Carnival Cruise Line to Build Their Largest-Ever Ships

Carnival Cruise Line executives have always said that they didn't aim to build the biggest ships in the world, but their vessels have gotten increasingly larger over the years. And now, as part of a new multi-ship order announced yesterday by Carnival Corporation, Carnival Cruise Line is scheduled to take delivery of two new 180,000 gross-registered-ton cruise ships in 2020 and 2022, which will be the largest in the fleet. Both ships will be powered by Liquefied Natural Gas under Carnival Corp.'s exclusive "green cruising" design and will mark the first time an LNG-powered cruise ship is based in North America. That's a clue about the homeport of at least one of the ships.

The two ships, with an approximate passenger capacity of 5,200 based on double occupancy, are being constructed by Finnish shipbuilder Meyer Turku at the company's Turku, Finland shipyard. The agreement represents a return to shipbuilding in Finland for Carnival Cruise Line for the first time in 12 years. The company has 12 ships in its current fleet that were constructed in Finland, including its eight Fantasy-class ships and four Spirit-class ships.

"This new ship order signifies an extraordinarily exciting future for Carnival Cruise Line and the opportunities that lie ahead to introduce a variety of magnificent new features and innovations to further enhance our outstanding guest experience," said Christine Duffy, president of Carnival Cruise Line. "We are also thrilled to be introducing Carnival Corporation's 'green cruising' design platform to North America. Both of these ships will be fully powered at sea and in port by Liquefied Natural Gas, which is the world's cleanest burning fossil fuel. These ships are being designed for maximum energy efficiency and environmental friendliness," Duffy added.

The Memorandum of Agreement with Meyer Turku is subject to several conditions, including satisfactory financing. Carnival Cruise Line, a unit of Carnival Corporation & plc, presently operates a fleet of 25 ships. In addition to the two new ships announced yesterday, the 133,500-ton Carnival Horizon is under construction in Italy and set to debut in 2018. Specific design details and itinerary information for the new ships will be announced at a later time.

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