The first steel was cut today for Carnival Cruise Line’s newest XL-Class ships. The new livery was unveiled for the 180,000-ton XL newbuild that is due to be the first-ever vessel operating in North America to use LNG (liquefied natural gas).
The traditional steel-cutting ceremony was held at Meyer Turku shipyard (Turku, Finland), and signified the official beginning of construction of the biggest Carnival ship ever constructed, scheduled for delivery in 2020. A 2nd XL vessel will start construction in 2020 and is due to be delivered in 2022 and mark the 50th anniversary of line’s founding.
The cruise company also revealed a new red, white and blue hull design celebrating its legacy as America’s Cruise Line and paying homage to maritime tradition. Created by New York-based Bluarch Architecture, it builds upon Carnival’s iconic color scheme and is highlighted by a navy blue hull along with vibrant red & white accents running the length of the 1130 ft-long liner.
Following the steel-cutting, construction started on the 5200-plus lower berth cruise ship which will offer various never-before-seen innovations and will also be the first North America-based cruise liner to be powered by LNG, part of Carnival’s “green cruising” design platform.
The vessel (named Carnival Mardi Gras in December 2018) will operate from Port Canaveral FL, beginning 2020.