Carnival Cruise Line could soon operate one of the world’s largest cruise ships, following an announcement on Sunday on board Carnival Celebration at the PortMiami cruise terminal.
The line said it will roll out three new 8,000-passenger cruise ships in 2029, 2031, and 2033 as part of what it calls “Project Ace.”
In addition, it revealed the names of its next two Excel Class vessels, plans for new family-friendly offerings, deployment and private destination changes, and updates to its loyalty program.
Here’s a rundown of the latest from the line.
1. An 8,000 Passenger Mega Ship
A new class of vessels, currently dubbed “Project Ace,” will begin to sail in 2029 with the debut of the first of three ships, which the line said will hold up to 8,000 people.
Currently, the largest cruise ships in the world, Royal Caribbean’s Icon of the Seas and Star of the Seas, hold 7,600 each.
If Royal Caribbean doesn’t increase the size of the third vessel in the series by the time it launches in 2027, the first Project Ace ship could be the largest at sea.
“The ship will be filled with new innovations, new experiences across every category from food, beverage, entertainment, programming for families, programming for the 8,000 people that will sail on this amazing ship,” said Carnival Cruise Line president Christine Duffy during the press conference, noting that itineraries will be announced in about two years.
The line hasn’t yet shared specifics but referred to the project as Carnival’s next evolution.
2. Names and Features for the Next Excel Class Ships
In other fleet expansion news, Carnival revealed that the names of the next two ships in its popular Excel Class will be Carnival Festivale and Carnival Tropicale, continuing Carnival’s trend of naming vessels in the class after the line’s earliest ships.
The first three – Mardi Gras, Carnival Celebration, and Carnival Jubilee – also have throwback names.
“We spend a lot of time, a lot of debating, thinking about how to name these ships, but we are continuing with the naming convention we’ve been using for Excel [Class] here in North America to give a nod to those original Carnival Cruise Line ships,” Duffy said.
Carnival Festivale, which will begin sailing in 2027, will be based in Port Canaveral, where it will join Excel Class sibling Mardi Gras and Carnival Venezia.
The ship is set to include a music theme, featuring a wall of cymbals at the Grand View Bar, an atrium staircase resembling a saxophone, and a guitar motif in the Limelight Lounge. It will also house two new music-themed zones.
On Carnival Festivale and Carnival Tropicale, cruiser favorite Alchemy Bar will relocate to a larger space on Deck 6. It will feature live music and decor that evokes elements on the periodic table.
Also, on both vessels, the BOLT roller coaster—which appeared on the first three ships in the class and debuted on Mardi Gras—will be replaced by Sunsation Point, a multi-deck outdoor water park and activity space that will sprawl across much of Decks 16, 17, and 18.
“This is all going to be about family fun – lots of entertainment,” Duffy said, showing a slide of what she dubbed the “ultra water park at sea.”
It will offer entertainment, arcades, shaded seating, splash zones, a set of treehouse-style bridges, spray toys, family raft rides, and waterslides for all ages, including children as short as 3 feet.
In a unique twist, the line will keep the water park open for extended hours on select nights during each voyage, allowing parents to tire their kids out before bedtime.
Rounding out the space will be a jogging track, upgraded mini-golf course, sports course and ropes course.
The theming and homeport for Carnival Tropicale, set to debut in 2028, haven’t been disclosed yet, but Duffy said that it and Carnival Festivale will be twins, differing slightly from the first three ships in the class.
In terms of food, Duffy confirmed the ships will still have Shaq’s Big Chicken, Guy Fieri-affiliated Guy’s Burgers, and Guy’s Pig & Anchor Smokehouse Brewhouse.
Celebrity chef Emeril Lagasse, the line’s chief culinary officer, will design a new eatery to replace Chibang, a Mexican-Asian fusion restaurant found on the first three ships in the class.
Itinerary details for Carnival Festivale will be released this summer, which will also be when bookings open.
3. A Change for Mardi Gras
In 2027, when Carnival Festivale begins sailing, Mardi Gras will remain in Port Canaveral but shift to short itineraries.
Although the line has long offered three- and four-night sailings and half of its fleet is dedicated to short voyages, it hasn’t ever assigned a ship this new or large to taster cruises.
“What better time to be able to move an Excel Class ship over to a short cruise itinerary?” Duffy said.
“Obviously we’re going to be leveraging the amazing Celebration Key, Relax Away at Half Moon [private destinations], and so we think this is going to be a big unlock for people who either don’t have time to take seven days or just love cruising so much on our Excel ships that they’ll do both long and short [sailings].”
Read more: How Celebration Key and Half Moon Cay Are Different
The decision comes several months after Royal Caribbean launched successful three—and four-night weekend sailings from Port Canaveral on its new ship, Utopia of the Seas.
These shorter itineraries on new ships try to lure travelers who haven’t cruised before.
Short sailings on the most impressive ships allow lines to hook those who might have been on the fence about setting sail and who don’t want to invest a ton of time or money into something they aren’t sure they’ll like.
4. Family Program Overhaul
Carnival is focusing on families on its next two Excel Class ships. The Family Harbor family-centric enclave and lounge will be retired.
Instead, each vessel will offer 1,000 connecting cabins – a 70% increase from the number of connecting rooms on current vessels in the class.
The ships will also have dedicated spaces for children younger than 2 years – something not available on other vessels in the fleet.
These enhancements complement the line’s existing Seuss at Sea Dr. Seuss programming and Kennedy Space Center partnership. The line has also increased the number of kids’ club staffers fleetwide.
5. Destination Development
In addition to hardware and onboard programming news, Carnival announced that it will now collectively refer to its private destinations as the Paradise Collection by Carnival.
The properties include private destinations Amber Cove, Dominican Republic; Puerta Maya, Mexico; Grand Turk, Turks and Caicos; and the private Bahamian island Princess Cays.
It also encompasses the new beach destination Celebration Key on Grand Bahama island, which opens July 19; the recently rebranded private island Relax Away, Half Moon Cay in the Bahamas, which is undergoing extensive upgrades, including a new pier; and the newly rebranded Honduran private destination Mahogany Bay, which will be renamed Isla Tropicale Roatan at the end of 2025.
Enhancements to Isla Tropicale Roatan will include new cabanas, the addition of a pool with a swim-up bar, a beach expansion, and the opening of a new beach club.
Private destination expansion and rebranding, along with the addition of exclusive for-fee beach clubs, have been an industry trend in the last few years.
Similar moves by other cruise lines have included the opening of new Disney Cruise Line private beach destination Lookout Cay at Lighthouse Point in the Bahamas in June 2024 and the upcoming December 2025 opening of Royal Caribbean’s Royal Beach Club Paradise Island in the Bahamas and the 2026 opening of the Royal Beach Club Cozumel in Mexico.
Duffy also confirmed Carnival’s commitment to what it refers to as “secondary markets”—smaller homeports that the line often uses only part of the year.
Beginning in 2027, Carnival will return to year-round operations from Mobile, Alabama, from which it has only sailed part-time since 2023.
It will also add 1,000 more berths in Baltimore by replacing Carnival Pride with a Conquest-class vessel in 2027.
6. Loyalty Program Changes Coming
The final announcement of the day involved Carnival’s VIFP (Very Important Fun Person) loyalty program.
Although the line didn’t disclose details, it said changes are coming, along with tweaks to Carnival’s cobranded credit cards. Duffy said the revamp will “unlock greater value and engagement” for the growing base of Platinum and Diamond cruisers.
The line expects to officially announce details sometime this summer, with changes taking effect in 2026.
