Why Cruise Lines Are Building So Many New Ships
Photo Credit: The Norwegian Escape floats down the Ems River on its way to the Netherlands. Norwegian Cruise Line / Patrick Buß
Skift Take
A deluge of new ships will make it cheaper for cruise lines to operate. They can also charge higher fares for new product and attract valuable first-time cruisers to the industry.
The next five years will see a building bonanza in cruising, with both major lines and niche players adding new vessels to their fleets.
A total of 55 new vessels will enter service through 2020, representing a total expenditure of more than $25 billion in ocean ship investment, according to statistics from the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA).
Even more ships are actually on the way; Carnival Corp. announced last March that it will add nine new ships to its global fleet by 2020.
"These ships will be the most efficient in the fleet and have the largest guest capacity in the world," said Carnival Corp. CEO Arnold Donald on the company's most recent earnings
