On 6th September, as part of a new multi-ship order announced that day by Carnival Corporation & plc, Carnival Cruise Line is scheduled to take delivery of two new 180,000gt cruise ships in 2020 and 2022 which will be the largest in the Carnival Cruises. Both ships will be fuelled by Liquefied Natural Gas under Carnival Corporation’s exclusive “green cruising” design and will mark the first time an LNG-powered cruise ship is based in North America. 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. In addition to the two new ships announced, the 133,500gt Carnival Horizon is under construction by Fincantieri, Italy, and is set to make her debut in 2018. The Memorandum of Agreement announced with Meyer Turku is subject to several conditions, including satisfactory financing.