Carnival Corporation cruise major has sealed a deal with Meyer Werft shipyard for a fifth Excel-class cruise ship for its namesake Carnival Cruise Line brand, with the delivery set for 2028.
In mid-February Carnival Corporation had announced the first newbuild order placed in five years with news that a fourth Excel-class ship would join the Carnival Cruise Line fleet in spring 2027.
This announcement confirms an 11th Excel-class ship for the corporation’s fleet across four of its world-class brands, and the fifth to be sailed by Carnival Cruise Line.
This fifth Excel-class ship will be built on the same platform as its sisters, with the 180,000-ton ship powered by liquefied natural gas (LNG) and designed to carry over 6,400 guests and 1,800 crew.
This order is contingent upon financing, which is expected to be completed later this year, as the cruise giant says.
Christine Duffy, president of Carnival Cruise Line, said: “Carnival’s Excel-class fleet will soon be a quintet of these very popular ships that provide outstanding guest amenities and tremendous operating efficiencies.
“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 are driving excitement, demand, and strong guest 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 then we will pivot to another phase of growth with these two Excel ships.”
Josh Weinstein, chief executive of Carnival Corporation & plc, noted: “This new order continues to balance our commitment to growth with our responsible capital approach to utilize strong 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.”
“Carnival Cruise Line continues to perform at an outstanding level, and we are focused on adding capacity across the company where it aligns with demand and our position in the marketplace.
“This measured capacity growth strategy will result in our adding one to two ships per year beginning in 2027, and we will be identifying additional fleet plans over the coming months for our cruise lines to meet capacity demand and improve execution across all aspects of our operation, with the benefit of yielding higher return on invested capital,” said Weinstein.
Bernd Eikens, chief executive of MEYER Group, pointed out: “We are proud of the role the Excel-class from MEYER WERFT and MEYER TURKU has played in contributing to the success of Carnival Corporation for many years now. We look forward to continuing this success story together.”
