Carnival Cruise Line’s fourth and fifth Excel-class ships will be called Carnival Festivale and Carnival Tropicale
Carnival Festivale, debuting in spring 2027, will be music-themed and sail from Florida’s Port Canaveral.
The Tropicale is coming in 2028; Carnival has not announced a deployment. The Tropicale name recalls Carnival’s Tropicale ship that entered service in 1981.
For the occasion of the ship name reveal, Duffy donned a red jacket emblazoned with a music notation and the ship’s Festivale name in glitter.
A new recreation space: Sunsation Point
Both new Excel ships will have a three-deck outdoor zone called Sunsation Point, home to the six-slide Carnival Waterworks Ultra waterpark on Deck 18. The waterpark will replace the Bolt rollercoaster that is on the first three Excel ships. The line said four of the waterslides are new to Carnival, including two family raft slides and slides enabling guests as short as three feet tall to ride.
The waterpark also will feature two splash pads with slides and spray toys, plus baby splash areas.
For kids who want to keep dry, Sunsation Point will be home to a treehouse-inspired adventure trail and toddler play areas. A sports court, ropes course, jogging track, mini-golf course, outdoor games and themed arcade spaces will be part of the area, too.
In the evening, Sunsation Point will host special events, and the space will “burst with vibrant illumination,” Carnival said. A first for Carnival, the waterpark will be open in evening hours.
“We think this is going to be a really big hit and a lot of fun,” Duffy said. “So many people have sailed on these ships, so we wanted to give them something different.”
Family accommodations top of mind
Unlike the first three Excel ships, next two won’t have Family Harbor staterooms. Instead, they will have 1,000 interconnecting rooms, nearly 70% more than on the first three Excel ships.
Also to better serve families, Carnival said the Festivale will introduce a dedicated space for Carnival’s Turtles program (children six months to two years old) and give them more experiences on the open decks.
The Festivale will have new dining options, including one that will replace ChiBang — a Mexican-Chinese hybrid restaurant on the first three Excel ships. Guy’s Burger Joint, Pig & Anchor Smokehouse Brewhouse and Shaquille O’Neal’s Big Chicken are coming to the Festivale. More details on dining options will arrive in the coming months, Carnival said.
The Festivale’s music theme
Multiple venues on Carnival Festivale will be decorated with music in mind. The grand central atrium will have cymbals on the wall as decor and immersive sound, Carnival said. The Mix Bar on deck seven will have a ceiling resembling records. An expanded Alchemy Bar will be up one deck and have live music for the first time.
New role for Mardi Gras
When the Festivale enters service, the Mardi Gras will remain at Port Canaveral, sailing short cruises in 2027 and then going to a year-round sailing schedule from Mobile, Ala.
“As new ships are introduced, this will allow us to upgrade capacity and hardware in key markets, with a particular focus on short cruises,” said Duffy. “With short cruises on Mardi Gras, our guests who may not have the time to take a weeklong vacation can experience all the amazing features of our Excel class.”
Carnival previously sailed year-round from Mobile and currently sails from the port seasonally.
In Baltimore, Carnival is considering the deployment of a Conquest-class ship in 2027 to increase capacity. Carnival said the Conquest-class ships (Conquest, Glory, Valor, Freedom and Liberty) accommodate about 1,000 more guests than the Carnival Pride, a Spirit-class ship currently sailing from Baltimore.
A preview of ‘Project Ace’
Looking further ahead, Duffy previewed Project Ace — three 230,000-gross-ton ships that will be delivered in 2029, 2031 and 2033. With over 3,000 guest staterooms, the new ships will be the largest in the fleet, carrying almost 8,000 guests at full capacity.
“These ships clearly represent the next generation of Fun Ships. They will be experiences unto themselves,” said Duffy. “This class will introduce new dining outlets, entertainment, and re-imagined outer deck amenities.”
New name for Mahogany Bay
Changes are coming to Mahogany Bay, Carnival’s destination in Roatan, Honduras. Carnival will change the name to Isla Tropicale Roatan in 2026 and brand the destination with a hummingbird logo. It is adding a pool with a swim-up bar and cabanas, later planning to expand the beach and open a beach club.
Carnival is branding its private island experiences as the Paradise Collection, which will include Bahamian destination Celebration Key opening this July, and the recently rebranded RelaxAway, Half Moon Cay, which is getting a pier to accommodate Carnival ships.
Source : Travel Weekly / Carnival Cruises
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