Germany’s Meyer Werft has started work on the LNG-powered vessel, Carnival Jubilee, for Miami-based Carnival Cruise Line, a unit of Carnival Corporation.
In that regard, Meyer Werft held the ship’s steel cutting ceremony at its yard in Papenburg on Friday.
The 344.5 meters long newbuilding is the first ship Meyer Werft is building for Carnival Cruise Line.
It is part of the Carnival’s Excel-class design first delivered by the Meyer Turku shipyard in Finland.
To remind, the US cruise line said in June last year it took over the newbuilding slot originally reserved for its Germany-based sister firm AIDA Cruises, also a unit of Carnival, at the Meyer Werft yard.
The new ship adds to LNG-powered Mardi Gras, Carnival’s first Excel-class ship. Mardi Gras already sails from Port Canaveral.
In addition, Carnival will also take delivery of its sister ship Carnival Celebration from Meyer Turku in 2022. This LNG-powered vessel should start sailing from Miami in late 2022.
As per Carnival Jubilee, the vessel should arrive at its home base in Galveston, Texas, in November 2023 at 182,800 gross tons, with a capacity of more than 5,400 guests and 1,700 crew, according to Carnival Cruise Line.
The vessel would offer seven-day Western Caribbean cruise vacations from the Port of Galveston beginning Novemmber 18, 2023 with stops in Cozumel and Costa Maya, Mexico, as well as Mahogany Bay (Isla Roatan), Honduras, it said.