Carnival Corporation & plc orders new ships, one each for Its Holland America Line and Carnival Cruise Lines brands.
A memorandum of agreement has been signed with Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri for the construction of a 2,660-passenger ship for Holland America Line scheduled for delivery in fall 2015 and a 4,000-passenger ship for Carnival Cruise Lines scheduled for delivery in winter 2016. The total cost for the two vessels combined, which includes the U.S. dollar denominated contract price and all owner's costs, will be approximately $195,000 per lower berth. The memorandum of agreement is subject to customary closing conditions, including execution of shipbuilding contracts and financing.
The Holland America ship, which will be a new class of vessel for the line, will enter service five years after the last Holland America ship, the ms Nieuw Amsterdam, delivered in 2010. The Carnival Cruise Lines vessel, also a new class of ship, will be launched four years after the introduction of Carnival Breeze, which debuted in spring 2012. The timing of capacity additions for these brands is similar to the five year span between upcoming new ship introductions for both Princess Cruises and P&O Cruises (UK), as previously announced.
Including the newbuilds announced today, Carnival Corporation & plc currently has nine new ships scheduled for delivery – two for 2013, two for 2014, three for 2015 and two for 2016. Micky Arison, chairman and CEO of Carnival Corporation & plc also noted that the addition of new tonnage is expected, to some extent, to replace existing capacity reductions from possible sales of older ships.
Giuseppe Bono, CEO of Fincantieri, said, "These additional orders bring the total number of ships we have built for Carnival Corporation & plc to 61 and confirm Fincantieri's world leadership in the cruise ship sector even at a time of slowing demand." Bono added, "We view these orders as a very positive development for the Italian economy and the global cruise industry."