MIAMI, Sept. 25, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Carnival
Corporation & plc (NYSE/LSE: CCL; NYSE: CUK), the world's
largest leisure travel company, today announced that it has signed
a memorandum of agreement with Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri
S.p.A. to build a new cruise ship for the company's iconic Cunard
brand.
The new ship for Cunard will be built at Fincantieri's shipyard
in Monfalcone, Italy, with an
expected delivery date in 2022. The as-yet-unnamed ship will join
Queen Mary 2, Queen Victoria and
Queen Elizabeth as the fourth member
of the Cunard fleet, marking the first time since 1998 that the
luxury cruise brand will have four ships in simultaneous
service.
The new cruise ship will be the 249th ship to
fly the Cunard flag since the company's founding in 1839. Cunard
will announce additional details about the new ship starting in
2018.
With this new ship agreement, Carnival Corporation now has 18
new ships scheduled to be delivered to its portfolio of leading
global cruise brands between 2018 and 2022.
"We are very pleased to announce a fourth ship for our immensely
popular Cunard brand, which is also one of the most legendary
brands in the entire vacation industry," said Arnold Donald, CEO of Carnival Corporation.
"Cunard offers a fleet of unrivaled vessels and one of the most
unique travel experiences in the world, which together create an
enchanting and memorable vacation for our guests. While today's
news helps drive Cunard's overall strategic growth plans, we also
look forward to launching this next-generation cruise ship to help
meet increasing global demand and entice even more travelers to
explore the Cunard experience."
Donald added: "Fleet enhancement is an important part of our
ongoing goal to exceed guest expectations. This includes replacing
less efficient ships with more efficient vessels over time as part
of our managed capacity growth."
The new ship agreement to build a fourth ship for Cunard extends
the brand's recent strength and momentum in the marketplace,
including attracting crowds of more than one million people to
celebrate its 175th anniversary in 2015 and investing the
equivalent of $172 million U.S.
dollars in the past two years to refurbish the flagship Queen Mary
2 and Queen Victoria. With new
destinations, event voyages, bar and dining experiences and brand
partners, Cunard continues to evolve its guest experiences to
consistently exceed expectations.
"With this agreement we once more link our company's name with
Cunard's, a real icon of the cruise market, confirming us as
shipbuilders able to combine tradition and innovation like no one
else in the world," said Giuseppe
Bono, CEO of Fincantieri. "It is a lasting journey that,
besides the construction of the two authentic queens like
Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth, stresses the importance of our
partnership with Carnival Corporation."
Bono concluded: "In fact, we have built 63 ships for Carnival
Corporation, representing today almost two-thirds of the company's
fleet, with other nine more ships to come in the coming years. A
cooperation which can be defined as historical, based on
relationships of mutual respect and trust."
Carnival Corporation & plc
Carnival
Corporation & plc is the world's largest leisure travel company
and among the most profitable and financially strong in the cruise
and vacation industries, with a portfolio of 10 dynamic brands that
include nine of the world's leading cruise lines. With operations
in North America, Europe, Australia and Asia, its portfolio features Carnival Cruise
Line, Holland America Line, Princess Cruises, Seabourn, AIDA
Cruises, Costa Cruises, Cunard, P&O Cruises (Australia) and P&O Cruises (UK), as well
as Fathom, the corporation's immersion and enrichment experience
brand.
Together, these brands operate 103 ships with 231,000 lower
berths visiting over 700 ports around the world, with 18 new ships
scheduled to be delivered between 2018 and 2022. Carnival
Corporation & plc also operates Holland America Princess
Alaska Tours, the leading tour company in Alaska and the
Canadian Yukon. Traded on both the New York and London
Stock Exchanges, Carnival Corporation & plc is the
only dual listed company in the world to be included in both the
S&P 500 and the FTSE 100 indices.
In 2017, Fast Company recognized Carnival Corporation as being
among the "Top 10 Most Innovative Companies" in both the design and
travel categories. Fast Company specifically recognized Carnival
Corporation for its work in developing Ocean Medallion™, a
high-tech wearable device that enables the world's first
interactive guest experience platform capable of transforming
vacation travel into a highly personalized and elevated level of
customized service.
Additional information can be found on www.carnival.com,
www.fathom.org, www.hollandamerica.com, www.princess.com,
www.seabourn.com, www.aida.de, www.costacruise.com, www.cunard.com,
www.pocruises.com.au, and www.pocruises.com.
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SOURCE Carnival Corporation & plc