Carnival expands fleet with a trio of largest ships to date

Carnival Corporation, the world’s largest cruise line company, has finalised an agreement with Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri to build three new cruise ships. These flagship vessels, set to be delivered in the summers of 2029, 2031 and 2033, will join the Carnival Cruise Line brand and represent a new class of ship designed to ‘deliver more fun,’ according to the company. 

At approximately 230,000GT each, the ships will be the largest ever built by Fincantieri and the largest in Carnival’s global fleet. Fincantieri has delivered 75 ships to Carnival across its brands, including 15 cruise ships for the Carnival cruise line brand. Designed to carry almost 8,000 guests at maximum capacity, these vessels on order will feature 3,000 guest staterooms and will be powered by liquefied natural gas (LNG) 

Josh Weinstein, CEO of Carnival Corporation, comments on the strategy behind the expansion: “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.

“At this point, our newbuild pipeline has 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 cent 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, using our strong free cash flow over the next several years to improve our balance sheet, significantly reduce our debt, and continue to transfer value from debt holders to shareholders,” he adds.

These three new ships are in addition to two Excel-class ships ordered earlier this year for delivery in 2027 and 2028. Carnival is also transferring five vessels from sister brands to the Carnival Cruise Line fleet between 2023 and March 2025. 

Aligning with Carnival’s commitment to environmental sustainability, the new vessels will incorporate advanced energy efficiency, waste management, and emission reduction technologies. Once the final ship is delivered in 2033, Carnival will have 16 LNG-powered ships, including eight Carnival Cruise Line ships representing almost 30 per cent of the company’s global capacity. 

Pierroberto Folgiero, CEO and general manager of Fincantieri, comments: “It is with great pride that we announce that Fincantieri has signed a contract with a long-standing partner such as Carnival Corporation for the construction of three next-generation cruise ships. This order is a leap forward in our expansion and innovation strategy, confirming our commitment to sustainability and energy efficiency. The collaboration with Carnival Corporation further confirms Fincantieri’s leadership in the global cruise sector by combining tradition and cutting-edge technology, as per our business plan.”

Christine Duffy, president of Carnival Cruise Line, adds: ” 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 order is contingent upon financing and is expected to be completed later this year. Design details and itinerary information for the new ships are yet to be announced.