INDUSTRY PROFILE:
Carnival Cruise Line is the largest cruise company in the world, based on passengers carried, and the flagship brand of Carnival Corporation & plc, which is traded on both the New York and London stock exchanges. Known as “America’s Cruise Line” for carrying more Americans and serving more U.S. homeports than any other, Carnival was named the four-time winner of Best Ocean Cruise Line in USA Today’s 10Best Awards and Best Domestic Cruise Line by Travel Weekly readers for five consecutive years.
YEAR FOUNDED: 1972
HEADQUARTERS: Miami
NUMBER OF SHIPS: 24
NEW SHIPS ON ORDER: Carnival Celebration (2022), as-yet-unnamed (2023)
CRUISING AREAS: Alaska, Australia, Bahamas, Canada, Caribbean, Europe, Hawaii, Mexican Riviera, New England, New Zealand, Panama Canal, Pacific Islands, Trans-Atlantic
PRIMARY HOMEPORTS:
Year-Round: Baltimore, Md.; Brisbane, Australia; Charleston, S.C.; Galveston, Texas; Jacksonville, Fla.; Long Beach, Calif.; Miami; Mobile, Ala.; New Orleans; Port Canaveral, Fla.; Tampa, Fla.; Sydney
Seasonal: Barcelona; Civitavecchia (Rome); Dover (London); Honolulu; Lisbon, Portugal; New York; Norfolk, Va.; San Francisco; Seattle
CRUISE LENGTHS: 3 to 16 days
ANNUAL PASSENGERS: Approximately 6 million (2019)
FUN FACTS:
- 7+ million burgers served annually at Guy’s Burger Joints developed by celebrity chef Guy Fieri
- 25,000 comedy shows per year – the most of any comedy club on land or at sea
- 5 million servings a year of cruising’s most popular dessert, Warm Chocolate Melting Cake
- First cruise ship with a roller coaster (Mardi Gras – 2021)
- First cruise ship in the U.S. powered by Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) (Mardi Gras – 2021)
- 90+ million guests carried in total (49 years)
- Celebrity partners include Shaquille O’Neal, Guy Fieri, Emeril Lagasse, Rudi Sodamin, Vanna White and Kathie Lee Gifford
- National charitable partnerships include St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Children’s Hospital Foundation (Australia) and Operation Homefront