Carnival Corporation has signed an agreement with German shipbuilder Meyer Werft to build a fourth Excel-class cruise ship for its namesake Carnival Cruise Line brand – marking the first newbuild order placed by Carnival Corporation in five years.
The as-yet-unnamed ship will be the 10th Excel-class ship in the corporation's fleet across four of its brands.
Expected to enter service in Spring 2027, the ship will join current Carnival Cruise Line Excel-class vessels Mardi Gras, Carnival Celebration and Carnival Jubilee. The new 180,000-ton ship will carry over 6,400 guests and be powered by a liquefied natural gas (LNG) technology platform.
Carnival Cruise Line President Christine Duffy (photo via Carnival)
"Our Excel-class ships have been a tremendous addition to the Carnival fleet and proven very popular with our guests," said Christine Duffy, president of Carnival Cruise Line. "As the world's most popular cruise line, this new ship enables us to continue the growth of our incredible fleet as we welcome our loyal guests back to cruise more frequently and attract new-to-cruise guests to experience all that a Carnival cruise has to offer."
Josh Weinstein, CEO of Carnival Corporation, says the order is a milestone for the company as it rebuilds after the pandemic shutdown.
"Building on our strong performance and growing momentum around the world, we are excited to resume our newbuild program and further enhance our global fleet with yet another state-of-the-art ship that will wow Carnival Cruise Line's guests," Weinstein said.
Carnival CEO Josh Weinstein flipped the switch officially to light the iconic ball during the Times Square New Year’s Eve celebration. (Photo Credit: Carnival Cruise Line)
"With one new-build scheduled for delivery in 2025, none for 2026, and this order being our only expected new-build in 2027, our responsible capital approach will support utilizing our substantial free cash flow over the next several years to strategically improve our balance sheet, significantly reduce our leverage levels and continue to transfer value from debt holders to shareholders.”
Weinstein says the order marks a “measured” return to growth.
"We are following through on our measured capacity growth strategy with the addition of one to two ships per year beginning in 2027, which will be allocated to our cruise lines that most need the capacity to satisfy outsized demand, delivering an attractive payback period.”
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