Carnival’s new ship, the Excellence is used by many of its brands including P&O with the Iona and Arvia, and AIDA

1. Carnival Mardi Gras (2021)
2. Carnival Celebration (2022)
3. Carnival Jubilee (2023)

OMG it has a rollercoaster and swimming pool slides and more fun new ways to spend your time. This is an evolved Excellence Class ship. The Mardi Gras is the latest Excellence Class Carnival Cruises ship to hit the seas. At 181,808 GT, 42m wide, and 340m long she is the largest of the Excellence Class yet, and the largest ship in Carnival’s fleet.

Excellence ship (Arvia and Iona). This will be the biggest Excellence Class ship yet at 183,900GT.

• Length 344m
• Beam 42m 
• 6500 Guests

It will homeport at Dodge Island, port Miami, the city where the head office of our fictitious CSCI office is. Cruise Ship Crime Investigators. In these novels murders, drugs and human trafficking have had to be solved by the team of private agents. Read Cozy Cruise Novels

due 2023 – at 182,800GT it is slightly larger than the Mari Gras. Details to follow. This was originally ordered for AIDA so could end up in any of the Carnival Group.

This is a new Vista Class, not the same as the old HAL Vista class, but maybe it will be as popular as their 11 ships. These larger cruise ships built by Fincantieri in Italy, where first steel cut in 2014 some three years after the other Vista Class finished. These Vista Class ships are operated by Carnival and Costa Cruises and soon P&O Australia.

These ships are around 322 meters long, a touch smaller than the Royal Class (Britannia) and have 15 decks carrying 4000 guests. They can travel at 22 knots. The features include the SkyRide, an IMAX Theatre, a Water Works aqua park which is themed after Dr. Seuss characters, and Carnival’s Seuss at Sea programme. Vista ships have some unique new attractions such as Bonsai Teppanyaki and Guy’s Pig & Anchor Bar-B-Que Smokehouse and an on board brewery.

1. Carnival Vista (2016)
2. Carnival Horizon (2018)
3. Costa Venezia (2019)
4. Carnival Panorama (2019)
5. Costa Unnamed (2020)

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Splendor was a redesign of the Concordia Class, which was a redesign of the Dream Class which was a redesign of the Conquest Class.

1. Carnival Splendor (2007)

The Concordia Class was again a development of this ship, and the Splendour another redesign.

Dream Class Ships are a redesign of the Conquest Class ships, which were a redesign of the Destiny ship, so that is the heritage. However they are a new class not a sub class. Dream Class 306meters long, 14 passenger decks and upward of 3,650 guests, 1,370 crew. They have diesel electric power raising a max speed of 22knots. Two levels of this ship are adult only with a Retreat area. Though it has an expansive play area there are not many family staterooms.

1. Carnival Dream (2006)
2. Carnival Magic (2007)
3. Carnival Breeze (2010)
4. Costa Diadema (2011)

The Concordia Class was again a development of this ship, and the Splendour another redesign.

Conquest Class has a war, patriotic theme to the names. This comes about as the ships were a series named after the September 11 attacks. The ships are a re-design of the Destiny class but larger, the ship is longer there are more facilities and a new restaurant that would be reservations only. The ships are now 290 meters, 13 passenger decks carrying nearly 3,000 guests with about 1,350 crew. At 110,000GT she can whip up 21 knots.

1. Carnival Conquest (2002)
2. Carnival Glory (2003)
3. Carnival Valor (2004)
4. Carnival Liberty (2005)
5. Carnival Freedom (2007)

Destiny Class ships were being redesigned from the outset. The Triumph sub class had an extra deck, and Costa called that the Fortuna class but it is the same as Triumph, the four ships are identical. Then it settled as the larger Conquest Class. As the Destiny it was only 272 meters long and cruising was in a growth era so the 13 / 14 decks and holding 2,600 guests was too big to be a small ship and too small to be the Grand Class – Conquest class.

1. Carnival Sunshine (1996) the only true Destiny Class ship.
2. Carnival Triumph (1999) Triumph sub class from here on.
3. Carnival Victory (2000) Identical to Triumph
4. Costa Fortuna (2003) Called Fortuna sub of Triumph
5. Costa Magica (2004)

A major $200 million refit and refurbishment that saw every aspect of the Carnival Victory saw it renamed the Carnival Radiance. It is not just updated but transformed.

Fantasy Class cruise ship sees a turning point in cruise ship design. It is the last ship that was  a cruise ship forced into a design that already existed. In other words, it was an Ocean Liner design, reworked for cruise. The old style of having the life boats on the top deck, and all the cabins within the hull is an obvious feature that you no longer see. Cruise ships are now built as hotels with the rooms standing high as containers do on container ships.It is a re-working of the Holiday Class ship which gives it all away, and was superseded by the Destiny Class which shows the change. These ships had 10-11 passenger decks that held around 2,000 guests in a length of about 260 meters. Maybe equivalent to the old HAL Vista ships.

1. Carnival Fantasy (1990)
2. Carnival Ecstacy (1991)
3. Carnival Sensation (1993)
4. Carnival Fascination (1994)
5. Carnival Imagination (1995)
6. Carnival Inspiration (1996)
7. Carnival Elation (1998)
8. Carnival Paradise (1998)

Currently being scrapped at Aliağa. The interest for cruisers in this port is not that it is used for oil and bulk cargo but that it scraps cruise ships. It is in the Izmir Province in the Aegean Region of Turkey. Shipbreaking is a major business there, and the parts are removed and salvaged, auctioned or sent for use on ships being refitted. The 34-year-old Carnival Fantasy is now there, along with her sisters the Carnival Imagination and Carnival Inspiration. The three are still on our new updated Carnival fleet page so you can see where they are.

Currently being scrapped at Aliağa. The interest for cruisers in this port is not that it is used for oil and bulk cargo but that it scraps cruise ships. It is in the Izmir Province in the Aegean Region of Turkey. Shipbreaking is a major business there, and the parts are removed and salvaged, auctioned or sent for use on ships being refitted. The 34-year-old Carnival Fantasy is now there, along with her sisters the Carnival Imagination and Carnival Inspiration. The three are still on our new updated Carnival fleet page so you can see where they are.

Currently being scrapped at Aliağa. The interest for cruisers in this port is not that it is used for oil and bulk cargo but that it scraps cruise ships. It is in the Izmir Province in the Aegean Region of Turkey. Shipbreaking is a major business there, and the parts are removed and salvaged, auctioned or sent for use on ships being refitted. The 34-year-old Carnival Fantasy is now there, along with her sisters the Carnival Imagination and Carnival Inspiration. The three are still on our new updated Carnival fleet page so you can see where they are.

The Spirit Class ship is very similar to the Vista ship. The main obvious difference is the smaller chimney stack. The two ships combined ideas and designs certainly on the Queen Victoria which is still a Vista ship. The Spirit ships were built in Helsinki and are Panamax ships like the Vistas. These ships are 293 m long with 12 decks carrying 2,124 guests at a speed of up to 22 knots. 80% of the cabins are outside and of them, 80% have balconies.

1. Costa Atlantica (2000)
2. Carnival Spirit (2001)
3. Carnival Pride (2001)
4. Carnival Legend (2002)
5. Costa Mediterranea (2003)
6. Carnival Miracle (2004)