The Fincantieri shipyard dates back over 200 years, with over 7,000 ships built. The current operating company was formed in 1959. Fincantieri has built over 50 cruise ships for various clients, with plans for at least 12 more in the immediate future.
One of the newest ships built at Fincantieri is the Carnival Dream. It's 15 percent larger than any of the previous Carnival Cruise Lines ships. Its maiden voyage was in September 2009.
The Carnival Dream is the largest cruise ship ever built in Italy. It's over 1,300 feet long with 2,558 cabins; it can carry 6,000 people. It was built at a cost of $740 million. It weighs 130,000 tons.
Fincantieri has built 47 ships for Carnival Cruise Lines. Carnival currently has eight different classes of ships in operation. The class distinctions refer to the size of the ship and its capacity.
Carnival Cruise Lines sails to nine different destinations, including a "cruise to nowhere." Cruises can be as short as two days, or last up to 16 days.
