Carnival certainly believes in making waves. No sooner was Elation - the first of three new additions to the fleet - been handed over than another $1 billion dollar three-ship plan hit the decks.
Victory will make her maiden voyage in August this year, and her two sisters will emerge from the Kvaerner Masa shipyard in Helsinki, Finland, and the 82,000-ton series will continue with Conquest and in 2002 and 2003.
The 70,000-ton Elation made her maiden voyage on March 20, 1998, while Paradise was completed ahead of schedule in November the same year, closely followed by the gigantic 101,000-ton Carnival Triumph.
The Elation and Paradise - the world's first no-smoking cruise ship - were seventh and eighth in Carnival's highly successful "Fantasy-class" series which began in 1990 and now includes the Fantasy, Ecstasy, Sensation, Fascination, Imagination and Inspiration.
Carnival Triumph and Victory are sister ships to the Carnival Destiny, which entered service in November, 1996 as the world's first cruise ship to exceed 100,000 tons.
The Paradise, like Elation, was also built at the Kvaerner Masa shipyard while the Carnival Triumph is being built at the Fincantieri shipyard in Trieste, Italy.
Carnival is the largest cruise line in the world based on
passengers carried. It currently operates 14 vessels with cruises to the
Caribbean, Bahamas, Mexican Riviera, Panama Canal, Hawaii, Alaska and
Canada.
