Carnival Corporation signed with Fincantieri to build three mega cruise ships which will each be approximately 230,000 gross tons rivaling the largest in service today. The ships, which will also be the largest passenger ships ever built in Italy are part of the corporation’s efforts to accelerate growth for its namesake brand Carnival Cruise Line.
With the ships due to enter service in 2029, 2031, and 2033, Carnival will become only the fourth cruise line to exceed the 200,000 gross ton size. Based on the current ships in service and the orderbook, Carnival’s first ship will be the seventh largest cruise ship behind Royal Caribbean International’s Icon and new Oasis class ships. MSC Cruises also exceeded the threshold with its World Class and Disney Cruise Line will also have one ship, Disney Adventure, in 2026 at 208,000 gross tons. Norwegian Cruise Line has ordered 200,0000 GT ships also from Fincantieri with the first due in 2030.
There had been rumors of Carnival’s order circulating since the beginning of 2024, but the corporation first ordered two additional Excel class ships from Meyer Werft for Carnival Cruise Line due in 2027 and 2028. With today's order, Carnival Cruise Line now has five new ship orders and the corporation’s first newbuild orders in five years.
"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," said Josh Weinstein, chief executive officer of Carnival Corporation. “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."
Carnival Corporation this year took delivery on two new cruise ships (Sun Princess and Queen Anne) and has one more pre-pandemic order due in 2025 for Princess Cruises. It will resume ship deliveries at the rate of one per year in 2027 with all the current orders set for Carnival Cruise Line. Also, between 2023 and 2024 they transferred three ships from Costa plus two in 2025 from P&O Australia all to Carnival Cruise Line.
Highlighting the massive size of the new ships, Carnival reported each ship will have 3,000 passenger cabins carrying almost 8,000 passengers at full capacity. No other details were announced with the corporations saying the new ships would provide new features and excitement for passengers.
The ships will be LNG powered continuing the corporation’s introduction of LNG started with AIDA in 2018. With these newbuilds, the corporation will have 16 LNG cruise ships out of a fleet that is again nearing 100 ships. Fincantieri said the new ships will also feature advanced energy efficiency, waste management, and emission reduction technologies.
“This order is a significant leap forward in our innovation strategy, thus reaffirming our commitment to sustainability and energy efficiency,” said Pierroberto Folgiero, CEO and Managing Director of Fincantieri. The shipbuilder called the value of the contract for the design, engineering, and construction of three new cruise ships, "very important." The contract is subject to finalizing financing and other typical terms and conditions. They expect to complete the order later this year.
During its history, Fincantieri highlights it has delivered 15 cruise ships for the Carnival Cruise Line brand. The last was the Carnival Panorama (133,868 GT) in 2019. In total, Fincantieri has delivered 75 ships to Carnival Corporation across its portfolio of brands.
