Carnival Corporation will decelerate its new building pace in an effort to not only moderate supply growth, but keep spending down, according to Josh Weinstein, president and CEO, speaking on the company’s year-end and fourth-quarter earnings call.
Weinstein said that the company didn’t expect to take delivery of any new ships in 2026, and beyond that, would only build two ships a year going forward.
“Going forward, we are committed to using our expected cash flow strength to repair the balance sheet over time, and we’ll be disciplined and rigorous in making newbuild decisions accordingly,” he said.
“We have just four ships on order through 2025, plus our second incredible Seabourn luxury expedition ship to be delivered in 2023.
“This is our lowest order book in decades,” Weinstein continued. “We don’t expect any new ships in 2026 and anticipate just one or two new builds each year for several years thereafter.”
Left on the Carnival orderbook through 2025 are the Carnival Jubilee, Cunard’s Queen Anne, the Sun Princess, another Princess newbuild that has yet to be named and the Seabourn Pursuit.
No new builds are on order for the company’s other brands including Holland America Line, AIDA Cruises, P&O Cruises and P&O Cruises Australia. Carnival’s joint venture with China State Shipbuilding Corporation was not mentioned.
With more old ships exiting combined with recent deliveries and the upcoming new build schedule, the company expects about 25 per cent of its capacity to be what it considers new ships in 2023.
That means an eight-percentage point increase in balcony cabins across the fleet, and differentiated onboard experiences resulting in greater onboard revenue.
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