Carnival Cruise Lines has unveiled its new $400 million, 100,000-ton ship, named the Carnival Destiny, which is under construction at Fincantieri and scheduled to enter service out of Miami in the fall of 1996.

The new ship has a cruise capacity of 2,642 passengers based on two people in each cabin, and a maximum capacity of 3,350 including third and fourth passenger occupancy in designated cabins, plus crew of 1,040.

While the final tonnage of the Carnival Destiny is not known, it is expected to be in excess of 100,000 tons, according to Carnival. The vessel will be 892 feet in length, with a beam at the water line of 116 feet, and a beam at pool deck of 125 feet. The funnel will be 207 feet above the water line. The maximum draft will be 27 feet.

“Dream Team”

At the unveiling, which took place in Miami last week, Carnival President Bob Dickinson also presented the executives, who have been working on the new ship project, as the dream team, including Micky Arison, Chairman of Carnival Corporation; Captain Vittorio Fabietti, Vice President Corporate Shipbuilding; Joe Farcus, interior Architect; and Howard Frank, Vice Chairman and CFO, Carnival Corp.

Fincantieri executives present included Corrado Antonini, President and CEO; Enrico Buschi, Director, Cruise Ship Business; Giorgio Cossutti, Deputy Division General Manager; Maurizio Cergol, Chief Designer; and Gianfranco Bertaglia, Project Manager.

Bigger & Better

While Dickinson refuted comments that Carnival is also moving up in the market, the new ship will offer a space ratio of 38 compared to 34 for the Fantasy-class ships along with other features more commonly associated with premium-market vessels.

While the exterior of the Carnival Destiny looks very similar to the Fantasy ships, the new ship offers several new features including balconied staterooms.

Slightly more than half of the cabins will be outside, and of the 740 so-called “ocean view cabins,” 418 will have private verandas that extend out from the hull rather than being built into the cabin which is commonly done.

Those staterooms with the private verandas will be 240 square feet, including the veranda which will have a three foot high glass railing offering fuil views of the ocean. The balance of the outside cabins will be 225 square feet with large picture windows.

The Carnival Destiny will also have eight penthouse suites measuring 480 square feet; 40 suites measuring 360 square feet; and 14 demisuites measuring 325 square feet. There will also be 519 inside cabins measuring approximately 180 square feet.

Two-deck dining rooms

The Carnival Destiny will also mark the cruise line’s first double-decked dining rooms. Both of the vessel’s two dining rooms fearure large picture windows on the lower level. In addition, the aft dining room features a two-deck-high wall of glass looking out the stem of the ship.

Dining service will be provided in two seatings with the aft restaurant accommodating 1,090 and the forward holding 706 passengers.

The ship’s Lido bar and grill will also extend over two decks and is adjacent to the aft pool, which can be covered by a retractable glass dome in case of inclement weather.

The Carnival Destiny will also fearure a three­ deck showroom billed as the largest at sea. In addition, the mid-ship pool area includes a stage for daytime entertainment and two pools. The teak decks are cantilevered, amphitheater-style, providing all passengers with views of the stage.

Familiar Carnival fearures include the single, double-width promenade, glass-domed atrium, a multi­ deck showroom, Nautica Spa and teak-planked open decks.

Dickinson said that an itinerary has not been determined yet and that he expected rates to be common-rated to the extent accommodations are comparable on the existing Carnival ships.

Commenting on the economies of scale achieved by the 100,000-ton ship, Frank said the new ship would be “enormously profitable.”

The Carnival Destiny will have diesel electric propulsion and a service speed of 22.5 knots.

Also overseeing the construction of the new ships is Technical Marine Planning of London whose project team includes John Hopkins, Senior Marine Engineer; David Storer, Senior Electrical Engineer; and Stephen Payne, Senior Naval Architect.