Travel and leisure firm Carnival Corporation & plc is increasing its international fleet to fulfill rising demand for cruise holidays.

As a part of its fleet enhancement plan, the corporate will add 4 new ships this 12 months to its cruise ship fleet, which incorporates 99 ships.

Carnival operates 10 cruise manufacturers, together with Carnival Cruise Line, Fathom, Holland America Line, Princess Cruises, Seabourn, AIDA Cruises, Costa Cruises, Cunard, P&O Cruises in Australia and P&O Cruises within the UK.

The firm plans so as to add 17 new ships to its fleet between 2016 and 2020.

“As we execute our fleet enhancement plan — which includes a long-term strategy for bringing highly efficient, state-of-the-art ships to market and elevating the overall cruise experience, we are excited about seeing these new ships come to life this year,” Carnival CEO Arnold Donald stated.

The new ships becoming a member of Carnival’s convoy in 2016 are: ms Koningsdam, Carnival Vista, AIDAprima and Seabourn Encore.

Currently underneath development at Fincantieri’s Marghera shipyard in Italy, ms Koningsdam is predicted to affix the corporate’s Holland America Line in April. The 99,500-ton ship will function Holland America Line’s first purpose-built staterooms for households, along with single staterooms that collectively make up spacious lodging for the ship’s 2,650 company.

Carnival will add Carnival Vista to its Carnival Cruise Line. Set to be delivered in April, Carnival Vista would be the largest ship within the fleet, with a visitor capability of three,954. The 1,055-feet lengthy ship will supply nice expertise and enjoyable for company of all ages, with a singular suspended biking expertise referred to as SkyRide, Family Harbor staterooms and suites, IMAX Theater and the road’s first on-board brewery, in accordance with the corporate.

Carnival Vista is scheduled to enter service on May 1, initially crusing from Europe. The ship will reposition to New York for a sequence of voyages in November, after which transfer to Miami to launch year-round Caribbean service later that month.

Third ship is AIDAprima, which will probably be becoming a member of the corporate’s AIDA Cruises model. In addition to being one probably the most technologically superior vessels on this planet, AIDAprima is probably the most environmentally pleasant cruise ship on this planet, in accordance with Carnival. 

Fourth ship, Seabourn Encore, is prone to be a part of the corporate’s Seabourn line in December this 12 months. The 40,350-gross ton ship will probably be configured with one extra deck and new expanded public areas, and is predicted to hold 600 company, primarily based on double occupancy.

Last 12 months, Carnival signed a contract with Meyer Werft to construct 4 next-generation cruise ships, which would be the first within the cruise business to be powered at sea by Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG). The ships, manufactured for Costa Cruises and AIDA Cruises, could have the biggest visitor capability on this planet.

Moreover, Carnival is about to signal agreements with Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri for 4 new cruise ships. Two ships will probably be constructed for Costa Asia for deployment in China, whereas one will probably be constructed every for P&O Cruises Australia and Princess Cruises.

“We also remain focused on managing our fleet capacity in a responsible way by delivering and refurbishing ships that are innovative and efficient, while we phase out some of our existing ships – all designed to reinvigorate the options available to travelers looking to explore the more than 700 destinations we visit around the world,” Donald added.

Writing by Nadeem (c) gCaptain