The new US$740 million Carnival Dream was floated out by Fincantieri at its Monfalcone yard in Italy in August 2010 (above) and is due to enter service in May. The 130,000gt ship, the second in Carnival’s Dream class, was ordered in 2007 and her keel was laid on 12 January 2010.
The ship’s maiden voyage is to begin on 1 May, and she will operate in the Med for the summer before crossing the Atlantic to Galveston, Texas, where she will become the port’s largest year-round cruise ship. Considered to be Carnival’s most innovative ship to date, she is powered by six Wärtsilä engines with a total output of more than 70,000KW.