Carnival Corp. & plc, the world’s largest cruise operator, said on Tuesday that he ordered a new vessel from Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri approximately $ 738 million.The 3690 passenger ship is scheduled to enter service in spring 2012 as part of Carnival Cruise Lines brand, Carnival said in a release. The ship will be built at Fincantieri’s Monfalcone yard.

The ship, which will be the third in the class ship Carnival Dream, will have an aqua park with a 300-foot water slide, live entertainment and 23,750 square feet spa.

Carnival first took delivery of Carnival Dream cruise ship in September and the second ship, Carnival Magic, scheduled to enter service in May 2011.

Miami-based Carnival, which was not ordered a new ship since December 2007, analysts said last month that orders a new ship can be announced at the end of this year, an analyst with Stifel Nicolaus Steven Wieczynski wrote in a note.

“Shipyards are also becoming more aggressive in pricing because they worsen backlogs,” Wieczynski, who has a “buy” on the stock, wrote: “We believe that CCL could announce more orders in the early-2010.”

Carnival shares rose 31 cents, or about 1 percent, to $ 32.34 in mid-morning trading on the New York Stock Exchange.

Rival Royal Caribbean Ltd. rose 10 cents, or 0.4 percent, to $ 24.67. Royal Caribbean recently shipping the world’s largest cruise ship, the Oasis of the Sea.