New vessels will include Costa Cruises' Costa Magica and an Excel-class ship previously destined for AIDA
By
Rebecca Gibson |
Carnival Cruise Line is to add two new ships to its fleet by 2023, including Costa Cruises’ Costa Magica and a new Excel-class vessel that was previously destined for the AIDA Cruises fleet.
Costa Magica will undergo a Carnival-branded conversion in dry dock before being renamed and joining the fleet in mid-2022. Meanwhile, the new Excel-class vessel is expected to be delivered by Germany-based shipbuilder Meyer Werft by late 2023.
Carnival is already scheduled to debut its first LNG-powered Excel-class ship, Mardi Gras, Carnival’s in Port Canaveral on 31 July and welcome her sister ship, Carnival Celebration, in late 2022. The addition of these four vessels will increase Carnival’s fleet to 27 by the end of 2023.
“We are excited about these additions to our fleet which reflect the strong position that Carnival has established in the US, the pent-up demand we continue to see for cruise vacations, and the overall plans by Carnival Corporation to optimise capacity and growth in key markets,” said Christine Duffy, president of Carnival Cruise Line. “While our immediate focus is on our restart of guest operations this summer, this is another cause for excitement at Carnival, and we will be announcing more detailed plans about homeports, itineraries and ship names very soon.”