Tag Archives: Fincantieri shipyard

Carnival Finalizes Contracts to Build Five New Cruise Ships at Fincantieri

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MS Koningsdam sea trials. Photo: Holland America
MS Koningsdam sea trials. Photo: Holland America

A big weekend for the world’s largest cruise company as Carnival Corporation finalizes contracts with Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri to build five new cruise ships costing more than $3.4 billion.

The final order adds a fifth ship to a memorandum of agreement between Carnival and Fincantieri announced in December 2015 calling for the construction of just four ships by 2020.  

The ships include two that will be built for Costa Asia for deployment in China, two for Princess Cruises and one designated for P&O Cruises Australia, with deliveries expected in 2019 and 2020, Carnival said over the weekend.

Fincantieri confirmed that the total value of the contracts exceeds 3 billion euros ($3.4 billion).

The contracts were formalized during a signing ceremony held Saturday as part of the official handover ceremony for Holland America Line’s MS Koningsdam at Fincantieri’s shipyard in Marghera, Italy.

The new ships for both Costa Asia and P&O Cruises Australia are expected to be 135,500-ton vessels with the capacity to carry 4,200 passengers. The 143,700-ton, 3,560-passenger ships for Princess Cruises will be the brand’s fourth and fifth Royal-class vessels, featuring the same design used on Royal Princess, Regal Princess and the new Majestic Princess coming in 2017.

The five new ships across three brands will be built at Fincantieri’s shipyards in Monfalcone and Marghera, Italy.

Carnival Corporation has now taken delivery of two new ships in 2016 – AIDAprima for AIDA Cruises and MS Koningsdam for Holland America Line. Including the five just ordered, Carnival Corporation has a total of 16 new ships scheduled to be delivered between 2016 and 2020.

“Today has been especially exciting for our company, our partners and our guests, as we celebrated the arrival of our amazing MS Koningsdam ship and officially signed agreements with Fincantieri to build five new cruise ships for the future,” said Carnival Corporation CEO Arnold Donald at Saturday’s ceremony. “Supporting our goal to exceed guest expectations on every cruise, these new ships will create a whole new level of excitement and opportunity to deliver experiences that our guests will not only remember for the rest of their lives, but will also share with others. 

Using our strategic fleet enhancement plan to delight our guests is an important part of our measured growth strategy, which includes replacing less efficient ships with newer, larger and more efficient vessels over a very specific period of time.”

The finalized contract with Fincantieri is a result of the memorandum of agreement announced by Carnival Corporation and Fincantieri in December 2015, and builds on the larger strategic shipbuilding partnership announced by the two companies in March 2015. 

Specific ship features and deployment details will be announced by each brand at a future date.

Princess Cruises reveals new fleet livery

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A new livery is to be introduced across the Princess Cruises fleet in a move which reflects UK-based sister line P&O Cruises.

The ‘ocean waves’ design will feature on the bow of the ships, with the first to feature on new vessel Majestic Princess which was floated out in its building dock at the Fincantieri shipyard in Italy yesterday.

The design, featuring the company’s iconic logo, will be introduced across the fleet over the next few years. This follows P&O Cruises introducing the union flag to the front of its ships.

The 3,560-passenger Majestic Princess, designed specifically to sail from China, is due to enter service next year.

The line’s president, Jan Swartz, said: “For nearly half a century our Princess logo has represented the adventure of cruise travel around the globe.

“Now our ships sail to more than 360 ports of call worldwide and will be instantly recognised from afar.

“As the very first cruise ship built for China, we take great pride that Majestic Princess is our first ship to proudly display our new livery design.”

Majestic Princess will offer many of the same features as Royal Princess and Regal Princess but will include a number of new venues and experiences created for Chinese passengers. Details will be revealed in the coming months, according to the company.

Costa Cruises orders two 6,600-passenger LNG-powered cruise ships

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New Costa LNG Ship

In June Carnival Corporation announced it had ordered four of the largest cruise ships ever built based on maximum passenger capacity. 

Two will be heading to AIDA Cruises and now it has been revealed the remaining pair will be joining the Costa Cruises fleet.

The ships on order form part of the previously announced Memorandum of Understanding with shipbuilders Meyer Werft and Fincantieri S.p.A for nine new ships between 2019 and 2022.

The four ships on order (for AIDA Cruises and Costa Cruises) will feature a revolutionary “green design” and will be the first in the cruise industry to be powered by Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG), the world’s cleanest burning fossil fuel.

The two ships destined for Costa Cruises will be built by Meyer shipyard in Turku, Finland, with delivery expected in 2019 and 2020. Each ship will exceed 180,000 gross tons and will include more than 2,600 passenger cabins, accommodating approximately 5,200 passengers based on double occupancy with a maximum capacity of 6,600 passengers.

Michael Thamm, CEO of the Costa Group said “These ships will expand the leadership position for the Costa Group, the market leader in all the major continental European markets. The multi-billion dollar contract with Meyer mirrors our strategy to constantly innovate our vacation offers and to deliver an unmatched cruise experience to our guests.”

Neil Palomba, President of Costa Cruises  said “The two Costa ships are a real innovation for the market, setting new standards for the whole industry: they will be the first green ships powered with LNG and they will offer an extensive number of guest-friendly features. Furthermore they will be an expression of the new positioning, Italy’s finest. The order also confirms that the Costa brand will continue to grow, becoming even stronger and keep on generating a positive economic impact in the main countries where it operates, including Italy”.