- A (fourth?) 68,500-gross ton Aida vessel from Meyer Werft, and

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Originally posted by shipsnorway:
Carnival Corporation today announced it has placed orders for three new ships:

- A (fourth?) 68,500-gross ton Aida vessel from Meyer Werft, and

- Two 92,700-gross ton, 2260 pax vessels from Fincantieri. A new class of ship or another Vista-class clone???

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Does Aida need THAT many ships?! Or will these simply be replacements of the first ships?

See that Aida go strong.

Carnival Corporation & plc Orders New Ships for Costa Crociere, AIDA Cruises

Monday June 12, 5:00 am ET

New Vessels Will Add More Than 6,500 Total Lower Berths to Fleet, Build Upon Carnival's Leadership Position in European Marketplace

MIAMI, June 12 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Carnival Corporation & plc (NYSE/LSE: CCL; NYSE: CUK), today announced that it has ordered two cruise ships for its European brands with an option for a third.

Included in today's order are a 92,700-ton vessel for Genoa, Italy-based Costa Crociere, as well as an option for a sister ship, both to be built by Italy's Fincantieri shipyard, and a 68,500-ton ship for its Rostock, Germany-based AIDA Cruises to be built by Germany's Meyer Werft yard.

The new vessels will add more than 6,500 total lower berths to Carnival Corporation & plc's fleet and build upon its leadership position within the rapidly expanding European cruise market, with six million passengers expected to set sail by 2015.

The new Costa ships will be built at Fincantieri's Marghera shipyard and have a basis-two capacity of 2,260 each. The first ship is scheduled to enter service in spring 2009. If the option is exercised, the second ship is slated to debut in fall 2010. The all-in cost for each vessel will be approximately 420 million euro.

Including the new ship and option, Costa currently has five new vessels on order from Fincantieri representing 13,520 total lower berths.

The new AIDA ship will have a basis-two capacity of 2,050. Scheduled delivery is spring 2010. The vessel's all-in cost will be approximately 330 million euro and marks the fourth 68,500-ton vessel ordered for the brand in just the past 19 months. Three other vessels, also being built at Meyer Werft, are slated to debut in 2007, 2008 and 2009.

All four vessels will operate under AIDA Cruises' informal "club resort" cruise concept which is marketed exclusively to German-speaking clientele and offers a product aimed at younger, more active passengers who enjoy a host of on-board amenities and facilities.

According to Carnival Corporation & plc Chairman and CEO Micky Arison, today's announcement continues the company's aggressive expansion strategy in the European market.

"We have invested a great deal of time and money expanding and diversifying the European cruise market which possesses incredible potential for growth. Costa is already the clear leader in the southern European market and AIDA holds the same distinction in Germany. These new state-of-the-art ships for Costa and AIDA will further bolster their positions in the respective markets and ensure that we have adequate capacity available to meet growing demand for European cruises," Arison said.

Commented Costa Crociere Chairman and CEO Pier Luigi Foschi, "We've demonstrated that the European market is seeking new itinerary alternatives and that requires a balanced mix of ships, especially for the more experienced cruiser. Costa's new programs, including voyages featuring Dubai in winter/spring 2006/2007 and a series of 13 cruises to the Far East scheduled for spring 2006 to spring 2007, have received tremendous response from our European customers, including a number of sailings selling out in a matter of days. New ships will allow us to continue to diversify our cruise offerings for European vacationers," he said.

The German-speaking market is one of the fastest growing in Europe with one million passengers expected to set sail by 2010. "To keep pace with this dramatic growth, we must continue to build ships and develop unique cruise products such as AIDA that can cater specifically to the preferences of German-speaking clientele," Foschi said.

At 92,700-gross ton the new ship could be a Signature Class vessel, as suggested by Maasdam.

The Vista Class ships are smaller: 82,000-gross ton.

Or she could be an enlarged Vista Class ship...

What will happen to the older ships in the fleet ?

My speculations:

-The Costa Marina could join the Costa Allegra in Asia. She could be put for sale. She is small and stil, retains the original engines built in the Sixties. Maybe another nice addition to the Fred Olsen fleet. She is clearly compatible with the Braemar and the Norwegian Crown.

-Also the Costa Classica and Costa Romantica could leave the fleet, maybe to be transferred to P&O Australia. Personally I think that Carnival Corporation should restart the plans to lenght both vessels. The project drawn for the Costa Classica in 1999 wasn't bad. With an entire nearly two decks of cabins with private balconies these ships will be still competitive.

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Originally posted by Malcolm @ cruisepage:
It’s interesting how RCI and Carnival have to very different strategies for world domination.

RCI are breaking into Europe using their existing RCI and Celebrity brands, yet Carnival have purchased various brands already established within their respective markets.

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This is one reason why the RCI ships are trying to be all things to all people--they're actually doing a very good job of it. Royal Caribbean is spreading this one product around the globe, into every market.

Both work, but I prefer the Carnival strategy. The tastes of Europeans, Asians, Austrialians and North Americans differ, even if just slightly. While I enjoy the food on Celebrity and it was very continental, I prefer the atmosphere of a Princess Cruise more. I have said it before, it's how they go to market. Carnival has numerous products focusing on specific market niches, while RCI/Celebrity brings fewer generic products to market.

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Originally posted by shipsnorway:
The 92,700-ton Costa vessels could most definitely be a deviation of the 90,000-ton Queen Victoria design...

I have a hard time believing that Carnival Corp has actually come up with a new design exclusively for Costa... even the 130,000-ton Carnival Cruise Lines newbuilding, which the company stated would be a new class, is simply a lengthened and widened Conquest-class design, although it will incorporate some new features.

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This is very interesting. Thanks for the info. I agree that the new Costa ships will likely be a variation of the Vista Class. Carnival is certainly milking this design for all it's worth.

I'm surprised by your comment regarding the 130,000 Carnival design. Execs at Carnival have stated "this is a completely new design". Your comments tell a different story. I tend to agree with your comments as Carnival has been known to stretch the truth regarding "completely new designs" in the past. They get away with it as the general public doesn't know any better. I can't think of a worse nightmare than an even larger Conquest-Class ship. This is probably the worst designed and most crowded ship I have ever sailed.

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Originally posted by Italian Cruiser:
So Costa Cruises in 2009 will have three brand new postpanamax ship and one panamax.

At 92,700-gross ton the new ship could be a Signature Class vessel, as suggested by Maasdam.

The Vista Class ships are smaller: 82,000-gross ton.

Or she could be an enlarged Vista Class ship...

What will happen to the older ships in the fleet ?

My speculations:

-The Costa Marina could join the Costa Allegra in Asia. She could be put for sale. She is small and stil, retains the original engines built in the Sixties. Maybe another nice addition to the Fred Olsen fleet. She is clearly compatible with the Braemar and the Norwegian Crown.

-Also the Costa Classica and Costa Romantica could leave the fleet, maybe to be transferred to P&O Australia. Personally I think that Carnival Corporation should restart the plans to lenght both vessels. The project drawn for the Costa Classica in 1999 wasn't bad. With an entire nearly two decks of cabins with private balconies these ships will be still competitive.

-Not sure about the Costa Europa. Costa has spent an high sum of money to refurbish her. Inside she looks almost brand new. Very few traces of her former lifes as an Home Lines and HAL ship. Perhaps she will be marketed as the " Grand Dame " of the fleet.

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I think they should sold the Costa Allegra and Costa Marina. Then send the Costa Classica and Costa Romantica to Asia....

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Originally posted by Malcolm @ cruisepage:
It’s interesting how RCI and Carnival have to very different strategies for world domination.

RCI are breaking into Europe using their existing RCI and Celebrity brands, yet Carnival have purchased various brands already established within their respective markets.

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Originally posted by Italian Cruiser:
-The Costa Marina could join the Costa Allegra in Asia.

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What will happen to the older ships in the fleet ?

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phil_a wrote:
...there is always P&O Australia before sending them off for scrap.

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Good idea Phil. Maybe Costa Australia!

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Pascal wrote:
...I just hope that the fact those ships will be built in Fincantieri instead of Aker won't cause any problems.

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What problems are you suggesting?

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Pascal wrote:
As the original version (the Spirit class) was built and designed in Aker Yards, I think that it would have been wiser to buid those ships in Finland.

...it may have been easier and cheaper for Aker to build those ships as they have the experience of the previous ones.

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Since Fincantieri has built and is building many derivatives of the Spirit-class, HAL’s Vista-class ships, ARCADIA and the current QUEEN VICTORIA, I think Aker’s experience didn’t matter. With Fincantieri Carnival Corp got a good package deal, flexibility and price.

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Originally posted by cruiseshipluver :

The 92,700 ton vessel cant be a pure Vista class as stated before..Vistas are between 86 and 87,000 tons. As also suggested it is mostlikely a larger deritive of the Vista hull such as QV and at 92,700 that fits the puzzle well...

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We should be clear about what we call "Vista" class : must we include Spirit class, HAL "Signature" class (Noordam),QV and Arcadia?

For me Noordam and Arcadia are definitively Vista class ships. Same general layout, same overall figures. They have only done minor changes from the original design (more squared stern on signature to add a few cabins and the sort of bridge in front of the funel on Arcadia).
Althought QV retakes the overall Vista design and layout, it seems there will be more changes : the ship will be longer, and obvioulsy, structural modifications are made to the the deck plans to accomodate the larger suites. I consider her as a modified Vista class.

In my opinion, Spirit (Carnival and Costa Panamax ships) class ships can't be considered as Vista. If the technical base is the same, the general lay out are much too different. Don't forget that Spirit are designed as mass market ships (more cabins, big atria, wow factor...) where Vistas are aimed to the Premium cruisers (more suites, more space/pax...).
Look at the deck plans and you'll see the superstructure is completely different.