Carnival Corporation, the owner of 11 of the world’s top cruise lines, and the largest cruise company in the world, is on a newbuild spree at the moment, with 19 new cruise ships due between now and 2022. Four of these game-changing new cruise ships are due for delivery in 2018 alone.
Its cruise lines AIDA Cruises, Carnival Cruise Line, Holland America Line and Seabourn are all getting new tonnage this year. The four new ships mark an acceleration of Carnival’s newbuild program, the company took delivery of three new ships last year.
“On top of the three new ships we launched in 2017, we look forward to the delivery of four more spectacular ships that will help us continue providing extraordinary cruise vacations at an exceptional value for our guests,” said Roger Frizzell, chief communications officer for Carnival Corporation.
“The new ships also demonstrate our long-term strategy to build highly efficient, innovative and state-of-the-art ships that offer our guests the latest in onboard features and amenities, while creating excitement in the marketplace that will continue to inspire more travelers to consider cruising as a vacation option,” he added.
The new ships coming in 2018:
Carnival Cruise Line (The largest cruise line in the world – pioneer of the ‘fun ship’ concept) – Carnival Horizon
Carnival Cruise Line will take delivery of the 133,500-ton Carnival Horizon in April this year. Horizon will be the 26th cruise ship in the Carnival Cruise Line fleet, reinforcing its position as the largest cruise line in the world and the flagship brand of Carnival Corporation.
Carnival Horizon will bring to the industry the first Dr. Seuss WaterWorks aqua park at sea, Carnival Cruise Line’s first teppanyaki dining venue and a Guy’s Pig & Anchor Bar-B-Que Smokehouse | Brewhouse.
RELATED: Carnival, Royal Caribbean and Norwegian reportedly in talks to homeport in Dubai
RELATED: SHIP REVIEW: Carnival Vista
This is a new restaurant that combines BBQ offerings created by Food Network star Guy Fieri along with four specifically designed craft beers brewed at an on-board brewery.
Carnival Horizon will also offer many of the popular indoor and outdoor dining, bar, entertainment and activity options that debuted in 2016 on its sister-ship, Carnival Vista, such as the bike-ride-in-the-sky SkyRide attraction and an IMAX Theatre.
Guests can also enjoy a wide range of accommodations including spa cabins with exclusive privileges at the luxurious Cloud 9 Spa, extra-roomy staterooms in Family Harbor, and tropical-inspired Havana staterooms and suites with exclusive daytime access to a Cuban-themed bar and pool.
Planned cruise itineraries for Carnival Horizon
Carnival Horizon will debut with a 13-day Mediterranean cruise from Barcelona in April 2018 – the first of four round-trip departures from the port.
She will then reposition to the United States with a 14-day transatlantic crossing from Barcelona to New York from May 9th to the 23rd, 2018, positioning the vessel for a summer schedule of four-day Bermuda and eight-day Caribbean departures from New York.
Carnival Horizon will then shift to Miami to launch a year-round schedule of six- and eight-day Caribbean cruises beginning on September 22nd, 2018, and will also offer a special two-day cruise to Nassau from Miami on September 20th, 2018.
Holland America Line (one of the cruise industry’s most popular premium lines with a 145-year history) – Nieuw Statendam
Holland America Line’s new cruise ship, Nieuw Statendam, will be delivered in late 2018, with her launch scheduled for December. A sister ship to the Pinnacle Class Koningsdam, which launched in April 2016, Nieuw Statendam has been billed by HAL as “the ultimate expression of the brand’s evolution, with grand light-filled spaces; visual drama; and sumptuous interiors inspired by the fluid curves of musical instruments”.
At 99,500-tons, Nieuw Statendam is the third-largest of the Carnival Corporation ships due for delivery in 2018. Her interiors are the work of leading hospitality designer Adam D. Tihany and designer and architect Bjorn Storbraaten and she will feature fine-dining options at alternative restaurants Sel de Mer, a French seafood brasserie, and Tamarind, an Asian fusion concept, in addition to the Grand Dutch Café with traditional Dutch treats and European beer.
RELATED: Cruise Lifestyle: Koningsdam’s remarkable US $4.1-million art collection
RELATED: SHIP REVIEW: Holland America Line’s post-refit Westerdam
With a 2,666-passenger capacity, Nieuw Statendam has been designed to avoid the over-crowded feel of some of the large, mass market cruise lines and she is packed with entertainment options.
The Music Walk area features a variety of venues from Lincoln Center Stage, Billboard Onboard and the dynamic B.B. King’s Blues Club playing all genres of music, while the theatre concept has been evolved with World Stage, where 270-degree LED projections and show-time performances will immerse the audience in panoramic visual and sound effects.
Nieuw Statendam will also launch with the newly created Exploration Central’s hub located in the Crow’s Nest, now a comprehensive resource and engagement centre with interactive screens and a Virtual Bridge.
Planned cruise itineraries for Nieuw Statendam
Nieuw Statendam is scheduled to depart on her maiden voyage on December 5th, 2018, crossing the Atlantic from Civitavecchia (Rome) to Fort Lauderdale on a 14-day cruise. She will spend the winter 2018/2019 cruise season sailing roundtrip from the South Florida port on seven-day Caribbean itineraries, with select three-, four- and 10-day options.
Seabourn (the largest small-ship, ultra-luxury cruising line) – Seabourn Ovation
Following in the footsteps of its highly successful sister ship, Seabourn Encore, launched in early 2017, Seabourn Ovation is set to debut in May 2018.
Following in the footsteps of its highly successful sister ship, Seabourn Encore, launched in early 2017, Seabourn Ovation is set to debut in May 2018. Designed by Adam D. Tihany, Seabourn Ovation will feature contemporary interiors, modern design elements and innovations consistent with Seabourn’s reputation for understated elegance and impeccable service.
Seabourn Ovation will also be the last newbuild for Seabourn for the foreseeable future, rounding out the current planned expansion of the line’s fleet.
RELATED: SHIP REVIEW: Silversea’s Silver Cloud Expedition
RELATED: Brand new Seabourn Ovation to cruise from Dubai during 2018 Arabian Gulf cruise season
Seabourn Ovation will be an all-suite cruise ship, like the five cruise ships for Seabourn that came before her, and will carry just 600 guests, based on double occupancy, making her one of the roomiest afloat.
The ship will be a continuation of Seabourn’s new “home away from home” concept, with in-suite amenities focused on enhancing privacy, such as a private veranda in each suite.
When it comes to entertainment, Ovation will offer the new “An Evening with Tim Rice,” theater-style experience created exclusively for the line in association with Belinda King Creative Productions, and through the brand’s partnership with Sir Tim Rice, the acclaimed English musical theatre lyricist of Broadway, West End and film.
The experience highlights some of his most loved work – from “Jesus Christ Superstar” to “Aladdin” and “The Lion King.”
Planned cruise itineraries for Seabourn Ovation
Seabourn Ovation will cruise from Venice, Italy, to Barcelona on May 5th, an 11-day voyage that will be the first leg in a longer ran for Northern Europe, where she will spend the majority of her maiden season cruising the waters of the Baltic and Scandinavia. These cruises will include Seabourn’s signature three-day stay in St. Petersburg, Russia.
Seabourn Ovation will also sail on longer 14-day cruises, visiting the majestic Norwegian fjords and British Isles. Select sailings will also include the Ventures by Seabourn program, which are optional for-charge expedition-style excursions featuring a team of experts, Zodiacs and kayaks with a focus on allowing guests to experience nature up close.
AIDA Cruises (the largest cruise brand in Germany with a ‘resorts at sea’ concept) – AIDAnova
AIDAnova, at 180,000-gross tons is the largest new cruise ship of any Carnival-owned brand being delivered in 2018. Due for delivery in December this year, she is also the first cruise ship to be fully powered by liquefied natural gas (LNG). Although AIDA describes her as an evolution of its most recent newbuild, AIDAprima, AIDAnova will in fact be significantly different.
For a start, she is 55,000 gross tons larger, and AIDAprima is powered by LNG only while in port. AIDAnova will therefore emit far fewer greenhouse gasses, despite her larger size, as LNG is the world’s cleanest burning fossil fuel, with nearly zero emissions. AIDAnova will be followed by six additional fully LNG-powered ships scheduled to be delivered across several Carnival Corporation brands by 2022.
AIDAnova is part of an effort by AIDA Cruises to significantly enhance its product offering and compete with TUI Cruises (its Royal Caribbean-owned ‘premium’ cruise line competitor in the German market). AIDAnova will therefore be more luxurious than previous AIDA ships, with interiors that combine innovative design with state-of-the-art technology to provide even greater on-board comfort.
RELATED: Cruise Industry: What goes into building an LNG powered cruise ship?
RELATED: German cruise lines love Bahrain as cruise destination on Dubai and Abu Dhabi roundtrip cruises
She will go to sea with an on-board brewery featuring the first-ever beer garden on a cruise ship, a beach club and a Four Elements waterpark complete with three water slides. Her size will also give AIDA the space to include novelty cruise attractions, such as a new escape room for puzzle lovers and a 360-degree Theatrium and Studio X, a TV studio at sea.
Penthouse Suite aboard AIDAnova
Her accommodations will include 20 different stateroom types, ranging from a two-deck penthouse suite to spacious family and patio cabins to comfortable single options with a balcony (AIDA are one of the only mass market cruise lines in the world offering singles cabins).
Top left: Body & Soul Spa, Top right: Outside stateroom aboard AIDAnova, bottom: inside stateroom.
AIDAnova will also feature the Body & Soul Spa, spanning two decks and offering over 80 treatments from around the world.
For the first time, AIDA Cruises will offer two private outdoor sun islands for couples aboard AIDAnova. She will also have 17 restaurants – five specialty restaurants, six à la carte restaurants, five buffet restaurants and one snack bar, as well as 23 bars offering a variety of culinary trends from around the world. The new Time Machine restaurant, blending experience and culinary art to take guests on a dinner trip through time, will also debut aboard AIDAnova.
Planned cruise itineraries for AIDAnova
In its debut season starting in December 2018, AIDAnova will offer seven-day trips around the Canary Islands. Prior to the Canary season, AIDAnova will make a stop in Hamburg, and will visit the Hanseatic City on the Elbe before setting off toward Gran Canaria.
Categories: Cruise Industry, News
