Carnival Corporation has announced today that two out of the four large 6,600 passengers vessels ordered in June 2015 will be operated by European based cruise line Costa Cruises.
The agreement was made with German based shipbuilder Meyer Werft where two identical cruise ships will also be built for German cruise line Aida Cruises. Both cruise lines are brands of the Carnival Corporation and it will be exciting news for European cruisers as both cruise lines are based in Europe. The contract for all four ships is worth Billions of dollars and will be the largest passenger capacity vessels in the world.
The company has revealed that the two Costa ships will be built at the Meyer Werft shipyard in Turku, Finland with the first ship completed in 2019 and the second in 2020. Each new cruise ship will exceed 180,000 gross tons, offering more than 2,600 passenger cabins and 5,200 lower berths to comfortably accommodate a total capacity of 6,600 guests. Carnival, Costa and the shipyard will have to come up with innovative ways to be able to fit so many passengers in only 180,000 gross tons. The current largest cruise ship in the world Allure of the Seas which is operated by Royal Caribbean is 225,282 gross tons and only carries 5,200 passengers at double occupancy.
“These new ships will be phenomenal additions to our fleet, and we’re looking forward to seeing our Costa and AIDA brands bring this ground-breaking new ship design to life for our guests in a way that is customized for each brand,” said Arnold Donald, CEO of Carnival Corporation. “As we continue enhancing our fleet, it is very important to us that every decision we make in the development of these new ships is about the guest experience, which supports our goal to exceed guest expectations and create great vacation memories for every person who boards one of our ships.”
Carnival Corporation’s four next-generation cruise ships for Costa Cruises and AIDA Cruises will be the first in the industry to be powered at sea by Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG), the world’s cleanest burning fossil fuel, representing a major environmental breakthrough.
Donald added: “Above all, these strategic investments are designed to exceed the vacation needs of our guests, but it is also important to note that these next-generation ships are 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 four new ordered cruise ships for Aida Cruises and Costa Cruises are part of a major expansion for the Carnival Corporation. In total the company has ordered nine new cruise ships to be built between Fincantieri and Meyer Werft, we are still waiting for details about the other five.
“We are honored that Carnival Corporation has entrusted us with the implementation of this ambitious shipbuilding program,” said Bernard Meyer, CEO of Meyer Werft. “These ships represent the next generation of cruise ship innovation, featuring a revolutionary ‘green cruising’ design implemented to meet the specific needs of guests who sail with the Costa and AIDA brands.”
The new Costa Cruises ships will prominently feature the brand’s “Italy’s finest” experience, with the new ship designs and creative uses of space serving to enhance the overall onboard immersion in Italian culture. An extra 650 new crew members are also expected to be hired for Costa’s two new cruise ships. Costa Cruises will reveal further details about the new ships in time.
So these are two brand new generation cruise ships that will be built for Costa Cruises at the Meyer Turku shipyard in Finland. They will both be 180,000 gross tons carrying 6,600 passengers. Two identical cruise ships will also be built for Aida Cruises.
