The new Carnival Celebration was floated out to the outfitting keel today at Meyer Turku shipyard in Finland.
The LNG-powered vessel will mark the culmination of Carnival Cruise Lines 50th birthday when she enters service later this year in Florida.
“We are very proud to build this beautiful ship for Carnival Cruise Lines. The Float out marks the beginning of a very intensive phase in the ships construction, as we the inside features and venues will start taking form. By the end of the summer Celebration will be ready for her sea trials and then for delivery later in the autumn,” said Tim Meyer, CEO at Meyer Turku.
“This is the exciting part, after the float out, that’s when everything that everyone will love about the ship goes from blueprint to reality,” said Ben Clement, senior vice president of New Builds, Refurbishments and Product Innovation for Carnival Cruise Line, who was in Finland to oversee the milestone.
“When there’s a new ship coming, it’s always tough to pick your favorite part, but Carnival Celebration is going to make that choice tougher than ever when she makes her way to Miami.”
Carnival Celebration is a second Excel-class ship built at Meyer Turku for Carnival Cruise Lines. Her sister ship the Mardi Gras is already sailing from Port Canaveral.