History
Carnival Corporation was founded as the privately owned Carnival Cruise Line in 1972. The company grew steadily throughout the 1970s and 1980s. It went public in 1987 with an initial public offering on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), and used the money to buy up competing cruise lines. Between 1989 and 1999, it acquired Holland America Line, Windstar Cruises, Westours, Seabourn Cruise Line, Costa Cruises and Cunard Line. It adopted the name Carnival Corporation in 1993, to distinguish the parent company from its flagship cruise line subsidiary.[2]
P&O Princess Cruises plc was formed in 2000, after the demerger of the cruise ship division of the P&O group.[10] Originating as the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company in England in 1837, P&O operated the world's first commercial cruise ships. Restructuring of the P&O group in the 20th century led to its cruise operations being rebranded as P&O Cruises and P&O Cruises Australia, with the company acquiring Princess Cruises in 1974. Following the demerger in 2000, the company also acquired AIDA Cruises,[11] as well as establishing the A'Rosa Cruises and Ocean Village brands.[12]
In 2003, Carnival Corporation acquired P&O Princess Cruises plc.[13] It was agreed that P&O Princess Cruises plc would remain a separate company, listed on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) and retaining its British shareholder body and management team. The company was renamed Carnival plc, with the operations of the two companies merged into one entity. Carnival Corporation and Carnival plc jointly own all the operating companies in the Carnival group.[14] Prior to Carnival Corporation's acquisition, P&O Princess Cruises plc had agreed to a merger with Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. The deal unraveled as Carnival Corporation initiated a hostile takeover with improved terms for British shareholders.[15]
Carnival sold Windstar Cruises to Ambassadors Group in February 2007[16] and Swan Hellenic to Lord Sterling in March 2007.[17]
In October 2015, CSSC Carnival Cruise Shipping, a joint venture between Carnival, the China Investment Corporation, and the China State Shipbuilding Corporation, was founded, with operations expected to commence in 2019.[18][19]
In March 2018, Carnival Corporation announced its intention to invest in the construction of a new terminal in the port of Sasebo, Japan. It is expected to open in 2020.[20]
In June 2018, Carnival Corporation announced that it had acquired the White Pass and Yukon Route from TWC Enterprises Limited for US$290 million. The properties acquired were port, railroad and retail operations in Skagway, Alaska.[21]
In 2023, Carnival Corporation sold their interest in Adora Cruises.[22]
In May 2025, it was announced Carnival would move its headquarters from Doral and create a new campus where it would unite most of its North America team members in a single new headquarters to be built in the Waterford Business District,[23] located in Miami-Dade County. It is scheduled to begin operations in 2028.[24]
In December 2025, Carnival announced plans to simplify its corporate structure, with shares in Carnival plc being converted one-for-one into shares of Carnival Corporation, and the latter being reincorporated in Bermuda as Carnival Corporation Limited. As a result, the enterprise would give up Carnival plc's LSE and NYSE American depositary receipt listings, with the restructured Carnival maintaining a single listing on the NYSE.[25]
