The recent lull in new cruise ship orders from Carnival Corporation has drawn to a close now that the company has announced a fourth Excel-class vessel, which is scheduled to join the Carnival Cruise Line brand in spring 2027. The first newbuild ordered by the corporation in five years, the 180,000-ton, 6,400-guest ship will be powered by liquefied natural gas (LNG) and constructed by Meyer Werft.
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 ...
“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.”
The yet-to-be-named ship follows behind sister ships Mardi Gras, Carnival Celebration and Carnival Jubilee for the Carnival brand, as well as comparable AIDAcosma and AIDAnova for Aida Cruises; Costa Smeralda and Costa Toscana for Costa Cruises; and Arvia and Iona for P&O Cruises. It will be the 10th Excel-class ship in the corporate fleet.
“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,” said Josh Weinstein, CEO of Carnival Corporation.
Weinstein further explained that the corporation plans to launch one to two new ships annually beginning in 2027, and that the ships will be allocated to the lines that need more “capacity to satisfy outsized demand, delivering an attractive payback period.”
