MIAMI, Jan. 19, 2017 /PRNewswire/
-- Carnival Corporation & plc (NYSE/LSE: CCL; NYSE:
CUK), the world's largest leisure travel company, today announced
that it has signed a memorandum of agreement with Italian
shipbuilder Fincantieri S.p.A. to build two new cruise ships with
final contracts expected to be executed in early 2017. The two new
ships are designated for the company's Holland America Line and
Princess Cruises brands. With the new agreement, Carnival
Corporation now has 19 new ships scheduled to be delivered between
2017 and 2022.
Holland America Line's new ship
will be built at Fincantieri's shipyard in Marghera, Italy, with an expected delivery in 2021, and
the ship for Princess Cruises will be built at Fincantieri's
Monfalcone, Italy, shipyard with
an expected delivery in 2022.
"We are extremely pleased to formally announce these two new
ships and build on the success and popularity of their sister ships
already sailing guests around the globe," said Arnold Donald, CEO of Carnival Corporation. "Our
goal is to exceed expectations of the 11.5 million guests who sail
with us each year, and these new ships will offer more
opportunities for our guests to create lifelong vacation memories
while generating added excitement around the fast-growing global
demand for cruise vacations."
Added Donald: "Using our strategic fleet enhancement plan to
introduce new ships is an important part of our measured capacity
growth strategy, which includes replacing less efficient ships with
newer, larger and more efficient vessels."
Holland America Line's new
99,500-ton, 2,660-guest ship will be its third "Pinnacle" class
vessel, following the design of the line's newest and largest ship,
ms Koningsdam, and its sister ship, Nieuw Statendam, scheduled for
delivery in November 2018.
Princess Cruises' new 145,000-ton ship will carry 3,660
passengers and will be its sixth "Royal" class vessel, featuring
the successful design platform used on Royal Princess, Regal
Princess and Majestic Princess, the world's first ship designed
specifically for the China market
and scheduled for delivery in March
2017, as well as its sister ships – the two yet-to-be-named
vessels also under construction by Fincantieri scheduled for
delivery in 2019 and 2020.
"This is an extraordinary moment for the cruise sector and it is
particularly rewarding for us to be able to seize all the
opportunities coming from the industry growth, also thanks to our
deep-rooted partnership with Carnival Corporation," said
Giuseppe Bono, CEO of Fincantieri.
"These vessels will be based on the successful platforms developed
for Carnival. On the back of these successful platforms, our Group
today aims to further increase its order book, already at record
levels, while ensuring profitability in the cruise segment."
Additional Details on the New Ships
Holland
America Line's ship will combine
classic hallmarks of the brand while featuring several of the
innovative venues that were introduced on ms Koningsdam, as well as
new concepts that will debut on Nieuw Statendam and additional
elements unique to the new vessel.
The new Princess Cruises ship will feature Ocean Medallion
Class™– a more personal, immersive, simple and
seamless cruise experience made possible by Carnival Corporation's
recently announced Ocean Medallion™, a wearable device
powered by a first-of-its-kind interactive technology platform
enabling enhanced services and personalized experiences for guests.
The ship will also feature the other signature elements that have
become synonymous with the Princess guest experience such as a
soaring central atrium hub with multiple dining, entertainment and
retail venues; its signature Movies Under the Stars with the
largest outdoor screen at sea; and 81 percent of all staterooms
with balconies.
Each of Carnival Corporation's new ships will be specifically
designed and developed for each brand and the guests and markets it
will serve, supporting the corporation's overall goal of providing
extraordinary vacation experiences at an exceptional value for its
guests around the world. Specific features and amenities for the
ships, along with deployment details, will be revealed in the
coming months.
About Carnival Corporation & plc
Carnival
Corporation & plc is the largest leisure travel company in the
world, with a portfolio of 10 cruise brands in North America, Europe, Australia and Asia comprised of Carnival Cruise Line,
Fathom, Holland America Line, Princess Cruises, Seabourn, AIDA
Cruises, Costa Cruises, Cunard, P&O Cruises (Australia) and P&O Cruises (UK).
Together, these brands operate 102 ships visiting over 700 ports
around the world and totaling 226,000 lower berths with 19 new
ships scheduled to be delivered between 2017 and 2022.
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&P500 and the FTSE 100
indices.
Additional information can be found on www.carnival.com,
www.fathom.org, www.hollandamerica.com, www.princess.com,
www.seabourn.com, www.aida.de, www.costacruise.com, www.cunard.com,
www.pocruises.com.au and www.pocruises.com.
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SOURCE Carnival Corporation & plc