Carnival Corp. Orders Three Ships, New Class for CCL

Carnival Corporation & plc has placed an order for three new ships in a new class of vessel for Carnival Cruise Line with shipbuilder Fincantieri. The three vessels will be powered by liquefied natural gas (LNG) and will be delivered in the summers of 2029, 2031, and 2033, respectively.

“For this next generation ship, we are focusing 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,” said Christine Duffy, president of Carnival Cruise Line.

Measuring 230,000-gross-registered tons, the new ships will be slightly smaller than Royal Caribbean’s Utopia of the Seas, which measures 236,860 gross-registered tons. It will have more than 3,000 staterooms, making it the largest in the Carnival Corp. global fleet capable of holding almost 8,000 guests at full capacity.

Design details and itinerary information for the new ships will be announced in the future.

Including these three ships, Carnival Cruise Line has a total of five new ships on order. Earlier this year, Carnival placed its first newbuild orders in five years for two more Excel-class ships, scheduled to join the CCL fleet in 2027 and 2028.

Carnival Corp. is also moving ships around, transferring a total of five vessels from sister brands to Carnival Cruise Line between 2023 and March 2025.

“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…” said Josh Weinstein, CEO of Carnival Corp. & plc. “At this point, our newbuild pipeline is just one delivery in each of 2025, 2027, 2028, 2029, 2031, and 2023. 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.”