Global Cruise Ship Orderbook Climbs to $90 Billion
Princess’s three Voyager-class ships will be built at Fincantieri’s Monfalcone yard, the company’s largest shipbuilding facility by area and capacity.
The global cruise ship orderbook now stands at about $90 billion in new ships through 2039 after five April orders added major capacity for Princess Cruises and Royal Caribbean International. The additions include three Princess Voyager-class ships at Fincantieri and two more Royal Caribbean Icon-class ships at Meyer Turku.
The forward book now totals 82 cruise ships and about 218,400 new berths, with an average capacity of 2,663 guests and average tonnage of 117,956 gross tons. Princess’ newbuilds pushed the delivery horizon into 2038 and 2039, the longest-dated cruise ship orders now on the books.
Major operators account for most of the new capacity
Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings has the largest forward orderbook by ship count, with 17 newbuilds and 47,000 berths scheduled through 2037. MSC follows with 14 ships across two brands and more than 52,000 new berths through 2033.
Royal Caribbean Group now has 12 ships on order for three brands through 2032, representing about 49,000 berths. Carnival Corporation’s book runs furthest out, with 10 ships for Carnival Cruise Line, AIDA Cruises and Princess Cruises totaling roughly 52,000 berths through 2039.
Princess order extends Carnival’s schedule to 2039
Princess Cruises’ three-ship agreement with Fincantieri is valued at more than $2.3 billion and covers vessels scheduled for late 2035, 2038 and 2039. The ships will be built at Fincantieri’s Monfalcone yard, the company’s largest shipbuilding facility by area and capacity.
Each Voyager-class ship is planned at 183,000 gross tons with capacity for about 4,700 guests, making the class the largest in the Princess fleet. The design builds on the Sphere-class platform used for Sun Princess and Star Princess, with the new ships expected to be about 3 percent larger and to carry more than 9 percent additional capacity compared with those vessels.
“The Voyager class will delight both our loyal guests and attract the next generation of Princess guests,” said Gus Antorcha, president of Princess Cruises. Princess said further design and amenity details will be released later; the line has not announced deployment plans or homeports for the ships.
The Princess ships will be dual-fuel vessels primarily using LNG, becoming Carnival Corporation’s 19th, 20th and 21st LNG-based ships. LNG propulsion has near-zero sulfur oxide emissions and can substantially reduce nitrogen oxides and particulate matter compared with conventional marine fuels, though methane slip remains a climate limitation.
Royal Caribbean adds two more Icon-class deliveries
Royal Caribbean Group confirmed orders for the sixth and seventh Icon-class ships at Meyer Turku, with deliveries planned for 2029 and 2030. The order is part of a long-term framework agreement that gives the group access to Meyer Turku capacity through 2036 and includes the previously announced Icon 5 for 2028.
Royal Caribbean did not announce prices for the two ships, and the seventh Icon-class order remains subject to customary conditions, including financing. Existing Icon-class ships are generally listed at about 250,800 gross tons, 5,610 passengers at double occupancy and up to 7,600 passengers at maximum capacity.
“The Icon Class reflects our bold creativity and engineering excellence that continues to define what a vacation can be,” said Jason Liberty, chairman and CEO of Royal Caribbean Group. Casimir Lindholm, CEO of Meyer Turku, said the sixth and seventh ships are “a significant recognition” of the yard and Finland’s maritime sector.
Meyer Turku has built 25 ships for Royal Caribbean Group over more than three decades. The shipyard and its supplier network employ about 13,000 people and contribute more than one billion euros annually to Finland’s economy.
Next milestones in the delivery pipeline
Meyer Turku has already delivered Icon of the Seas and Star of the Seas, with Legend of the Seas scheduled to debut in July 2026 in the Western Mediterranean. Hero of the Seas is due in 2027. Icon 5 follows in 2028, with the two newly confirmed ships in 2029 and 2030.
