A new chapter is underway for Carnival Cruise Line as construction has officially started on the first ship in its highly anticipated Ace Class.
The steel-cutting ceremony took place Friday at Fincantieri's shipyard in Monfalcone, Italy, marking the beginning of work on the vessel that will carry the name Carnival Destiny. The name pays tribute to the original Carnival Destiny, the groundbreaking ship that entered service in 1996 as the first passenger ship to surpass 100,000 gross tons.
The new Carnival Destiny is expected to be in a completely different league. At around 230,000 gross tons, it will become the largest cruise ship ever built for Carnival and one of the largest passenger ships in the world. It is also the first of three Ace Class vessels scheduled to enter service in 2029, 2031, and 2033.
Rather than simply making the ship bigger, Carnival says the focus is on giving guests a stronger connection to the ocean. Company President Christine Duffy said the vessel has been designed with more open views of the sea than any previous Carnival ship.
Plans include a redesigned outdoor lanai area, approximately 4.5 acres of glass throughout the ship, and the highest number of balcony cabins ever offered in the Carnival fleet. According to the cruise line, these features are intended to make the sea itself a much bigger part of the onboard experience.
Carnival also revealed that more than 70 percent of the ship's dining, bar, and entertainment venues will be brand new. While the company has not yet shared details about those concepts, more announcements are expected as construction progresses over the next few years.
During the ceremony, Carnival looked back at the legacy of the original Carnival Destiny, a ship that changed the industry three decades ago with its size, innovative design, and then-record number of balcony cabins. Today, that vessel continues sailing as Carnival Sunshine after an extensive transformation completed in 2013.
The original ship welcomed just over 2,600 guests. Its successor is expected to be nearly twice as large, highlighting how dramatically cruise ships have evolved over the past 30 years.
The Ace Class project represents one of Carnival's biggest investments in new ships, with the cruise line aiming to combine larger capacity with new public spaces, modern attractions, and stronger connections to the ocean.
