by Donald Wood
Last updated: 5:04 PM ET, Thu January 25, 2018
The Carnival Corporation announced Thursday it signed a shipbuilding contract for a second next-generation cruise ship for its P&O Cruises brand.
The new vessel will be constructed by German shipbuilder Meyer Werft GmbH and is scheduled to be delivered in 2022. When completed, it will be the largest cruise ship built specifically for the British market, total 180,000 gross tons and accommodate approximately 5,200 guests.
The yet-to-be-named vessel is just the latest part of Carnival's fleet enhancement strategy that includes 19 new ships scheduled for delivery between 2018 and 2022. The new ship will feature the company's exclusive "green cruising" design and will be one of the first generation of cruise ships to be powered by Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG), both while in port and at sea.
"We are seeing the momentum in awareness of cruising both across the media and in our national psyche as ever-increasing numbers of people see first-hand the value for money, unrivaled service and extraordinary onboard experience," Carnival UK president Josh Weinstein said in a statement. "These two next-generation ships for delivery in the next four years are real and tangible evidence of our absolute optimism for future growth."
In total, the Carnival Corporation has agreements in place with shipbuilders Meyer Werft and Meyer Turku to build eight LNG-powered cruise ships across four of its 10 global cruise brands with delivery dates between 2018 and 2022.
"We have a bold and ambitious vision for P&O Cruises to become Britain's number one holiday choice and we can only do that by increasing our fleet," P&O Cruises senior vice president Paul Ludlow said. "The build for our 2020 ship begins this spring and it will offer all generations of British guests the holiday of a lifetime on the next generation of P&O Cruises ships."
In addition to the two P&O Cruises UK vessels, AIDA Cruises will receive two ships in 2018 and 2021, Costa Cruises will receive two in 2019 and 2021 and Carnival Cruise Line will receive two in 2020 and 2022.
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