Carnival Cuts Steel on First Ace-Class Ship, Names It Carnival Destiny
If you're tracking Carnival's newest ships, the first Ace Class vessel, Carnival Destiny, had her steel cut on July 10, 2026, in Monfalcone, Italy, with delivery targeted for 2029. Details on homeport and itineraries haven't been released yet, so watch for announcements over the next few years. In the meantime, the original Destiny — now Carnival Sunshine — sails from Norfolk, Virginia, and moves to Barcelona and Rome in May 2027 before heading to Galveston, Texas that November.
Carnival naming its new flagship after the 1996 Carnival Destiny isn't sentimental filler — that ship was the first to break 100,000 gross tons, and this one is targeted at roughly 230,000, more than double. That's Carnival explicitly measuring itself against its own history, and Duffy's "More Sea to See" pitch (4.5 acres of glass, the most ocean-view balconies in the fleet) tells me the line is betting big on view-driven cabin premiums rather than just capacity. Keeping 65 original Destiny crew members, including John Heald, in the messaging is a loyalty play aimed at longtime cruisers. With only 70% of dining and entertainment spaces confirmed as new and no homeport or itinerary details yet, I'd treat this as a marketing milestone, not a booking one — nothing here is actionable until Carnival releases specifics over the next three years.