Carnival’s New Cruise Ships: What’s Coming Next?

Carnival Cruise Line keeps adding ships so fast that it’s getting genuinely hard to tell which ones are actually new.

Some joined the fleet just months ago. Others look brand-new after huge refits. And a few weren’t even built for Carnival in the first place.

Take Carnival Luminosa. She only joined Carnival Cruise Line in 2022, but she’d already spent more than a decade sailing for Costa Cruises under a completely different name.

Meanwhile, Carnival is also building even bigger ships for the future, including one that could completely change what fans expect from the cruise line.

So which Carnival ships are the newest? And which “new” ship is actually much older than most people realise?

The Ships That Will Soon Join the Fleet…

First, let’s take a look at the newest cruise ships that will be added to the Carnival Cruise Line fleet over the next couple of years…

Carnival Festivale (2027) & Carnival Tropicale (2028)

Two new Excel-class ships are set to join the Carnival Cruise Line fleet: Carnival Festivale in 2027 and Carnival Tropicale in 2028. They’ll join sister ships Mardi Gras, Carnival Celebration and Carnival Jubilee as the latest generation of Carnival mega-ships.

Carnival Festivale will debut in May 2027, launching with a 15-day transatlantic sailing from Southampton before taking up her year-round homeport in Port Canaveral, Florida. The 180,000-gross-ton LNG-powered ship will accommodate around 6,400 guests.

Her sister ship, Carnival Tropicale, will follow in spring 2028 and is expected to homeport in Galveston, Texas.

Both ships will introduce a huge new outdoor zone called Sunsation Point, replacing the BOLT rollercoaster found on earlier Excel-class ships. The multi-deck space will include Carnival’s biggest-ever waterpark, splash zones, evening entertainment areas, mini golf and family attractions.

Carnival Festivale will also feature new music-themed venues and interactive entertainment concepts focused around live performances and music creation.

Another major change is the huge increase in family accommodation. Carnival Festivale is expected to feature around 1,000 connecting cabins, significantly more than earlier Excel-class ships.

New Class – 2029, 2031, 2033

Carnival’s future plans go even bigger. The cruise line is already developing an entirely new class of mega-ship, currently nicknamed Project Ace.

The first ships are expected in 2029, 2031 and 2033, and they could carry close to 8,000 guests each, making them the largest ships in Carnival Corporation’s history.

Carnival hasn’t revealed many details yet, which only adds to the intrigue. What exactly do you put on a ship that enormous?

Read more: 8 Huge Changes Coming To Carnival Cruise Line In 2025

The Newest Ships Already Sailing

Carnival Adventure & Carnival Encounter – 2025

The former Pacific Adventure and Pacific Encounter moved into the Carnival Cruise Line fleet in March 2025 following the shutdown of the P&O Cruises Australia brand.

These ships will sail primarily for the Australian market and retain many of the features familiar to Aussie guests – but they’ve also had a light makeover to add that unmistakable Carnival fun, with new venues, updated décor and plenty of lively entertainment.

Carnival Firenze – 2024

In the spring of 2024, Carnival Firenze joined the Carnival fleet. The ship sails out of Long Beach, California, offering Italian-style cruising for American guests.

Previously known as Costa Firenze, this is also a Vista-class ship, and a sister ship to Costa Venezia, which joined the Carnival fleet a year prior.

Carnival Jubilee – 2023

The third ship in Carnival’s Excel Class, Carnival Jubilee, launched in 2023. This ship is almost identical to Mardi Gras and Carnival Celebration, and she sails out of Galveston, Texas offering week-long Caribbean itineraries.

This ship was originally ordered for German cruise line AIDA Cruises, but a change of plans by parent company Carnival Corporation means that Carnival Jubilee joined the main Carnival fleet instead.

This isn’t the first time that Carnival Cruise Line has used the name Carnival Jubilee. The original Carnival Jubilee was built for Carnival in 1986. The ship became the Pacific Sun for P&O Cruises Australia in 2004 before being scrapped in 2017.

Carnival Venezia – 2023

Carnival Venezia is the second ex-Costa ship to join the Carnival fleet, making her debut in May 2023. The ship has previously been known as Costa Venezia.

Redesigned with North American cruisers in mind, this ship blends Costa’s original Italian flair with the food, service and fun that Carnival fans know and love.

Suggested read: Carnival Cruise Ship Classes Compared

Carnival Celebration – 2022

A sister ship to the popular Mardi Gras, Carnival Celebration made her debut on 6th November 2022.

The ship embarked on her maiden voyage from Southampton, UK, and I was lucky enough to be invited on board for a tour. Let me tell you, this ship is something special indeed.

Carnival Celebration cruises from Miami all year round, offering week-long cruises to the Eastern and Western Caribbean.

Just like Mardi Gras, Carnival Celebration has six different areas with various things to enjoy, including the BOLT rollercoaster, the RedFrog Tiki Bar and Seuss at Sea productions.

This is the second Carnival ship called Carnival Celebration. The first was built in 1987 and sold to Iberocruises in 2008 before being transferred to Costa Cruises in 2014 and finally being scrapped in 2021.

Carnival Luminosa – 2022

Costa Luminosa joined the Carnival fleet in September 2022, with the new name Carnival Luminosa.

Carnival Luminosa is a Spirit-class ship, similar to Carnival Spirit, Carnival Legend, Carnival Pride and Carnival Miracle. She was christened in 2009, making her a few years younger than her classmates.

The ship sails out of Brisbane, Australia, in the winter, offering South Pacific itineraries and out of Seattle in the summer, offering Alaska cruises.

Suggested read: Carnival Cruise Ship Classes Compared

Mardi Gras – 2021

Mardi Gras is the only ship in the Carnival fleet whose name doesn’t start with the word ‘Carnival’. This could be because Mardi Gras actually means Carnival, so the ship would be called ‘Carnival Carnival’ if that were the case. And that would be weird.

Mardi Gras was the first Excel-class ship for Carnival, and so she debuted some exciting new features, such as the BOLT rollercoaster – an 800-foot-long ride that goes up to 40 miles per hour.

Launched in July 2021, Mardi Gras was Carnival’s first LNG-powered ship and the largest ship ever built for the cruise line.

Mardi Gras has won a host of awards, including ‘Best New Cruise Ship of 2021’ in Cruiseline.com’s Member Choice Awards and ‘Best New Cruise Ship’ in USA Today’s 10 Best Readers’ Choice Awards.

As well as being the latest ship, Mardi Gras was also the name of Carnival’s first-ever cruise ship back in 1972. The original Mardi Gras was originally launched as a transatlantic passenger ship called Empress of Canada in 1960 before being acquired by Carnival. In 1993, the ship left the Carnival fleet and had several name changes before being scrapped in 2003.

Carnival Panorama

Carnival Panorama was launched in 2019 as the third and final Vista-class ship in the Carnival fleet. The ship was originally designed for P&O Cruises Australia but was transferred during construction.

Carnival Panorama features a Sky Zone trampoline park, the ShyRide aerial bike course and a Waterworks water park that was inspired by Shaquille O’Neal. The ship sails from Long Beach, California, visiting ports of call along the Pacific Coast en route to Mexico.

Carnival Horizon

Launched in 2018, Carnival Horizon is a sister ship to Carnival Panorama and Carnival Vista. She sails out of Miami offering fun-filled Caribbean cruises. From May 2027, Carnival Horizon will relocate to Galveston, Texas and begin operations from that port.

There’s so much to enjoy on Carnival Horizon, including an IMAX cinema, the Dr Seuss WaterWorks splash park and the SkyRide aerial bike track. Meanwhile, adults can relax in the Serenity Adult-Only Retreat and the Cloud 9 Spa.

Renamed Carnival Ships

Over the years, Carnival Cruise Line has renamed three of its ships. Each of these ships has undergone an extensive dry-dock renovation. This means that the ship has been stripped back completely with brand-new features and decor added.

The ‘reimagined’ ships are as good as new, but as they were built over 20 years ago, they won’t be as large as Carnival’s new mega-ships.

Carnival Sunshine

Carnival Sunshine entered service in 2013. The ship was originally launched in 1996 under the name Carnival Destiny.

Carnival Sunrise

Carnival Sunrise was originally called Carnival Triumph. Launched in 1999, the ship was extensively renovated and renamed in 2019. The renovation included a brand new pool deck.

Carnival Radiance

Carnival Radiance debuted in 2021. However, before its makeover, the ship was known as Carnival Victory and was originally built for Carnival in 2000.

To Conclude

Carnival Cruise Line launches new cruise ships at a rate of roughly one per year, with the oldest ships being retired at around the same pace to keep the fleet balanced.

Some of the newest vessels – like Carnival Celebration and Carnival Panorama – were originally ordered for other lines within the Carnival Corporation (such as AIDA Cruises and P&O Cruises Australia) before being reassigned to the main Carnival fleet.

And while many of Carnival’s “new” ships really are brand new, others are existing vessels that have been refurbished, renamed or transferred from other brands.

From fresh builds like Carnival Jubilee to revamped favourites such as Carnival Luminosa, each addition brings something unique. With even more ships on the horizon, there’s always something exciting coming next for Carnival fans.

For a full list of Carnival ships, check out this List of Carnival Ships from Newest to Oldest.

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