Carnival Cruise Line orders fourth Mardi Gras sister ship from Meyer Werft

Carnival Corporation and Meyer Werft have signed an order for another Excellence-class cruise ship to join the fleet of the company flagship brand Carnival Cruise Lines.

The vessel will be a sister ship to Mardi Gras, Carnival Celebration and Carnival Jubilee, and will be the tenth Excellence class cruise ship built for the group, which operates the ships across three of its brands (Carnival, Costa, and AIDA).

The new 6,400-passenger Carnival ship, which has not yet been named, will be delivered in 2027, and has been hailed by Thomas Weigend, Chief Sales Officer of the MEYER Group, as a sign of the recovery of the global cruise industry.

“This order is a clear sign that the cruise market has recovered and that there is great demand for sea trips,” said Weigend.

However, Josh Weinstein, CEO of Carnival Corporation, said the new order was one of only “one or two” newbuilds between now and 2027 for the company, which is pursuing “measured” fleet growth in the years to come.

“Building on our strong performance and growing momentum around the world, we are excited to resume our newbuild programme and further enhance our global fleet with yet another state-of-the-art ship that will wow Carnival Cruise Line’s guests,” he said.

He added that as “measured capacity growth” continues, newbuildings will be allocated to brands with outsize demand and need the additional ships, which he said will deliver attractive payback.

This was apparent in Carnival Corporation’s recent transfer of ships from its European Costa Cruises fleet to the US-based Carnival Cruise Line, supplementing greater than anticipated American cruise demand against a European cruise market softened by the Russia-Ukraine war and Red Sea crisis.

Carnival Cruise Line president Christine Duffy said the Excellence class ships have been popular with guests.

“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,” she said.

The Excellence class is a real step-change for Carnival Cruise Line, bringing to the brand for the first-time major attractions at sea such as BOLT, the world’s first roller coaster on a cruise ship.

The ship’s also feature the first all-suite enclave on any Carnival ship and a whole host of new-to-the-line dining options across seven ‘zones’ or neighbourhoods in a similar set-up to the Oasis class of Royal Caribbean.