe, Japan for Carnival Cruise Line as the third cruise ship in the cruise line’s fleet.
The construction costs supposedly cost Carnival around $30 million, as the cruise line needed to remove former cargo holds and double the vessel’s passenger capacity. They also added new lounges, bars and a casino. The ship was completely redesigned and incorporated vibrant interiors, a classic Carnival design choice.
SS Festivale joined the other two cruise ships in Carnival’s fleet: Mardi Gras and Carnivale. The cruise ship became one of Carnival’s first-generation fun ships and was one of the largest sailing passenger ships at the time, measuring 32,697 gross registered tons.
Carnival Cruise Line sailed SS Festivale for many years, from 1978 to 1996. However, the ship was chartered by Dolphin Cruise Line for two years and renamed to the Island Breeze. Later, the ship was sold to Premier Cruise Lines and renamed once again. This time, she sailed as the Big Red Boat III and the hull was repainted red.
Premier Cruise Line filed for bankruptcy in 2000, in which the ship was laid up in Freeport, Bahamas until 2003 when the ship was sent to Aland, India and scrapped.
At the time, SS Festivale was the cruise line’s largest and most modern cruise ship.
SS Festivale represented a pivotal role in Carnival Cruise Line’s expansion during its early days when the cruise line was first establishing itself in the cruise industry. During this timeframe, the cruise line was still working to expand its fleet and find its niche.
The ship was also the first to be designed by Joe Farcus, who is the brainchild behind Carnival’s vibrant and colorful interior designs. The glitzy design aligned perfectly with Carnival Cruise Line’s focus on fun. Since then, this bold design has become a signature style for the cruise line.
Some also credit SS Festivale for introducing Carnival Cruise Line as a more affordable, casual cruise line for travelers. While cruising was once seen as a more elite experience, SS Festivale drew in a mass-market audience by offering affordable sailings to the Caribbean.
The original MS Tropicale was the first new-build for Carnival Cruise Line.
Similarly, MS Tropicale plays an important role in Carnival Cruise Line’s history as well. Originally built in 1981, MS Tropicale was the first ship in Carnival’s fleet to be custom designed for the cruise line.
MS Tropicale was the first Carinval ship to showcase the iconic winged funnel, which has become a staple design for the cruise line ever since. The winged funnel was also designed by Joe Farcus, along with the ship’s interior design.
During this time, Carnival Cruise Line was still focusing on expansion and decided to sail MS Tropicale in new cruise destinations. In this way, MS Tropicale was the first Carnival ship to sail from San Juan, New Orleans, Alaska and Tampa.
In 2001, Carnival Cruise Line transferred MS Tropicale to another Carnival Corporation brand: Costa Cruises. The ship was renamed to Costa Tropical and completed renovated to reflect Coasta’s brand.
In her final years of service, the first custom-built ship for Carnival Cruise Line became Pacific Star for P&O Cruises Australia - another Carnival Corporation brand. The ship’s final years were spent sailing as Ocean Dream for Pullmantur Cruises and later chartered to Perave Boat before the ship was scrapped in January 2021 in Alang, India.
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.
