Memorandum of understanding covers one Holland America vessel and one Princess Cruises ship
By
Rebecca Gibson |
Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri has signed a memorandum of agreement to build two new cruise ships for Carnival Corporation.
Expected to be finalised in early 2017, the contract covers a third 99,500gt, 2,660-guest Pinnacle-class vessel for Holland America Line, which will be built at Fincantieri’s Marghera yard in Italy. The ship will be delivered in 2021, when she will debut interiors similar to those on the recently launched Koningsdam and the yet-to-be-delivered Nieuw Statendam.
Meanwhile, Fincantieri’s Monfalcone yard will construct a sixth Royal Class vessel for Princess Cruises, which will accommodate 3,660 passengers when she is delivered in 2022. The 145,000gt ship’s design will be based on that of her sister ships Royal Princess, Regal Princess, Majestic Princess (to be delivered in March 2017) and the two yet-to-be-named vessels scheduled for delivery from Fincantieri in 2019 and 2020.
In addition, Princess Cruises’ newbuild will feature Ocean Medallion Class – a more personal and immersive cruise experience made possible by Carnival Corporation's recently announced wearable device, Ocean Medallion.
"This is an extraordinary moment for the cruise sector and it is particularly rewarding for us to be able to seize all the opportunities coming from the industry growth, also thanks to our deep-rooted partnership with Carnival Corporation," said Giuseppe Bono, CEO of Fincantieri. "These vessels will be based on the successful platforms developed for Carnival. On the back of these successful platforms, our group today aims to further increase its order book, already at record levels, while ensuring profitability in the cruise segment."
Carnival Corporation now has 19 new ships scheduled to be delivered between 2017 and 2022.
“We are extremely pleased to formally announce these two new ships and build on the success and popularity of their sister ships already sailing guests around the globe,” said Arnold Donald, CEO of Carnival Corporation. "Our goal is to exceed expectations of the 11.5 million guests who sail with us each year, and these new ships will offer more opportunities for our guests to create lifelong vacation memories while generating added excitement around the fast-growing global demand for cruise vacations. Using our strategic fleet enhancement plan to introduce new ships is an important part of our measured capacity growth strategy, which includes replacing less efficient ships with newer, larger and more efficient vessels.”