luxury market | Wetravel2u's Weblog

NCLH Sells Oceania Sirena

Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings has entered into an agreement to sell the Oceania Sirena.

The R-class ship is expected to leave the fleet after its spring 2028 deployment. A buyer has not yet been named.

The 684-guest ship originally launched as the R Four in 1999, operating for Renaissance Cruises. It then joined Princess Cruises where it sailed from 2002 through 2016 before becoming the Sirena for Oceania.

It marks another vessel move for Oceania, which is moving on from its older R-class fleet as the brand has been repositioned into the luxury market.

That leaves the Insignia as the sole remaining R-class ship in the Oceania’s fleet. The 1998-built ship had previously been sold to Crescent Seas, a residential start up, but the sale fell through.

With MSC Cruises entering the luxury market with dedicated 1,000-guest ships, the family-owned company will be the third biggest luxury operator by 2027, according to Cruise Industry News estimates.

Viking Ocean will control most of the market pie, with 18 ships and an estimated market share of 35.7 per cent based on passenger capacity.

Silversea, with an aggressive newbuilding program and a new owner in Royal Caribbean Cruises, will be the second largest luxury line, with 12 ships and 13 per cent of the market come 2027, based on the existing cruise ship orderbook.

MSC Cruises is next, as the Italian brand will have four 64,000-ton luxury ships, 4,000 berths and just under 10 per cent of the luxury market, not including the company’s Yacht Club berths on its quickly-expanding fleet of megaships.

Crystal and Seabourn round out the top five, as both are expanding into the expedition market with new ships and Crystal has also committed to a new class of larger ocean-going vessels.