Carnival Corp & plc is gearing up for the arrival of Carnival Magic which will become the group's 100th ship when she is handed over by Fincantieri on April 27.

Vice chairman and coo Howard Frank told shareholders at the annual meeting yesterday in Southampton: 'We do plan to have a big party,' adding that no other company approaches Carnival's size. It has more than twice as many ships as its closest competitor.

However the century milestone will be short lived as two days later Artemis leaves P&O Cruises' fleet on April 29, headed for new owners outside the Carnival family.

The fleet goes back to 100 one month later when Seabourn Quest is handed over by T. Mariotti to Seabourn Cruise Line at the end of May.