Carnival to Expand Fleet with Nine Cruise Ships

Cruise liner conglomerate Carnival Corporation has inked two strategic memorandums of agreement that will add a total of nine new cruise ships to the company’s fleet over a four-year period from 2019 – 2022.

Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri S.p.A and German shipbuilder Meyer Werft will each build new ships based on Carnival Corporation’s next-generation ship designs.

Carnival said that the new ships are expected to serve established cruise markets in North America and Europe, as well as newer markets, including China.

“We’re excited to take this next step in our fleet enhancement plan with these two new agreements that are consistent with our long-term strategy of measured capacity growth over time,” said Arnold Donald, president and CEO of Carnival Corporation.

“Our goal as a company is to exceed the expectations of every guest on every ship every day, and these new ships will further enable us to do just that,” he added.

Fincantieri, the world’s largest cruise ship building company, will develop and construct five ships at its shipyards in Monfalcone and Marghera, Italy.

“Today’s (March 26th) announcement provides us with a long-term strategic prospective, and reinforces the extraordinary partnership between us and Carnival Corporation, developed over time thanks to the confidence the group has always shown in us, which we assure will be once again well placed,“ said Giuseppe Bono, CEO of Fincantieri.

German shipbuilder Meyer Werft will build its four ships at its shipyards in Papenburg, Germany, and Turku, Finland.

“The shipbuilding agreements, which include options for additional ship builds in the coming years, are subject to several conditions, including satisfactory financing,” Carnival said.

Further details of the ship design, which expected to exceed performance efficiency, will be disclosed later on, the company added.

Carnival Corporation’s fleet enhancement strategy will add two new ships to its fleet in 2015 and remove four ships from the fleet.  Later this year, the AIDA Cruises fleet will welcome AIDAprima, which is expected to be one of the most technically advanced and sustainable cruise ships ever built, according to Carnival.