Cruise Shipping News

Flash back to March 2020, and cruise shipping as the global poster-child for COVID, with passengers stuck on ships in ports around the wordl, unable to leave as far more questions than answers lingered regarding the mysterious illness.Less than four years later, the global cruise ship industry is booming again, led by the world's largest, Carnival Corp, which forecast strong bookings for 2025 ahead of the busy summer travel season, riding the wave of strong spending on experiences even as prices increase, sending its shares up about 5% late last week.

Viking Vela, the first of a new series of cruise ships that Fincantieri is building for the Viking shipowner, was delivered at the Ancona shipyard in Italy.With a gross tonnage of 54,300 tons and 499 cabins accomodating 998 passengers, Viking Vela is in the small cruise ship segment. It is the 13th ship delivered by Fincantieri to Viking , including the two expedition units built by the subsidiary Vard.

Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri has received an order for a new cruise ship from U.S.-based cruise operator Crystal, following the exercise of the option granted under the two-unit agreement from June 2024.The value of the agreement, subject to financing and other terms and conditions, is considered as large, which for Fincantieri means it represents a value between $590 million to $1.07 billion.Crystal MoA for 2+1 Cruise Ship OrderThe new unit, as its sister ships, will boast a gross tonnage of 61…

Hurtigruten released updated plans for its Sea Zero project, a zero-emission ship scheduled to debut in 2030 which is now in its R&D phase. The ship, as designed today, will lean on large batteries, sails, and other solutions to sail emission-free during normal operation, while energy consumption could be reduced by 40-50%.Hurtigruten announced its Sea Zero project in October 2022, and unveiled its first set of renderings in summer 2023. A second version of renderings are now released…

Star Princess, the second liquefied natural gas (LNG) cruise ship that Fincantieri is building for Princess Cruises, was launched at the Monfalcone shipyard in Italy.A long list of dignitaries were on hand for the festivities, inlcuding John Padgett, President of Princess CruisesCristiano Bazzara, Director of the Fincantieri shipyard in MonfalconeGodmothers of the ceremony: Chiara del Vecchio, 3rd Engineer aboard the “Sun Princess”, and Francesca Maraventano, executive assistant at the Monfalcone shipyard.With a gross tonnage of approximately 178…

The Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) has responded to plans by the Greek government to impose a 20-euro levy on cruise ship visitors to the islands of Santorini and Mykonos during the peak summer season.The move is a bid to avert over-tourism, said Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, announcing the fee earlier this month.CLIA has responded with a statement: “The cruise sector is a success story for Greece contributing 1.4 billion euros to the economy in 2022. CLIA…

The German government plans to take a temporary majority stake in Meyer Werft, one of the world's top cruise ship builders, as part of measures to support the company, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters on Thursday.German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is said to visit shipbuilder Meyer Werft today, raising union hopes for government support for the company which is battling to fill a 2.7 billion euro ($3 billion) hole in its finances.Meyer Werft, one of the world's biggest cruise ship builders, builds around two ships annually at a cost of at least 1.5 billion euros each.

Shipowners in all sectors face the same decision: build new or refurbish older tonnage. In the booming cruise sector the decision is more pressing, particularly as new construction ships can take two to three years to build, perhaps longer today with global shipyard orderbooks packed full.When the decision was taken to upgrade the nearly 40-year-old MS Amera, trust for the project landed with BSM Cruise, the technical ship manager of MS Amera, and Wabtec channel partner VMS Group…

Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) has chosen the port terminals of the province of Colón and the province of Panama (Panama Cruise Terminal) as home ports.Between December 2024 and December 2025, there will be four NCL embarking/disembarking operations there for the Norwegian Jade and Norwegian Gem. There will also be two operations for the six-star ship Sirena, belonging to the exclusive fleet of the luxury cruise company Oceania Cruises, with a capacity for 800 passengers.This decision…

Fincantieri and Crystal signed Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) for the construction of two cruise ships, plus an option for a third unit. A value for the contract was not available.If built, the new units will be 61,800 gross tons with capacity for approximately 690 passengers, suites with private balconies, as well as several single-occupancy staterooms, a highly sought-after option ideal for solo travelers. Delivery of the first vessel is scheduled for spring 2028, while more information on the second unit will be made known later.

Chantiers de l’Atlantique selected Brunvoll as the supplier of main propulsion for Orient Express Silenseas’s new cruise ships, which are going to become the world’s largest sailing ships. The order is for two vessels, with another two as option.The delivery from Brunvoll is a propulsion system consisting of a twin-screw configuration with a controllable pitch propeller with a diameter of 3.9 meters. The propellers are designed to be fully feathering to limit drag while sailing.

Hurtigruten is working towards drastically reducing and recycling edible food waste from its fleet operations. A specially designed reactor at one of its ports converts edible food waste into compost used to grow vegetables for Hurtigruten.The initiative encompasses a comprehensive approach to waste management, starting with the sorting of edible food waste onboard Hurtigruten's Original Coastal Express ships during their year-round schedule along the coast of Norway, calling at 34 ports from Bergen in the south to Kirkenes in the north.

Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) has ordered eight new ships, the most comprehensive newbuild order in its history.The order represents nearly 25,000 additional berths, with new classes of ships for each of its three brands and the construction of a multi-ship pier at Great Stirrup Cay, the company’s private island destination in the Bahamas.The new ships are scheduled for delivery over a 10-year period, between 2026 and 2036. Following the delivery of four Prima-Plus class ships from 2025 through 2028…

Italian marine engineering consultancy RINA has secured a contract from the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) to carry out a comprehensive Global Investment Plan Study aimed at steering the cruise sector towards a sustainable future.The research will provide a worldwide scenario focused on the cruise sector, mapping real-time energy needs, infrastructure and regulations with foresight scenarios extending to 2050.The cruise sector is recognized as one of the most active in driving the shipping industry towards greater sustainability.Today…

A global alternative investment firm Strategic Value Partners has entered into agreement with Hornblower Group to acquire the majority ownership of the company in exchange for significant equity investment. As part of the agreement, Crestview Partners retained minority ownership in the business, and the decision was made to sell or wind down the company’s overnight cruises unit American Queen Voyages.Aside from significant minority stake in the business, Crestview will become the sole owner of Journey Beyond…

“Turku is building the real big ships,” said Meyer Turku CEO Tim Meyer.Meyer is not exaggerating. The yard’s latest newbuild, Icon of the Seas—the first ship of Royal Caribbean’s Icon class—is 248,655 GT, making it the largest cruise ship ever constructed.In general, the cruise ships rolling out of the nearly 300-year-old Finnish shipyard have been steadily increasing in size since the Meyer Group took full ownership in 2015. “We are proud to say Turku has been a first-mover in building these big new classes for Royal Caribbean…

The total investment in six luxury ships for Explora Journeys worth $3.7BMSC Group Cruises Division confirmed the order of two hydrogen ships for its luxury brand Explora Journeys with Fincantieri, confirming its commitment to achieving zero carbon emissions by 2050. The contracts are conditional on obtaining financing for the shipowner.The two new ships will pursue the use of liquid hydrogen fuel cells for hotel operations while in port, to eliminate carbon emissions with engines turned off.

Norwegian Viva, the second of six new generation cruise ships of the new Prima class for Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL), was delivered at Fincantieri's Marghera shipyard.At 143,500 gross tons, almost 300 meters in length and with a capacity to accommodate around 3,100 passengers, Norwegian Prima and her sister ships will form the backbone of NCL's future fleet. Deliveries are expected until 2028.The Prima class is based on a prototype project developed by Fincantieri which enhances the consolidated characteristics of NCL's freedom and flexibility with an innovative product configuration…

Expedition cruise company SunStone Maritime Group A/S recently received its sixth Infinity class vessel, the Ocean Albatros. Final documentswere signed on Thursday, April 20, completing delivery of the vessel from the CMHI Shipyard in Haimen, China, to the SunStone companies. The ship will be on a year-round charter to Albatros Expeditions.Infinity Class Vessels are 104 m long and 18 m wide, with a draft of 5.1 m. They feature a passenger capacity between 130 and 200 and a crew capacity between 85 and 115.

The Port of Seattle is installing a third shore power system at Pier 66, making it the world’s first port with three systems for cruise ships.The port receives over 200 cruise vessels in a typical season between April and October, and adding a third shore power system is a major component of the port’s Waterfront Clean Energy Strategy.The new shore power connection is expected to be fully operational by the 2024 Alaska cruise season.The contract for the shore power system components was awarded in November 2022 to Watts Marine.

MSC Group Cruise Division -- Explora Journeys -- saw the launch by Fincantieri of Explora I, the first of four new luxury cruise vessels for MSC's new luxury travel brand. The first ship cost $560m, part of a four-ship newbuild plan for a cumulative $2.6B.The event was attended by Gianluigi Aponte - Founder and President of the MSC Group, Pierfrancesco Vago - Executive President of the Cruise Division of the MSC Group, the godmother of the ship Zoe Africa Vago, and for Fincantieri Pierroberto Folgiero…

Maritime Protection, a brand of Survitec, won an order for a set of nitrogen systems for installation on an LNG-powered cruise ship. The scope of supply is for two nitrogen generators, feed-air compressors, valves, and control cabinets. Scheduled for delivery in 2025, the 51,950-gt newbuild is the first cruise ship for this Japanese owner to be built in Europe. There is an option for a second vessel. About ten LNG-fuelled cruise ships are currently in operation, with a further 25 set to join the global fleet over the next five years.Engines operating on LNG…

Zinus has won a contract with PowerCon to supply the Port of Oslo with a shore power solution.The aim of the project is to make shore power available for all cruise ships that visit the Port of Oslo.Zinus’s CRU500 is an all-in-one cable management system that integrates with PowerCon’s shoreside electro distribution station and the cruise vessel. The CRU500 can be moved and operated as one unit with cables and cable management system, including both power and signal cables.Jens Eirik Hagen…