Carnival cruises who owns

Today, Carnival Cruise Line encompasses more than 20 ships across its fleet, with planned future ships set to launch in and as sister ships to the recently launched Mardi Gras. Holland America Line was formed in the late 19th century, in The Dutch company operated not only passenger ships, but also shipping routes, ferrying passengers and goods between Europe and the Americas.

In , though, Holland America Line branch out into vacation cruises, and one of its first leisure cruises was from New York to Palestine. Of course, like many lines during the two World Wars, Holland America Line pitched in to transport military personnel throughout the s and s. However, as transatlantic air travel became more popular, Holland America Line ceased its transportation services and focused on its cargo shipping, until that aspect of the business was sold in the s.

Leisure travel was all that remained and Carnival Corporation came in and scooped up the line in Today, Carnival uses Holland America Line to offer upper-class cruising experiences both in Europe and across the Atlantic.

The line is made up of 11 cruise ships, with one of the most recent being the MS Rotterdam. Seabourn is another cruise line that was one of the first that Carnival Corporation purchased after going public. The result was growing success for the brand, which was beginning to be known as a luxury cruise line.

However, much like Holland America, Costa boasts a rich history stretching back to the s. In fact, Costa is even older than Holland America, founded in Founded in Italy, Costa Cruises originally focused only on cargo shipping, primarily olives and textiles. A decade after passenger services began, Costa delved into the cruising market, with leisure trips offered throughout the Mediterranean and Caribbean. Carnival would go on to acquire the line fully in Today, the Costa Cruises line still primarily services the European market.

Founded by Samuel Cunard in , Cunard Line got its start when Samuel received a contract to transport mail for Britain across the Atlantic. Together, with partners from Glasgow, he expanded his services to transport mail between Liverpool, Halifax and Boston. Eventually, Cunard broke into passenger travel, at which point it built some of its most famous ships, such as the Lusitania , which was tragically sunk by a German U-Boat in , at the start of World War I.

But as transatlantic passenger ship travel declined, Cunard attempted to better meet market needs by creating an airline that was unsuccessful.

It then turned its attention to cruising and launched Queen Elizabeth 2 to supplement the Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth. Princess Cruises, which was the second-largest cruise line by net revenue as of a few years ago, is much younger than the above cruise lines. Founded in to serve the Mexican Riviera, Princess Cruises soon expanded to offering Alaskan cruises. However, Princess Cruises was acquired less than a decade after its formation, in — but not by Carnival.

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