Carnival is already designing its next class of ship for 2014 and beyond.

FORBES: How Video Gamers Are Influencing The Way Carnival Designs Cruise Ships

So the issue was not cost, per se, or aesthetics, but whether the regulator felt it necessary to increase the lifeboat requirements for White Star's new, larger, class of ship.

WSJ: Chris Berg: The Real Reason for the Tragedy of the Titanic

The Kittiwake is a Chanticleer-class submarine rescue ship that was part of the U.S. Navy's fleet until it was decommissioned in 1994.

CNN: A worthy wreck for divers: USS Kittiwake