Carnival Cruise Line held a steel-cutting ceremony on July 10 at Fincantieri's shipyard in Monfalcone, Italy, officially beginning construction of Carnival Destiny, the first vessel in its new Ace Class generation. The ship is the first of three planned Ace Class vessels and is scheduled to arrive in summer 2029.
The Ace Class is notably larger than Carnival's current biggest ships, topping the Excel Class by more than 50,000 gross tons. Once complete, ships in the class will rank as the largest cruise vessels ever built, setting up a direct size rivalry with Royal Caribbean's Icon Class.
The event was live-streamed on YouTube and attended by Carnival Corporation CEO Josh Weinstein, Carnival Cruise Line president Christine Duffy, Fincantieri CEO Pierroberto Folgiero, and Carnival Corp. chairman Micky Arison. Brand Ambassador John Heald had been teasing the announcement for days on social media, which drove significant fan anticipation before the ceremony.