Rendering courtesy of Disney Cruise Line
A recurring discussion at the Seatrade Cruise Global 2016 conference among company executives and industry insiders was twofold. One, there is an increasingly strong demand for cruise travel internationally, prompting new ships to be built, and two, there are not enough shipyards to construct them quick enough.
Consider the statistics Cruise Industry News is reporting: worldwide cruise fleet will reach a passenger capacity of more than 33.5 million by 2026, up considerably from this year's 23.6 million, and the picture of new-builds on the horizon begins to come into focus. The main players building cruise ships currently are Fincantieri in Italy with several yards, Lloyd Werft in Germany, Meyer Turku in Finland and Meyer Werft in Germany, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries in Japan and STX France in Saint-Nazaire.
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Looking at the list below, compiled in part from Cruise Critic, it's remarkable to note that these ships only account for mostly firm orders and not options cruise lines have to build additional sister ships through 2026, and the schedule is already tightly stacked.
It doesn't even include river vessels, which are experiencing a similar boom in expansion, nor Ponant's four planned ships, Scenic's Scenic Eclipse mega-yacht and Star Clippers' new Flying Clipper being built at other yards.
As to the potential for additional yards to pick up some of the slack in the future, Asia may hold the solution. For instance, Carnival Corporation has announced that it will launch a new brand for China with potential new-builds that would be constructed under partnership with China State Shipbuilding Corporation and Fincantieri.
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The question of whether cruise ships could also be built in America also comes up from time to time. While smaller ships like those for American Cruise Lines are built domestically by Chesapeake Shipbuilding, Corp., large passenger vessels have not been built for awhile in the Unites States. Norwegian Cruise Line's Pride of America actually started life with its hull constructed in the U.S., but it was completed at Lloyd Werft in Germany.
The challenge is mainly finding facilities that have years of expertise and suppliers readily capable of providing everything from cabins to water slides. Bottom line costs are also a predominant consideration, and inevitably it's cheaper to build new cruise ships overseas.
Fincantieri
Carnival Cruise Line ~ Carnival Vista ~ May 2016
Regent Seven Seas Cruises ~ Seven Seas Explorer ~ July 2016
Seabourn Cruise Line ~ Seabourn Encore ~ December 2016
Viking Ocean Cruises ~ Viking Sky ~ March 2017
Silversea Cruises ~ Silver Muse ~ Spring 2017
MSC Cruises ~ MSC Seaside ~ November 2017
Princess Cruises ~ Majestic Princess ~ 2017
Viking Ocean Cruises ~ Venice-class 4 ~ 2017
Carnival Cruise Line ~ Carnival Vista 2 ~ March 2018
MSC Cruises ~ Seaside-class 2 ~ May 2018
Seabourn Cruise Line ~ Seabourn Ovation ~ Spring 2018
Holland America Line ~ Pinnacle-class 2 ~ November 2018
Viking Ocean Cruises ~ Venice-class 5 ~ 2018
Princess Cruises ~ Royal-class 4 ~ 2019
P&O Cruises Australia ~ 1 ~ 2019
Costa Asia ~ 1 ~ 2019
Princess Cruises ~ Royal-class 5 ~ 2020
Viking Ocean Cruises ~ Venice-class 6 ~ 2020
Regent Seven Seas Cruises ~ Explorer-class 2 ~ 2020
Costa Asia ~ 2 ~ 2020
Virgin Cruises ~ 1 ~ 2020
Virgin Cruises ~ 2 ~ 2021
Virgin Cruises ~ 3 ~ 2022
Lloyd Werft
Crystal Yacht Cruises ~ Crystal Endeavor ~ August 2018
Crystal Cruises ~ Exclusive-class 1 ~ Fall 2019
Crystal Cruises ~ Exclusive-class 2 ~ 2020
Crystal Cruises ~ Exclusive-class 3 ~ 2021
Meyer Turku and Meyer Werft
Dream Cruises ~ Genting Dream ~ Fall 2016
Norwegian Cruise Line ~ Norwegian Joy ~ Spring 2017
Dream Cruises ~ World Dream ~ Fall 2017
Norwegian Cruise Line ~ Norwegian Bliss ~ 2018
AIDA Cruises ~ 1 ~ 2018
Royal Caribbean International ~ Quantum-class 4 ~ Spring 2019
Costa Cruises ~ 1 ~ Spring 2019
Saga Cruises ~ 1 ~ Summer 2019
Norwegian Cruise Line ~ Breakaway Plus-class 4 ~ 2019
Costa Cruises ~ 2 ~ Spring 2020
Royal Caribbean International ~ Quantum-class 5 ~ Fall 2020
AIDA Cruises ~ 2 ~ 2020
Disney Cruise Line ~ 1 ~ 2021
Disney Cruise Line ~ 2 ~ 2023
Mitsubishi
AIDA Cruises ~ 2 ~ 2017
STX France
Royal Caribbean International ~ Harmony of the Seas ~ May 2016
MSC Cruises ~ MSC Meraviglia ~ 2017
Celebrity Cruises ~ 1 ~ Fall 2018
Royal Caribbean International ~ Oasis-class 4 ~ 2018
MSC Cruises ~ Meraviglia-class 2 ~ 2019
MSC Cruises ~ Meraviglia Plus-class 1 ~ 2019
Celebrity Cruises ~ 2 ~ 2020
MSC Cruises ~ Meraviglia Plus-class 2 ~ 2020
MSC Cruises ~ World-class 1 ~ 2022
MSC Cruises ~ World-class 2 ~ 2024
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