Carnival Corporation began to detail four of its nine previously announced new cruise ship orders today. The company has signed a multi-billion dollar contract with Meyer Werft to build the largest cruise ships by passenger capacity and the first to burn the cleanest fossil fuel. Two of the new ships have been assigned to AIDA Cruises (AIDAmar pictured under construction above) while the brand or brands that will receive the other two will be announced in the future.
All four of the new ships will carry 6,600 guests and exceed 180,000-gross-tons in overall size, utilizing a more efficient use of passenger space. They will also be the world’s first cruise ships to introduce low-emission “green cruising” by being driven at sea and in port by environmentally-friendly Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) dual-powered hybrid engines.
The two AIDA Cruises ships will be constructed at Meyer Werft’s shipyard in Papenburg, Germany, and the other two will be built at the company’s newly acquired facility in Turku, Finland. Each ship will be customized to its specific cruise brand. The new-builds are part of Carnival Corp.’s strategy to grow capacity with more fuel efficient ships while replacing older vessels with less efficient capacities.
“We are looking forward to executing on the next step in our fleet enhancement plan,” said Carnival Corporation CEO Arnold Donald. “At a cost per berth in line with our existing order book, these new ships will enhance the return profile of our fleet. These are exceptionally efficient ships with incredible cabins and public spaces featuring a design inspired by [chairman of the board of directors for Carnival Corporation] Micky Arison and [CEO of the Costa Group] Michael Thamm and developed by our new build teams.” The Costa Group includes AIDA Cruises and Costa Cruises.
Overall, the four new ships are part of a nine ship order that will be delivered between 2019 and 2022. For more information on Carnival Corporation, visit the company’s website here.
HEADER IMAGE SOURCE: JASON LEPPERT