by Big news, megaship fans: three new giant ships are on the way.
Carnival Cruise Line announced Tuesday that it has ordered three massive new cruise ships that will be among the largest ever built.
Scheduled to enter service between 2029 and 2033, the three ships will be the largest ever built by Carnival, weighing in at 230,000 tons, approximately 25% more than the largest Carnival ships currently in service.
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They will also be among the largest cruise ships of any cruise line. Only three cruise ships currently in service exceed 230,000 gross tons: Royal Caribbean’s Icon of the Seas, Utopia of the Seas and Wonder of the Seas, which were recently unveiled.
Carnival has released few details about the new ships, other than their size and cabin capacity. The ships will have 3,000 cabins that can accommodate about 8,000 passengers at full capacity, the company said.
That’s more cabins than any other ship in cruise history. Wonder of the Seas, with 2,867 cabins, currently holds the record among ships for the number of cabins.
The current record holder for total passenger capacity is the Icon of the Seas, which can accommodate 7,600 passengers.
While Carnival did not specify what types of spaces would be on the ships, Carnival President Christine Duffy said they would offer features that are new to the company.
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“For this next-generation ship, we are focused on creating innovative guest experiences that will propel Carnival Cruise Line into the future with fun and exciting new features that we know our guests will love,” Duffy said in a statement accompanying the announcement.
Carnival said the three ships will arrive in 2029, 2031 and 2033, respectively.
The order comes just months after Carnival ordered two more ships for its Excel-class ship series. The two new ships will begin sailing in 2027 and 2028, respectively.
Related: Monstrous Growth! Carnival Cruise Boom Continues With Launch of Another New Ship
Carnival has experienced rapid growth over the past two years, driven by the rapid growth of its business. In addition to adding new ships to its fleet, the brand has added older ships that were transferred to the brand from sister companies such as Costa Cruises.
In total, Carnival has added five ships to its fleet in the past two years alone, marking the fastest expansion by a major cruise line in history.
With the additions, Carnival now has 27 ships in its fleet, matching a record set before the COVID-19 pandemic forced it to reduce capacity.
Carnival said Tuesday that the newly announced ship orders are contingent on financing, which is expected to be finalized later this year.
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