By
Rebecca Gibson |
Carnival Corporation & plc is to increase its fleet capacity by nearly 10% between 2014 and 2016, arise fuelled largely by the addition of four new ships across four of its nine brands in less than 18 months.
Between 2007 and 2014, the company’s global fleet – the largest in the world – has increased by more than 30, while another seven ships are scheduled to be delivered between 2015 and early 2017. In addition, Carnival Corporation will upgrade and refurbish many of its existing ships and in 2015, plans to refit 17 ships across six of its brands. This includes two former Holland America Line ships, which will be undergo complete refurbishments before joining the P&O Cruises Australia fleet as Pacific Aria and Pacific Eden in November 2015.
Two new ships joined the Carnival Corporation’s fleet of more than 100 ships this week as Princess Cruises christened Regal Princess on 5 November, while Costa Cruises will launch Costa Diadema on 7 November in Genoa, Italy.
“We’re very proud to christen Regal Princess and Costa Diadema this week, and these beautiful ships signify our commitment to providing the best possible guest experience across our industry-leading brands,” said Arnold Donald, CEO of Carnival Corporation. “As we invest in continually refreshing our fleet, we’re able to provide our passengers the best of what new ships have to offer.”
In total, the company aims to introduce nine new ships across seven of its brands between 2014 and 2017.
In 2015, P&O Cruises UK and AIDA brands will each add a new ship, which means that Carnival Corporation will have a total of four new ships added across four global cruise brands by next October.
Next March, P&O Cruises UK will debut Britannia, which is the largest ship ever built for the British cruise market, and in autumn German cruise operator AIDA will christen its new flagship AIDAprima. The newbuild is expected to be one of the most technologically advanced ships in the world.
In 2016, Carnival Cruise Lines will introduce Carnival Vista, a 133,500gt ship that will be the largest ever in its fleet, while Holland America Line will launch the 99,500gt Koningsdam, a new Pinnacle Class ship that can carry 2,650 passengers.
Also in 2016, AIDA will debut AIDAprima’s sister ship, which will accommodate 3,250 passengers, and Seabourn will unveil a 604-passenger ship, its biggest to date.
Looking forward to 2017, Princess Cruises is working with Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri to build a 143,000gt vessel featuring the popular design elements introduced on its two newest ships Royal Princess and Regal Princess.
“As always, our focus is on consistently exceeding our guests’ expectations and doing everything we can to make sure that our passengers have joyful vacations,” Donald said. “Compared to other options, cruising is hard to beat as a great way to truly relax and enjoy a vacation and unique destinations, and a great value that is also hard to beat. Introducing new ships into our fleet is just one more way we are working to provide wonderful vacations and lifetime memories for millions of people around the world.”