Harmony of the Seas will be the biggest ever – slightly larger than older sisters Oasis of the Seas and Allure of the Seas.
Carnival Cruise Line will get its biggest ship yet, Carnival Vista, also launching in May, and Koningsdam will be Holland America Line’s largest to date.
The trend continues even at the smaller, luxury end of the market, with Regent Seven Seas Explorer becoming the largest vessel in its all-inclusive fleet – its first new ship in 10 years – in July. Seabourn must wait until the autumn for the roll out of 604-passenger Encore. Carnival UK chairman David Dingle says there are no immediate plans to follow up the success of 2015’s Britannia launch for P&O. He also points out that most shipyards have their order books full for the next five years at least.
P&O capacity will be reduced from April when the 710-passenger Adonia is transferred to Carnival’s Fathom brand, operating ‘social impact’ cruises from Miami to Cuba and the Dominican Republic.
A Carnival Corporation announcement as 2015 drew to a close confirmed Princess Cruises will get a fourth Royal-class vessel, and that a new ship will be built for the P&O Australia brand. The group now has 17 new-builds ordered for delivery between 2016 and 2020 – none of them headed for the UK.
Only Saga has confirmed new tonnage destined to sail from the UK, with a 1,000-passenger ship being built in Germany due to be launched in 2019, and the possibility of a second to follow.
On the rivers, Viking – which is about to launch its second ocean ship – is building six new vessels, two for the Rhine, one for the Danube, and three for the Seine. After the success of a shallow-draft paddle-driven vessel on the Loire, CroisiEurope will be launching a similar ship on the Elbe, operating between Berlin and the heart of Prague.
Elsewhere, AmaWaterways will have the 158-passenger AmaViola debuting on the Rhine, and AmaStella in Bordeaux, sailing the Garonne and Dordogne rivers and the Gironde estuary.
Emerald has Emerald Belle launching in June, sailing a Splendours of Europe itinerary between Amsterdam and the Hungarian capital Budapest. |
