Carnival Revives Destiny Name for 2029 Ace Class Flagship

Carnival Cruise Line’s new Carnival Destiny will be the sixth newbuild in the line’s fleet to revive a former Carnival ship name, extending a practice that began with the 2018 reveal of Mardi Gras. The 230,000-gross-ton lead ship of Carnival’s Ace Class is scheduled for delivery in summer 2029 and will become the largest vessel in the Carnival fleet, with room for more than 8,000 passengers at full capacity.

The original Carnival Destiny is still sailing for the brand as Carnival Sunshine after a major 2013 rebuild.

Reused names now span two newbuild programs

Carnival introduced the name-reuse practice with Mardi Gras, the first ship in its Excel series and a reference to the company’s first vessel. The original Mardi Gras was a roughly 30,000-ton ocean liner built in the 1960s, joined Carnival’s fleet at the company’s start and remained in service until 1993.

The next two Excel-class ships followed the same approach. Carnival Celebration debuted in 2022 using the name of a Holiday-class vessel that sailed for Carnival until 2008, and Carnival Jubilee entered service in 2023 with a name previously used by a ship that left the fleet in 2004.

Two more Excel-class ships will continue the sequence before Carnival Destiny arrives. Carnival Festivale, under construction at Meyer Werft in Germany for a 2027 debut, uses the name of Carnival’s third ship, which sailed from 1977 to 1996. Carnival Tropicale is scheduled for 2028 with the name first used by Carnival’s first newbuild, introduced in 1985 and in service through 2001.

The original Carnival Destiny, built by Fincantieri in 1996, was the world’s largest cruise ship at the time and the first passenger ship to exceed 100,000 gross tons. The vessel measured 101,353 gross tons and carried 2,642 passengers at double occupancy before a $155 million transformation in 2013 increased its size and relaunched it as Carnival Sunshine.

The original Destiny also became the lead ship of what was later known as the Destiny class, followed by Carnival Triumph in 1999 and Carnival Victory in 2000. John Heald, now Carnival’s brand ambassador, was the cruise director who brought the original ship into service; after the new name was revealed, he told Carnival Cruise Line President Christine Duffy, “I got goosebumps.”

Ace class brings Carnival past its Excel ships

Fincantieri cut steel for the new Carnival Destiny on July 10 at its Monfalcone shipyard in Italy, where the name was unveiled. The ship will be the largest ever built by Fincantieri and the largest cruise ship constructed in Italy.

The scale of the Ace Class puts it above Carnival’s current Excel ships, which measure about 180,000 to 183,521 gross tons and carry up to roughly 6,630 passengers at maximum capacity. The new class will be powered by liquefied natural gas and will include more than 3,000 cabins, along with technologies intended to improve energy efficiency, waste management and emissions performance.

Carnival has said the ship will include more ocean-view balcony cabins than any vessel currently in its fleet and a redesigned lanai deck. It will also carry more than 4.5 acres of glass, including multi-story glass walls. More than 70 percent of its venues and attractions are planned as new concepts for the brand across dining, bars, lounges, entertainment and outdoor areas.

“Carnival Destiny builds on a legacy that changed cruising once before, reimagining what guests can experience at sea,” Duffy said. “With this ship, we’re elevating the guest experience again, creating a ship that feels more expansive.”

Fincantieri has delivered 76 ships across the Carnival Corporation portfolio, including 15 for Carnival Cruise Line. Two additional Ace-class ships are planned for delivery in 2031 and 2033.

Carnival said the ship will sail to Paradise Collection destinations in the Caribbean, Bahamas and Mexico. Duffy told Heald that the next major update would “probably come in November,” when the line expects to release more details about the ship.

Compare Carnival Cruise Line sailings by price on Cruise Lookup.