Australians and New Zealanders will be getting two new Princess Cruises ships after its parent company, Carnival Corporation signed a deal with the Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri.
The ships will be launched in 2019 and 2020 and will have a passenger capacity of up to 3,560 guests.
“We are incredibly proud and excited to add two new ships to our already formidable fleet,” said Princess Cruises Vice President of Australia and New Zealand Stuart Allison.
“With this new ship commitment, Princess Cruises will continue to grow and expand globally as the world’s destination leader in premium cruising.”
But the announcement means the departure of some of the older ships from the Princess fleet.
Carnival CEO Arnold Donald made reference to the line’s growth strategy which includes “replacing less efficient ships with newer, larger and more efficient vessels over a very specific period of time.”
The new Princess ships will include signature elements like restaurants and facilities which are associated with the brans. There will be a soaring central atrium, multiple dining, entertainment and retail venues and around 80 per cent of all staterooms will have balconies. The two new ships will also have innovative features.
About time we got some real new ships and not hand me downs that are no longer acceptabe to the american market. With the growth in cruisers in australia, it is over time to show us decent ships and not ships that are worn out and tired. My recent 46 days on Sun Princess was an example of this and really left me Princessed out for a while! I will be going back to Royal Caribbean or Celebrity for a while, but pity they are not here all year!