Meyer Turku builds a new cruise ship for a Carnival company

This is the first step towards implementing the findings from 2016. At that time, the world's largest passenger ship operator and owner of several cruise lines – Carnival Corporation – signed the first agreement with the Finnish shipyard Meyer Turku to build two cruise units with a displacement of 180 thousand GT. Their working names are Carnival XL1 and Carnival XL2. The document assumed that the ships would be delivered to the Carnival Cruise Line in 2020 and 2022 respectively. The same arrangement also concerned the construction of a third ship for the P&O Cruises line. However, the construction of this unit was carried out by the German shipyards Meyer Werft in Papenburg. Delivery date: 2020.

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On 16 November at the Finnish shipyard Meyer Turku held a ceremonial sheet cutting for a new cruise ship for the Carnival Cruise Line. The company stated in its communication that the unit would be equipped with "unknown" innovations. The ship was designed for the Green Cruising strategy, implemented by Carnival Corporation.

Chief Carnival Cruise Line announces that the new ship will be unique "in every respect". According to Christine Duffy, the hull design is to combine tradition and modernity. It is also to refer to the 50-year history of the tour line. The President also ensures that the ship will be equipped with a number of exceptional "breakthrough" elements.

It is not accidental that the second of the ships ordered will be sent to the shipowner in 2022. It is then that the Carnival Cruise Line will celebrate its 50th anniversary on the market.

The ship will measure 1130 feet long, or over 344 metres. According to previous announcements, the ship will be able to take in voyage 5.2 thousand passengers. Additionally, a team of people working on the unit – i.e. crew and ship crew – will consist of over 2,000 people.

The start of the construction of this powerful cruiser is another step in the development of the Finnish shipyard from Turku. The company stated that the order portfolio is currently on record high, and since 2014, when the Meyer family took over the site, it has doubled.

[related2] Over the last four years, the company has hired over 700 new shipbuilders and now the crew of the shipyard has about 2,000 people. Since 2014, employment in the company has been growing at a rate of about 200 additional employees per year. Meyer Turku also implements an investment programme worth EUR 200 million.

The Carnival Cruise Line has not yet given the name of the new ship. The shipowner is scheduled to serve it in early December. For now, it is only known that the first ship will sail from Port Canaveral, Florida. In January next year, the maritime company is also to provide the routes that the ship will operate.

Carnival Cruise Line from Carnival Corporation is currently the most popular cruise line in the world. The shipowner's fleet consists of 24 units that operate sea voyages lasting from 3 to 24 days. The Carnival Cruise Line ships to, among others, the Bahamas, the Caribbean, Cuba, Alaska, Hawaii, Bermuda, Australia and New Zealand, the Pacific Islands and Southeast Asia.

By 2022, the cruise company fleet would expand by three new ships. These will be two Carnival XL units and a Carnival Panorama ship to be launched next year.

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