Cruise Shipping News

Four Seasons Yachts reports the appointment of Kate McCue as the inaugural Captain of Four Seasons l, the first ultra-luxury yacht in the highly anticipated fleet. A graduate of the California Maritime Academy, Captain Kate brings nearly three decades of maritime expertise, combining technical precision with a passion for hospitality to create a truly transformative yachting experience. A pioneer in the industry, she made history in 2015 as the first American female captain of…

Carnival Corporation & plc (NYSE/LSE: CCL; NYSE: CUK), the world's largest cruise company, is advancing greater fuel efficiency for propulsion through hull designs and new hardware and technology, along with underwater drone inspection and cleaning trials.This work is done through complementary strategies focused on maximizing hydrodynamic performance and enhancing ongoing hull maintenance, which reduces a ship’s underwater drag. Here's a synopsis of the CCL strategy:Hull Designs: When selecting the optimal hull design…

Global Marine Management and World Wide Metric announced a new strategic agreement to offer Frese FuelSave, an advanced energy optimization solution, to the cruise market, helping them reduce energy consumption, lower emissions, and improve sustainability.Frese FuelSave is a dynamic flow control solution designed to optimize energy usage with onboard cooling and HVAC systems. By ensuring precise temperature and flow control, it enables significant fuel savings and enhances overall system performance.

As the Trump Administration sweeps through its first month in office with a torrent of restructuring in government, it seems even Mickey Mouse is fair game. Cruise operators which service the dominant U.S. cruise market routinely so-called ‘flags of convenience’ outside of the U.S., a provision that allows them to avoid taxation.In speaking with Fox News last night, and widely reported on multiple news outlets, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick reportedly suggested that the federal…

Battered by Covid, the cruise industry was down but not out. Today it is setting records in passenger count + the size and cost of a new fleet.Post-Pandemic, the fortunes of the big cruise companies have brightened dramatically. A late December, 2024 earnings release from Carnival Corporation & plc (NYSE: CCL), encompassing brands including Carnival Cruise, Holland America, Cunard, Princess Cruises and others, says it all: “This has been an incredibly strong finish to a record year,” said CCL’s CEO Josh Weinstein, in its statement.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), in collaboration with Royal Caribbean, conducted the first biometric debarkation for Royal Caribbean cruise passengers on Feb. 2 when Rhapsody of the Seas was the first Royal Caribbean vessel to utilize this technology at the San Juan Seaport’s Pier 4 in Puerto Rico.CBP’s biometric facial comparison technology streamlines the debarkation process, reducing clearance times by up to 30% and allowing passengers to transition smoothly from ship to shore.At debarkation, guests pause at a kiosk equipped with a camera and take a photo.

Fincantieri and Marc-Henry Cruise Holdings LTD, Joint Owner/Operator of Four Seasons Yachts, celebrated the launch of "Four Seasons I" at the Ancona shipyard, the first ultra-luxury ship under construction for Four Seasons Yachts, which will be delivered to end of this year and which will set sail in January 2026. The launching ceremony was attended by Fincantieri's President, Biagio Mazzotta, the CEO and General Manager, Pierroberto Folgiero, the General Manager of the Merchant Ships Division…

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…