Carnival Corporation has announced that it has ordered three new mega ships for Carnival Cruise Line. The vessels will be part of a new class, and come in at a whopping 230,000 gross registered tonnes. In comparison, the current world’s largest cruise ship, Royal Caribbean’s Icon of the Seas, is 248,663 gross tons.
The agreement with Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri provides for the design, engineering, and construction of the liquefied natural gas (LNG)-powered ships, which are scheduled to be delivered in the summers of 2029, 2031, and 2033.
“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,” said Christine Duffy, president of Carnival Cruise Line. “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.”
With today’s order, there have been five new ship orders for Carnival Cruise Line announced in 2024. Earlier this year, Carnival Corp. placed newbuild orders for two more Excel-class ships that are set to join the Carnival Cruise Line fleet in 2027 and 2028. The company is also in the process of transferring a total of five ships from sister brands to the Carnival Cruise Line fleet between 2023 and March 2025.
With over 3,000 guest staterooms, the ships will be the largest in Carnival Corporation’s global fleet. They’ll be able to carry 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 the company’s global capacity. The new ships will also feature advanced energy efficiency, waste management, and emission reduction technologies to further reduce the company’s environmental footprint.
“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,” said Pierroberto Folgiero, CEO, Fincantieri.
This order is contingent upon financing, which is expected to be completed later this year. Design details and itinerary information for the new ships will be announced in the future.
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