Meyer Werft has put back the delivery date of a large LNG-powered cruise ship it is building for US cruise giant Carnival Corp by six weeks.
Carnival Cruise Line, the subsidiary that will operate the 183,200-gt cruise ship Carnival Jubilee, has been forced to cancel the ship’s maiden transatlantic cruise that was scheduled to depart Southampton on 30 October next year, along with five additional cruises out of Galveston.
“Meyer has notified Carnival that due to supply chain logistics and related matters, the October 2023 delivery date has been re-set for early December 2023,” Carnival Cruise Line said.
The Carnival Jubilee will instead sail direct to Galveston from the shipyard in Papenburg and depart on its first passenger-carrying voyage on 23 December 2023.
Carnival Cruise Line president Christine Duffy described the delay as "disappointing news”.
The 5,374-passenger Carnival Jubilee was originally ordered for Carnival Corp subsidiary Aida Cruises as an identical sistership to the AIDAcosma, which was delivered in 2021.
The ship was reassigned to the Carnival Cruise Line fleet in June 2021 as part of a major shuffling of vessels within various brands as they adjusted to the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Carnival Cruise Line was also assigned several cruise ships previously operated by Italian brand Costa Cruises.
Carnival did not provide any details on the financial impact of the Carnival Jubilee’s delay, nor were any details made available on possible delay penalties that Meyer Werft may incur.
Neither the cruise company nor the shipbuilder could be contacted outside of office hours.
