Carnival Corporation to Add Two New Multi-Fuel Cruise Ships
There’s a cruise ship building boom in progress, and Carnival Corporation & plc is investing heavily in multiple lines with orders for new and ever-more innovative vessels.
Coming up will be two new ships for Germany’s most popular cruise line, AIDA Cruises, the first ever to be built for the line by Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri.
“We are honored that our long-standing partner Carnival Corporation has selected Fincantieri to build ships for AIDA Cruises for the first time in our history,” said Pierroberto Folgiero, CEO, Fincantieri. “This milestone confirms our ability to serve the entire Carnival Corporation portfolio.”
Fincantieri has previously built vessels for Princess Cruises, including the new Sun Princess and the upcoming Star Princess, along with Cunard Line’s new Queen Anne, Rotterdam for Holland America Line, Costa (now Carnival) Firenze, Carnival Panorama, and many others.
The new AIDA ships are scheduled to be delivered in early 2030 and late 2031, though details of their design, features, and itineraries are yet to be released.
What we do know, however, is how the new vessels will fit into the current AIDA Cruises fleet, as well as their focus on fuel efficiency and environmentally-responsible cruising.
“These new ships will embody the most advanced technologies for sustainability and efficiency, further strengthening Fincantieri’s and Carnival Corporation’s roles as leaders in cruise industry innovation,” said Folgiero.
Unlike the trend of bigger, Bigger, BIGGER, many cruise lines are following, the new AIDA ships will be mid-sized vessels, offering a popular option many guests desire for more manageable cruise experiences.
“With approximately 2,100 cabins each, these remarkable new ships give our guests a completely new class of ship which slot in perfectly between our 1,600 cabin Hyperion Class vessels and our more than 2,600 cabin Helios Class vessels,” said Felix Eichhorn, President of AIDA Cruises.
Most interesting for fuel efficiency is that the new ships will be specifically engineered to utilize multiple types of fuel, including liquid natural gas (LNG), biodiesel, and next-generation sustainable fuels.
This will ensure great flexibility with the vessels’ operation and their ability to evolve as new fuel technologies are developed. Such adaptiveness can help new ships have a long and productive service life.
“Its innovative technology with multi-fuel propulsion systems including LNG will future proof our operations into the coming decades,” confirmed Eichhorn.
Exceptional Growth for AIDA Cruises
Once the second of the new ships is delivered, AIDA Cruises will have a fleet of 13 vessels. Currently, the oldest ship is AIDAdiva, which launched in 2007, while the youngest is AIDAcosma, which launched in 2021.
With this announcement of new ship contracts, it is clear that AIDA Cruises does not intend to retire any older ships at least until after 2031. Such plans can always change in the years to come, however.
But what is to come onboard the new ships, and what can guests expect?
While few details other than the capacity of 2,100 staterooms have been confirmed, the ships are sure to offer new and exciting options for travelers.
“Our next generation of ships will delight our guests with amazing new features and experiences that we will reveal over time,” said Eichhorn.
“The introduction of these next-generation ships, when combined with the AIDA Evolution program modernizing much of the existing fleet’s décor, features and technologies, will drive even more demand for our AIDA brand, which is synonymous with cruising in Germany,” added Josh Weinstein, chief executive officer of Carnival Corporation & plc.
Read Also: What Cruise Lines Does Carnival Own?
Not only is AIDA Cruises growing well, but all Carnival Corporation brands are growing well as part of the company’s strategic plan, with eight new ships scheduled to debut through 2033, including the upcoming Carnival Tropicale and Carnival Festivale.
“We’re maintaining our disciplined approach to growth and strategically directing new capacity to the highest-performing brands in our world-class portfolio like AIDA Cruises and its sister brand Carnival Cruise Line,” said Weinstein.
With so many new ships coming across so many popular cruise lines, eager travelers will have a lot of great oceangoing getaways to try in the years to come.