CRUISE SHIPS ON THE WAY; A ROUND UP

Carnival has a new ship coming in 2016

With new orders recently placed by lines such as MSC and Royal Caribbean International, and with several other headline vessels nearing completion in various yards, I thought that now might be a good time to recap on what is actually coming down the line in the way of new builds.

This list does not claim to be exhaustive, or one hundred per cent complete. It is more by way of a ‘heads up’ than anything else.

MSC has a pair of new, 160, 000 ton ships of a completely new design on order from STX France. Meanwhile, rumours continue to surface that the Italian company is also about to place an order for another pair of similar sized vessels with Italian favourite, Fincantieri.

Meanwhile, the rival Costa Cruises will take delivery of the Costa Diadema from the same yard this October. The ship- the largest ever built for Costa- will be christened in Genoa on November 1st this year, before embarking on a season of year round, seven night Mediterranean cruises.

At the same time, the astonishing forward momentum of Royal Caribbean International received another boost with the announcement of orders for not one, but two more of the game changing Oasis class cruise ships- the largest the world has ever seen- from STX France. This, in addition to the looming October inauguration of the brand new, first of class Quantum Of The Seas (China bound in 2015) and her sister, Anthem Of The Seas, slated for delivery in the spring of 2015.

Meanwhile, over at the rival Carnival Cruise Lines, the 135,000 ton Carnival Vista is slated for delivery in the winter of 2016. A one off, stand alone ship (so far), this new vessel is not a repeat of the highly successful Dream class ships, but will no doubt be heavily influenced by those vessels.

A new brace of Oasis class siblings is imminent

Also due next year is the new, P&O Cruises contestant, Britannia. This ship-currently taking shape at Fincantieri, Italy- is built on the same platform as the Royal Princess and her sibling, the imminent Regal Princess. 

Sticking with the Carnival stable, Holland America Line will take delivery of its largest ever ship, a 100,000 ton new design known as Pinnacle Class, in the spring of 2016.

Meanwhile, the rival Norwegian Cruise Line is looking forward to next year’s delivery from Meyer Werft of Papenburg of the ‘improved Breakaway class’ new build, Norwegian Escape. A second of class- the Norwegian Bliss- is scheduled to arrive on the circuit in 2017.

Meyer Werft is also creating a pair of similar, 150,000 ton sister ships for Asian affiliate, Star Cruises, the first new builds for that line since 1998. While details are scarce and no names have been confirmed, it seems that these two ships will be built on a very similar design to the Breakaway class.

This is a seemingly endless liturgy of big ships, but there are other new ships coming that offer a more human scale, too. Most eagerly awaited is next year’s Viking Star, the first ocean going new build fo river giant, Viking Cruises. The 47,600 ton ship draws a deliberate bead on high end, traditional luxury cruising and, with two sister ships- Viking Star and Viking Sea-  now also confirmed. this line is definitely going to be one to watch.

In the realm of the sybaritic, Seabourn is one of the most illustrious names. The deluxe line has a fourth ship on order, an enhanced version of the successful Odyssey class, slated for delivery from Fincantieri in the second half of 2016. This new ship will be approximately twenty five per cent larger than her siblings, and will feature one more deck.

Norwegian is building a pair of ‘improved Breakaway’ class sisters

Meanwhile, the much bruited Regent Seven Seas new build, Seven Seas Explorer, is now a certainty, too. Another entrant in the all suite, all inclusive de luxe market, this stunning new ship is also being built by the always busy Fincantieri, and is scheduled to debut in the summer of 2016. With all suite accommodation for 738 guests, she will be similar in size to the recently refurbished, hugely popular near sisters, Seven Seas Mariner and Seven Seas Voyager.

And lastly for now, but by no means least, Ponant will take delivery next year of a fourth of class vessel, the 10,000 ton, French flagged Le Lyrial. The line is also going all inclusive for the 2015 season.

So, there you have it; quite a roster. And proof, as if proof is needed, that the cruise market is still tremendously buoyant world wide. Happy sailing!

As ever, stay tuned for updates.

 

MSC ON THE MOVE; NEWS FROM A MAJOR PLAYER

MSC Orchestra is Australia bound next year

After weeks of swirling rumours, news has come from Italian giant, MSC, on the next phase of the line’s direction.

Firstly, the line’s first ever dedicated newbuild, the MSC Lirica of 2003, will be lengthened to accommodate an extra two hundred cabins. The work is intended to be completed before the ship’s projected deployment to South America next winter, as part of a four ship line up which will also include the larger Preziosa, Poesia, and Magnifica.

As things currently stand, MSC Lirica comes in at just over 58,000 tons, and has a length of 830 feet (253 metres in new money). Built by Chantiers of Saint Nazaire, France, she presently accommodates 1,560 passengers in some 780 cabins.

No shipyard has yet been announced for the work, but the timescale almost certainly means the cancellation of at least a significant part of the MSC Lirica’s 2014 cruise schedule.

This also throws up the question of whether her twin sister, MSC Opera, is also slated for eventual similar expansion. With the line’s commitment to ever larger ships and continuing economies of scale, it seems much more likely than not.

In another move, MSC has announced that it will deploy the MSC Orchestra to Australia and the Far East next winter, after a season out of Dubai. Thus, the line emulates the moves of rivals such as Carnival, Celebrity and principally, Costa, in deploying a major ship ‘down under’.

MSC ships are known for their chic, stylish interiors

And rumours of impending new builds continue to be floated, if not yet confirmed, by the company. Reports are that MSC is looking at building two new ships, with an option for a further pair at a later date. These new vessels would not be longer than the existing ships in the Splendida class; the line has concerns about being able to berth them in certain ports, and have apparently ruled out building longer vessels.

One possibility is that the new ships will be wider; if so, this would follow a trend inaugurated by Norwegian Cruise Line in the design of the Norwegian Epic in 2010, and subsequently emulated by the giant, groundbreaking Oasis and Allure Of The Seas.

One interesting story that surfaced a few years ago was that MSC might actually be contemplating a giant catamaran kind of design. If so, this would be the first since the former Radisson Diamond, a 20,000 ton design from 1992. Much was made at the time of the excellent stability of the Radisson Diamond design, but her main service speed was actually very low, and definitely hurt the itineraries she could offer.

With the benefits of two decades of advances in technology, it is possible that MSC has managed to find a way to solve that speed conundrum. And such a design would certainly be a striking, truly newsworthy coup in PR/publicity terms.

As always, stay tuned for updates.