Carnival orders its second new Excel-class ship this year

Carnival's new Excel-class cruise ship will be a sister to Mardi Gras, the first LNG fueled cruise ship to be based in the Americas

Carnival Corporation has followed up the order for a newbuild Excel-class LNG-fueled cruise ship that it placed with Meyer Werft in February with an order for a further ship in the class. Like the previous ship it will join the Carnival Cruise Line fleet, making it the brand’s fifth Excel-class and the11th across four of the corporation’s brands.

“Carnival’s Excel-class fleet will soon be a quintet of these very popular ships that provide outstanding guest amenities and tremendous operating efficiencies,” 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 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.”

This fifth Excel-class ship will be built on the same platform as its sisters, with the 180,000-grt vessel being powered by liquefied natural gas (LNG) and designed to carry over 6,400 guests and 1,800 crew.

“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,” said Josh Weinstein, CEO of Carnival Corporation & plc.

“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.

“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,” said Meyer Group CEO Bernd Eikens,

The order is contingent upon financing, which is expected to be completed later this year.