Safekipedia

Carnival Corporation

Adapted from Wikipedia · Discoverer experience

The Carnival Corporation headquarters building in Doral, Florida.

Carnival Corporation Ltd. is a big company based in Bermuda that runs many cruise ships. It owns more than 90 ships and has eight different brands. These ships travel all over the world, letting people have fun vacations on the water.

Carnival House, Southampton

The company is listed on the New York Stock Exchange and is part of a big group of important companies called the S&P 500. From 2003 until May 7, 2026, Carnival was split into two parts, one based in the United States and the other in Britain, but they worked together as Carnival Corporation & plc.

Carnival's main office is in Doral, Florida. The company also has a big office in Southampton, England, to help manage its ships in the UK and Europe. Cruises are a popular way for families and friends to travel and explore new places together.

History

Carnival Corporation started as a private company called Carnival Cruise Line in 1972. Over the years, it grew and bought many other cruise lines. In 1987, it became a public company and used the money from selling shares to buy more cruise lines. By the late 1990s, it had bought several well-known cruise lines like Holland America Line and Costa Cruises.

In 2003, Carnival Corporation bought P&O Princess Cruises, which had many cruise brands of its own. Later, Carnival sold some of its cruise lines, like Windstar Cruises, to other companies. In 2015, Carnival started a joint venture in China to build more cruise ships. In 2025, Carnival moved its headquarters to a new building in Miami and simplified its company structure, finishing the changes in May 2026.

Operations

Carnival Corporation has nine cruise line brands and one cruise experience brand. Together, they operate a fleet of 93 ships.

In June 2023, Carnival made changes to its company structure, creating six new units to better manage each brand.

Brands and ships

AIDA Cruises

Main article: AIDA Cruises

AIDA Cruises started from a big shipping company in East Germany called Deutsche Seereederei, set up in Rostock, Germany in 1952. It began carrying passengers in the 1960s. After Germany united in 1990, the company was sold, and its ships were bought by Deutsche Seetouristik. In 1996, the first new ship named AIDA was launched but did not make a profit and was sold to Norwegian Cruise Line.

In 1999, Deutsche Seetouristik was bought by a British company called P&O, which brought back the AIDA name. P&O created AIDA Cruises as a new brand and ordered two new ships. The ships AIDAcara, AIDAvita, and AIDAaura were launched in 2002 and 2003. Carnival plans to build new ships for AIDA in 2030 and 2032.

Carnival Cruise Line

Main article: Carnival Cruise Line

Carnival Cruise Line started in 1972 by Ted Arison and Meshulam Riklis. Riklis sold his share to Arison in 1974 for $1 because of debt. Carnival grew by buying existing ships and later ordered new ones. In 1980, Carnival ordered its first new ship, the Tropicale, completed in 1981. More ships were added in the 1980s.

In 1987, Carnival offered shares on the New York Stock Exchange, raising money for more ships. By 1993, it became Carnival Corporation, with Carnival Cruise Line as its main brand.

Costa Cruises

Main article: Costa Cruises

Costa Cruises began as a cargo shipping company in Genoa, Italy in 1854, founded by Giacomo Costa fu Andrea. It started carrying passengers in the late 1940s with the ship Maria C. Its first real passenger ship was Anna C, which operated between Italy and South America.

Costa grew quickly from the late 1960s to the 1980s, becoming a big cruise company. In 1997, Carnival Corporation began buying Costa Cruises. In 2012, one of its ships, Costa Concordia, hit a rock and sank near Isola del Giglio, Tuscany, with many people affected.

Cunard Line

Main article: Cunard Line

Cunard Line started in 1840 and is one of the oldest brands in Carnival’s group. It was founded by Samuel Cunard in Britain. After facing competition, Cunard merged with another company in 1934. In 1998, Carnival Corporation bought Cunard and it became a popular brand, especially with the Queen Elizabeth 2 and the large ship Queen Mary 2.

Holland America Line

Main article: Holland America Line

Holland America Line began in Rotterdam, Netherlands in 1871. It started as a shipping company and later focused on cruises. In 1989, Carnival Corporation bought Holland America Line.

P&O Cruises

Main article: P&O Cruises

P&O Cruises started in 1977 as part of a big British shipping company. It became part of Carnival Corporation in 2003. The ships serve the British market and are based in Southampton, England.

Princess Cruises

Main article: Princess Cruises

Seabourn Cruise Line

Main article: Seabourn Cruise Line

Ships on Order

Carnival Corporation has ten ships being built or planned.

Former brands

Carnival Corp Order Book
Cruise LineNameCost (millions)ShipyardTonnageCapacityDelivery
CarnivalCarnival Festivale$1,200Meyer Werft183,9005,4002027
CarnivalCarnival Tropicale$1,200Meyer Werft183,9005,4002028
CarnivalProject Ace$1,750Fincantieri230,0006,2002029
AIDAUnnamed$1,300Fincantieri150,0004,2002030
CarnivalProject Ace$1,750Fincantieri230,0006,2002031
AIDAUnnamed$1,300Fincantieri150,0004,2002031
CarnivalProject Ace$1,750Fincantieri230,0006,2002033
Princess CruisesVoyager ClassTBAFincantieri183,0004,7002035
Princess CruisesVoyager ClassTBAFincantieri183,0004,7002038
Princess CruisesVoyager ClassTBAFincantieri183,0004,7002039

Private Islands & Beach Resorts

Carnival Corporation owns several private islands and beach resorts for its cruise brands to use.

These include Princess Cay in the southern part of Eleuthera, The Bahamas, used by both Princess Cruises and Carnival Cruise Line. Half Moon Cay is another island in the Bahamas, originally for Holland American Line, with plans for a new pier. Amber Cove is a private beach in Puerto Plata Province in the Dominican Republic. Celebration Key is a private beach resort on the south side of Grand Bahama island.

Incidents & Violations

Violations of environmental laws

In 2002, Carnival Corporation had to admit to doing something wrong in a United States court. They had not told the truth about oil from six of their ships that had been dumped into the sea between 1996 and 2001. The company had to pay $18 million and do community service, and they were watched closely for five years to make sure they followed environmental rules.

In 2016, Princess Cruise Lines, which is part of Carnival, was fined $40 million for dumping oily waste into the sea and lying about it. This was the largest fine ever for this kind of mistake. The bad actions started in 2005 and went on until 2013 when a new employee told what was happening. As a result, Carnival had to follow strict environmental rules for five years.

In 2019, Carnival and Princess had to pay another $20 million because they broke the rules from the earlier case. They dumped plastic into the water in The Bahamas, did not tell the truth, and did not follow the court’s instructions.

Effects of the COVID-19 pandemic

In March 2020, all Carnival Corporation cruise ships stopped sailing because of the worldwide pandemic. Sadly, 55 passengers on Carnival ships passed away. In September 2020, Carnival announced plans to remove 18 ships from their fleet, which was 12% of all ships worldwide. By that time, five ships had already been taken apart.

Carnival also delayed getting some new ships that were being built. These changes were part of their plan to save money, as stopping cruises was hurting their business very much. In the third quarter of 2020, they reported a loss of US$1.7 billion.

At that time, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said cruises could not happen in the U.S. until at least October 31, 2020. Carnival and other cruise companies agreed to keep cruises stopped until that date for trips starting from or stopping at U.S. ports.

In November 2020, the CEO believed that testing everyone on ships could help restart the cruising industry.

In January 2021, Carnival announced they would sell one more ship beyond the 18 already planned. Even though Carnival had US$9.5 billion in cash, they lost $1.9 billion in that part of the year.

Notable former ships

Carnival Corporation has had many famous ships over the years, including:

  • Pacific Princess (Princess Cruises) – This ship became well-known for appearing in the TV series The Love Boat. It sailed for Princess Cruises from 1975 to 2002.
  • Queen Elizabeth 2 (Cunard Line) – This was the main ship for Cunard Line when Carnival bought it. It was sold to Istithmar World in 2008.
  • Rotterdam (Holland America Line) – This ship was the main ship for Holland America Line for 40 years. It was sold to Premier Cruises in 1997 and renamed Rembrandt. Today, it serves as a floating hotel and museum in Rotterdam, Netherlands.
  • Adonia (Fathom and P&O Cruises) – This was the first cruise ship to sail to Cuba from the United States in 2019, after many years. It was sold to Azamara Club Cruises in 2018 and renamed Azamara Pursuit.
  • Oriana (P&O Cruises) – This was the first cruise ship made just for the UK market. It was sold to Astro Ocean in 2019 and renamed Piano Land.
  • Adora Magic City (Adora Cruises) - This was the first cruise ship built in China.

Related articles

Southampton
New York Stock Exchange
S&P 500
Doral, Florida
Carnival Cruise Line
Fincantieri

This article is a child-friendly adaptation of the Wikipedia article on Carnival Corporation, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Images from Wikimedia Commons. Tap any image to view credits and license.