Cruising’s Next Decade: 73 New Ships, 180,000 Berths, $90 Billion Investment
by Bruce Parkinson
The Star of the Seas in sea trials.
Data from the latest update of Cruise Industry News’ global cruise ship orderbook shows that 73 ocean vessels are on order through 2036. The new ships will add over 180,000 berths to the market, at a total cost of nearly $90 billion.
The ships on order have an average size of roughly 110,000 tons, as well as capacity for 2,502 guests.
Four new cruise vessels were delivered recently, including Royal Caribbean International’s Star of the Seas, the second in the line’s Icon class and one of the largest in the world. The 250,800-ton vessel will debut in mid-August.
The luxury market welcomed three new ships of late with the deliveries of Ritz-Carlton’s mega yacht Luminara, Oceania’s Allure and the Viking Vesta – the 12th ship added to the Viking ocean fleet in 10 years.
The global cruise ship orderbook shows that eight cruise ships are still scheduled to be delivered in 2025, including Four Seasons’ first mega yacht, the Four Seasons I. Other vessels debuting later this year include the new Star Princess and the Celebrity Xcel, as well as SunStone’s Douglas Mawson.
Disney is also taking delivery of two new vessels, the Disney Adventure and the Disney Destiny, while Windstar will welcome its first newbuild in decades, the Star Seeker.
Recent orders include Oceania’s deal with Fincantieri for two additional Sonata-class vessels, scheduled to enter service in 2032 and 2035.
