Regent Seven Seas orders new Explorer-class cruise ship from Fincantieri

Norwegian Cruise Line Holding has ordered a new cruise ship from Italian shipyard Fincantieri for its luxury Regent Seven Seas Cruises brand.

The ultra-luxury cruise ship is due for delivery in 2023 and will be a sister ship to Seven Seas Explorer, delivered in 2016, and to Seven Seas Splendour, due for delivery in 2020.

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She will be 54,000-gross tons and carry 750 passengers, according to a statement from the shipyard, which said the contract was worth US $540-million.

This makes the new ship as expensive as Explorer, which was at the time of her launch one of the most expensive ships ever built (on a per ton basis).

For comparison, the world’s largest cruise ship, Symphony of the Seas, cost three times as much to build, but is five times larger and carries eight times as many passengers.

The new ship will be Regent Seven Seas Cruises’ sixth-all-suite vessel and like Explorer and Splendour she will feature particularly sophisticated interiors, with every attention paid to passenger comfort.

“We are excited to build on the spectacular success of Seven Seas Explorer and Seven Seas Splendour as we embark on bringing to life a new vessel that will set even higher benchmarks for elegance, luxury and style,” said Frank Del Rio, President and CEO of Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings.

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Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings, which owns Norwegian Cruise Line and Oceania Cruises in addition to Regent Seven Seas Cruises, now has new cruise ships on order for all of its brands.

“Today we have 10 ships on order for Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings, five of which have been secured in the last five months, for all three brands in their portfolio,” said Giuseppe Bono, CEO of Fincantieri.

Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings has historically done most of its new cruise ship deals with Meyer-Werft, especially for its NCL brand and its new Breakaway and Breakaway-Plus class ships, but has recently expanded its business with Fincantieri.

The shipyard is building six new cruise ships for Norwegian Cruise Line’s new Leonardo-class, due for delivery between 2022 and 2027, as well as two new-generation cruise ships for Oceania Cruises in the Allura-class, due for delivery in 2022 and 2025.

The shipyard also built Oceania’s two newest ships Marina in 2011 and Riviera in 2012.