Carnival Corporation places order for three 8,000 capacity ships
Carnival Corporation has placed an order for three new ships which will each be able to carry up to 8,000 passengers
The liquefied natural gas (LNG)-powered ships, which will be delivered to the conglomerate’s namesake cruise brand, Carnival Cruise Line, in the summers of 2029, 2031 and 2033, will be constructed by Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri.
The new ships will be the largest ever constructed by Fincantieri and in Italy, boasting a gross tonnage of approximately 230,000 tonnes each.
The order comes after the organisation placed its first newbuild order in five years for two more Excel-class ships that will join the Carnival fleet in 2027 and 2028.
The company also recently announced a series of shifts to increase guest capacity for Carnival, transferring a total of five vessels from sister brands to the company’s fleet 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 for the world’s most popular cruise line,” added Josh Weinstein, chief executive officer of Carnival Corporation.
“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.”
According to Weinstein, this order will take the company’s overall measured capacity growth between 2025 and 2033 to an average of approximately 1.5% per year.
“This gives us the headroom to strategically provide new capacity to the brands in our portfolio like Carnival Cruise Line, which provide outsized returns while continuing to execute against our responsible capital strategy,” he added.
Carnival Corporation to operate 16 LNG-powered ships by 2033
With more than 3,000 staterooms, the new ships will be the largest in the Carnival Corporation global fleet and will 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 – including eight Carnival Cruise Line ships – making up almost 30% 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. Design details and itinerary information for the new Carnival Cruise Line ships will be announced in the future.
