MIAMI, Dec. 19, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Carnival
Corporation & plc (NYSE/LSE: CCL; NYSE: CUK), the world's
largest travel and leisure company, today announced new cruise ship
orders for two of its brands with Fincantieri S.p.A., the world's
largest cruise ship building company.
The new cruise ships will be constructed by Fincantieri for
Carnival Cruise Line and Holland America Line, two of Carnival
Corporation's nine industry-leading brands.
Carnival Cruise Line's as-yet-unnamed 3,954-passenger vessel,
which is the 26th ship in the line's fleet, will offer
many of the newest and most popular features from Carnival's
current ships, along with several innovations that will be
exclusive to this vessel. The delivery date for the new cruise ship
is scheduled for March 2018. Homeport
and itinerary information will be announced at a later date.
The new ship will be a sister ship to Carnival Vista, which is
slated for delivery in spring 2016. Carnival plans to
announce details on the many unique features and innovations of
Carnival Vista during a three-day event for media, travel agents
and consumers in New York
Jan. 22-24, 2015.
For Holland America Line, the new order adds a second Pinnacle
class ship to the fleet, a new class of vessels that will debut
with the delivery and launch of the ms Koningsdam in February 2016. The new ship, scheduled for
delivery in late November 2018, will
accommodate 2,650 guests and 1,025 crew. The new as-yet-unnamed
ship will feature new public spaces and venues that will debut on
Koningsdam. In addition, many of the familiar spaces that are
currently featured across the Holland America Line fleet will be
included.
"These beautiful new ships on order from Fincantieri signify our
ongoing commitment to provide the best possible guest experience
across our industry-leading brands," said Arnold Donald,
President & CEO of Carnival Corporation. "New ships with
the latest in features, accommodations and innovations really bring
the modern cruise experience to life and will help us continue to
grow new demand for cruising."
"To have been once more chosen for such an important order is
the best recognition for our skills," said Giuseppe Bono, Fincantieri Chief Executive
Officer. "This is an extremely important sign, especially if we
consider the shipbuilding industry's present period of evolution,
both in Europe and Asia."
Bono added, "Today Fincantieri can count on a solid order book,
without equal in terms of diversification and quality of the
product, which is a testament to our leadership in the cruise ship
business sector. This position has been solidified over the years
also thanks to our relationship with Carnival, a partnership which
has allowed us to grow and which is now strengthened by our recent
agreement involving the Chinese market and by today's orders. We
are hopeful that many others will follow in the future."
All told, Carnival Corporation has refreshed its global fleet –
the largest in the world – with more than 30 new ship additions
since 2007, including its two newest ships, Regal Princess and
Costa Diadema, with another 10 ships scheduled to be delivered
between 2015 and 2018.
In March, P&O Cruises UK plans to introduce Britannia,
which is the largest ship ever built for the British cruise market.
In the fall of 2015, AIDA Cruises will christen its new flagship,
AIDAprima.
In 2016, Carnival Cruise Line is scheduled to debut Carnival
Vista, a stunning 133,500-ton ship that will be the largest ever in
its fleet, and Holland America Line will launch its
newest ship, the 99,500-ton ms Koningsdam, a new Pinnacle Class
ship that can carry 2,650 passengers. Also in 2016, AIDA will
introduce a new sister ship to the 2015 AIDAprima with capacity for
3,250 passengers, while Seabourn will unveil its newest luxury
ship, expected to be the biggest ever built by the brand with the
ability to serve 604 passengers.
Looking forward to 2017, Princess Cruises is working
with Fincantieri to build a 143,000-ton vessel featuring the
highly popular design elements introduced by the brand's two newest
ships, sisters Royal Princess and Regal Princess.
About Carnival Cruise Line
Carnival Cruise
Line, a unit of Carnival Corporation & plc (NYSE/LSE: CCL;
NYSE: CUK), is "The World's Most Popular Cruise Line®" with 24
ships operating three- to 16-day voyages to The Bahamas, Caribbean, Mexican Riviera, Alaska, Hawaii, Canada, New England, Bermuda, Australia, New
Zealand and the Pacific Islands. The company's 25th
ship, the 133,500-ton Carnival Vista, is scheduled to enter service
in 2016.
About Holland America Line [a division of Carnival
Corporation and plc (NYSE: CCL and CUK)]
Holland
America Line's fleet of 15 ships
offers more than 500 cruises to 415 ports in 98 countries,
territories or dependencies. One- to 110-day itineraries
visit all seven continents and highlights include Antarctica, South
America, Australia/New
Zealand and Asia voyages;
four annual Grand Voyages; and popular sailings to ports in the
Caribbean, Alaska, Mexico, Canada/New England, Europe and Panama Canal. The line currently
has a new ship on order from Fincantieri shipyard for delivery in
February 2016.
Fleetwide, the company features Signature of Excellence
enhancements, a commitment totaling more than $500 million, that showcase the Culinary Arts
Center presented by Food & Wine magazine — a state-of-the-art
onboard show kitchen where more than 60 celebrated guest chefs and
culinary experts provide cooking demonstrations and classes —
Explorations Café powered by The New York
Times, Digital Workshop powered by Windows, teens-only
activity areas and all new stateroom amenities highlighted by
flat-panel TVs and plush Euro-top Mariner's Dream Beds.
About Carnival Corporation
Carnival
Corporation & plc is the largest cruise company in
the world, with a portfolio of cruise brands in North
America, Europe, Australia and Asia, comprised
of Carnival Cruise Line, Holland America Line, Princess
Cruises, Seabourn, AIDA Cruises, Costa Cruises,
Cunard, Ibero Cruises, P&O Cruises (Australia) and P&O
Cruises (UK).
Together, these brands operate 100 ships totaling 212,000 lower
berths with 10 new ships scheduled to be delivered between now and
2018. Carnival Corporation & plc also operates Holland America
Princess Alaska Tours, the leading tour companies in Alaska and the Canadian Yukon. Traded on both
the New York and London Stock
Exchanges, Carnival Corporation & plc is the only group in the
world to be included in both the S&P 500 and the FTSE 100
indices. Additional information can be found on
www.carnival.com, www.hollandamerica.com, www.princess.com,
www.seabourn.com, www.aida.de, www.costacruise.com, www.cunard.com,
www.iberocruceros.com, www.pocruises.com.au and
www.pocruises.com.
To view the original version on PR Newswire,
visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/carnival-corporation-announces-two-new-ship-orders-with-fincantieri-300012323.html
SOURCE Carnival Corporation