Carnival Corporation has ordered an additional Excel-class ship for Carnival Cruise Line, the company's fifth Excel-class vessel and the eleventh in its global fleet. The company finalized its agreement with Meyer Werft for the new cruise ship, which is scheduled for delivery in 2028.
Carnival Cruise Line's Excel-class ships
In mid-February, Carnival Corporation announced its first new ship order in five years, revealing that a fourth Excel-class ship would join the Carnival Cruise Line fleet in spring 2027. This announcement confirms an eleventh Excel-class ship for the corporation's fleet across four of its brands and the fifth to be sailed by Carnival Cruise Line.
“Carnival’s Excel-class fleet will soon consist of five of these ships, offering exceptional guest amenities and tremendous operational efficiency,” said Christine Duffy, president of Carnival Cruise Line. “Since the introduction of Mardi Gras in 2021 and the subsequent expansion with Carnival Celebration in 2022 and Carnival Jubilee in 2023, these Excel-class ships have been driving excitement, demand, and strong passenger satisfaction ratings. With the arrival of Carnival Firenze in April, we are completing the addition of five ships to our fleet in less than 20 months, and we will then pivot into another phase of growth with these two Excel-class ships.”
This fifth Excel-class ship will be built on the same platform as its sister ships, with the 180,000-ton vessel powered by liquefied natural gas (LNG) and designed to carry more than 6,400 guests and 1,800 crew members.
“Carnival Cruise Line continues to perform at an outstanding level, and we are focused on adding capacity across the company where it fits with demand and our market position. This measured capacity growth strategy will result in the addition of one to two ships per year starting in 2027, and we will be identifying additional fleet plans in the coming months for our cruise lines to meet capacity demand and improve execution across all aspects of our operation, with the benefit of producing a greater return on invested capital,” said Josh Weinstein, CEO of Carnival Corporation & plc.
“We are proud of the role that the Excel class at MEYER WERFT and MEYER TURKU has played in contributing to the success of Carnival Corporation for many years. We look forward to continuing this success story together,” said Bernd Eikens, CEO of the MEYER Group.
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