Various cruise ships were welcomed in 2023 in Funchal as guests were onboard dockside and in the harbour for the city’s spectacular fireworks display.
Ship Line Up
Marella Cruises: Marella Explorer
Nicko Cruises: Vasco Da Gama
AIDA: AIDAsella
Fred. Olsen: Borealis
TUI: Mein Schiff Herz
Cunard: Queen Victoria
The city’s New Years’ eve celebration has quickly become a cruise tradition for European brands, which often time their itineraries with an overnight call to Funchal on New Year’s Eve. It’s among a handful of ports around the world already in a key cruise region at the right time of the year where guests can stay on the ship and have a front-row seat to a fireworks show.
In what has become a key cruise industry tradition, seven ships are ready to ring in 2023 in Funchal as the vessels will sit in the harbour and nearby anchorages for a firework display at midnight.
By morning on Dec. 31, five ships were already in port getting ready for the festivities, including:
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.
Wetravel2u's Weblog 