Carnival announced just now that they have come to an agreement with longtime partner Fincantieri for the construction of one vessel for Carnival and one for Holland America. Carnival’s ship will be 3,954 pax and set for delivery in March 2018. She will be a sister to the Carnival Vista. The Holland America ship will be 2,650 pax delivery planned for November 2018. She will be a sister to the under construction Koningsdam.
I’ll post the press release once it’s posted.
UPDATE
Heres the full press release. I’ve updated our Newbuild list.
MIAMI (December 19, 2014) – Carnival Corporation & plc (NYSE/LSE: CCL; NYSE: CUK), the world’s largest travel and leisure company, today announced new cruise ship orders for two of its brands with Fincantieri S.p.A., the world’s largest cruise ship building company.
The new cruise ships will be constructed by Fincantieri for Carnival Cruise Line and Holland America Line, two of Carnival Corporation’s nine industry-leading brands.
Carnival Cruise Line’s as-yet-unnamed 3,954-passenger vessel, which is the 26th ship in the line’s fleet, will offer many of the newest and most popular features from Carnival’s current ships, along with several innovations that will be exclusive to this vessel. The delivery date for the new cruise ship is scheduled for March 2018. Homeport and itinerary information will be announced at a later date.
The new ship will be a sister ship to Carnival Vista, which is slated for delivery in spring 2016. Carnival plans to announce details on the many unique features and innovations of Carnival Vista during a three-day event for media, travel agents and consumers in New York Jan. 22-24, 2015.
For Holland America Line, the new order adds a second Pinnacle class ship to the fleet, a new class of vessels that will debut with the delivery and launch of the ms Koningsdam in February 2016. The new ship, scheduled for delivery in late November 2018, will accommodate 2,650 guests. The new as-yet-unnamed ship will feature new public spaces and venues that will debut on Koningsdam. In addition, many of the familiar spaces that are currently featured across the Holland America Line fleet will be included.
“These beautiful new ships on order from Fincantieri signify our ongoing commitment to provide the best possible guest experience across our industry-leading brands,” said Arnold Donald, President & CEO of Carnival Corporation. “New ships with the latest in features, accommodations and innovations really bring the modern cruise experience to life and will help us continue to grow new demand for cruising.”
“To have been once more chosen for such an important order is the best recognition for our skills,” said Giuseppe Bono, Fincantieri Chief Executive Officer. “This is an extremely important sign, especially if we consider the shipbuilding industry’s present period of evolution, both in Europe and Asia.”
Bono added, “Today Fincantieri can count on a solid order book, without equal in terms of diversification and quality of the product, which is a testament to our leadership in the cruise ship business sector. This position has been solidified over the years also thanks to our relationship with Carnival, a partnership which has allowed us to grow and which is now strengthened by our recent agreement involving the Chinese market and by today’s orders. We are hopeful that many others will follow in the future.”
All told, Carnival Corporation has refreshed its global fleet – the largest in the world – with more than 30 new ship additions since 2007, including its two newest ships, Regal Princess and Costa Diadema, with another 10 ships scheduled to be delivered between 2015 and 2018.
In March, P&O Cruises UK plans to introduce Britannia, which is the largest ship ever built for the British cruise market. In the fall of 2015, AIDA Cruises will christen its new flagship, AIDAprima.
In 2016, Carnival Cruise Line is scheduled to debut Carnival Vista, a stunning 133,500-ton ship that will be the largest ever in its fleet, and Holland America Line will launch its newest ship, the 99,500-ton ms Koningsdam, a new Pinnacle Class ship that can carry 2,650 passengers. Also in 2016, AIDA will introduce a new sister ship to the 2015 AIDAprima with capacity for 3,250 passengers, while Seabourn will unveil its newest luxury ship, expected to be the biggest ever built by the brand with the ability to serve 604 passengers.
Looking forward to 2017, Princess Cruises is working with Fincantieri to build a 143,000-ton vessel featuring the highly popular design elements introduced by the brand’s two newest ships, sisters Royal Princess and Regal Princess.