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April 4, 2016
Princess Cruises is getting two new ships, entering into service in 2019 and 2020. The new ships are part of a larger, five-ship order for parent company Carnival Corporation that also includes two new ships for Costa Asia in China and one for P&O Cruises in Australia.
Built by Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri S.p.A., the ship order follows last year's memorandum of agreement with Carnival Corp. for the five new ships.
The unnamed 3,560-passenger ships will be the brand's fourth and fifth Royal-class vessels, featuring an evolution of the design platform used on Royal Princess, Regal Princess and the new Majestic Princess, coming in 2017.
The new Princess ships will include signature brand elements, such as a soaring central atrium; multiple dining, entertainment and retail venues; outdoor theater experience; and 80 percent of all staterooms with balconies. The ships will also include new guest innovations to be announced at a later date, along with deployment details.
New Ships for Costa Asia and P&O Cruises Australia
The five-ship order from Fincantieri will also see two new ships for Costa Asia for deployment in China, as well as one new ship for P&O Cruises Australia.
The new ships for both Costa Asia and P&O Cruises Australia are expected to have the capacity to carry 4,200 passengers. The new Costa Asia ships will sail with the brand's “Italy's finest” experience, including Italian-style hospitality, entertainment and culinary amenities. The new ship for P&O Cruises Australia will be the first new-build construction ever for the brand, joining a growing fleet that was recently expanded with the addition of Pacific Aria and Pacific Eden in November 2015, and will see the introduction of the 2,000-passenger Pacific Explorer in 2017. Australia is one of the fastest growing cruise markets in the world, Carnival Corp. said, with an average annual passenger growth rate of 20 percent over the past decade, and the enhanced fleet for P&O Cruises Australia will help meet growing cruise demand in the region.
Carnival Corporation has now taken delivery of two new ships in 2016 – AIDAprima for AIDA Cruises and Koningsdam for Holland America Line. Including the five new ships highlighted during today's signing ceremony with Fincantieri, Carnival Corporation has a total of 16 new ships scheduled to be delivered between 2016 and 2020.
The contract was signed on Saturday (April 2) at a ceremony at Fincantieri's shipyard in Marghera attended by Italian Minister of Infrastructures and Transport Graziano Delrio, Carnival Corporation Chairman Micky Arison, Carnival Corporation CEO Arnold Donald, Fincantieri CEO Giuseppe Bono and Stein Kruse, CEO of Holland America Group, which includes Princess Cruises.
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