Overview
Carnival Corporation & plc is a global cruise company that operates eight cruise-line brands, including Carnival Cruise Line, Princess Cruises, Holland America Line, AIDA Cruises and Cunard. Its core business is providing cruise vacations through brands serving different guest markets. It also operates port destinations and exclusive islands, as well as Alaska land tours that complement its cruises. The company has significant operations in North America and Europe, and its cruise lines sail around the globe.[1][2][3][4][5]
Carnival states its purpose as delivering memorable cruise vacations while respecting the oceans, places and people its operations touch. As of November 2025, it operated 94 ships and reported a team of more than 160,000 people from approximately 150 countries. Revenue for the fiscal year ended November 30, 2025 was $26.6 billion.[6][7][8][9] [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9]
Products & services
Carnival Corporation & plc sells ocean-cruise vacations across brands with distinct offerings. Carnival Cruise Line emphasizes family entertainment; Princess Cruises combines onboard activities with destination experiences; Holland America Line emphasizes leisurely exploration, including Alaska cruises; and Seabourn offers ultra-luxury voyages with all-ocean-front suites, gourmet dining and visits to less-traveled ports. Cunard offers transatlantic crossings and world voyages alongside other itineraries, while AIDA, Costa and P&O Cruises (UK) offer cruises tailored to their respective markets.[10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17]
Cruise fares generally include accommodation, most meals and snacks, entertainment, port visits and access to amenities such as pools and health clubs. Guests can purchase additional products and services, including beverages, casino gaming, shore excursions, internet access, spa treatments, specialty dining and photographs. The company also sells packages for items such as beverages, internet access and shore excursions.[18][19][20][21][22][23][24] In fiscal 2025, passenger tickets accounted for approximately 65% of consolidated revenue, and onboard and other revenue for approximately 35%.[9] [10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][9][9][9]
Geographic presence
Carnival Corporation & plc organizes its cruise brands into North America and Europe operating segments. North America includes Carnival Cruise Line, Princess Cruises, Holland America Line and Seabourn; Europe includes AIDA Cruises, Costa Cruises, P&O Cruises and Cunard. Its headquarters and principal shoreside operations are in Miami, Florida, and Southampton, England, with additional offices in the United States, Continental Europe and elsewhere.[25][26]
Revenue by country is classified according to where guests are sourced, rather than where ships sail. In fiscal 2025, the United States accounted for $14.85 billion of revenue, or about 56% of the $26.62 billion total; Germany contributed $3.35 billion, the United Kingdom $3.05 billion and other countries $5.37 billion. The principal passenger source markets were the United States and Canada, Continental Europe, the United Kingdom, and Australia and New Zealand.[27][28][29]
The fleet serves a broader range of destinations than those source markets. In fiscal 2025, Caribbean itineraries represented 34% of passenger capacity, Europe excluding the Mediterranean 16%, the Mediterranean 14%, Alaska 6%, Australia and New Zealand 6%, and other itineraries 24%. Carnival also lists owned or operated ports and destinations in the Bahamas, Dominican Republic, Turks and Caicos, Honduras and Mexico.[30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38] [25][25][26][27][28][28][28][28][28][29][29][29][29][30][30][30][30][30][30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38]
Business segments
Carnival Corporation & plc reports four business segments. Its two cruise-operating segments are North America, comprising Carnival Cruise Line, Princess Cruises, Holland America Line and Seabourn, and Europe, comprising AIDA Cruises, Costa Cruises, P&O Cruises and Cunard. In fiscal 2025, North America generated approximately 66% of total revenue and Europe approximately 32%; these are segment-level figures, not revenue shares for individual brands.[39][40]
Cruise Support encompasses port destinations, exclusive islands and other services operated for the cruise brands; it contributed approximately 1% of fiscal 2025 revenue. Tour and Other consists principally of Holland America Princess Alaska Tours’ hotel and transportation operations, including lodges, railcars and motorcoaches; it also contributed approximately 1%.[41][4][40] [39][42][42][42][42][42][41][4][40]
Company history
Ted Arison founded Carnival Cruise Line in 1972, when its first ship, *Mardi Gras*, began sailing from Miami. He purchased the business in 1974, and his son Micky Arison became chief executive in 1979. Carnival went public in 1987, then expanded beyond its original cruise line through the acquisition of Holland America Line in 1989.[43][44][45]
Carnival continued building a portfolio of cruise brands, taking an interest in Seabourn in 1992, jointly acquiring Costa Crociere with Airtours in 1997, and acquiring Cunard in 1998.[46][47][48] In 2003, Carnival Corporation and P&O Princess Cruises completed a dual-listed-company transaction, with P&O Princess renamed Carnival plc. Micky Arison remained chairman when Arnold Donald succeeded him as chief executive in 2013.[49][45] [43][44][45][46][47][48][49]
Sources
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