by Donald Wood
Last updated: 12:50 AM ET, Fri January 20, 2017
On Thursday, the Carnival Corporation announced that the cruise company has signed a memorandum of agreement to build two new ships. The vessels will be designated for the company's Holland America Line and Princess Cruises brands.
The agreement was signed with Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri S.p.A, and the final contracts are expected to be executed in early 2017. With the new order, Carnival Corporation now has 19 new vessels scheduled to be delivered between 2017 and 2022.
The ship being designed and built for the Holland America Line will be constructed at Fincantieri's shipyard in Marghera, Italy, and is expected to be delivered by 2021. On the other hand, the new Princess Cruises ship will be built at Fincantieri's Monfalcone, Italy, shipyard and will be delivered in 2022.
"We are extremely pleased to formally announce these two new ships and build on the success and popularity of their sister ships already sailing guests around the globe," Carnival Corporation CEO Arnold Donald said in a statement. "Our goal is to exceed expectations of the 11.5 million guests who sail with us each year, and these new ships will offer more opportunities for our guests to create lifelong vacation memories while generating added excitement around the fast-growing global demand for cruise vacations."
For Holland America Line, the new ship will be the third in its "Pinnacle" class and is expected to hold 2,660 guests. The vessel will combine classic hallmarks of the brand with innovations introduced on the ms Koningsdam and the upcoming Nieuw Statendam ships.
As for the Princess Cruises ship, it will carry 3,660 passengers and will be the sixth "Royal" class vessel in its fleet. The vessel will feature the Ocean Medallion Class, made possible by the wearable device which allows the cruise line to enhance services and personalize experiences for guests.
Each of the new ships announced Thursday will be specifically designed and developed for the brands, guests and markets they will serve, and more details on each vessel will be revealed in the coming months.
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