Carnival Corporation Orders 10th Excel-Class Ship Across Fleet

Today, Carnival Corporation revealed that it has partnered with German shipbuilder Meyer Werft to construct a fourth Excel-class cruise ship for its Carnival Cruise Line brand.

This new addition to the fleet will be the 10th Excel-class ship for the company and is set to debut in Spring 2027.

“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.”

NEW EXCEL-CLASS SHIP INFORMATION

The new 180,000-ton Carnival Cruise Line Excel-class ship will join the existing Mardi Gras, Carnival Celebration, and Carnival Jubilee vessels. It will accommodate over 6,400 guests and feature a liquefied natural gas (LNG) technology platform. This marks the first new ship order by Carnival Corporation in five years.

“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. “With one newbuild scheduled for delivery in 2025, none for 2026, and this order being our only expected newbuild 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.

Bernd Eikens, CEO of MEYER Group, added, “We are very pleased that the partnership between the MEYER Group and Carnival Corporation will continue with this new order.”