With a capacity that would hold the entire current population of Goderich, Ont. – nearly 8,000 people – Carnival Cruise Line’s new ships will be the biggest in the world when they entire service in the summers of 2029, 2031 and 2033, respectively. The ships will be a new class of vessel and feature over 3,000 staterooms each.

The order brings to five the number of new ships ordered in 2024 by Carnival Corp., the world’s largest cruise company. Earlier this year, the company placed its first newbuild orders in five years for two more Excel-class ships that will join the Carnival Cruise Line fleet in 2027 and 2028.

Carnival Corp., which also counts Princess, Holland America, Seabourn, Cunard and Costa among its holdings, also recently announced a series of strategic shifts to further optimize the composition of its global brand portfolio and to increase guest capacity for Carnival Cruise Line, transferring a total of five vessels from sister brands to the CCL Cruise Line fleet between 2023 and March 2025.

“We are doubling down on the growth of Carnival Cruise Line – our highest-returning brand – to keep up with the incredibly strong demand we continue to see for the world’s most popular cruise line,” said Josh Weinstein, CEO of Carnival Corporation & plc. “At this point, our newbuild pipeline is just one delivery in each of 2025, 2027, 2028, 2029, 2031 and 2033. We continue to take a disciplined approach to growth, strategically directing new capacity to the areas of highest demand at a rate of one to two new ships per year.”

Once delivered in 2033, Carnival Corporation will have a total of 16 LNG-powered ships – including eight Carnival Cruise Line ships – making up almost 30% of Carnival Corp’s global capacity. The new ships will also feature advanced energy efficiency, waste management, and emission reduction technologies to further reduce the company’s environmental footprint.

Design details and itinerary information for the new ships will be announced at a later date.