Carnival Festivale Receives New Sea to Shining Sea Bow Crest
Festivale, an LNG-powered ship measuring 1,133 feet, is scheduled to sail a 15-night transatlantic maiden voyage from Southampton on May 2, 2027.
Carnival Festivale has received Carnival Cruise Line’s new “Sea to Shining Sea” bow crest. Close-up photographs released on November 10, 2026, show the raised emblem being painted. The line’s fourth Excel-class ship remains under construction at Meyer Werft in Papenburg, Germany.
The installation brings the newbuild into a fleetwide branding rollout that began with Carnival Legend and Carnival Magic during their May 2026 dry docks. Most Carnival ships will receive the design, although two Galveston-based vessels will carry a Texas-specific emblem.
The photographs show a shipyard worker using a small roller to apply white paint to the crest from a construction lift. Against the blue hull of the 182,015-gross-ton ship, the worker provides a sense of scale: the capital “C” in Carnival appears larger than the worker’s head. Carnival has not published official dimensions for the crest.
The emblem is embossed on the bow. Its double circular border carries the words “From Sea to Shining Sea,” two five-pointed stars and the Carnival name. At the center, the line’s whale-tail funnel symbol sits above three waves.
“With the debut of this new crest, we’re reinforcing what guests have long known: Carnival is proud to be America’s Cruise Line,” Christine Duffy, president of Carnival Cruise Line, said when the design was introduced.
Dry-dock rollout has two exceptions
Existing ships are generally receiving the crest during scheduled dry-dock work, while newbuilds will enter service with it already installed. Carnival Freedom received its emblem during a September 2026 dry dock that also restored its whale-tail funnel. The ship had operated with a straight funnel after its previous whale tail was damaged by fire in March 2024.
The exceptions are Carnival Jubilee and the forthcoming Carnival Tropicale. Jubilee became the first Carnival ship with a bow crest when it debuted in December 2023, but its Star of Texas design predates the fleet’s newer circular emblem. That crest was first revealed at the ship’s July 2023 float-out and connects the vessel with its year-round Galveston homeport. Carnival confirmed in April 2026 that Tropicale would also operate year-round from Galveston and carry the Texas Star crest.
From Papenburg to Southampton
Steel cutting for Festivale began on April 8, 2025. The LNG-powered vessel will measure 1,133 feet long and accommodate 5,356 passengers at double occupancy, according to Carnival’s deck-plan specifications.
Festivale’s maiden voyage is scheduled to depart Southampton on May 2, 2027, for a 15-night transatlantic crossing. Its first departure from Port Canaveral is set for May 19, a four-night Bahamas cruise.
See current Carnival Festivale fares and itineraries on Cruise Lookup.
