MIAMI, March 26, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Carnival
Corporation & plc (NYSE/LSE: CCL; NYSE: CUK), the world's
largest travel and leisure company, today signed two strategic
memorandums of agreement that will add a total of nine new cruise
ships to the company's industry-leading fleet over a four-year
period from 2019 - 2022. The shipbuilding agreements, which include
options for additional ship builds in the coming years, are subject
to several conditions, including satisfactory financing.
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,
which will produce the most efficient ships in the company's
history. The new ships are expected to serve established cruise
markets in North America and
Europe, as well as newer markets,
including China. Each new ship
will be specifically designed and developed for the brand and
guests it will serve, and support the company's overall goal of
exceeding guest expectations and further elevating every aspect of
the guest experience.
"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. These will be the
most efficient ships we have ever built and the great guest
experience will create even more excitement around cruising –
helping new cruisers realize the superior vacation experience and
value that cruising offers versus land-based vacations."
Fincantieri, the world's largest cruise ship building company,
will develop and construct five ships at its shipyards in
Monfalcone and Marghera, Italy.
"I am extremely proud on this truly memorable day for us.
Today's 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. "This agreement reflects the
exceptional business vision of the world's most important cruise
operator, and our readiness and flexibility in interpreting its
demands."
Bono added, "This agreement is the best reward for our hard work
over all these years, and in fact, our organizational, design and
production skills have allowed us to consolidate our market
leadership, confirming us at the top of such an exclusive and
complex industry."
Meyer Werft, a leading global
shipbuilder founded in Germany in
1795, will build its four ships at its shipyards in Papenburg,
Germany, and Turku, Finland. Now in its seventh generation
of family ownership, Meyer Werft has
become well known for constructing large, modern and sophisticated
cruise ships, including 39 luxury ships the company has built for
its customers around the world.
Bernard Meyer, managing partner
of Meyer Werft, said, "We are very
happy and honored that Carnival Corporation trusts our strength to
bring this ambitious newbuilding program to life in Turku and Papenburg."
As part of each company's long-term strategic partnership with
Carnival Corporation, additional new ship orders are being explored
over the coming decade.
Additional information on Carnival Corporation's cruise ship
design, and which of the company's nine leading global brands will
add these next-generation vessels to their fleets will be made
available at a later date.
Carnival Corporation's fleet enhancement strategy will add two
new ships to its fleet in 2015 and remove four ships from the
fleet. P&O Cruises UK officially launched Britannia, the
largest ship ever designed exclusively for Britain, in a majestic naming ceremony earlier
this month. 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.
In addition to these new ships, Carnival
Corporation continues to enhance its guest experience on
existing ships. The overall fleet enhancement strategy combines new
ship builds with an ongoing program to further elevate guest
experience across the company's existing fleet and nine brands.
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,
P&O Cruises (Australia)
and P&O Cruises (UK).
Together, these brands operate 101 ships totaling 216,000 lower
berths with nine new ships scheduled to be delivered between 2015
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.carnivalcorp.com.
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SOURCE Carnival Corporation & plc