Carnival Corp’s Carnival Cruise Line’s (CCL) President, Christine Duffy, has unveiled the line’s plans for the next five years by introducing its ‘Innovation Itinerary’.
This is focused on three pillars: sailing the most fun fleet at sea; creating compelling experiences and destinations; and building more Carnival loyalists.
She highlighted details on new ships, deployment, fleet enhancements and exclusive destinations at a media briefing last week on board ‘Carnival Celebration’ at PortMiami.
“Since our inception in 1972, we have defined and led the modern cruise industry and our plans for the next five years and beyond are no different.
“Having just integrated two ships into the Carnival fleet in Australia, we now stand at 29 ships, the largest global fleet in our history.
“Looking ahead, we have the opening of Celebration Key this July, followed by our expansion at RelaxAway, Half Moon Cay in 2026; the delivery of our fourth and fifth ‘Excel’ ships in 2027 and 2028; and then the introduction of three ships in our new platform, Project Ace, beginning in 2029, plus fleet enhancements and new investments at some of our existing destinations.
“We are poised to continue our leadership position as both America’s Cruise Line and the world’s most popular cruise line.” she said.
Duffy also revealed that the fourth ship in CCL’s ‘Excel’ class will be named ‘Carnival Festivale’, continuing the tradition of giving these ships the names of the first Carnival vessels that popularised cruise vacations for so many Americans.
Starting operations in spring 2027, ’Carnival Festivale’ will sail from Port Canaveral, Florida.
She will introduce three new zones; two of which on Decks 6, 7, and 8 will celebrate music with new music-themed venues and immersive experiences, representing the ways in which music brings people together.
One zone is inspired by the process of creating music, using media, interactive moments, sound and lighting to activate it throughout the cruise, while the other zone on Deck 8 will symbolise the vibes of outdoor music performances.
CCL welcomes more families than any other cruise line, catering for 1 mill children per year; and to better serve those families, ‘Carnival Festivale’ will feature 1,000 interconnecting rooms, nearly 70% more than on the first three ‘Excel’ ships.
The interconnecting rooms’ expansion is in lieu of the Family Harbor staterooms on the existing ‘Excel’ ships.
She will also feature a new outdoor zone on the top three decks named Sunsation Point that will be a vibrant and exhilarating family fun zone. On Deck 18, a main feature of Sunsation Point is Carnival Waterworks Ultra, claimed to be the most family friendly water park at sea.
This new area will replace BOLT, the Seacoaster that is the top deck feature on the existing ‘Excel’ ships.
Duffy also gave away the name of the line’s fifth ‘Excel’ class ship – ’Carnival Tropicale’ – also an original name of an early Carnival ship.
Her homeport will be circulated well ahead of her scheduled delivery in spring 2028.
Many of the new features on ‘Carnival Festivale’ will also be included on ‘Carnival Tropicale’, as well as some new concepts and theming.
Looking further ahead, Carnival’s new ship portfolio, currently called ’Project Ace’, includes three ships of 230,000 gt each being built by Fincantieri. They will be delivered in 2029, 2031 and 2033, respectively.
With over 3,000 guest staterooms, the new ships will be the largest in the Carnival Corp fleet.
“These ships clearly represent the next generation of fun ships. They will be experiences unto themselves, and, partnered with itineraries that call in part on our exclusive destinations, will provide amazing cruise vacations for guests,” Duffy said.
“This class will introduce new dining outlets, entertainment, and re-imagined outer deck amenities. Our newbuild team is in the midst of designing these vessels, so stay tuned for more as we get closer to delivery.
“As new ships are introduced, this will allow us to upgrade capacity and hardware in key markets, with a particular focus on short cruises.
“With short cruises on ‘Mardi Gras’, our guests who may not have the time to take a week-long vacation can experience all the amazing features of our ‘Excel’ class,” she explained.
In addition, CCL will return to year-round operations at Mobile, Alabama beginning in spring 2027.
The cruise line is also exploring moving a larger ‘Conquest’ class ship to Baltimore in 2027 that can accommodate about 1,000 more guests than ‘Carnival Pride’, the ‘Spirit’ class ship currently deployed from the city.
Duffy concluded by confirming that Carnival will be enhancing its existing loyalty programme, the details of which are expected to be announced this summer, with enhancements taking effect in 2026.
