CruiseAdict218 Posted July 23 #1 Share Posted July 23 (edited) MIAMI, July 23, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- With consumer demand for cruise vacations at historic levels, Carnival Corporation & plc(NYSE/LSE: CCL; NYSE: CUK), the world's largest cruise company, today announced an order for three new ships for its namesake Carnival Cruise Line brand for a new class of vessel, at nearly 230,000 gross registered tonnes. The agreement with Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri provides for the design, engineering, and construction of these liquefied natural gas (LNG)-powered ships, which will be delivered in the summers of 2029, 2031 and 2033, respectively. "We are proud to be known as America's cruise line with tremendous guest loyalty and an outstanding team that has enabled us to deliver memorable vacations to over 100 million guests," said Christine Duffy, president of Carnival Cruise Line. "For this next generation ship, we are focused on creating innovative guest experiences that will take Carnival Cruise Lineinto the future with new FUN features and excitement that we know our guests will LOVE." With today's order, there have been five new ship orders for Carnival Cruise Line announced in 2024. Earlier this year, Carnival Corporation placed its first newbuild orders in five years for two more Excel-class ships that will join the Carnival Cruise Line fleet in 2027 and 2028. The company also recently announced a series of strategic shifts to further optimize the composition of its global brand portfolio and to increase guest capacity for Carnival Cruise Line, transferring a total of five vessels from sister brands to the Carnival Cruise Line 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," said Josh Weinstein, chief executive officer of Carnival Corporation & plc. "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, 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 said. With over 3,000 guest staterooms, the new ships will be the largest in the Carnival Corporation global fleet and will be able to deliver fun to more guests than any ship in the world when carrying 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. "We are excited to join forces with Carnival Cruise Line to debut a new class of ship, which will be the largest cruise ship ever constructed by Fincantieri and the largest ship ever built in Italy. We are proud of the role Fincantieri has played in helping Carnival Corporation secure its position as the world's largest cruise company and look forward to continuing this success story together," said Pierroberto Folgiero, CEO, Fincantieri. Design details and itinerary information for the new Carnival Cruise Line ships will be announced in the future. This order is contingent upon financing, which is expected to be completed later this year https://www.carnivalcorp.com/news-releases/news-release-details/carnival-corporation-orders-three-additional-ships-carnival Edited July 23 by CruiseAdict218 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riles34 Posted July 23 #2 Share Posted July 23 I don't know if I like this game the cruising industry is playing these days. Bigger and bigger with every order and the same ports every week due to the size of the ships. 8,000 people at full occupancy seems a bit rough, but we shall see! 26 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProgRockCruiser Posted July 23 #3 Share Posted July 23 (edited) 46 minutes ago, CruiseAdict218 said: With over 3,000 guest staterooms, the new ships will be the largest in the Carnival Corporation global fleet and will be able to deliver fun to more guests than any ship in the world when carrying almost 8,000 guests at full capacity. 38 minutes ago, Riles34 said: I don't know if I like this game the cruising industry is playing these days. Bigger and bigger with every order and the same ports every week due to the size of the ships. 8,000 people at full occupancy seems a bit rough, but we shall see! I have similar concerns as you - the Mardi Gras was very nice to be on, but the bigger ships do seem to be painting themselves into a corner for ports - departure and destination. And frankly, I haven't seen a huge improvement on the embarkation process - there doesn't seem to be any evolution is how such large numbers are handled, so the bigger ships (seem to) take longer to board than the smaller ones. But I do look forward to seeing what these new ships look like! Edited July 23 by ProgRockCruiser 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riles34 Posted July 23 #4 Share Posted July 23 2 minutes ago, ProgRockCruiser said: And frankly, I haven't seen a huge improvement on the embarkation process The facial recognition is a huge game changer. Took me and 14 others 22 minutes from drop off to being on the Carnival Celebration in Miami. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LatinaInTexas Posted July 23 #5 Share Posted July 23 42 minutes ago, Riles34 said: I don't know if I like this game the cruising industry is playing these days. Bigger and bigger with every order and the same ports every week due to the size of the ships. 8,000 people at full occupancy seems a bit rough, but we shall see! While I have loved bigger and new ships overall 8000 people just doesn't appeal to me at all. 12 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Saint Greg Posted July 23 #6 Share Posted July 23 44 minutes ago, Riles34 said: I don't know if I like this game the cruising industry is playing these days. Bigger and bigger with every order and the same ports every week due to the size of the ships. 8,000 people at full occupancy seems a bit rough, but we shall see! The only thing I like about it is more and more rooms to sell hopefully eventually leads to lower prices. Excel class is nice to do once a year but I will never get to the point where all of my cruises are on those ships. Dream and Vista classes are in the sweet spot for me. 17 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeblack1 Posted July 23 #7 Share Posted July 23 So having never been on a Royal Ship, but have been on the Celebration, what more could Carnival offer with a larger ship? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Saint Greg Posted July 23 #8 Share Posted July 23 4 minutes ago, Saint Greg said: The only thing I like about it is more and more rooms to sell hopefully eventually leads to lower prices. Excel class is nice to do once a year but I will never get to the point where all of my cruises are on those ships. Dream and Vista classes are in the sweet spot for me. Also the more and more mega ships Carnival orders the closer we get to having a Dream or Vista class ship in New Orleans. Waiting for the obligatory "NO! We need 15 ships in Galveston and 25 ships in Miami!" 3 1 11 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stick93 Posted July 23 #9 Share Posted July 23 3 minutes ago, jeblack1 said: So having never been on a Royal Ship, but have been on the Celebration, what more could Carnival offer with a larger ship? 3000 more people 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riles34 Posted July 23 #10 Share Posted July 23 1 minute ago, Saint Greg said: The only thing I like about it is more and more rooms to sell hopefully eventually leads to lower prices. Excel class is nice to do once a year but I will never get to the point where all of my cruises are on those ships. Dream and Vista classes are in the sweet spot for me. That is a good point and hope it comes true. I loved the Excel Class with all the food option and at 106% capacity when I sailed, it did not feel over crowded. But I am right there with ya, sail it here and there and hit up the Vista class more frequently. I am interested in seeing what design they go with or a whole new one we have never seen. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stick93 Posted July 23 #11 Share Posted July 23 8 minutes ago, LatinaInTexas said: While I have loved bigger and new ships overall 8000 people just doesn't appeal to me at all. This is too many on a ship - the behavior is going to be an issue. 6 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Saint Greg Posted July 23 #12 Share Posted July 23 1 minute ago, Riles34 said: That is a good point and hope it comes true. I loved the Excel Class with all the food option and at 106% capacity when I sailed, it did not feel over crowded. But I am right there with ya, sail it here and there and hit up the Vista class more frequently. I am interested in seeing what design they go with or a whole new one we have never seen. I love it for the food options. It's great for a sea day lunch. It just feels more like cruising in a shopping mall. I used to say that when Royal people would come over here selling their Oasis ships and I'm not changing now just because it has Carnival on the side of it. 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riles34 Posted July 23 #13 Share Posted July 23 5 minutes ago, Saint Greg said: I love it for the food options. It's great for a sea day lunch. It just feels more like cruising in a shopping mall. I used to say that when Royal people would come over here selling their Oasis ships and I'm not changing now just because it has Carnival on the side of it. Thats how I feel about the Oasis and Icon class. A huge shopping mall and not much deck space other than the top, plus all the glassed in areas. Really love decks 5 or 8 depending on what class ship you are on. You can always find a nice quiet spot to relax. I really hope Carnival doesn't go the hollow center route, because you won't catch me on it. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jsglow Posted July 23 #14 Share Posted July 23 Nope. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare WhaleTailFlCruiser Posted July 23 #15 Share Posted July 23 230k is oasis class size or so. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare jimbo5544 Posted July 23 #16 Share Posted July 23 3 minutes ago, WhaleTailFlCruiser said: 230k is oasis class size or so. Certainly bigger than Excel class. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CruiseAdict218 Posted July 23 Author #17 Share Posted July 23 5 minutes ago, WhaleTailFlCruiser said: 230k is oasis class size or so. Around same size but max capacity pushes a little higher than say Wonder/Utopia. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hard_eight Posted July 23 #18 Share Posted July 23 8k people? No thanks. 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare WhaleTailFlCruiser Posted July 23 #19 Share Posted July 23 28 minutes ago, Saint Greg said: The only thing I like about it is more and more rooms to sell hopefully eventually leads to lower prices. Excel class is nice to do once a year but I will never get to the point where all of my cruises are on those ships. Dream and Vista classes are in the sweet spot for me. Excel was perfect during start up, But I went on MG for sailabration and it was dumb cramped the Inside spaces just aren't big enough for the amount of people. Doesn't mean I still dont like MG but I rather be on a Spirit/Dream/Vista class. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare WhaleTailFlCruiser Posted July 23 #20 Share Posted July 23 2 minutes ago, CruiseAdict218 said: Around same size but max capacity pushes a little higher than say Wonder/Utopia. 8k people just seems too much. I feel like the rooms will get smaller as well as the inside spaces. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare jimbo5544 Posted July 23 #21 Share Posted July 23 1 minute ago, WhaleTailFlCruiser said: Excel was perfect during start up, But I went on MG for sailabration and it was dumb cramped the Inside spaces just aren't big enough for the amount of people. Doesn't mean I still dont like MG but I rather be on a Spirit/Dream/Vista class. And you still can. Of the big 4 lines, none are creating ships of that size anymore. The economics just do not work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare jimbo5544 Posted July 23 #22 Share Posted July 23 2 minutes ago, WhaleTailFlCruiser said: 8k people just seems too much. I feel like the rooms will get smaller as well as the inside spaces. It will probably be a good while before we see more details. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare WhaleTailFlCruiser Posted July 23 #23 Share Posted July 23 2 minutes ago, jimbo5544 said: And you still can. Of the big 4 lines, none are creating ships of that size anymore. The economics just do not work. I never said the economics work or don't work, But they have to work in some way if the line is keeping the spirit class and the paradise/eleation around and serving the smaller markets. Such as Tampa/Jacksonville and Mobile. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare WhaleTailFlCruiser Posted July 23 #24 Share Posted July 23 4 minutes ago, jimbo5544 said: It will probably be a good while before we see more details. Yes but that has been the trend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare jimbo5544 Posted July 23 #25 Share Posted July 23 1 minute ago, WhaleTailFlCruiser said: I never said the economics work or don't work, But they have to work in some way if the line is keeping the spirit class and the paradise/eleation around and serving the smaller markets. Such as Tampa/Jacksonville and Mobile. I did say that you did, just stating the facts of why the Spirit class size (and I love it as well) will not come to pass (at least for the CCL line anyway). Your point on the age of the ships that serve the height issue access markets is a valid one. Not sure I have heard any true response to what happens when.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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