- Headquarters
- Miami, Florida & Southampton, UK
- Founded
- 1972 (as Carnival Cruise Lines)
- Ownership
- NYSE-listed (CCL) / LSE-listed (CCL.L)
Carnival Corporation & plc is the world's largest cruise holding company, formed in 2003 by the merger of Carnival Corporation (Miami) and P&O Princess Cruises plc (London). It is unusual in the industry for its dual-listed structure on both the NYSE and the London Stock Exchange — a legacy of that merger and the reason the group operates in dollars and pounds simultaneously.
The group's portfolio spans nine cruise brands positioned at distinct price points and national markets: Carnival Cruise Line (US contemporary), Princess Cruises (US premium), Holland America Line (US premium-classic), Cunard (British luxury heritage), Seabourn (ultra-luxury), Costa Cruises (Italian mainstream), AIDA Cruises (German mainstream), P&O Cruises Australia, and P&O Cruises (UK).
For British travellers Carnival's most consequential brand is P&O Cruises — the market leader in UK-sourced cruising, based in Southampton, sailing seven ocean ships, and structurally advantaged by round-Britain departures that avoid transatlantic flights.
Portfolio
Cruise lines in this group
P&O Cruises
The UK-sourced British-market leader — Southampton-departing, sterling-priced, and split between family flagships and adults-only classics.
Holland America Line
Premium-classic mid-size cruising — long itineraries, strong food-and-wine, and the deepest world-voyage programme in North American cruising.
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