Carnival lays keel for Carnival Festivale

Carnival Corp has commissioned the keel laying for its fourth Excel-class cruise ship for Carnival Cruise Line at Meyer Werft shipyard in Pappenburg, Germany.

Carnival Festivale is slated for delivery in Q2 2027 as the 10th Excel-class ship, in total, built for Carnival Corp and its cruise brands. The class spans four of the brands in the corporation’s fleet.

Joining current Carnival Cruise Line Excel-class ships Mardi Gras, Carnival Celebration and Carnival Jubilee, the new 180,000-tonne ship will carry more than 6,400 guests and be powered by an LNG-based propulsion system. When ordered in February 2024, the vessel was the first newbuild order placed by Carnival Corp in five years.

Just two months later, Carnival ordered the fifth newbuild in the vessel series, a vessel that will be named Carnival Tropicale, and is due for delivery from Meyer Werft in 2028.

The Meyer shipyards, Meyer Werft and Meyer Turku, have built nine LNG-powered cruise ships for four cruise lines in the Carnival Corp portfolio on a joint technical platform. Meyer Werft’s orderbook for Papenburg continues to include seven cruise ships, one research vessel, and the steel construction for four offshore converter platforms.

“This ship order is a clear sign that the cruise market has recovered and there is once again very high demand for sea travel,” Meyer Werft head of sales Thomas Weigend said. 

Meyer Werft said the newbuilds for Carnival Cruise Line enable the shipyard to focus on the long term and make a decisive contribution to securing jobs for locals at the yard and with partner companies.