Royal Caribbean orders 7th Oasis-class ship

Royal Caribbean Group announced today that it has entered into an agreement with French shipbuilder Chantiers de l'Atlantique to order a seventh Oasis-class ship for delivery to its Royal Caribbean International fleet in 2028.

"While we eagerly anticipate the debut of Royal Caribbean's Utopia of the Seas this summer, we're already dreaming up her sister ship and the next installation in the brand's extremely popular Oasis Class," said Jason Liberty, president and CEO, Royal Caribbean Group. "Across our three brands, we are focused on continuously challenging ourselves to deliver the ultimate vacation experience."

Today's announcement follows Royal Caribbean Group's recent introduction of three new ships including Silver Nova, Celebrity Ascent and Icon of the Seas.

"These are exciting times for Royal Caribbean, and we have an incredible partner in Chantiers de l'Atlantique to bring to life the lucky seventh Oasis Class vessel of what is a remarkable class of ships," added Michael Bayley, President and CEO, Royal Caribbean International.

Since the 2009 introduction of the original gamechanger, Oasis of the Seas, Royal Caribbean's Oasis-class have delivered memorable vacations to millions of families and adventurers of all ages. The renowned ships revolutionized cruising with innovations from the debut of the neighborhood concept to the first-ever split superstructure design and entertainment across air, ice, water and stage, and the next in the lineup will continue that legacy with the latest combination of bold revolutionary, evolutionary and signature experiences.

"This order signals Royal Caribbean Group's continued confidence in our partnership that has delivered some of the most innovative ships at sea," said Laurent Castaing, general manager, Chantiers de l'Atlantique. "We look forward to building upon this relationship as we help bring this ship to life."

This order is contingent upon financing, which is expected to be completed later this year.

Carnival Corporation & plc makes its first newbuilding order in five years

Carnival Corporation & plc, the world's largest cruise company, today announced it has signed an agreement with German shipbuilder Meyer Werft to build a fourth Excel class cruise ship for its namesake Carnival Cruise Line brand. The ship, the 10th Excel class ship in the corporation’s fleet across four of its world-class brands, is expected to enter service in Spring 2027.

Joining current Carnival Cruise Line Excel-class ships Mardi Gras, Carnival Celebration and Carnival Jubilee, the new 180,000-ton ship will carry over 6,400 guests and be powered on a liquefied natural gas (LNG) technology platform. This new ship is the first newbuild order placed by Carnival Corporation in five years.

“Our Excel class ships have been a tremendous addition to the Carnival fleet and proven very popular with our guests,” said Christine Duffy, President of Carnival Cruise Line. “As the world’s most popular cruise line, this new ship enables us to continue the growth of our incredible fleet as we welcome our loyal guests back to cruise more frequently and attract new-to-cruise guests to experience all that a Carnival cruise has to offer.”

“Building on our strong performance and growing momentum around the world, we are excited to resume our newbuild program and further enhance our global fleet with yet another state-of-the-art ship that will wow Carnival Cruise Line’s guests,” said Josh Weinstein, CEO of Carnival Corporation. “With one newbuild scheduled for delivery in 2025, none for 2026, and this order being our only expected newbuild in 2027, our responsible capital approach will support utilizing our substantial free cash flow over the next several years to strategically improve our balance sheet, significantly reduce our leverage levels and continue to transfer value from debt holders to shareholders.

“We are following through on our measured capacity growth strategy, with the addition of one to two ships per year beginning in 2027 which will be allocated to our cruise lines that most need the capacity to satisfy outsized demand, delivering an attractive payback period. We also remain focused on driving revenue growth throughout our portfolio of world-class cruise lines by continuing to improve execution across all aspects of our operation, yielding higher return on invested capital,” said Weinstein.

“We are very pleased that the partnership between the MEYER Group and Carnival Corporation will continue with this new order," said Bernd Eikens, CEO MEYER Group.

Music superstar Gwen Stefani to name Carnival Jubilee in Galveston

Carnival Cruise Line announced today that global music superstar Gwen Stefani will be honored as the godmother of Carnival's new flagship, Carnival Jubilee, at a naming ceremony and celebration in Galveston, Texas on Saturday, Feb. 24.

A three-time GRAMMY® Award winner, Gwen Stefani has achieved global success as a songwriter, performer, charismatic frontwoman of No Doubt, and as a multi-platinum solo artist. Throughout it all, Stefani has remained a trend-setting music and fashion icon with an impressive array of honors – four MTV Video Music Awards, two Billboard Awards, an American Music Award, and a Brit Award. To date, she's sold more than 60 million units worldwide. Stefani also returned for her seventh season as a coach on the Emmy®-winning NBC series The Voice this past fall.

Stefani is also recognized for her philanthropic work, including her support of children's causes.

"We are absolutely thrilled to be welcoming Gwen Stefani onto Carnival Jubilee so we can honor her as the ship's godmother," said Christine Duffy, president of Carnival Cruise Line. "She has demonstrated her commitment to our Carnival values, including promoting diversity and inclusion, supporting charitable causes, being a leader in her field, and of course, having fun. We are going to show her an enthusiastic welcome in only the way Carnival can when she joins us on February 24."

"I am honored to be the godmother of the new Carnival Jubilee," said Stefani. "Carnival is taking it to the next level of fun while being committed to children's causes and supporting our military families and veterans."

Carnival Jubilee entered service on Dec. 23, 2023 and is homeported year-round from the Port of Galveston. The ship is the third of Carnival's Excel class, is powered on a liquefied natural gas (LNG) technology platform and can hold 6500 guests and 1750 crew.

The naming ceremony is an invitation-only event that will be held on board the ship. A portion of the event will be broadcast live on Carnival's Facebook page starting at 3:30 CST on Feb. 24.