While her debut to welcome guests isn’t until May 2027, work is continuing on the construction of the fourth Excel Class ship for Carnival Cruise Line: Carnival Festivale.

An exciting milestone was reached this week as the crew cabins have now been finished, and Meyer Werft and EMS PreCab have shared rare insights into the construction process. EMS PreCab specializes in cabins for cruise ships.

“After 25 weeks, we at EMS PreCab have successfully completed the production of the 949 crew cabins for the Carnival Festivale,” the company shared on Facebook.

The cabins are now waiting in the warehouse before their installation aboard the cruise ship, which Cruise Hive has previously reported is under construction at the Meyer Werft shipyard in Papenburg, Germany. A look inside the crew cabins reveals ample storage, relaxing neutral wood color tones, and plenty of plugs in a charging station.

“We are very satisfied with the quality level of the Carnival series achieved so far,” said EMS PreCab.

An even more interesting look for cruise ship fans is the glimpse of the warehouse where the cabins are now awaiting installation aboard Carnival Festivale. Lengthy rows of cabins stacked three high nearly mimic how the halls of the ship will eventually come together.

The 182,800-gross-ton ship will eventually be home to more than 1,700 international crew members.

Passenger Cabins Up Next

But what about guest cabins? Now that the crew cabins have been completed, construction will begin on the guest staterooms.

“We are proud of our team, which has thus successfully completed the first major section of the project. With this conclusion, the serial production of the 2,636 passenger cabins begins seamlessly,” EMS PreCab confirmed.

While neither company has offered a detailed timeline for how and why different parts of a cruise ship are constructed in a particular order, it makes sense that crew cabins would be manufactured first.

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Because crew cabins are on lower decks, they would naturally be installed in the hull of Carnival Festivale before any passenger staterooms are put in place.

Furthermore, crew cabins are far more likely to be uniform with fewer variations in layout and size. Guest staterooms, on the other hand, range from interior rooms to oceanviews to balconies to suites, with different sizes and interior features to consider.

This would make the guest staterooms somewhat more complex to manufacture. Starting with crew cabins would permit extra time for any redesign needs of guest staterooms before they are built.

According to Carnival’s website, Carnival Festivale will feature the most updated and innovative staterooms, including the popular Havana staterooms and suites with their island vibes as well as the Cloud 9 options that include exclusive spa amenities.

It is also likely that the new ship will feature more connected staterooms than ever before, an upgrade that Cruise Hive reported was made to the first Excel Class ship, Mardi Gras, during her fall 2025 dry dock.

The ship’s capacity is likely similar to her Excel Class sisters: 5,228 at double occupancy, and up to 6,631 guests if all berths are filled.

Carnival Festivale is scheduled to welcome her first guests on May 19, 2027 with a 4-night Bahamas cruise from Port Canaveral, visiting both Celebration Key and Half Moon Cay.

The ship will remain homeported from the Space Coast at least through April 2028 offering 6- and 8-night Eastern Caribbean and Southern Caribbean itineraries.

Depending on the sailing date and cruise length, port visits also include Amber Cove, San Juan, St. Maarten, Bonaire, Aruba, Curacao, and St. Thomas.

Bookings are now open for Carnival Festivale‘s inaugural season, and guests can be sure all crew and guest staterooms will be installed well ahead of her debut!

Carnival Festivale Construction Update as Crew Cabins Completed