Carnival Corporation & plc announced
that it has signed a Memo of Agreement with Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri
S.P.A. to build four new cruise ships with final contracts expected to be
executed in 2016. Two of the four new ships will be built for Costa Asia for
deployment in China, and one will be built each for P&O Cruises Australia
and Princess Cruises. With the new agreement, Carnival Corporation has 17 new
ships scheduled to be delivered between 2016 and 2020.
The four new ships will be built by one of
the world's largest cruise ship building companies, Fincantieri, at the
company's shipyards in Monfalcone and Marghera, Italy, with deliveries expected
in 2019 and 2020. The two new 135,500-ton ships for Costa Asia and one new ship
for P&O Cruises Australia will carry 4,200 passengers.
Additionally, Princess Cruises' new
143,700-ton ship will carry 3,560 passengers and will be its fourth "Royal
Princess" class vessel, featuring the successful design platform used on
Royal Princess, Regal Princess and Majestic Princess scheduled for delivery in
2017. Each of the four new ships will be specifically designed and developed
for the brand and guests it will serve, and support the company's overall goal
of providing exceptional vacation experiences for its guests.
The new Costa Cruises Asia ships will
prominently feature the brand's "Italy's finest" experience, with the
new ship design serving to enhance the overall onboard immersion Italy's unique
style, hospitality, entertainment and culinary excellence. The new ship order
will also strengthen Costa Asia's leadership and position in the region, as
well as its commitment and confidence to continuously develop Asia Pacific and
China to be one of the leading cruise markets in the world. In the past nine
years, Costa Asia has created a multitude of industry firsts and has been
widely recognized as the industry leader in the region, including being named
as the first-ever Asia Best Cruise Line in the Asia Cruise Awards this year.
In March 2015 Carnival entered into a
strategic partnership with Fincantieri under which these four ships have been
developed. Specific features and amenities for the ships, along with deployment
details, will be revealed in the coming months.