Fincantieri secures order from AIDA Cruises for two new vessels in all-new ship class

Carnival Corporation has placed an order for two new ships for its German cruise brand, AIDA Cruises, with delivery scheduled for the first quarter of fiscal years 2030 and 2032. 

The agreement with Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri provides for the design, engineering, and construction of the vessels, which will be a new class of mid-sized ships with multi-fuel-capability.

The ship’s will both have capacity for around 4,200 passengers at double occupancy, with 2,100 cabins, putting them midway between AIDA Cruises’ Hyperion class ships (AIDAprima and AIDAperla), and its much larger Helios class, a version of Carnival Cruise Line’s Excellence class (AIDAcosma and AIDAnova).

“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. 

“Our next generation of ships will delight our guests with amazing new features and experiences that we will reveal over time. Its innovative technology with multi-fuel propulsion systems, including LNG, will future proof our operations into the coming decades,” he added.

The new order will bring AIDA’s fleet up to a total of 13 ships, expanding its position in the German cruise market.

“The introduction of these next-generation ships, when combined with the AIDA Evolution programme modernising 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,” said Josh Weinstein, CEO of Carnival Corporation.

Carnival Corporation’s newbuild pipeline now includes eight new ships scheduled to enter service through 2033, including Star Princess this year and one each from 2027 to 2033. 

“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, which now account for seven of our eight ships on order,” he said. 

“This growth plan will maximise our returns and allow us to use our strong free cash flow to continue lowering our debt balance and transferring value from debt holders back to shareholders,” he added.

The order with Fincantieri marks AIDA Cruises’ first collaboration with the Italian shipyard, all the line’s current vessels were built by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Meyer Werft, although Carnival Corp’s other brands have long-standing relationships with the shipyard.

In particular, Fincantieri was selected for the build of Carnival Cruise Line’s new 230,000 gross ton mega ships, due for delivery in 2029, 2031 and 2033.

“We are honoured 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, while ensuring long-term term visibility for our shipyards,” he added. “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.” 

Design details and itinerary information for the new AIDA ships will be announced in the coming months, while the order itself remains subject to financing, which is expected to be completed later this year.