This morning, Carnival Corporation announced details on a massive new ship order originally alluded to back in March. The world’s largest cruise company has entered into a contract with Meyer-Werft for 4 new ships that will be the company’s largest and the biggest cruise liner’s ever built when measured by guest count.
According to the company, the new ships “will also feature a revolutionary “green cruising” design. The ships will be the first in the cruise industry to be powered at sea by Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) — the world’s cleanest burning fossil fuel, representing a major environmental breakthrough. Further, “each of the four next-generation ships will have a total capacity of 6,600 guests, feature more than 5,000 lower berths, exceed 180,000 gross tons and incorporate an extensive number of guest-friendly features. A major part of the innovative design involves making much more efficient use of the ship’s spaces, creating an enhanced onboard experience for guests.” (Image courtesy of Carnival Corporation)
As noted by fellow BA blogger Miles to Memories this morning, these new vessels will have a guest count that exceeds that of the current largest ships afloat – Royal Caribbean’s Oasis-class, and it will be interesting to see how the public spaces are designed to manage such a huge guest count. I called Royal Caribbean’s Allure of the Seas “shockingly awesome,” and I hope to say the same thing about these exciting new ships from Carnival Corporation.
The first two of this new class of ship are headed to Carnival’s AIDA brand, with the destination of the next two to be announced at a later date. Carnival is being coy with details, but I think it’s a good guess to say these ships are headed to Europe, though one could be forgiven for speculating that China could see one. The new ships do not appear to be destined for Carnival’s flagship Carnival Cruise Line brand at this time. I’m looking forward to more details as Carnival shares them.
-MJ, June 15, 2015
