Carnival Cruise Line and rival Royal Caribbean have been steadily building bigger and better ships.
It has been an arms race to add new features and even though Carnival has not tried to claim the "world's biggest cruise ship" title, it has added new, bolder features to its ship. Its Excel-class ships offer the Bolt roller coaster, a first-of-its-kind attraction at sea, and each new ship pushes the bar further.
Related: Carnival Cruise Line shares strict dining rule, portion problems
The cruise line, however, has been quick to point out that its success has not been driven by new ships.
"While new ships do command a nice premium, the vast majority of our yield growth was driven by fundamental demand improvements for the existing ships across our portfolio of world-class brands. Even excluding our new builds, 2024's yields were still up almost 10% over 2023," shared CEO Josh Weinstein during the cruise line's fourth quarter earnings call.
The CEO expects that to continue in 2025.
"Both price and occupancy are higher for each of the four quarters of 2025, and we managed to increase both our price and occupancy advantage for our 2025 book position thanks to our outstanding efforts this past quarter. I can actually now report that our North American and European segments are each at their longest advanced booking windows on record," he shared. "All core deployments are also better booked at higher prices than the record levels we achieved at the same time last year."
High demand makes adding new capacity key, but Carnival's plans for its new ships coming over the next few years may surprise you.
Sign up for the Come Cruise With Me newsletter to save money on your next (or your first) cruise.
Image source: Carnival Corp.
Carnival President shares new ship news
Royal Caribbean has used its newest ship to sail 3-4 day itineraries out of Port Canaveral. That marks the first time the cruise line has used a new ship to sail shorter itineraries.
That's a strategic decision to offer new-to-cruise people a chance to take short trips on ships that offer everything the cruise line has. It's actually somewhat overwhelming to spend only 3 or 4 days on Utopia of the Seas, but Royal Caribbean wants to win recurring business by leaving people wanting for more.
Carnival has five new ships (three in a completely new class) arriving between now and 2033. The 3 non-Excel-class ships will be megaships, but it's not clear whether they will be larger than the current Excel class.
Carnival President Christine Duffy shared some rare insight into her cruise line's plans during a recent interview.
“New ships also give us the opportunity to diversify our offering across our 14 U.S. homeports as we plan new deployments, appealing to both new-to-cruise as well as our loyal cruisers,” she told Cruise Industry News.
Duffy has not commented on the itineraries the ships will sail.
“Our Excel class has been extremely popular with guests sailing from Port Canaveral, Miami and Galveston, and we’re thrilled to bring two more LNG-powered Excel sisters into our fleet," she added. "And of course, we’re focused on the plans for our next new class, with three additional newbuilds to follow the Excel class – giving us new opportunities to deliver creative new concepts for our guests.”
Carnival builds on the private island concept
Carnival has massive plans when it comes to its private destinations. It's going to overhaul its current island, Half Moon Cay adding a dock and multiple new features.
"Half Moon Cay, the highly rated and award-winning exclusive bohemian destination known for beautiful beaches and crystal clear waters, is being renamed RelaxAway, Half Moon Cay to better reflect the experience guests can expect as they are immersed in this tropical paradise. Enhancements will include an expanded beachfront experience, lunch venues, a variety of bars and other features created with intentionality to reinforce this destination's natural beauty and pristine appeal," Weinstein said during the earnings call.
The cruise line is also building a private destination in Freeport, Celebration Key.
"This will be by far our largest and most Carnival-centric destination in our portfolio with five awesome portals built for fun, from family friendly to exclusive beach club experiences. Not only will Celebration Key be the closest destination in our portfolio, saving fuel costs and reducing greenhouse gas emissions, the only way you can get to Celebration Key is on one of our cruises," he explained.
Are you taking a cruise or thinking about taking one? Visit our Come Cruise With Me website to have all your questions answered.
